Robert Kotick
Encyclopedia
Robert A. Kotick also known as Bobby Kotick, is the CEO, president, and a director of Activision Blizzard
.
, when he began creating software for the Apple II with financial backing from Steve Wynn. Kotick credits Steve Jobs
for advising him to drop out of college to pursue his entrepreneurial interests in the software business.
In 1987, he tried to acquire Commodore International
. He planned to remove the keyboard and disk drive from the Amiga 500 and turn it into the first 16 bit video game system. He was unsuccessful in persuading Commodore's then Chairman Irving Gould to sell control of the company. He subsequently purchased a controlling stake in Leisure Concepts, Nintendo
's licensing agent, which was renamed 4Kids Entertainment
.
Kotick and his partner Brian Kelly bought a 25% stake in Activision
in December 1990, and became CEO in February 1991. Kotick also served as a founder of International Consumer Technologies and president from 1986 to January 1995. In 1995, International Consumer Technologies became a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision.
Kotick was also a Yahoo!
board member from March 2003 to August 2008, and is currently a board member for the Center for Early Education, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
, and the Tony Hawk Foundation
.
, Kotick stated, "…[P]art of the whole philosophy of Activision was whether you're owned outright or not, if you're a studio you have control of your destiny, you could make decisions about who to hire, flexibility on what products to make, how to make them, schedules appropriate to make them, budgets."
Kotick engineered the Activision Blizzard merge, and stockholders of Activision Blizzard approved Kotick as CEO of the combined company on July 9, 2008. In 2009, as reported by Forbes magazine, Robert Kotick received approximately $3.2 million USD in salary, benefits, options and incentives for his work with Activision Blizzard, of which $953,654 was his actual salary.
Kotick has used Activision Blizzard's industry position to push partners for changes that he maintains would benefit the gaming community. In July 2009, Kotick threatened to stop making games for the PlayStation 3 platform if Sony did not cut the price of the console. Kotick also urged the British government to reward Activision for continuing to invest in the country's pool of game developers by providing Activision with the same kinds of tax incentives provided by Canada, Singapore and eastern bloc countries. Kotick has launched an Independent Games Competition with $500,000 in total available prize money for small developers working with new platforms and has stated that "keeping passion in game development is something that's important to him."
In October 2009, under Kotick’s direction, Activision Blizzard launched Call of Duty Endowment, a non-profit public benefit corporation, which helps soldiers transition to civilian careers after their military service, with a commitment to create thousands of jobs for veterans including those returning from the Middle East. Kotick recruited an advisory board composed of veterans representing the various service branches.
". Kotick described this business strategy as "narrow and deep" or "annualizable" and cited it as key to attracting development talent who may not be drawn to "speculative franchises".
Kotick also created a stir when commenting on Activision Blizzard's peripheral-driven franchises. During Activision Blizzard's Q2 2009 financial results conference, Kotick was challenged over his "comfort level" around high prices attached to "new games that have some expensive controllers" and said, "if it was left to me, I would raise the prices even further." While Spong took the comment at face value, Gamesindustry.biz thought the comment was a joke, but could be seen as "insensitive at a time when consumers are likely to be feeling the economic pinch".
A frequent complaint from the gaming press is the gap between Kotick and Activision's chief consumers. Ars Technica editor Ben Kuchera wrote, "Kotick doesn't play his games, and it shows." However, gaming blog Kotaku reported that Kotick confessed to a passion for video games that "has never really gone away," and "rattle[d] off an impressive list of consoles he's owned in the past and games he loved."
.
Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard, Inc., formerly Activision, Inc. is the American holding company for Activision and Blizzard Entertainment. The company is majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA and was created through the merger of Activision and Vivendi Games, announced on December 2, 2007, in a...
.
Early career
Kotick began his career in 1983 while he was still in college at the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, when he began creating software for the Apple II with financial backing from Steve Wynn. Kotick credits Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
for advising him to drop out of college to pursue his entrepreneurial interests in the software business.
In 1987, he tried to acquire Commodore International
Commodore International
Commodore is the commonly used name for Commodore Business Machines , the U.S.-based home computer manufacturer and electronics manufacturer headquartered in West Chester, Pennsylvania, which also housed Commodore's corporate parent company, Commodore International Limited...
. He planned to remove the keyboard and disk drive from the Amiga 500 and turn it into the first 16 bit video game system. He was unsuccessful in persuading Commodore's then Chairman Irving Gould to sell control of the company. He subsequently purchased a controlling stake in Leisure Concepts, Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's licensing agent, which was renamed 4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment is an American film and television production company in bankruptcy since April 2011. It is known for English-dubbing Japanese anime and specializing in the acquisition, production and licensing of children's entertainment around the United States...
.
Kotick and his partner Brian Kelly bought a 25% stake in Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
in December 1990, and became CEO in February 1991. Kotick also served as a founder of International Consumer Technologies and president from 1986 to January 1995. In 1995, International Consumer Technologies became a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision.
Kotick was also a Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
board member from March 2003 to August 2008, and is currently a board member for the Center for Early Education, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is an art museum in Los Angeles, California. It is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles, adjacent to the George C. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits....
, and the Tony Hawk Foundation
Tony Hawk
Anthony Frank "Tony" Hawk , nicknamed "The Birdman" is an American retired professional skateboarder and actor. Hawk gained significant fame for completing the first 900 as well as his licensed video game titles distributed by Activision...
.
Work with Activision Blizzard
At Activision, Kotick set out to build "an institutional quality, well managed company with a focus on the independent developer." In a June 14, 2010 interview with gaming blog KotakuKotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
, Kotick stated, "…[P]art of the whole philosophy of Activision was whether you're owned outright or not, if you're a studio you have control of your destiny, you could make decisions about who to hire, flexibility on what products to make, how to make them, schedules appropriate to make them, budgets."
Kotick engineered the Activision Blizzard merge, and stockholders of Activision Blizzard approved Kotick as CEO of the combined company on July 9, 2008. In 2009, as reported by Forbes magazine, Robert Kotick received approximately $3.2 million USD in salary, benefits, options and incentives for his work with Activision Blizzard, of which $953,654 was his actual salary.
Kotick has used Activision Blizzard's industry position to push partners for changes that he maintains would benefit the gaming community. In July 2009, Kotick threatened to stop making games for the PlayStation 3 platform if Sony did not cut the price of the console. Kotick also urged the British government to reward Activision for continuing to invest in the country's pool of game developers by providing Activision with the same kinds of tax incentives provided by Canada, Singapore and eastern bloc countries. Kotick has launched an Independent Games Competition with $500,000 in total available prize money for small developers working with new platforms and has stated that "keeping passion in game development is something that's important to him."
In October 2009, under Kotick’s direction, Activision Blizzard launched Call of Duty Endowment, a non-profit public benefit corporation, which helps soldiers transition to civilian careers after their military service, with a commitment to create thousands of jobs for veterans including those returning from the Middle East. Kotick recruited an advisory board composed of veterans representing the various service branches.
Controversy
Kotick has at times been a controversial figure in the gaming community. In part this can be attributed to advocating a business strategy focused on only developing intellectual property which can be, in his words, "exploited" over a long period, to the exclusion of new titles which cannot guarantee sequels. In responding to why Activision Blizzard chose not to publish certain games following the Activision/Blizzard merger, he stated that focusing on franchises that "have the potential to be exploited every year on every platform with clear sequel potential and have the potential to become $100 million franchises" has "worked very well for Activision BlizzardActivision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard, Inc., formerly Activision, Inc. is the American holding company for Activision and Blizzard Entertainment. The company is majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA and was created through the merger of Activision and Vivendi Games, announced on December 2, 2007, in a...
". Kotick described this business strategy as "narrow and deep" or "annualizable" and cited it as key to attracting development talent who may not be drawn to "speculative franchises".
Kotick also created a stir when commenting on Activision Blizzard's peripheral-driven franchises. During Activision Blizzard's Q2 2009 financial results conference, Kotick was challenged over his "comfort level" around high prices attached to "new games that have some expensive controllers" and said, "if it was left to me, I would raise the prices even further." While Spong took the comment at face value, Gamesindustry.biz thought the comment was a joke, but could be seen as "insensitive at a time when consumers are likely to be feeling the economic pinch".
A frequent complaint from the gaming press is the gap between Kotick and Activision's chief consumers. Ars Technica editor Ben Kuchera wrote, "Kotick doesn't play his games, and it shows." However, gaming blog Kotaku reported that Kotick confessed to a passion for video games that "has never really gone away," and "rattle[d] off an impressive list of consoles he's owned in the past and games he loved."
Personal life
A native of Long Island, New York, Kotick resides in California with his family. Kotick had a cameo role in the 2011 film MoneyballMoneyball (film)
Moneyball is a 2011 biographical sports drama film directed by Bennett Miller and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The film is based on Michael Lewis' 2003 book of the same name, an account of the Oakland Athletics baseball team's 2002 season and their general manager Billy Beane's attempts to...
.