14 DAY TRIAL // Speaking at the Web 2.0 Summit which took part in San Francisco, Bobby Kotick, the Chief Executive Officer of publisher Activision Blizzard, has said that one of the most important outcomes of the merger between the two video gaming giants is a new culture of patience in the company.
Kotick said, “I would say that one of the great benefits of the merger of Activision and Blizzard is the elevation of patience. Partly because we have the financial resources to do it, but we're now in a place where we can really take the time to make sure that we're going to deliver the best games. And that's an incredible luxury.”
Kotick was responding to a comment about the length of beta stages for MMOs, like the Cataclysm expansion for World of Warcraft, which is set to be delivered to gamers on December 7.
Kotick also stated that it is becoming more and more important for big publishers to listen to the voice of normal gamers, with the CEO saying that it “matters more now than ever before.”
He added, “So if you take the time and actually listen to what your customers have to say, you are going to create much better experiences.”
The statement is a bit at odds with the public image of Kotick, who is seen as a ruthless business man that will do everything to maximize the profit generated by the video game put out by Activision Blizzard while ignoring the requests coming from the fan base of those franchises.
Activision has recently said that it had a better than expected third quarter, mainly on the power of main franchises like Call of Duty, Starcraft II and World of Warcraft.
The company is also on track to publish the biggest title of the year in Call of Duty: Black Ops.