Activision Threatens to Drop PS3 Support

[BloodSquirrel]

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article6531367.ece

"?They have to cut the price, because if they don't, the attach rates [the number of games each console owner buys] are likely to slow. If we are being realistic, we might have to stop supporting Sony.? Ask when and he says: ?When we look at 2010 and 2011, we might want to consider if we support the console ? and the PSP [portable] too.? Sounds like Sir Howard Stringer, Sony's chief executive, is going to have to call Mr Kotick pretty fast."

Well damn. I doubt Activision will be pulling any of it's big name titles anytime soon, but there are a couple of implications here-

I can't imagine that he would come out publicly with this without having trying to coerced Sony privately first. If Sony was planning on announcing a price drop in the near future, I'd think they would tell him to avoid this- which casts doubt on rumors that a price drop is about to be announced.

Activision may make a few titles 360 exclusives just to let Sony know that they're serious. Not CoD or GH, but a lower profile title or two may be announced sans PS3 support soon.

 

[KSarty]

That sucks for Sony, but no big loss for me. I don't have any Activision games on my PS3 right now anyways, and I don't know of any of theirs that I would want for my PS3.

 

[sirdanrhodes]

Well, that'd be a killer blow to the system.

 

[The Political Gamer]

Who wants me to get them popcorn when Indigo Dingo shows up?

More to the point I don't think Activision will drop support. They are just trying their power over the industry. Besides Sony might drop the price along with the new PS3 Slim.

 

[New Troll]

I don't own any Activision games I couldn't easily live without, but they are a huge name in the gaming industry so this could be a huge blow to Sony. I personally have never once considered the PS3 too expensive, especially since I've spent a lot less money on it than my 360 or Wii yet use it so much more than either of the other two consoles. I do hope the best for Sony, and hope they're able to figure something out through this gen.

 

[Sir Ollie]

YAY! more crappy movie games coming to the 360,Wii,DS....list goes on.

Activision are a one trick pony anyway Guitar hero, DJ hero, spining a banana round whilst drunk hero.

It may be loss for Sony but I doubt Activision will do something like this.

 

[ohgodalex]

Who wants the popcorn when Indigo Dingo shows up?

More to the point I don't think Activision will drop support. They are just trying their power over the industry. Besides Sony might drop the price along with the new PS3 Slim.

Beat me to the punch.

It's good to see that a big name like Activision is trying to show Sony the error of their ways. I'll need to keep up on my gaming news to see how this turns out.

 

[BloodSquirrel]

YAY! more crappy movie games coming to the 360,Wii,DS....list goes on.

Activision are a one trick pony anyway Guitar hero, DJ hero, spining a banana round whilst drunk hero.

It may be loss for Sony but I doubt Activision will do something like this.

You're forgetting CoD, which is a huge seller.

 

[Souplex]

Remember, in a graphical arms race everybody loses cept' the guy on the sidelines laughing at the people in the arms race.

 

[Da_Schwartz]

Sounds like corporate politics to me. I'd call they're bluff. screw um. And i agree with new troll, all things considered i don't think the ps3 is a huge wallet buster either. I mean shit i payed $700 for mine back in the day lol. And i own multiple systems as well. Even if activision is serious i don't see any of this happening anytime soon or even this year. I'm sure their are dozens of contracts for titles and liscenses up in the air, or works in progress. You can't just walk out. Alot can happen till then. Like i said, it's all just politics.

 

[Xvito]

Well... I'm ashamed to have even played their games sometimes because they're such douche-bags.

So... I don't really care.

Most of their games aren't even that good.

In the last few months they've done a lot of really mean things...

 

[RollForInitiative]

While it sounds like a pretty nasty thing when said publicly, I'm not entirely surprised. The PS3 does have a low attach rate and it costs significantly more to develop for. Unless you're dropping major blockbuster titles on it that carry minimal risk (ie. Modern Warfare 2) then it's not the most appealing platform to work with.

 

[Daymo]

I couldn't care about any Activison game, but I know a lot of people that just love Cod so it would be pretty bad if they do pull support. But there are plenty of replacements for the games they make. Guitar Hero can be replaced by Rock Band and Cod can be replaced by Resistance or Operation Flashpoint 2.

 

[Kif]

Sony just can't seem to get the developer/publisher relationships right with this generation.

 

[dnadns]

While it sounds like a pretty nasty thing when said publicly, I'm not entirely surprised. The PS3 does have a low attach rate and it costs significantly more to develop for. Unless you're dropping major blockbuster titles on it that carry minimal risk (ie. Modern Warfare 2) then it's not the most appealing platform to work with.

Yep, especially when Sony has over 8-10 million less units out there. Activision must cap development for a system with such a low install base. /sarcasm end

Seriously, I don't think Activision can truly afford to ignore almost 25% of the console market. Sounds to me like they want to predict demand something which is going to happen anyway this year and then pat themselves on the shoulder for having achieved it.

Btw. development cost on PS3 is not much more than on the 360 if your staff is familiar with the architecture (which one should be able to presume after several years of availability now). What makes it expensive is to port an existing engine over without loosing too much performance.
But as Activision is talking about games that shall come out in 2 years, it can't be much of an issue as they can plan the design ahead to have it run on both systems.

Looks like some serious "let's see how much market influence we got" move by Activision.
Maybe they also forgot that Sony is relying much more on first-party developers instead of Microsoft.

 

[Radelaide]

I can understand where he's coming from. If Sony don't announce price cuts, then people don't buy the console or the games, and he loses the millions of dollars he's invested into the PS3 and PSP. It's all a business decision. I've been thinking about Sony lately, and how that if they don't start looking through rose-tinted glasses, they might have a dead console on their hands.

It's a sad truth.

Said it <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.120070>there and I'll say it here.

Bye bye, PS3.

 

[Cowabungaa]

While I doubt this will change Sony's ways, I sure hope it does. Ever since I've bought a new, shiny HD tv I'm looking at a PS3. And with a pricedrop, a PS3 would finally come in my range. Well in a few months that is. But I just can't fork over 400 euro's for a PS3, if it would be the same price as a 360 yea I might, but not like this.