Gaming has been, and will always be about fun, competition, and creativity. That's not the way Bobby Kotick sees it, though. You may have read some of the ridiculous things he's said like "if it was left to me I'd raise the prices even further" or how his company supports "really [reward] profit, and nothing else." The Activision CEO has succeeded in creating simultaneously the most popular, and most hated video game publishing company since EA (though they, as of recent years, have turned from the dark side).

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick

Raising Modern Warfare 2's price on PC to $60, milking the hell out of the Guitar Hero franchise, and trying to scam people with DLC. Activision has done all of this, and is determined to do so. Bob Kotick himself admitted to his enthusiasm over DLC - for ridiculous profits, of course. While I'm certain the Guitar Hero fad will die down soon rather than later, the PC game price point increase, $150 collector's editions, and ridiculously priced DLC are all things that, unfortunately, will probably stick around, and that we, as gamers, need to stop supporting.

No, just no. Stop making these games.

Perhaps the worst creative move on the part of the folks at Activision is their newfound reluctance to publish new IP's. The only game so far in 2009 that Activision published which wasn't a part of an already established franchise was Prototype. While I can see that it's a safe business move to keep milking Guitar Hero, video games, as I said before, are about creativity, something which Bobby Kotick and the guys over at Activision don't seem to like the sound of.

If we want video games to grow as an art form, and a form of entertainment to be taken seriously, the kind of business decisions, and comments that Activision, and CEO Bobby Kotick are making have to be stopped. How can you stop it? Don't buy any more of the games in the ridiculously milked Guitar Hero franchise, and pass on that $10 song pack. Though I will say supporting games made by awesome developers, even if they are under Activision's wing, like Infinity Ward is worth it (they even took a shot at some of Kotick's comments in a very subtle way in the picture ill post below).

Look at the Custom Clas.ses

Bobby Kotick said that it was his goal going into Activision was "to take all the fun out of making video games." Unfortunately for him, that's not the kind of spirit that's accepted in the process of making video games; EA in a similar manner learned that the hard way. If gamers can continue buying smart, we could see Mr. Kotick's business plans fall flat on their face, because his "skepticism, pessimism, and fear" aren't welcome in this industry.