16 MCV 08/06/10
MCV INTERVIEW MICHAEL RYDER, VP OF INTERNATIONAL, BLIZZARD
WWW.MCVUK.COM
Blizzard’s Starcraft II (left) and World of Warcraft: Cataclysm (right) are two of this year’s biggest new PC games
lambasted Infinity Ward for its decision to use dedicated servers on Modern Warfare 2 and has even taken a pop at Blizzard for proposing that fans use their real names on the forums. But Ryder claims that it is this vocal minority that has helped Blizzard become the company that it is.
“When people are passionate about the games they can be vocal and we want them to be,” he adds. “We benefit from getting their input, and value that. In the case of the names on the forum issue, we were able to hear what they had to say and it caused us to reconsider that. And we decided to hold off on implementing that, and try to achieve the objective of improving our forums in a different way.”
PIRATE BATTLE Ryder also says that it is this community that has helped Blizzard starve off the threat of piracy – which has forced other publishers to move away from the PC market altogether. The firm’s
Battle.net online community system is only open to legitimate copies of Blizzard titles, and the publisher says that this is a fantastic incentive for gamers to buy games legally. “For World of Warcraft we have been able to work well around the piracy issue and we think we’ll be able to do the same with StarCraft II,” continues Ryder. “The
Battle.net solution provides several things. It provides better continuity for the players and it gives
them a stronger way to participate in an overall Blizzard community. But what also goes hand-in-hand with the
Battle.net solution is that we work really hard to offer a tailored, regional business model, so it reduces the incentives to go to a pirated solution.” Indeed,
Battle.net is fully localised for 14 different territories and the firm’s European base in France boasts an impressive multilingual workforce. Blizzard’s titles, World of Warcraft specifically, are global smash hits. And through its ability to engage with audiences worldwide, Blizzard has built a community that is willing to pay for its products. It’s this ability to deter piracy and generate money though subscriptions that has helped Blizzard succeed on a platform where others have not. But the firm hasn’t ruled out a return to consoles.
Blizzard began life working on machines such as the SNES, but hasn’t created a console game since the 1998 N64 release of StarCraft 64. More recently, the company worked on third person shooter StarCraft: Ghost for PlayStation and Xbox, but shelved development of the game in 2006. Ryder says: “When we decide on the kind of game we want to make, and what the gameplay experience will be, we then think about the platform. “It’s about the design decisions and what we think is best for our players. In
“
the more recent years it has been PC and online orientated. But we play all kinds of games at Blizzard. We play console games and we are up-to-speed on the console platforms. And if we see an opportunity where the game design would work well on the console, then maybe we will go that way. We just haven’t announced anything yet.”
RETAIL FRIENDLY The majority of Blizzard’s revenue may come from subscriptions to World of Warcraft, but the publisher has cited its close relationship with retail as a major driver behind its success.
We built our entire business around the retail channel and we expect retail to be a vital part of our future.
Michael Ryder, Blizzard
A new Blizzard release is a rare thing, and so the arrival of each new game is treated like a major launch event. Special edition sets, launch parties and simultaneous worldwide releases are all typical for Blizzard, says Ryder. And StarCraft II’s arrival last month was greeted by midnight openings at retailers across the globe, including one at GAME on Oxford Street. It’s in stark contrast to Blizzard’s PC rivals, who have been increasing their focus on the digital channels.
“Some of our players like digital solutions but many also like the retail solution,” explains Ryder. “So we embrace both. We built our entire business around the retail channel and we expect retail to be a vital part of our future. So just like the event in London for StarCraft II was with one of our retail partners, and we are doing it in cities around the world, we really want retail to be a big part of things for us. The collector’s edition of StarCraft II is only available at retail. So we think it is a great collaboration that we want to continue.”
frenzy around 2008’s Wrath of the Lich King, retail has plenty to get excited about.
Looking further ahead, Blizzard has several other titles in production. There will be two expansions released for StarCraft II, but the next big game to come from the developer is the third in the acclaimed Diablo series. There’s currently no date for Diablo
”
III and Ryder won’t be drawn on one, simply saying ‘It’ll be released when it’s ready.’ And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
And retail should want to continue it, too. If StarCraft II wasn’t enough, Blizzard is preparing a second major release for 2010 – the long anticipated arrival of the next World of Warcraft expansion, Cataclysm. And judging by the consumer
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64