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Ref an interesting few posts:
Posted by Peter Triggs(in the ‘I am Slow’ thread).
'Patience, Grasshopper' (as they say)
I came across this yesterday (on a site that's not allowed to be mentioned around here ):
"quote:When Activision was founded on October 1, 1979 by four veterans of the video and home entertainment industries, the company made history by becoming the first independent designer and marketer of home video game software. Irked by Atari's lack of respect and recognition given to their game designers and programmers, David Crane, Alan Miller, Bob Whitehead and Larry Kaplan left Atari and formed Activision with the financial help of James Levy (who became President and CEO of the company). They were later joined by other talented designers such as Larry Kitchen, Carol Shaw, Steve Cartwright and Alan Miller. Beginning in 1981, Activision released a barrage of first-rate VCS titles that captivated the gaming public and made people aware that Atari wasn't the only one that made games for the [Atari] 2600. Activision not only inspired other programmers and entrepreneurs to set up shop as independent publishers but they also forced Atari, at least temporarily, to improve on the quality of its own games. Activision was quite possibly the most prolific third party videogame publisher in their time, churning out everything from top notch sports games, (Boxing, Skiing, Tennis, Ice Hockey) racers (Grand Prix, Decathlon, Enduro) and even arcade adaptations (Rampage, Kung Fu Master, Commando, Double Dragon). Their original PC games enjoyed less success than Atari 2600 classics such as River Raid and Little Computer People, but did attract a loyal following. Among the most underrated games Activision made for PC are Portal, Ghostbusters, and Alter Ego.Activision was also innovative in other ways. They credited their designers by mentioning them on the manual of each of their games. (Lord British and Roberta Williams came later). Activision also offered patches to gamers who attained a certain score in their games as an added incentive. "
Maybe all this badmouthing they've been getting around here is a bit over the top.' - end
I think we need to keep it in perspective - all this was a LONG time ago, when Activision actually first developed games in house. Now they are publishers only and those ideals of the early days have long gone.
Its a very different ballpark these days - and in a way the industry only has itself to blame.
Hype, 'mercenry' game reviews and a glut of frankly uninspiring games have taken their toll.
Most people who know their games are now very wary of any new release, and the wise wait for others to buy and then check the forums to see what the 'real' game is like, not the image of it the industry has spent tens of thousands to promote.
Still what other option do the big publishers have? When a game costs movie money to make?
Will they realise how to turn the situation around before the money dries up?
How many more development houses will crash and burn?
So im not very sympathetic towards Activision as it now stands - especially concerning CTP2.
If they somehow find some of the old spirit mentioned in that article above i'll be amongst the first to pat them on the back
Posted by Peter Triggs(in the ‘I am Slow’ thread).
'Patience, Grasshopper' (as they say)
I came across this yesterday (on a site that's not allowed to be mentioned around here ):
"quote:When Activision was founded on October 1, 1979 by four veterans of the video and home entertainment industries, the company made history by becoming the first independent designer and marketer of home video game software. Irked by Atari's lack of respect and recognition given to their game designers and programmers, David Crane, Alan Miller, Bob Whitehead and Larry Kaplan left Atari and formed Activision with the financial help of James Levy (who became President and CEO of the company). They were later joined by other talented designers such as Larry Kitchen, Carol Shaw, Steve Cartwright and Alan Miller. Beginning in 1981, Activision released a barrage of first-rate VCS titles that captivated the gaming public and made people aware that Atari wasn't the only one that made games for the [Atari] 2600. Activision not only inspired other programmers and entrepreneurs to set up shop as independent publishers but they also forced Atari, at least temporarily, to improve on the quality of its own games. Activision was quite possibly the most prolific third party videogame publisher in their time, churning out everything from top notch sports games, (Boxing, Skiing, Tennis, Ice Hockey) racers (Grand Prix, Decathlon, Enduro) and even arcade adaptations (Rampage, Kung Fu Master, Commando, Double Dragon). Their original PC games enjoyed less success than Atari 2600 classics such as River Raid and Little Computer People, but did attract a loyal following. Among the most underrated games Activision made for PC are Portal, Ghostbusters, and Alter Ego.Activision was also innovative in other ways. They credited their designers by mentioning them on the manual of each of their games. (Lord British and Roberta Williams came later). Activision also offered patches to gamers who attained a certain score in their games as an added incentive. "
Maybe all this badmouthing they've been getting around here is a bit over the top.' - end
I think we need to keep it in perspective - all this was a LONG time ago, when Activision actually first developed games in house. Now they are publishers only and those ideals of the early days have long gone.
Its a very different ballpark these days - and in a way the industry only has itself to blame.
Hype, 'mercenry' game reviews and a glut of frankly uninspiring games have taken their toll.
Most people who know their games are now very wary of any new release, and the wise wait for others to buy and then check the forums to see what the 'real' game is like, not the image of it the industry has spent tens of thousands to promote.
Still what other option do the big publishers have? When a game costs movie money to make?
Will they realise how to turn the situation around before the money dries up?
How many more development houses will crash and burn?
So im not very sympathetic towards Activision as it now stands - especially concerning CTP2.
If they somehow find some of the old spirit mentioned in that article above i'll be amongst the first to pat them on the back
at the news of the imminent release of the code! My pat on the back is hovering
), so i'm pretty sure nothing recent will run on that, so that leaves my xbox and the only thing that looks slightly interesting to me is Kelly Slaters Pro Surfing.
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