Activision - Maybe the Record Companies Should Pay -US-...

[Hiryuu]

Seems Kotick wants to stick it to the man...

And not too long ago, it was the reverse.

[The Butthole Surfer]

I agree. Music/Rhythm games are practically free advertising for companies, PLUS the game makers have to pay for the rights to the songs.

[CStarFlare]

Guitar Hero is almost completely built off of licensed music; the series wouldn't have gotten off the ground (and might not survive) without it. Inclusion in the best selling game of 200X might be kickass promotion, but Activision still sees 100% of the revenue that is earned via their game and other people's music.

The thing is, both paying and being paid to put a song in Guitar Hero are decent ideas, depending on the circumstances. AC/DC doesn't need Activision's help to be successful, but Dragonforce's sales probably surged after GH3 came out, while I don't think a lot of people bought GH3 for Dragonforce (aside from difficulty whores, who would have been satisfied with anything as long as it was hard).

[Alex]

Bobby Kotick is a douche. Plain and simple. Video games aren't free airtime on the radio, and no record company would ever pay to get their songs in a game. Even this shows his "ingame content goes to the highest bidder" mentality, which is why there's so many ads in Activision games. (Sorry, but if you think 5 Gum and Axe body spray were included in parts of GH3 because of how close they tie into the rock lifestyle, you're retarded.)

If Kotick doesn't think they should pay licensing fees, then Neversoft had better hope they get some better in-house talent than Steve fricking Ouimette.

[Zeon0087]

Originally Posted by Alex

Bobby Kotick is a douche. Plain and simple. Video games aren't free airtime on the radio, and no record company would ever pay to get their songs in a game. Even this shows his "ingame content goes to the highest bidder" mentality, which is why there's so many ads in Activision games. (Sorry, but if you think 5 Gum and Axe body spray were included in parts of GH3 because of how close they tie into the rock lifestyle, you're retarded.)

If Kotick doesn't think they should pay licensing fees, then Neversoft had better hope they get some better in-house talent than Steve fricking Ouimette.

I could understand instrument brand names given they are part of the music giving it more realism, but yes.. when I saw Axe I thought it was dumb.

[Angel Jin]

i could care less. it's not a good game anymore.

is this the same guy that ripped on Harmonix for adding a cymbal pack as "an emergency response to our drum kit?" that guy is a moron.