Activision Sports games!
Remember Ice Hockey on the NES? Of course you don't*. That was an Activision sports game back in the days when you didn't need a license to sell a sports game.
Well, Activision could be re-entering the market and taking on Take Two's 2k Sports label, Konami's PES, and another sports label, the one from Electronic Arts... the one that effectively owns sports video games.
According to CEO of Activision Publishing, Mike Griffith in a recent interview:
"It certainly has the characteristics of a category that would be interesting to us, but we would have to convince ourselves that we could enter successfully, accomplish leadership and that we'd have something new and different to bring to the party; right now the barriers to entry there are pretty significant, but it is certainly the size of a category that we would be interested in."
Yup, getting any valuable licence from EA could be quite a battle; might be worth a game itself.
* (you can give it a try on Wiiware now)
Well, Activision could be re-entering the market and taking on Take Two's 2k Sports label, Konami's PES, and another sports label, the one from Electronic Arts... the one that effectively owns sports video games.
According to CEO of Activision Publishing, Mike Griffith in a recent interview:
"It certainly has the characteristics of a category that would be interesting to us, but we would have to convince ourselves that we could enter successfully, accomplish leadership and that we'd have something new and different to bring to the party; right now the barriers to entry there are pretty significant, but it is certainly the size of a category that we would be interested in."
Yup, getting any valuable licence from EA could be quite a battle; might be worth a game itself.
* (you can give it a try on Wiiware now)
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Comments
Joji 2 Jul 2009 14:11
1/2
Sounds like a greed laced move to me. The market needs more sports franchises, as much as it needs more pointless skateboarding games.
I doubt the people actually making games working at Activision want to make this, but its what the suits/shareholders want so it must be right. Its this lack of thinking and vision that lost Activision Brutal Legend, and it looks like they haven't learned their lesson. All they are thinking about is racing the big guy next door, instead of focusing on making their own good original product. Not good.
EA do well on their sports titles but it took years to get them to the quality they are at. What makes me happier about EA is that they listened to us, that we wanted original IP, along side cool sports games.
Activision, playing it too safe and looking to catch a dose of sequelitis for better profit projections. No risk, no reward, Acti, but I'd hardly call sport games a risk.
I doubt the people actually making games working at Activision want to make this, but its what the suits/shareholders want so it must be right. Its this lack of thinking and vision that lost Activision Brutal Legend, and it looks like they haven't learned their lesson. All they are thinking about is racing the big guy next door, instead of focusing on making their own good original product. Not good.
EA do well on their sports titles but it took years to get them to the quality they are at. What makes me happier about EA is that they listened to us, that we wanted original IP, along side cool sports games.
Activision, playing it too safe and looking to catch a dose of sequelitis for better profit projections. No risk, no reward, Acti, but I'd hardly call sport games a risk.
PreciousRoi 4 Jul 2009 04:57
2/2
I wouldn't mine seeing a decent golf game...MS' Links 2004 is the last one I enjoyed. I, and I may be in the minority here, find Tiger to be severely lacking, most notably in that Tiger relys on post-contact control inputs. If Tiger were half the man John Madden was he'd never allow it, say what you will, John Madden's stand on the integrity of the game which bore his name is likely one of the reasons for EA Sports phenomenal success. Tiger is apparently more concerned with how he looks and cashing checks. Of course this might be the only sports game that is as vulnerable, despite the number of competing products.
The organized team sports rely on licenses, tennis is well served by Top Spin, boxing could be another possibility.
Perhaps if they were able to get in ahead of EA on the new motion sensing possibilities of Project Natal and Sony's equivalent, but how likely is it that EA would allow that? It would require a sizable investment to not only develop that capability, but the rest of the games from scratch, while EA already has the contacts, expertise, and, lets face it the cash (and reasonable expectation of return on investment) and would only need to concentrate on the new wrinkles (and the knowledge that Activision is entering the market would certainly motivate them). Now, this might actually be an advantage, as Activision's entry into the field could be built from the ground up to take advantage of these technologies, but this advantage could easily be offset by the potential growing pains associated with a completely new software product. as the quote says they'd have to convince themselves they could compete successfully...as opposed to throwing good money after bad trying to stick the thin edge of a wedge betwixt EA and the sports game dominance they currently enjoy.
The organized team sports rely on licenses, tennis is well served by Top Spin, boxing could be another possibility.
Perhaps if they were able to get in ahead of EA on the new motion sensing possibilities of Project Natal and Sony's equivalent, but how likely is it that EA would allow that? It would require a sizable investment to not only develop that capability, but the rest of the games from scratch, while EA already has the contacts, expertise, and, lets face it the cash (and reasonable expectation of return on investment) and would only need to concentrate on the new wrinkles (and the knowledge that Activision is entering the market would certainly motivate them). Now, this might actually be an advantage, as Activision's entry into the field could be built from the ground up to take advantage of these technologies, but this advantage could easily be offset by the potential growing pains associated with a completely new software product. as the quote says they'd have to convince themselves they could compete successfully...as opposed to throwing good money after bad trying to stick the thin edge of a wedge betwixt EA and the sports game dominance they currently enjoy.