In the mid 1980s, video games as an industry had lost its way a bit. Atari had collapsed. There was this widespread collective belief that it was because video games were a fad.
We don't view the App Store as a really big opportunity for dedicated games.
It's about really being considerate of the culture in the game studios that Activision buys. That's the biggest difference between us and any of our competitors.
When we created Overwatch at Blizzard, it was always with the expectation that we would be able to celebrate and recognize our players in a way that would be consistent with traditional sports.
Activision Blizzard has always been about inspiring play, competition, and community for our fans and employees, and that hasn't changed.
When I got to Activision, it was like a carnival. They had a recycling container filled with cans and a sign over it that said 'Activision Takeover Defense Fund.' Activision was making games based on passion and gut instinct. We needed to develop games based on P&L statements and what was going to sell.
The Call of Duty Endowment is a natural philanthropic extension of our brand.
Our mission is to inspire audiences to play, connect, and compete by making the most engaging entertainment in the world, and our talent evaluation process ensures that each new hire shares that commitment.
I think a lot of the time we end up taking people who - and this is sort of a big cultural advantage at Activision - we find people who are, have a graduate degree of some kind - mainly it's in the sciences - and they are in jobs that would never suggest that they were working for anything game related but that they're passionate gamers.
To allow our audiences to watch more professionally produced video content, we acquired Major League Gaming - MLG - and we expect MLG to become the 'ESPN of Videogames' with a focus on the celebration of gamers, both amateur and professionals.
I think Steve Wynn, who was like my mentor and a second father, has been a great inspiration. He's a great mentor because he's a guy who's had great business success but also has always been driven by creativity - and inspired creativity.
Just reskinning games with our intellectual property is not an appealing prospect for opportunity. That isn't something that creates long-term value for shareholders.
Treyarch contributed so significantly to the multiplayer technology that's in 'Modern Warfare 2,' and they didn't really get the credit for that.
If I go play 'Modern Warfare,' I'll find a hundred different things I'd like done differently. And I don't have the discipline to not express my opinion.
We've always operated under the belief that you could run a video game business as professionally as you could run a consumer packaged goods business, and you wouldn't diminish creativity.
In our early days, being recognized on any list of great companies was hard to imagine. There were times when we sold the office furniture to make payroll.
As business models evolve, as the way you distribute content evolves, as the ability to do things online changes in terms of pricing or trial or sample, I think we've definitely always been out in front of the rest of our competitors.
It's private enterprise that can create jobs and fill them. It's business that can train people and make them productive tax-payers. And it's America Inc. that has the most to gain from tapping this extraordinary human resource.
Successful business leaders who have helped build institutions of lasting value - all are committed to talent and a culture of excellence. This is usually accomplished by the identification, retention, and development of great people.
The video game business is primarily a male-oriented business. And I have three girls. And you see the things that are important to them in their game experiences are the social interaction. They love the ability to chat with their friends. They love the ability to have some connection online with other people.
