Tim Schafer & Robert Kotick

[GamerMan316]

Tim Schafer Calls Activision Boss "A Total Prick"



Tim Schafer, the creator of classics like Grim Fandango, Full Throttle and Psychonauts, has some choice words to say about Activision boss Robert Kotick. Two of those words are "total" and "prick".

"His obligation is to his shareholders," Schafer tells Eurogamer. "Well, he doesn't have to be as much of a dick about it, does he? I think there is a way he can do it without being a total prick. It seems like it would be possible. It's not something he's interested in."

Schafer's beef is understandable, given his history with Kotick and Activision over the bungled publishing deal for his last game, Brutal Legend.

"He [Kotick] makes a big deal about not liking games, and I just don't think that attitude is good for games in general. I just don't think we're an industry of widgets," he adds.

"We can approach it like we approach bars of soap, where you're just trying to make the cheapest bar of soap. He definitely has that that kind of widget-maker attitude. I don't think he's great for the industry, overall. You can't just latch onto something when it's popular and then squeeze the life out of it and then move on to the next one. You have to at some point create something, build something."

"Hopefully he'll go back to another industry scene. He could go to an industry that makes more money. Ball bearings... something that suits his passions more. Weapons manufacturing?"

Tim Schafer, don't you ever change.

[Lukehi]

Tim Schafer Calls Activision Boss "A Total Prick"

Tim Schafer, don't you ever change.

too true...Schafer is a gaming legend, a real fan and has kept a high standard of output for a long time now.

[Failed]

twas once EA that was hated on like that

[Astrex]

twas once EA that was hated on like that

That day will return 

[nCogNeato]

Schafer is a guy that would be super fun to drink with.  You know he's always 2 beers away from doing the Truffle Shuffle.

[DFUSIONITE]

Schafer is a guy that would be super fun to drink with.  You know he's always 2 beers away from doing the Truffle Shuffle.

[Failed]

i love a good extrovert

[Handshakes]

I hate all this publisher bashing nonsense. Developers have been hating on publishers since the dawn of gaming. Way to be hip Schafer.

He says that Kotick is bad for gaming? Last I checked, Modern Warfare 2 was one of the best selling games of all time and got almost universal praise. I know a lot of people here don't like the game, and I'm one of them, but that is neither here nor there. Most gamers loved it, so mission accomplished for Kotick and the majority of the gaming audience.

The fact is that most of the greatest developers need butthole publishers to keep them in line. When they don't then we get crapfests like Duke Nukem Forever, Black & White 2, and Tabula Rasa.

/probably just still miffed at Schafer because Brutal Legend sucked so bad.

[nCogNeato]

The fact is that most of the greatest developers need butthole publishers to keep them in line. When they don't then we get crapfests like Duke Nukem Forever, Black & White 2, and Tabula Rasa.

`Tis a good point.

[GamerMan316]

Activision Responds To Accusations That Its CEO Is A Total Prick

Brutal Legend and Grim Fandango creator Tim Schafer labeled  Activision Blizzard boss Bobby Kotick a "dick," "total prick" and, most damning, a ball bearing enthusiast. Fair enough. Just don't accuse Mr. Kotick of not liking video games, Activision says.

Activision has responded from the video game industry's playground today, firing back at Schafer (sort of) with a defense of Kotick's passion for games.

"Tim Schafer's comment that Bobby Kotick 'makes a big deal about not liking games' just isn't true," Maryanne Lataif, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications at Activision Blizzard said in a (honest to god) statement. "Bobby has always been passionate about games, and loves the video game industry. But as CEO of a company that makes games enjoyed by millions of people worldwide, the demands on his time now make it difficult to play games as often as he'd like to or as much as he once did."

Lataif added, "As Schafer himself notes, he has never actually met Bobby Kotick." Yeah. Major ice burn.

I guess that's Activision taking the higher ground here, which is classy, but we wouldn't have minded seeing a few expletives volleyed back or some, you know, sales figures comparing Guitar Hero V's performance against that of Brutal Legend's—a game that Activision opted not to publish when it merged with Vivendi many moons ago then legally tried to prevent from being released—to really keep this verbal slapfight going.

Tim? A little help, please? This hornet's nest isn't going to rattle itself.

[nCogNeato]

Activision Responds To Accusations That Its CEO Is A Total Prick

lol

That reads like a headline from The Onion.   

[Failed]

Acticion gave a nice and boring response.... boo i wanted a good war between a multi national billion $ corporation and 1 guy

[DFUSIONITE]

Activision Responds To Accusations That Its CEO Is A Total Prick

lol

That reads like a headline from The Onion.   

Is The onion for real? Or are the stories made up? Funny either way! 

[nCogNeato]

Activision Responds To Accusations That Its CEO Is A Total Prick

lol

That reads like a headline from The Onion.   

Is The onion for real? Or are the stories made up? Funny either way! 

It's satire.  Some stories are loosely based on real events, but most of it is just random nonsense.

[NeuroticSarge]

Sorry,don't know who either of them are.Don't really care to be honest. Bah! Humbug.