"The best range of our history"

Tuesday, opens in Los Angeles at E3, the world exhibition of video games. After a difficult year 2009, particularly for console games, the market could see a modest growth in 2010, under strongman Activision Blizzard, the first publisher in the world, a subsidiary of Vivendi. From the top of 4.28 billion in sales last year, the group seems untouchable: it attracts 11.5 million subscribers in its network game World of Warcraft. However, the sector remains fragile: "The market fell by 20% in Great Britain," warns Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft. The "decline is about 10% in France for PC gaming," said Philippe Sauze, the head of the subsidiary of Electronic Arts, its chief Olympique Lyonnais. But its economic weight is high.The global market for game software grew over 50% in three years, reaching $ 46.5 billion in 2009, against 30.3 in 2006, says Strategy Analytics.

Le Figaro. – What are your predictions for the sector in 2010?

Bobby Kotick – Companies have disappointing results when they are faced with a lack of creativity and innovation. Last year was a fantastic exercise for Activision Blizzard. Our outlook remains positive for 2010, thanks to our range of products. Our position is different from that of our competitors because more than 50% of our profits come not from the consoles. Overall, I think the video game market should grow slightly this year. But we need that Sony and Microsoft will further reduce the price of their consoles, especially in Europe.It seems clear that the higher the price of consoles is low, more games are selling well and the market grows.

The video game lobby E3 is placed under the sign of new interfaces. Will this upset the way he play?

The new interfaces are important, especially in Natal Microsoft Project and Move System from Sony. These technologies help to renew the interest of players and attract new audiences. Similarly, Nintendo 3DS is innovative and it indicates that everyone seeks to differentiate its products from other consoles. But the key element is the price quick pay day loan.We still have much work to be done to further simplify the use of games and ensure that equipment is simple to use.

What do you expect the Big Three, Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony?

Nintendo will not herald major advances for the Wii. But 3DS, with its screen in relief, is a very attractive product. The Xbox 360 is expected to benefit from innovations in online services Live. Finally, Sony has done a very good job with the PS3 is a console game player and a Blu-ray. I think all three console manufacturers are in better shape than last year. In addition, new ways to play show through the iPhone, iPad and televisions. But as the installed base remains weak, we invest prudently.

Facebook has given birth to publishers of small games, such as Zynga.What are your ambitions in social networking?

Facebook represents enormous opportunities for the future, not immediate. Again, we do not want to be first, but the best. We have the flexibility to develop our own games for new platforms, as we did for the iPhone.

What is your assessment for "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2?

We have already sold over 20 million games. We have extensive plans for Call of Duty for five years. It has become a group activity. We have created four divisions, one for Call of Duty, one for network games like World of Warcraft (WoW), one third for musical games and a fourth for our licenses. The organization of the group is in line with the market.

What are your major projects?

Star Craft II: Wings of Liberty and Battle.net are very important.It's the same for Cataclysm, the upcoming expansion of WoW, and new versions of Guitar Hero, DJ Hero. Finally, we develop an online service for Call of Duty. I think we have the best range of games in our history.

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June 15th, 2010 in economy, finance, online, special, world | tags: , , , ,