Top 10 of 2009: Interviews
We run down what some of the key industry players had to say in the past year
Mike Griffith, Activision (June)
Heading into 2009 the newly-settling Activision Blizzard had become the world's largest videogame publisher, with super-selling key franchises that included World of Warcraft and Guitar Hero, plus the small matter of the (just-announced in June) Modern Warfare 2.
But the first half of the year hadn't been quite so super for the music genre titles, so with Guitar Hero 5, DJ Hero and Band Hero all arriving before Christmas, how was CEO Mike Griffith feeling about their prospects?
Q: Has it been challenging integrating a hardware business into a software company?
Mike Griffith: It started slow and organically and it felt more like an evolution. In the early days we had a lot of difficulty manufacturing enough guitars and a lot of difficulty with our logistics systems. In the early days of Guitar Hero we added capability and built a lot more support with people on the ground in Asia and logistics in Europe and North America and now we're pretty good of it.
Q: Does hardware compress margins significantly when you're selling it alongside software? I imagine it's not so much the case with Guitar Hero but with DJ Hero and Tony Hawk: Ride do you have to bite the bullet and take a hit on profit in the first six months of release?
Mike Griffith: We're as much focused on giving the consumer a great experience as we are giving the share holder a return on their investment. We don't really break our goals out item by item but I can tell you our objectives of delivering a return apply across the board.
Q: Do you expect peripherals to remain a significant part of this generation of console gaming?
Mike Griffith: They're going to be a big part for the rest of this cycle. The consumer has seen the advances in this technology, and seen peripherals take advantage of technology to deliver a more physical interface. The consumers has been very accepting of that and it's bought new consumers into gaming. Having said that, I don't think peripherals are taking over the gaming market. There are games like Modern Warfare 2 that don't require a peripheral and perhaps a peripheral would get in the way.
Q: Bundling peripherals with software makes the overall package expensive. You haven't seen a reaction from consumers that maybe this is getting too expensive?
Mike Griffith: We haven't and I think the consumer is saying if the value is there in terms of the entertainment experience then the price is fair. If you also look at in the economic downturn, traditionally stay-at-home entertainment vehicles have done better. Part of that is recognising the value that a videogame delivers. If you look at the extended life of a game, take the purchase price and divide it by the hours played, videogames become a very attractive prospect. While consumers aren't calculating the hard numbers, intuitively they understand that you can buy a videogame for about the same price as taking four people to a movie and it'll keep those same four people entertained for longer.