Five More Depart Infinity Ward; Former Staff Joining Respawn Entertainment

[Shawn Zipay]

Re: Five More Depart Infinity Ward; Former Staff Joining Respawn Entertainment

Bobby Kotick wasn't the one calling fans "nerds" in interviews or joking about mouse support and graphics settings.
Those guys probably have bursitis from patting themselves on the back and covering their asses at the same time.

Just saying.

That was just Robert Bowling saying that IIRC. As you can see, he's still hanging on at IW and I would not be surprised if he didn't leave at all. Not to defend the guy or anything, but I don't think he was "joking" when he discussed the PC specific graphics settings and mouse support. That's all PC had going for it above the console versions so they had to market it the only way they could to make it seem unique and not just a console port.

And being called a nerd? Let's face it, we are.

As you can tell by the departures, many people at IW are fed up with how Activision was ruining the show there.

[LunaTiK TunaLiK]

Re: Five More Depart Infinity Ward; Former Staff Joining Respawn Entertainment

I remember Activision claimed this was "without merit" also.

Rock group No Doubt has won the latest round in its lawsuit against video game giant Activision Blizzard Inc. over the company’s use of the group’s music and image in the Band Hero video game.

No Doubt sued Activision after the game was released in November, saying its contract authorized the use of avatars representing each of the four band members in three No Doubt songs, but that Activision made it possible for the avatars to be “unlocked” and used in conjunction with several dozen other songs that came with the game. No Doubt argued that Activision breached their contract, which required prior written approval for any other uses of the band’s music or likenesses.

On Thursday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kenji Machida issued a tentative ruling rejecting Activision’s effort to invoke freedom-of-speech protections under the 1st Amendment in defense of the broader use of the No Doubt avatars.

Activision had previously moved to shift the case to federal court, framing it as a copyright issue rather than a right-of-publicity issue as argued by No Doubt, a strategy that also was rejected by the court.

Activision has the right to appeal Machida's ruling.

Updated April 16 at 11:07 a.m.: An Activision spokesman says the company does expect to appeal Thursday's ruling.

-- Randy Lewis