Activision: Kotick is passionate about games

As the boss of a huge publishing empire, Bobby Kotick simply doesn’t have the time to play games – that’s according to an official statement made by Activision in light of the quite savage attack made against CEO Bobby Kotick by cult games developer Tim Schafer yesterday.

Tim Schafer’s comment that Bobby Kotick ‘makes a big deal about not liking games’ just isn’t true,” Activision’s senior VP of corporate communications Maryanne Lataif told Industry Gamers.

Bobby has always been passionate about games and loves the videogame industry. But as CEO of a company that makes games enjoyed by millions of people worldwide, the demands on his time now make it difficult to play games as often as he’d like to or as much as he once did.”

The statement seems to fly in the face of the established belief that Kotick doesn’t really have a personal interest in games.

In January last year Forbes said of the exec: In an industry full of passionate gamers, Kotick stood apart: the guy who never picked up a joystick. Still, despite his personal dislike for using his own product, he was determined to make his mark by catering to the needs of deeply passionate game designers.”