Bobby Kotick may have had some choice words regarding EA’s relationship with its studios, but the rival publisher isn’t going to take it lying down.
Earlier today, we reported on some comments Activision bossman Bobby Kotick had regarding his firm’s chief rival EA. Kotick accused EA of assimilating and rebranding all the studios it acquired rather than letting them keep their own internal cultures. EA, however, had some words for ol’ Bobby, too.
“Kotick’s relationship with studio talent is well-documented in litigation,” EA corporate communication VP Jeff Brown told Gamasutra, referring to Activision’s well-publicized lawsuits with both Double Fine and Infinity Ward.
“His company is based on three game franchises – one is a fantastic persistent world he had nothing to do with; one is in steep decline; and the third is in the process of being destroyed by Kotick’s own hubris.” For those keeping track at home, that would be World of Warcraft, Guitar Hero, and Call of Duty respectively.
Activision and EA have been taking the rivalry to new levels as of late, with members of EA’s Visceral studio jumping ship to set up Sledgehammer with Activision, and the former heads of Infinity Ward Respawning at EA. Their statements, on the other hand, just remind me of nothing so much as a silly little slap-fight.
Meanwhile, Double Fine’s Tim Schafer also responded to Kotick’s comments about Brutal Legend via Eurogamer. “It’s sad is that instead of just insulting me personally, he goes after the product of my hard-working team – a group of people he almost put out of work a while back,” said Schafer.
“But what’s even sadder is that it took him two months to think of a comeback.”
To be fair to Mr. Kotick, his interview was in print. It’s likely that it was a more timely statement when he originally gave it.
