Does this mean no Modern Warfare for the ps3?
This whole thing is bs

mw2 is safe but mw3 is in doubt.

My ass.

Lol, this whole commosion is a joke.

Oh I know it is but for that split second where we pretend it's not a joke.

Activision leaving could have a Domino effect. They are the biggest 3rd party publisher aren't they?


You know what they say......cut off the head, and the body is useless. Destroy the leader, and the crew collapses.

As I said in another thread, this seems less like bluffing as it does like playing a game of chicken ...

If this was a discussion behind closed doors Sony could make a token offer that would allow Activision-Blizzard to back down without losing any face, and Sony would retain the ability to time their price-cut as they saw fit. With it being such a public argument, any offer Sony does make to get Activision to back down will have to be made to EA, Ubisoft and THQ (at least) which makes it difficult for Sony to make that offer; and unless Bobby Kotick can come out as a "Winner" in this situation he will (probably) be forced to follow through with his threat.

Essentially, Sony is in a position where they have to choose between losing hundreds of Millons of dollars apeasing third party publishers, losing hundreds of millions of dollars on a price reduction for their console, or losing third party publishers' support; at a time when they don't have the money available to lose, and when they can't afford to lose third party support without hurting the viability of their console.

Now, while people may think the loss of Activision isn't a big deal, third party publishers have a herd mentality and they want to release their games on a platform where other major publishers are releasing big games; while this may hurt their ability to stand out in the crowd, it is easier to sell a game on a platform where their is high consumer interest than on a platform where few people look for games (due to lack of releases). A loss of support from one major publisher tends to translate into a loss of support from other publishers, which starts a deadly cycle for a platform.

I don't see how Sony fans can possibly believe that the biggest third party in the world threatening to abandon both their consoles is no big deal and I further fail to see how Sony has 'pwned' Blactivision.

As for the response, its about what I'd expect from Sony. Its sensible, states their strengths and basically doesn't contain much of an actual reaction. I wonder what is actually going on at Sony though, probably some negotiations between SCE and Blizzard-Activision.

Is the guy a complete fucking idiot? Everyone and their mothers knows about the incoming PS3 price cut already. How is it playing chicken? It's an obvious bluff.

To use your chicken example: This would be like a tough guy going up to a nerdy guy saying "I'll play chicken with you" knowing damn well the nerdy kid will pull off to the side right after the scarf drops i it even gets that far because the tough guy knows the nerd is a little panty waste and the tough guy is trying to make the nerd just look all that much nerdier by saying no right away.

Was that the price cut that was incomming at GDC or the price cut that was incomming at E3?

You have to consider the possibility that Bobby Kotick was meeting with Sony and Sony informed him that there would be no price reduction in their fiscal year (ending March 31st 2010) and he has taken this stance as a way to force Sony's hand. Call me an idiot if you want, but most console manufacturers telegraph a lot of their strategy to major third party publishers long in advance of doing anything; and if Sony was planning a price reduction in the near future (before Christmas) I would expect that Activision Blizzard would not be making statements like this.

Why would Sony cut the price now during the slowest months? That makes no sense. And Sony CEO confirmed a price reduction already. I don't see your point. If anything the guy is just trying to bluff Sony into dropping prices within a month or two instead of 3 or 4.