Kotick: "$500m opportunity" in trade-in market
Activision wants to work with retail on resales, also predicts turnaround for music games
Speaking to investors ahead of a lavish pre-E3 party, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick revealed that the publisher is looking for a way to extract profit from the game resale market.
According to GameSpot, Kotick feels there is a $500 million opportunity in the contentious field of trade-in games, and that Activision should work with retailers to come up with a new profit model.
This is a part of the publisher's ambitious plan to become the world's most profitable entertainment company within 10 years.
He called for new solutions, instead of plans like opening proprietary stores or charging used gamers for access to premium or online content. One proffered suggestion was that Activision could offer additional content to retailers, in exchange for a cut of their used game revenues.
It's a field several publishers are exploring for possible revenue. EA has its controversial Project $10, while THQ's Danny Bilson revealed exclusively to GamesIndustry.biz that the company will soon unveil a system that will "make everybody happy."
Kotick also has his eye on the beleagured music games sector, Activision having recently revealed Guitar Hero: Megadeth and DJ Hero 2. Speaking to CNBC about a possible change in music games' fortunes, he said, "Definitely. If you look at that fantasy of unleashing your inner rock star, I think that's universal. I think that there were some structural issues that happened in the industry last year that caused a decline in the category."
"It's a great category I think - it's going to continue to grow, these new artists are a very good representation of the changes we're making in the quality of the music, the quality of the artists. Artists are for the first time understanding the power of our medium, the power of the opportunities with Guitar Hero and DJ Hero. So we're excited about that category."
Music game sales last year dropped from 2008's $1.7 billion in revenue to $875 million. Analysts have predicted a further decline to $600 million this year. Publishers continue to explore the sector nonetheless - EA will also release Rock Band 3 later this year.