Posted Jun 19, 2009 at 04:06PM by Ryan F. Listed in: News Tags: Blizzard, Activision, Sony, Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard
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ps3 - Image 1 


So earlier we reported about the threat  issued by Activision Blizzard Boss Bobby Kotick to Sony about the possible pullout of his company to publish games on the PS3 and the PSP if Sony does not cut the price of the PS3 and reduced its licensing fees. An SCEE representative then gave a short response about the matter but refused to comment any further. Well here comes Playstation spokesman Patrick Seybold to the rescue. He responded to the issue and said:

Playstation has tremendous momentum coming out of E3, and we are seeing positive growth with more than 350 titles slated to hit across all our platforms, including many anticipated games from our publishing partners. We enjoy healthy business relationships with and greatly value our publishing partners and are working closely with them to deliver the best entertainment experience.


Things are really heating up on both ends. Now Sony has a good point on that one. This year's E3 announcement has truly revitalized not only the PS3 but also the PSP with some impressive first and third-party titles. But on the other hand, a number of publishers have also expressed their disappointment to Sony for not announcing a PS3 price drop and Bobby Kotick just took it one step further. Stay tuned for further updates.




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   by NeoHumpty - 2009-06-19
 » Whatever

I'll stop supporting Activision Blizzard now, I guess. Sony has been very good to me over the years as a customer.


   Re: skotosa - 2009-06-21
 » FU Activision How about this?

If they want to talk about the consumer spending to much money then hows about I not buy two of their games $60 each and save me $120 then deduct that from the price of the PS3 and it turns out I saved money?
   by CaptainObvious1 - 2009-06-19
 » Little typo

"short response about the matter and but refused"

Nothin major.


   Re: _ME_ - 2009-06-20
 » ...

I have exactly one Activision title, COD World at War, but I like resistance 2 much better and inFamous.

Activision has lost its luster and I could care less if they stopped producing PS3 games.
   by Hekynn - 2009-06-19
 » I'll stop supporting too if

Ya I will stop supporting Activision just Activsion by not buying MW2 either VERSION of the PC or PS3. I swear I wish these Third parties would SUCK IT UP and LIVE WITH IT I am I just watch what I spend.


   Re: papajag - 2009-06-19
 » Dude...

Activision is looking at the PS3 sales for 2010 and 2011 not this year. Not getting MW2 for PS3 would only help in Activision pulling out from the PS3.

To third party devs everything is about profit. They can't just "live with it" or else they'd go bankrupt. I doubt Activision Blizzard will go bankrupt though with WoW and all.

   Re: Seoulfood - 2009-06-19
 » mmm..

Not buying anymore Activision games would just exacerbate things. If sales go down for PS versions of games then it'll just push Activision to drop Sony development even sooner. I am still quite positive that it's all just a bluff, but if Activision essentially becomes 360-exclusive, then that's pretty bad news for Sony.

   Re: astaroth001 - 2009-06-19
 » Screw Activision

Sony doesnt need Activision...when was the last great game to come? COd5? is the same as other COD, COD4 got old pretty fast...Tony Crap is the same...Marvel games sucks also...IMO let them leave...and I will stop supporting also...I have stop since THPSU2 on Ps2 lol
   by papajag - 2009-06-19
 » ...

Finally, not a no comment comeback from Sony. Seriously though, Sony has a great lineup which is why I'm saying that a price drop won't happen until after GoW3 just to get people to buy an expensive PS3. Of course, I'm also saying that a price is needed.

Someday people are just going to get sick of waiting for the price drop and get a 360 or a Wii instead. One advantage that the Wii and the 360 have is that they both can be modded.

   by kupomogli - 2009-06-19
 » Yeah.

As much as I love the PS3 over the other next gen systems, I think Sony should go back to losing money on each PS3 sold.

I mean Microsoft is still losing money for every RROD. Sony should just do a price drop, lose money on each PS3 to gain more marketshare(which they should have continued to do,) and then they'd probably get more exclusives than they're getting now.

Sony had the best exclusives showing on E3 by far, and that would make literally anyone pick up a PS3. If the racing fans haven't picked up a PS3 yet, they're most likely going to due to GT5 finally having a range on its release. God of War 3? Uncharted 2? The Last Guardian? The first party games dominated anything the 360 had showing.

The PSP is doing great but will never do as good as the DS unfortunately. Alot of great games have recently came out and there are alot more that are coming out in the future.

I'd say from a business perspective, Sony is in second place as they've got a good system(PS3) and they've got a good handheld(PSP.) Neither is beating out the competition, but they're overall in second place for how many sales all their consoles are pulling in(including PS2.)


   Re: damonous - 2009-06-19
 » Ok for Activision to make EXTRA profit, but not Ok for Sony to make any?

This seems to be an absurd proposition: because Activision isn't making as much profit as they'd like to milk out of their unoriginal software (look at their website: they mostly do movie tie-ins or Guitar Hero or Call of Duty sequels) ....then SONY should just suck-it-up and not make ANY profit. ??? The Activision name should have died in the 80's, along with the Atari name. It's funny how you can totally replace the inhabitants of a company, but sometimes you can replace what it produces. In the 80's, Activision produced what amounted to pretty (for the time) but often soulless one-note games. At least Atari gambled and had some standout titles. I think the same is true today. While I won't diminish the significance of Call of Duty, let's face it: Rock Band stomps all over Guitar Hero. And I don't know that the world would mourn the passing of a plethora of Spider-Man games or other junk movie tie-ins.
   by vandread - 2009-06-19
 » Come on...

No game publisher has a right to tell a big game hardware manufacturer to lower the price of their equipment. They can ask for the maker to lower licensing fees and they may be right about that, but let's face it, if it wasn't for these new war games Activision would be trying to create new versions of Pitfall. If they left the PS3, I wouldn't even shed a tear. It's not like they're Square Enix.


   Re: teh not so 1337 g@m3r - 2009-06-19
 » Um

Square + ~3 games /year
Activision + 20+ games /year

Activision's problem is the attach rate. Even with the 360's high piracy rate they STILL sell more games.

More people rent on the PS3. Renting doesn't get the cost of developing back.


Developing costs and licensing play a toll as well.
AKA if you sell 100 units of a game on the PS3 and 70 on the 360, the 360's profit is still higher.

So even if they drop the PS3, they would be making MORE money if what Kotick's saying is true (which being in a close relationship with all consoles, he probably is right).

   Re: StingBlah - 2009-06-19
 » yes but

Square- 3 awsome games/year
Activision- 20 mediocre games/year

   Re: Miclowgunman - 2009-06-19
 » also...

if you sell 100 PS3 games and 70 360 games, you still make more money then if you sell only 100 360 games and no ps3 games...
   by kupomogli - 2009-06-19
 » Oh yeah.

I'm also going close my World of Warcraft account and I think everyone here should too. Well. I would, except for the fact that I don't have a WoW account. Don't really care for it.

Diablo 3 is the only game I'm interested in and it's probably coming PC only. There's also the fact that I'm sure a year or two later when I actually pick it up.

   by apex05 - 2009-06-19
 » Not a clue

I said all along Sony had it easy with Ps1 & 2 but now they have genuine competition from MS and Ninty it shows they haven't the first clue how to deal with a struggling platform, MS is doing well because they know how to deal with software developers, and Nintendo's just Nintendo, Sony only seems interested in selling hardware and i can see them going the way of Sega in the next 10 years.


   Re: undeadrule1 - 2009-06-20
 » iz too bad

which is really to bad, I liked sony for supporting square enix titles and the like. and imo Sega was an awesome system that just didnt pan out

   Re: GUNBEHINDTHESUN - 2009-06-20
 »  undeadrule1, I agree and that reminds me...

I wish SEGA would have succeeded in the console race. I enjoyed what they put out. They really tried to innovate, but timing was always against them. Every console they came out with was better than anything before it but soon after they released something, someone else would release something a little bit better with a large gap in console releases between the last released for that generation. I have owned the Genesis, Sega CD and a Dreamcast. All of those systems were innovative, as nothing before them were as good as them for what they were.
   by ov3rkill - 2009-06-19
 » one point...

there's one point they're (Activision Blizzard) not considering is that blu-ray players are still expensive. Blu-ray player + the capability to play ps3 games is a sure win. Besides, the PS3 doesn't need to blend in it was created to stand out.

Anyway, I was expecting a price cut too but I guess it's just too soon or maybe... hopefully we get a price cut this year or next year... just maybe.


   Re: ov3rkill - 2009-06-19
 » oh btw...

oh by the way, by the time there's a price cut. i'm pretty sure people would have already own the 360 and the wii... lol

   Re: Tydeus - 2009-06-21
 » :P

like I said somewhere before, a week before the release of the PS4 will be when Sony reduce the PS3's price. Isnt that what they did with the PS2?

   Re: JoseR - 2009-06-22
 » blue ray

blue ray players are like 500 something dollars if your lucky to find one i for one find no use for blue ray as long as the movie i want to see is clear i could care less for high definition but thats just my opinion
   by apex05 - 2009-06-19
 » Blu-ray... Bah

Most people don't care that the Ps3 has builtin Blu-ray, i mean i could buy a 60gb Xbox 360 and a Blu-ray player and still have Ł20 left over, the Ps3 IS seriously over priced for what it is.


   Re: Wizborg - 2009-06-20
 » Blu-ray needed!!

I for one care, games are getting more and more lavish, and more and more space is and will be needed on the discs for textures etc, so the 9.7Gb limit the 360 has will come into play sooner or later, then it will be off to buy the 720 or whatever they'll call it, when the PS3 will be going strong with it's 50Gb discs.

   Re: death - 2009-06-20
 » show me your math plz

i would like to see

   Re: Tydeus - 2009-06-21
 » yeah, what he said.

Besides, arent blu-ray drives like $1000 on their own?

I think that Sony gave us all faulty ones though because everyone I know who's got a PS3 like myself have had it so the drive just failed and will not recognize games. Sony will not repair it either because it's apparently all our faults, hah.
   by ssouthparkk - 2009-06-19
 » I have to agree, sorry...

We all like Sony, or we wouldn't be here. But let's not be religious followers. When we see something to be true, and still side with them, that's stupid.

The PS3 IS overpriced, and it's reminding me of Apple, the grand daddy of over pricing for what the product is.

Now, it's not SO over priced that these companies are in the right, they're not. The should voice concern, but they're taking it too far, Sony doesn't need a boycott for this.

(If anyone needs a boycott for over pricing, it's Apple.)


   Re: ps3juggalo - 2009-06-19
 » Value VS Cheaper

Apple + PS3 are NOT overpriced, they cost more but are the better value. PS3 Vs 360 is about the same price if you compare fairly - ie: PS3 Vs 360+Wifi+Bluray (+ no RROD). I paid $399 for my PS3 then $60 for my own 500GB Harddrive I put in, so I have a 500GB PS3/Bluray w/ wifi. Can you even get a 500GB into a 360???

Most people that say Apple is overpriced never used one. I used Windows for over 10yrs, I got my 24" iMac + LOVE IT. Instead of constant crashes, slow downs, viruses, etc my Apple just works.

I'm a very happy with my 24" iMac, iPhone, + PS3 500GB beast :)

You pay for QUALITY! A Geo Metro cost way less then a BMW but...a bike is way cheaper then a car but...

But this argument is bogus for PS3 anyway, because would a person be able to buy a 360 with 500GB harddrive + a bluray player (of the same QUALITY) as my PS3 hookup?

Oh well, I'll just be having fun twittering on my iPhone as I play Uncharted 2 later on. :P

   Re: ssouthparkk - 2009-06-21
 » ......

I will only side with you on PS3's value, but Apple is still overpriced for their quality.

And screw the "it just works" argument. PCs have more 3rd party support and are way cheaper. An d they have the most flexible OS in history, XP. You need bootcamp to run XP on a MAC, or one of the newer MACs, when you can get a more powerful PC for the same price and get it with XP pre-installed.
   by jerix954 - 2009-06-19
 » ...

screw activision,im not buying mw2


   Re: Tydeus - 2009-06-21
 » ...

why? because they don't like Sony? idiot.
   by Teflon02 - 2009-06-19
 » Advision is dead to playstation players now lol they just killed there money with that threat

sony has all right to drop them... matter fact if sony anaylized that they can bankrupt em and put em out right now because those statements arnt legal. reason being u can ask for them to drop the price of licse but not system. thats not theyre area and theyre not not suppose to push that oppinion at that. and they shouldnt b saying nothing bout licsening because they drop the ps3 tools by 80% which makes the games that much cheaper to develop. and i hate how idiots say so wat bout blu-ray they dont need it... do they understand mgs4 uncharted 1-2 killzone 2 all r onli prossible on blu-ray cuz crappy dl-dvds r extended xbox and ps2 games. thats y so much games r so short or ur in the same area the hole game. FF13 i disc ps3. for 360 its goina b atleast 4 discs if they keep everything the ps3 one will have.and blu-ray blu tooth sixaxis its failure rate is low its disc drive doesnt destroy games. ps games dont really sell more on 360 they count replacements in the amount sold if warrenty was bought. i jus got rid of my cod waw was goina get mw2 but bun it no respect for a company not only about money. wen they want to finally make money oon ps3s 4th year comin they complain but they dont complain sayin microsoft needs to fix theyre disc drives

   by narutosaiyan - 2009-06-19
 » sounds like a load of bull*****

so they threaten to stop producing for ps3, but they keep producing for pc? wait! what are the sales for COD on the PC again? o wait they are all bootleg versions of the same copy. STFU activision! they r getting too over confident. Like their last comment on how their MW2 release will be huge. they are becoming a bunch of idiots. im srry but ever since killzone2 codmw seems crappy, im starting to wonder if modern warfare 2 will even compete with killzone. and funny how Rockstar a company with wayy more experince decides to make their next release a ps3 exclusive while activision becomes a part of blizzard and suddenly they are telling sony what to do. Something tells me this is all blizzards fault...Damn Wow players


   Re: astano - 2009-06-20
 » Hmm...

Although treyarch the designers of CODWoW are a really bad company they had a very good idea on the servers and if you had noticed you can't all platy with one disk, the games knows it's the same disk regardless of the cd keys. Also i think i might stop backing Sony, it seems recently they are all for the money and not the customer.

   Re: Tydeus - 2009-06-21
 » recently?

recently they are all for the money?

Try always, they've always not given a ***** about the customers. Also don't you think it's sad that people who say bad things about Sony in their posts get 0 stars? lol no matter if it's true or not.
   by Kexbut - 2009-06-20
 » lol

suddenly this website turned to be all about economic news regarding sony, what i want to say to sony is, either you make good games or i just won't buy your junk anymore, its a good thing i haven't got the ps3 yet, sadly though my psp1000 has been dusty for over 2 months now, game industry isn't as good as before.

   by vandread - 2009-06-20
 » Come on...

I actually don't own any Activision games so don't really care. I can easilly play COD on my PC so don't really need an 8gig blu ray of it. Couldn't care less about Dirt or Tony F'ing Hawk cause again, you can easilly play those on your PC if you wanted to. I want over 8gig games for my PS3.

   by truk - 2009-06-20
 » activision has no clout

honestly, they need to check themselves. some one mentioned this, they just make too many crappy games. that's all. they dont make money cause they cant

   by Atvaark - 2009-06-20
 » activision doesnt care about their customers.

simple proof: go to their support forums for the pc version of prototype...there's more problems there than windows millenium ever had...their solutions are literally disabling components of your pc, twiddle your thumbs while you're stuck with a 50 bucks brick and whine about it. no words of a patch on their parts...
it's funny really...i though while looking at trailers that maybe a game worth buying instead of pirating was out. i actually bought it. boy did i bet on the wrong horse.


   Re: Tydeus - 2009-06-21
 » lol

Worked pretty good on my computers, I usually buy the PC game for the modding and it ran smoothly.

Also, it's funny that you should say they dont care about their customers as a defense for Sony.. who obviously love us and give us what we want.. haha, funny stuff. They said one time that they wont give us DLC for some games (because developers want money for it), and they (Sony) feel that they feel their games are good enough without it. (Bull)

Besides, Sony are greedy and want all (not really all, but too much) the money the developers make on the PS Store. It's the reason Konami doesnt do that, like with Metal Gear Online, they've had their own MGO Store for a while selling expansions because Sony want too much.
   by pewpie - 2009-06-20
 » good riddance

I just took a look at the new Transformers game (Activision title)

It sucks worse than a 2-dollar crackho.

Please, Activision, if thats what you call games - please leave the theatre.

   by cloud505 - 2009-06-20
 » wtf

WTF Activision is the second biggest video game publisher IN THE WORLD!!! i dont understand how fanboys can say screw activision?


   Re: truk - 2009-06-20
 » funny

bigger doesn't equal better.

everyone that's saying "screw activision" are also saying they dont like their games. which is a valid reason to say "screw activision".

so what is exactly are you saying?

   Re: Tydeus - 2009-06-21
 » hmm

but gamers these days aren't very smart. They don't really know what they're saying.
   by ps3juggalo - 2009-06-20
 » Meh...

I don't remember the last time I bought an Activision game, & I've been playing games since Atari 2600. But, just for fun I checked out Activision's website - looks like they don't make any new games for Apple. Looks like they dumped Apple around the year 2000.

So, good luck SONY, looks like Apple survived without them, I'm sure you will too :)

   by narutosaiyan - 2009-06-20
 » ITS OK GUYS

they will keep releasing guitar hero games to make up for their loss

   by Walo - 2009-06-21
 » My opinion

Although Activision's threat is all wrong, it expresses a valid point. the PS3 price should had been dropped a long time ago, and for that mattter the PS2 support as well(I know what I'm talking about). These 2 causes have hurt the PS3 sales more than anything else(including game development difficulties and a year late release). Yes I know some fanboys are gonna say that the PS3 cost a lot to develop and that the PS2 helped Sony to maintain profitability but that is false. If Sony dropped the PS2 support as soon as the PS3 launched then far more people would have adventured to buy a PS3 in its initial cycle. The benefits could had been:

1.)that would had driven the manufacturing costs down sooner as more units would had been sold.

2.)it would allowed Sony to make price drops sooner which would had further increased sales.

3.) a larger intial player base would have given the devs more pressure to learn to develop for the PS3, so the "PS3 is to difficult to develop" excuse would not exist.

Deny it all you want but deep inside you know that's true.



   Re: Tydeus - 2009-06-21
 » kinda true

But Sony are not usually known for lowering prices on anything, it'll be about a week before the PS4 is released they'll lower the cost of the PS3 no matter how much money they made.
   by Tydeus - 2009-06-21
 » Same old bull

Sony will always use something like that as an excuse, like in respose to many 360 exclusives and other stuff other consoles have done. They're too far up their asses to realise they're failing.

Activision are awesome and Sony are stupid for letting them go! and no, I'm not a 360 fanboy, I'm a gamer. I dont have to like the company of the console I play but I own both 360 and PS3 anyway, and they both equally suck.

If they did this to Konami, or any other popular developers, will you still support Sony?


   Re: truk - 2009-06-21
 » what are you talking about?

sony is doing this to every developer that produces games on their console. no other company has complained that's all.

   Re: jerix954 - 5 days ago
 » lmao

wow your all over this sony blah blah blah lol
   by smkingun - 2009-06-21
 » Um - the price of the PS3 not so far off from XBox 360

But that isn't what Activision is really talking about here. What they really want is a reduction in licensing fees. A fabulous smoke screen is to blame it on the PS3 pricing and get everyone focused and hopefully angry about that topic. When you align the two competitors more closely together and get close to same hard drive size and make them both wireless, they are so close it isn't even funny. Go with a 60 gb XBox with wireless adapter at $380 and 80 gb PS3 with built in wireless and you are at $399 so $19 difference. Toss in rechargeable batteries for the Xbox controller and the difference narrows even further. Then apply some give and take on dvd playback capabilities.



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