$200m Kotick bonus

[Galathir]

The man probably doesn't even know what a video game is, only that it makes money and he is a hungry money monster.

It's well known that Kotick doesn't even like video games. I just can't get into this mindset (thank fuck): he regularly fires hundreds of employees to rake in more cash for himself when he already has more money than he could spend in ten lifetimes and then complains when people draw him with horns because it hurts his dating chances.

Fuck this colossal asshole to hell and back.

[Gorsameth]

It's well known that Kotick doesn't even like video games. I just can't get into this mindset (thank fuck): he regularly fires hundreds of employees to rake in more cash for himself when he already has more money than he could spend in ten lifetimes and then complains when people draw him with horns because it hurts his dating chances.

Fuck this colossal asshole to hell and back.

His job is to run a multi-billion dollar company, what the company does is not particularly relevant. Does matter if its games, clothes, cars or handbags a lot of principles will be the same.
Its not his job to personally sign off on every single game that is more, his job is the manage the company and yes that includes fires people. Its how companies work, you evaluate what is needed and what is not.

[Orby]

It's well known that Kotick doesn't even like video games. I just can't get into this mindset (thank fuck): he regularly fires hundreds of employees to rake in more cash for himself when he already has more money than he could spend in ten lifetimes and then complains when people draw him with horns because it hurts his dating chances.

Fuck this colossal asshole to hell and back.

This forum needs a like button :P

[Galathir]

His job is to run a multi-billion dollar company, what the company does is not particularly relevant. Does matter if its games, clothes, cars or handbags a lot of principles will be the same.

I wouldn't dedicate my life to a field that I hold no interest in though.

Its not his job to personally sign off on every single game that is more, his job is the manage the company and yes that includes fires people. Its how companies work, you evaluate what is needed and what is not.

You don't fire 800 employees (IIrc mostly customer service, which from my experience has gone from bad to shit ever since) and weeks later announce a record year for the company. You just don't.
And this time isn't any better: massive layoffs all over the world and at the same time he gets 200m $.

[Gorsameth]

I wouldn't dedicate my life to a field that I hold no interest in though.

You don't fire 800 employees (IIrc mostly customer service, which from my experience has gone from bad to shit ever since) and weeks later announce a record year for the company. You just don't.

Again, a company does not keep people it considered redundant around just because it can afford to.

Now you can entirely make a case that the department was downsized to much, and I would agree with you. But the notion that the company could afford to keep all of them, and therefor should not fired them is not a thing. Not at Blizzard and not at any other company anywhere.

[Alydael]

The funniest thing about this is that they paid him that bonus because they thought he did a good job and the games made money last year.
If they would have had someone who cares about games and knew how to run a gaming studio- they would have made so much more money! He actually cost them potential profit through extreme mismanagement!

WOW is a slumbering giant. The money that game could potentially make is staggering (just look at sub numbers in wrath- they had 12mish subs at one point- that's over 180 mil each month from subs alone)! The problem is that they don't know how to properly manage the game to get the subs and keep the subs. They try to run the game like an investment type business instead of a creative endeavor with a huge fanbase (like Star Wars). That's a huge mistake that cost them a ton of potential profit each year.

[korijenkins]

Thats why you dont give such clauses in the contract.

On the other side, I doubt those games would have become better if his bonus went into the developement/improvement/etc.

The humanist in me says that instead of getting a 200M bonus he doesn't deserve or need, employees below him could be paid better.

[Anastacy]

People in a capitalist society...are surprised when capitalism “works”?

::shrug::

[Dhrizzle]

It's well known that Kotick doesn't even like video games. I just can't get into this mindset (thank fuck): he regularly fires hundreds of employees to rake in more cash for himself when he already has more money than he could spend in ten lifetimes and then complains when people draw him with horns because it hurts his dating chances.

Fuck this colossal asshole to hell and back.

He does like video games, he just doesn't get much time to play them.

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The funniest thing about this is that they paid him that bonus because they thought he did a good job and the games made money last year.
If they would have had someone who cares about games and knew how to run a gaming studio- they would have made so much more money! He actually cost them potential profit through extreme mismanagement!

WOW is a slumbering giant. The money that game could potentially make is staggering (just look at sub numbers in wrath- they had 12mish subs at one point- that's over 180 mil each month from subs alone)! The problem is that they don't know how to properly manage the game to get the subs and keep the subs. They try to run the game like an investment type business instead of a creative endeavor with a huge fanbase (like Star Wars). That's a huge mistake that cost them a ton of potential profit each year.

He doesn't make day-to-day decisions about how certain games are developed or managed. He decides what amounts of money need to be invested in staffing, RnD, production, promotion etc, or possibly he sets guidelines that the people under him use to decide those things, but either way his job has more to do with the business side of things and very little to do with actual game development.

It's fine to hate the fact that mega-global corporations can lay off dozens of people while awarding a single person 100 times their combined salaries (rough estimate) as a bonus but there's no point muddying the waters by saying it's bad because you no longer like one particular product.

[Zenfoldor]

He does like video games, he just doesn't get much time to play them.

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He doesn't make day-to-day decisions about how certain games are developed or managed. He decides what amounts of money need to be invested in staffing, RnD, production, promotion etc, or possibly he sets guidelines that the people under him use to decide those things, but either way his job has more to do with the business side of things and very little to do with actual game development.

It's fine to hate the fact that mega-global corporations can lay off dozens of people while awarding a single person 100 times their combined salaries (rough estimate) as a bonus but there's no point muddying the waters by saying it's bad because you no longer like one particular product.

I actually disagree with that just a bit. Now, of course the CEO doesn't work on games or even necessarily have direct input on any particular game. However, the CEO might set organizational goals and priorities for the company.

IN MY OPINION, what usually happens with companies like this is that the developers no longer have a say in what they are developing. Instead, the marketing people are brought in to manage game development, and start making "creative" decisions around how a game will be monetized(based on things like metadata from previous games).

Those decisions were originally made by game developers, as artistic decisions(not necessarily based on metadata or profit projections, but instead maybe even one artist's vision of fun). Now, because marketing people and not gaming people are determining the game loop and the goals of the game loop, the game is less fun but maybe more profitable. I'm not saying that is what is going on here at all(I have no idea), but saying organizational goals are completely irrelevant to the end product quality, imo, is not always accurate.

[zEmini]

If I were CEO i would of reinvested most of that into Warcraft III and Starcraft. Imagine all the good that would of done for those games and the goodwill it would of created for Blizzards tarnished image of cold greed.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

If I were CEO i would of reinvested most of that into Warcraft III and Starcraft. Imagine all the good that would of done for those games and the goodwill it would of created for Blizzards tarnished image of cold greed.

He got it in stock so if he just sold the stock and drove done the stock price it would effectively be investing nothing back into the company because he would selling parts of the company.

Blizzard also isn’t even the big earner when it comes to AB stuff so they would likely take a loss.

[rhorle]

Those decisions were originally made by game developers, as artistic decisions(not necessarily based on metadata or profit projections, but instead maybe even one artist's vision of fun). Now, because marketing people and not gaming people are determining the game loop and the goals of the game loop, the game is less fun but maybe more profitable. I'm not saying that is what is going on here at all(I have no idea), but saying organizational goals are completely irrelevant to the end product quality, imo, is not always accurate.

But how much of that is reality and how much of that is a scapegoat explanation for why X game is now disliked? Companies that had the means have always used product testers and information to guide their designs. Look how you even dismiss it by saying "I'm not saying that is what is going on here at all" while making a statement on how the industry is working. Weird right?

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If I were CEO i would of reinvested most of that into Warcraft III and Starcraft. Imagine all the good that would of done for those games and the goodwill it would of created for Blizzards tarnished image of cold greed.

From a business point of view why wouldn't he re-invest it into Call of Duty or even Candy Crush? They both bring in far more then Blizzard games.

[zEmini]

But how much of that is reality and how much of that is a scapegoat explanation for why X game is now disliked? Companies that had the means have always used product testers and information to guide their designs. Look how you even dismiss it by saying "I'm not saying that is what is going on here at all" while making a statement on how the industry is working. Weird right?

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From a business point of view why wouldn't he re-invest it into Call of Duty or even Candy Crush? They both bring in far more then Blizzard games.

How much more can one squeeze out of those two games? Diminishing returns? From what I recall, CoD is basically the same game every year and idiots still buy it. You would see a lot more ROI and GW if Blizzard put love back into their core.

[rhorle]

How much more can one squeeze out of those two games? Diminishing returns? From what I recall, CoD is basically the same game every year and idiots still buy it. You would see a lot more ROI and GW if Blizzard put love back into their core.

You can't recreate love with money because it is a nebulous concept for most that ask for it. Warcraft III is done. Blizzard investing in it won't lead to substantial profits. A new Starcraft game of course could and is likely in early development because no game company would abandon an IP like that. But you don't reinvest company wide money like that in two specific games when they don't even make the most money.

[SoundOfGuns]

Wow. >.>

https://kotaku.com/activision-blizza...hil-1846493910

I have a lack of understanding about someone like this.

The most "funny" thing about this is, that Koticks worthless, fat bastard ass does not need that bonus and certainly did not deserve it while it could have saved every single of those jobs.

[Niwes]

Activision-Blizzard took in $8 BILLION last year.

Kotick may be reviled on here (including by me), but it's not his job to be liked. It's his job to take things that make money and squeeze them to make more. And once money stops coming out he throws them away and squeezes something else.

If anything, it's our fault he's getting a $200 million bonus... We're the ones buying his crap.

the only real true answer here.

i am sure if i ever met Bobby Kottick in live (i will not) i would not like him and it would be an asshole in my eyes, like all of that kind of ppl. everything else would make me wonder. BUT i do not know this guy. But what i DEFINETELY know is:

even when ideas like smart cash grab systems and the fucked up company Blizzard became is based on this guys work, it is all the million ppl out there, stupid as hell, buying Tokens in WoW and Cards in HS and feed that guy by their stupidity and their dollars. most ppl not even realize that every Token ever passing the AH is free 7 bugs for Blizz, by doing nothing. from millions of ppl. heck, i met a guy that thought he is so smart and Blizz not get his money, because he used Tokens. omfg.

in short: giving 200 millions to assholes is the fault of every idiot out there, making this possible. simple as that.

so, in the end of the day it seems fair to me that a few clever bastards getting rich as fuck, and the folks/masses staying poor. its fair, because they are too stupid. so they get what they deserve.

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If I were CEO i would of reinvested most of that into Warcraft III and Starcraft. Imagine all the good that would of done for those games and the goodwill it would of created for Blizzards tarnished image of cold greed.

it seems you do not get how these business things work...

[Gorsameth]

The most "funny" thing about this is, that Koticks worthless, fat bastard ass does not need that bonus and certainly did not deserve it while it could have saved every single of those jobs.

If Kotick did not get a single dollar of salary their jobs would not have been saved because they were not fired to pay hit salary or bonus but because the company no longer needs them.

No company is going to keep you employed for shits and giggles while having no need of you just because they have the profit to afford it.

[zEmini]

it seems you do not get how these business things work...

If money first is all that matters then that businesses doesn't deserve to exists imo. Not every company has to follow that philosophy to be successful.

You can't recreate love with money because it is a nebulous concept for most that ask for it. Warcraft III is done. Blizzard investing in it won't lead to substantial profits. A new Starcraft game of course could and is likely in early development because no game company would abandon an IP like that. But you don't reinvest company wide money like that in two specific games when they don't even make the most money.

Done for you maybe. I for one believe that there is still lots of room for the future for SC and WC. Just because you don't play it doesn't mean others wont. Besides there are plenty of ways to monetize than skins.

[czarek]

That wealth is just obnoxious. I know he can take it he is in the charge but just simple human feelin should stop him to take it. I know its easy to say from my position but seriously they just fired a lot of ppl.