It's On: Double Fine Countersues the Evil Empire aka Activision

Post by Gearhead (699 posts) See mini bio

1309 ACH / 26485 P

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Here's the source
Personally, I'm still pissed off about this whole thing, and just thinking about it makes me even more angry that Activision would be such a fucking dick of a company, especially Bobby Kotick.
Though on the less temperamental side, the article brought up a good point that Activison dropped other games like Ghostbusters in the same circumstances, who have been released, and where Activison haas not sued the game's developer.

Edited 4 months ago

Post by JJOR64 (6,035 posts) See mini bio

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God, I hope Double Fine wins this thing.

Posted 4 months ago

Post by WitchHunter_Z (487 posts) See mini bio

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+1 vote for Double Fine... court works that way now, right?

Posted 4 months ago

Post by Metal_Mills (421 posts) See mini bio

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I can't believe they wanted to make Brutal Legend a guitar hero game. Fuck them.

Posted 4 months ago

Post by dcpc10 (2,242 posts) See mini bio

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Oh Man, Activision is gonna be fueled and ready to do more sueing this holiday season for one reason. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Posted 4 months ago

Post by sarahsdad (190 posts) See mini bio

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@WitchHunter_Z: I think we all have to go flag them, or something.

Posted 4 months ago

Post by Suicrat (3,041 posts) See mini bio

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@JJOR64: You know, Activision's suit may indeed be groundless (I don't pretend to know the technical legalities), but not everything Activision does is "dickish" some of the things they've done in the last little while have been downright respectable: for instance, publicly putting pressure on Sony to cut the price of the PS3.

Okay, that's just one thing, but still....

Posted 4 months ago

Post by Lucidforest (66 posts) See mini bio

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@Suicrat: I wouldn't call that respectable. I mean I don't even have a PS3 because it's such a high price, but I still think the whole "IF YOU DON'T LOWER THE PRICE WE WONT BE YOUR FRIEND ANYMORE" thing was indeed "dickish". That was Activision trying to show off. They are one of the biggest game publishers in the world and they know it too well. Sony have been in this industry longer than anyone, they know what they're doing.

Posted 4 months ago

Post by Suicrat (3,041 posts) See mini bio

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@Lucidforest: Uh... seriously? "Showing off"? What do they have to show off? Are you fucking three years old? First of all, Sony haven't been in this industry longer than everyone. They certainly haven't been in the video game business longer than Activision. Second of all, no CEO of any corporation says anything in public (i.e., to a member of the press) unless he's betting that it can increase the profits or the stock value of his company. In this case, adding to the chorus of people calling for a PS3 price cut will ultimately lead to a better return on Activision's investment in the PS3.

Posted 4 months ago

Post by Lucidforest (66 posts) See mini bio

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No I am not "fucking three years old". I'm 25. And what do you mean "what do they have to show off?" For a start they have Guitar Hero and they have Call of Duty. Sony know that if those two IP's alone leave their platform they are gonna be screwed over. At least as far as the west is concerned.

If Activision actually pull out their support and stop making games for Sony then maybe I'll think otherwise. But from what I can see, that Bobby Kotick dude is a big floppy donkey dick who likes to show off.

Oh and you don't have to take eveything so literally, when I say they've been in the industry longer than anyone, I mean they've been in it long enough. They were the platform leaders for a good decade, they know exactly what they're doing.

Posted 4 months ago

Post by Karmum (9,631 posts) See mini bio

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@Suicrat:
How is that a good thing? That makes them a huge hypocrite, because they decide it's logical to jack up the UK pricing on Modern Warfare 2.

Posted 4 months ago

Post by Suicrat (3,041 posts) See mini bio

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@Karmum: Because they're not trying to get Sony to drop the price on the system for the sake of the consumer, they're doing it so there's a larger install base to whom they can sell Activision games. This whole business thing ain't rocket science.

Also, if you live in the EU, blame your supranational government for the price of anything that comes from outside the EU.

Actually, you can also blame them for the price of anything that comes from within the EU as well for that matter....

Edited 4 months ago

Post by TheHBK (1,496 posts) See mini bio

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Is it not ironic that by default we are rooting for what I guess is the other Evil empire of Sequels, EA?
That said, Activision is being a bunch of bitches. Also this reminds me of EA and the UFC, who were bitches to them but are now coming out with their own MMA game, all these big companies are just full of money grubbing asswipes. Oh well.

Posted 4 months ago

Post by creamypies (1,180 posts) See mini bio

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@TheHBK said:

" Is it not ironic that by default we are rooting for what I guess is the other Evil empire of Sequels, EA?That said, Activision is being a bunch of bitches. Also this reminds me of EA and the UFC, who were bitches to them but are now coming out with their own MMA game, all these big companies are just full of money grubbing asswipes. Oh well. "

I used to feel that way about EA, but it seems they've swapped places with Activision in recent years. I actually have alot of respect for EA after the way they treated 2008. Activision are the sort of company, that if they were indeed a person, you'd wanna kick them in the balls... repeatedly.

Posted 4 months ago

Post by Karmum (9,631 posts) See mini bio

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@Suicrat said:

" @Karmum: Because they're not trying to get Sony to drop the price on the system for the sake of the consumer, they're doing it so there's a larger install base to whom they can sell Activision games. This whole business thing ain't rocket science.Also, if you live in the EU, blame your supranational government for the price of anything that comes from outside the EU.Actually, you can also blame them for the price of anything that comes from within the EU as well for that matter.... "

I don't live in EU, so pricing actually doesn't affect me. Activision won't ignore the PS3 install base, regardless of whether Sony drops the price or not. Activision is like all the other big businesses out there, they like money, and they will maximize all the platforms for a maximum profit. But you can't just say them pressuring Sony is a good thing, and retort with Activision jacking up the price for the EU folks isn't really their fault. I understand what you are saying though, but everything they are doing right now (Brutal Legend problem, Sony price cut, UK MW2 pricing, etc.) isn't helping them in anyway shape or form, and they really should just keep their mouth shut (and let their ridiculous fuckton of money they are making) keep them happy.

Posted 4 months ago

Post by Suicrat (3,041 posts) See mini bio

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@Karmum: The diminished purchasing power of the British Pound Sterling is expressly not Activision's fault They are charging a higher numerical amount than they did in the past in that currency because the pound is worth numerically less than what it was worth in the past. And Kotick was employing his rhetorical skills (limited as they appear to be) when threatening to pull support. He was just highlighting that PS3 needs a bigger install base if publishers are going to recoup the costs of producing games for it.

Also, I have never and will never defend this lawsuit of Brutal Legend. It's a separate matter as far as I'm concerned.

Posted 4 months ago

Post by CowMuffins (772 posts) See mini bio

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Activision's becoming worse than EA was a couple years ago.

Posted 4 months ago

Post by ArbitraryWater (1,580 posts) See mini bio

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@TheHBK said:

" Is it not ironic that by default we are rooting for what I guess is the other Evil empire of Sequels, EA?

That's because EA has actually tried to shed the image of the franchise whoring sequel factory in recent years with stuff like Dead Space and Mirror's Edge, as well as not being total dicks and giving the formerly independent studios under their control a lot more wiggle room (Look at what they have done with Bioware as compared to what they did with Westwood)

Of course, it's ironic that the majority of EA's income still comes from stuff they can whore out every year, like Madden.

Edited 4 months ago

Post by grawly (66 posts) See mini bio

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I think that's a little bit silly on Double Fine's behalf, unless EA put them up to it because I don't think Activision had much of a case in the first place and I would hate to see Activision's fancy lawyers bring around a delay for Brutal Legend, I preordered it and everything.

Posted 4 months ago

Post by Ferginator4k (178 posts) See mini bio

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I hope EA supports Double Fine in Crushing Activisions foolish lawsuit

Posted 4 months ago

Post by PureRok (3,082 posts) See mini bio

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@Suicrat said:

" @Lucidforest: First of all, Sony haven't been in this industry longer than everyone. They certainly haven't been in the video game business longer than Activision. "

Not to mention Nintendo or Atari, who've both been around from more-or-less the beginning.

Posted 4 months ago

Post by CL60 (5,722 posts) See mini bio

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Activision. Don't you just love them!?

Posted 4 months ago

Post by FlamingHobo (2,735 posts) See mini bio

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You can't stop the rock baby!

Posted 4 months ago

Post by get2sammyb (4,189 posts) See mini bio

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Couldn't give a shit about Brutal Legend but hate Activision so much right now I hope they lose badly.

Posted 4 months ago

Post by get2sammyb (4,189 posts) See mini bio

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@Suicrat said:

" @Karmum: The diminished purchasing power of the British Pound Sterling is expressly not Activision's fault They are charging a higher numerical amount than they did in the past in that currency because the pound is worth numerically less than what it was worth in the past. And Kotick was employing his rhetorical skills (limited as they appear to be) when threatening to pull support. He was just highlighting that PS3 needs a bigger install base if publishers are going to recoup the costs of producing games for it.Also, I have never and will never defend this lawsuit of Brutal Legend. It's a separate matter as far as I'm concerned. "

Factually incorrect. The pound was weaker when World At War launched than it is now.

Posted 4 months ago

Post by Lowbrow (432 posts) See mini bio

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Hopefully the judge has enough sense to see that Activision dropped this game when they saw that it wasn't going to make them the many millions of dollars they were expecting, then actually took the time to look at what Tim Schaefer was up to, and by the time that they realized that the game was getting a great response, they had already lost the publishing rights of the game to EA was a double smack in the face.

Millions of dollars lost + realizing you are losing those millions to your direct competitor + being an asshole (Activision) = Lawsuit

Posted 4 months ago

Post by sarahsdad (190 posts) See mini bio

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I don't know how much of a parallel there is, but this makes me think of the whole lawsuit mess over the Watchmen movie. Fox sues WB near the completion of the movie, after seemingly having given up their rights/interest. Everybody dogpiles on Fox for being pricks. posturing and paperwork go flying, and in the end it turns out that there was one guy who didn't do his job that let all of this happen.

On the outside, I don't think there's any question that this makes Activision look like whatever insulting term you want to stick them with. But I'm pretty sure that they wouldn't be doing this if they didn't think they had a legal leg to stand on. Yes, they're suing Double-Fine instead of EA, and it looks like them bullying around a small company. WHich Could be part of it. But, it could also be that they don't want to spend the money suing EA only to have the decision come down to a judge finding that EA is blameless, and had every reason to think that the publishing rights were theirs.

Just saying that unless or until a signed document shows up that says Activision gave up all rights/interest in the game, they've got a case for at least being involved in the profits of the game.

Posted 4 months ago

Post by Suicrat (3,041 posts) See mini bio

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@get2sammyb: Well shit, that's just a cash-grab, then isn't it? Well, it sounds like it'll cost them sales, so they're shooting themselves in the foot.

ANYWAYS, that doesn't change the fact that the one redeeming thing Bobby Kotick's company has done publicly is call for a PS3 price cut.

Posted 4 months ago

Double Fine Productions, Inc. Forum

It's On: Double Fine Countersues the Evil Empire aka Activision