14 DAY TRIAL // Activision is the biggest video game publisher in the world, owning franchises like Call of Duty or Guitar Hero, which generate obscene amounts of money every year thanks to multiple installments and other profit opportunities like peripheral sales or downloadable content.
Speaking at a recent press conference, the leaders of the company, Mike Griffith and Bobby Kotick, talked with analysts about their relationship with retailers and, most importantly, Kotick made a statement on how he would raise prices if it were up to him. Of course, this generated quite a lot of backlash from angry gamers who are already pretty furious at the company for charging so much for various editions of its best-selling games.
But it's best to keep the statement into context. The leading duo of Activision was first asked by analyst Tony Gikas whether their retail partners were comfortable with the current pricing levels on various titles: “If you don't mind, just your comfort level regarding pricing of some of your new games that have some expensive controllers and any feedback that you had from retail as we move through the holidays,” the analyst said.
Griffith then replied, “We've had for all of our launch titles in the back half of this year, some of which contain peripherals, as you point out, very strong retailer acceptance and support for all parts of our plan, including our merchandising plans, our marketing programs, and our price points.”
Then Kotick saw fit to add, while smiling, and prompting a lot of laughter in the audience, “And Tony, you know if it was left to me, I would raise the prices even further.”
Of course this still doesn't excuse such a statement in a rattled economy, but don't forget that making games is an industry, a very profitable one, though still a business, meaning that obtaining profit is the end goal.