Blizzard's Mike Ryder

As StarCraft II launches globally, the VP of International talks social gaming, Activision, audience expectancies and digital vs retail

Feature by Alec Meer Contributor

Published on July 26, 2010

8 comments

GamesIndustry.bizHas there ever any pressure to extend your brands beyond the core titles, from the parent company or whoever else? Or does your place at the heart of Activision Blizzard mean no-one would dare even ask?

Michael Ryder

Things haven't changed at Blizzard since we've merged with Activision. Blizzard culture is still the same. We still make the games that we want to make. We still have the same culture about the quality and the way we work so we're pretty happy…

Carl Chimes

Yeah, we're really proud that it's Blizzard Entertainment that has developed and published StarCraft II. As a developer at Blizzard, I've been there 10 years, the only thing I've noticed change since the merger is free copies of Guitar Hero.

GamesIndustry.bizYou've both used that line a couple of times: "we make the games that we want to play." Is that absolutely the case with StarCraft II specifically? You have a huge audience heavy with expectations and sense of entitlement here, and guys who actually evolved StarCraft into the game it is today - does that really leave your hand free?

Michael Ryder

I wouldn't describe it as feeling constrained, I would describe it as taking what was already there in StarCraft 1, the existing communities of players and the things that were really working, and building on successes and then trying to take it beyond those areas and then adding additional things… like the storyline in StarCraft II is a big boost to immersing players in the storyline. So I wouldn't describe it at all as being a constraining thing in going from StarCraft 1 to StarCraft 2.

GamesIndustry.bizDo you have a sense of what the uptake's going to be in the traditional market for the game – there has been conjecture that while most Korean players are excited about it, they may prove hard to prise away from the first game.

Michael Ryder

We’re happy that people are continuing to play StarCraft 1. We don't mind if people continue to play StarCraft 1. We think that when they see StarCraft II and the new graphics and the number of improvements that we've made, we think and expect that people will move to StarCraft II but we think StarCraft 1 was a great experience, and if people want to continue to play that, that's okay too.

GamesIndustry.bizThe research you've done, in terms of patterning of how people, especially in Korea and the pro-gaming market, are going to upgrade – are you expecting a single huge surge, or is it more about gradually convincing people to do it?

Michael Ryder

I don't think we know. I think that we're excited by StarCraft II, so obviously we think the people will be excited and want to move on to StarCraft II as well. But we really can't predict how quickly people are going to move.

Read this next