In the face of flagging console sales, Activision overlord Bobby Kotick isn’t worried – after all, less than half of Activision’s money comes from consoles.
We may all be basking in the post-E3 glow of our favorite hobby here, but let’s not forget that just two short months ago, the videogame industry had the fourth largest sales crash since they started tracking that sort of thing. Console sales and sales of disc-based media are slowing down … but when asked by the Wall Street Journal if he was concerned, Bobby Kotick said he wasn’t: “I care a lot less [about console retail sales]. It used to be, I would religiously look at weekly retail sell-through data, but it’s a very small part of our business now.”
In fact, he revealed to the Journal just how small a part of Activision’s business consoles really were. “Today, probably 70 percent of our operating profit comes from non-console-based videogames. So, while you might see a month-to-month change or volatility against expectations, that doesn’t really get us too concerned.”
Considering just how many console titles Activision publishes – and just how staggeringly well Modern Warfare 2 sold last year – that really is an incredible statement. It can’t even be explained away by interpreting Kotick’s comment as referring to non-retail DLC for consoles like the ridiculously popular “Stimulus Package” for MW2, either: Gamasutra asked Activision and was told that no, Kotick genuinely meant “non-console-based” games.
Which essentially means that Kotick is effectively saying that the PC accounts for 70% of Activision’s business. Hmm, I wonder where all that money is coming from. It’s almost like there’s a really popular PC game out there for which millions of people pay monthly, or something like that.
You better thank Blizzard every night before you go to bed, Bobby. They’re the ones paying your bills.
(Via Gamasutra)
