Microsoft and Activision have signed an agreement that will make their games available across more platforms and give Microsoft an edge in the rapidly expanding video gaming sector.
But some analysts disagree and perceive the company culture to be problematic. A lawsuit filed in California accuses them of creating an intimidating “frat boy” work environment.
Founded in 1979
Four former Atari programmers decided to form Activision with the intention of altering the industry. At that time, hardware makers such as Atari had created video game cartridges themselves as well as writing their games – an extremely profitable strategy until third-party developers emerged and disrupted it all.
Crane, Miller, Whitehead and Larry Kaplan founded their company to change that dynamic. By creating a developer-based company in which designers were integral parts of brand identity; designers’ names would appear on game boxes for greater consumer loyalty. Over time they acquired Florida-based mass market developer Expert Software as a means to enter lower priced software segments of the market; additionally they partnered with id Software on developing hard mech simulator Mechwarrior 2. This marked a major accomplishment by Crane Miller Whitehead Whitehead & Larry Kaplan!
Founded by David Crane and Alan Miller
Crane and Miller left Atari to establish Activision Ban Appeal with Bob Whitehead and Larry Kaplan in August 1979, programming an early development system from their apartments while working together. Pitfall! was their inaugural game that became one of its top sellers.
They envisioned an industry in which game designers were recognized as artists and could share in its profits when games achieved commercial success. Furthermore, they wanted games to stand out on store shelves by packaging them in vibrantly colored boxes that stood out on shelves.
After leaving Activision, David Crane joined Absolute Entertainment under Garry Kitchen. While developing games for Atari 2600, Commodore 64 and Apple computers, as well as designing his own titles such as David Crane’s Amazing Tennis and A Boy and His Blob he also designed some of his own titles such as these two titles.
Founded by Robert Kotick
As Atari was treating them unfavourably, its founders wanted to develop their own games for its console in order to avoid the 1983 video game crash that had adversely affected many original Atari developers.
Kotick had to address a huge debt when he assumed control, which forced him to make radical changes within the company. He dismissed employees, relocated it from New York to Los Angeles and changed back to Activision name.
Once Kotick had emerged from debt, he started purchasing studios and releasing popular franchises such as Call of Duty and Guitar Hero. Additionally, he bought Treyarch Innovation which produced Tony Hawk and Spiderman games, before ultimately merging it with Vivendi to form Activision Blizzard.
Founded by Bruce Davis
Bruce Davis made the leap from Activision to Digimarc after years of service at both companies, holding an Associate of Arts degree in math and computer science from Jefferson College as well as graduating Normandy Senior High School in St Louis Missouri with honors.
Throughout the 1980s, Mediagenic developed its game catalogue to take advantage of new hardware capabilities – color video display and multi-player capability being key examples. Their signature title, Pitfall! sold over four million copies before later earning praise with PC releases like Interstate 76 which foreshadowed games like Grand Theft Auto. As the company struggled financially it was eventually purchased by Robert Kotick who renamed and consolidated business operations under his new company name Mediagenic.
Founded by Mediagenic
Mediagenic soon expanded into other areas of computer software development and changed to Mediagenic; dropping “Activision” for games (except Zork from Infocom). Unfortunately, with North American video game sales slumping and many of their founders now gone, finding new titles was becoming difficult for Mediagenic.
Programmers at Digital Reality were inspired by the success of Atari 2600 hit Pitfall!, hoping to capitalize on an increasing demand for third-party titles. One of their innovations was crediting their programmers in video game instructions – something which soon became industry standard.
Kotick purchased Mediagenic for $550,000 in 1991 and began restructuring it. By 1992, its business had returned to normal – at which point an activist group from Seattle targeted Activision with allegations regarding violent and explicit graphics in its games.