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Emails that were previously redacted from the ex-Infinity Ward and Activison lawsuit allegedly show EA discussing their intentions to delay Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's first map pack until after the release of Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Documents from the lawsuit include an email from EA's senior director of global marketing Lincoln Hershberger and was sent to several high ranking members of EA including EA's senior vice president of marketing, EA LA general manager, EA's senior vice president and the executive producer of the Battlefield franchise. The email's subject was "The Fall of IW?"
The alleged email was sent on March 3, 2010, just a day after the Infinity Ward firings were made public. The email stated: "A couple months ago, I asked Vince [Zampella] to hold back their map pack until after we launched (he owes me one). Given that they've already made a billion, he was cool with that, obviously Kotick took it as being belligerent."
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 launched on March 2, 2010. CoD: Modern Warfare 2's DLC pack, Stimulus Package, was released on March 30, 2010.
NEWS: Fall of Duty: Activision Fires Infinity Ward Executives
These documents were discovered by Gamasutra and when they asked EA for a comment EA spokesman Jeff Brown said the email was supposed to be a joke. "This was obviously sarcasm," he told them. "It's clear from the email this was a joke and they never spoke. We explained this to lawyers at Activision -- who apparently don't have much of a sense of humor." Activison's cross-complaint sited EA's reason for sending the email was to "boost its competing but less successful FPS franchise." "Less successful," I think they have a slight sense of humor.
We found out earlier this month Activision had requested to add EA to their suit against Infinity Ward. That request has officially been accepted and EA has been added to its $400 million cross-complaint against Vince Zampella and Jason West, the ex-heads of Infinity Ward. EA is accused of conspiring with Zampella and West to break their arrangement with Activision.
Do you think EA and Infinity Ward were in cahoots to delay CoD: MW2's map pack or is Activision just trying to help their case?
Source: Gamasutra
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jeremy2728
Based on activisions evidence presented in their filing against EA i would say yes.
PeterFeB
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s0beit
Sarcasm doesn't translate well over the internet fellas.... hope you learned your lesson.
That said, I'm still siding with IW. This email was no responsibility of theirs and i doubt they delayed a map-pack just for EA, being that they most likely got royalties off of map-packs.
Ben999999
"This was obviously sarcasm," he told them. "It's clear from the email this was a joke and they never spoke.
ummmm, no its not.
tsglass
I said it all along...most want Kotick to lose but...
West and Zampella are guilty, guilty, guilty.
It was obvious before this evidence was released..
No company is just going to fire a team that makes you billions without serious reason. Common sense.
100% true. West and Zampella were lookingto jump ship before they hada legal right to. Open and shut case.
OneEyedJohnny
I wouldn't want to do my best work for someone that keeps me and my co-workers around in a dark basement to do only their bidding with no hope for escape. It's called sabotage. "Workers flung their wooden shoes called Sabo into the machines. Thus you have the word sabo-tage."-Star Trek VI
BONERJAM
This doesn't sound legit.
wazman77
Last i remember i could'nt wait till b.c.2 came out because of how glitchy m.w.2 was. Not because of the lack of over priced map packs.
gamer57
Well who cares if the email is true. I for one, am all for gaming companies sharing success. IW already made billions of dollars so who the hell cares if they were asked to hold off on something that would hinder the success of another really good game. Developers work extremely hard to bring us games that we want to play so why damage the gaming industry as a whole by cutting into their profits and means to make another great game. This is all very petty in my eyes
cardinalsfan1122
@tsglass
Yes but they also wanted to be payed for the work they had done. So they were fired. In Kotick's mind good developers are a dime a dozen. West and Zampella were at a position where they could ask for a bigger cut and Kotick didn't like that. So if you fire them and say they breached contract you don't need to pay them at all. And that probably was alot of money.
cardinalsfan1122
This email was sent inside EA so it could be a joke. Unless they find evidence of an email to West or Zampella asking this favor. Then I'm still on EA's side. Because other than this they have nothing they have evidence that they may or may not have been friends and may or may not have had a BBQ. Doesn't seem like much of a case to me.
Prax150
This is all a shame, because Battlefield >>>>>>>&g t;>>>>>>> >>>>>> COD
blueboykc
sounds like activisions just trying to overwhelm the case by throwing everything they can think of at opposition and the judge..kind of like blind firing with a nuke..you might not kill every damn thing but you know youll kill something..
SaintArsenal
How soon till we find out Namco is part of the cross-complaint for releasing Pac-Man before MW2 Stimulus Package? I'm starting to miss the good times when I was playing the MW2 DLC and didn't know of any of this.
tsglass
I said it all along...most want Kotick to lose but...
West and Zampella are guilty, guilty, guilty.
It was obvious before this evidence was released..
No company is just going to fire a team that makes you billions without serious reason. Common sense.
westpusher
I think the thing to look at is that there is no evidence supporting a claim that this email was anything more than a joke between co-workers that took place after the West and Zampella were fired. If I were the senior director of global marketing for EA, would I actually send an email telling other big names in the company about something this important and possibly illegal months after the fact?
That would an incredibly unorganized conspiracy. This really doesn't match up with several comments Kotick has made about EA being systematic and unfeeling in their acquisition of studios. He essentially accused them of buying them and slapping "EA (Name of Location)" as an arbitrary moniker. So, if they were in fact conspiring against "Actiblizzion" and this is a piece of evidence supporting that, then this was a conspiracy that could go months without updates and allow their communication lines to be admissible in court.
Really, if there is no evidence that proves beyond a reasonable doubt that EA told West and Zampella to take an action that would affect the sales of Activision's precious billion dollar baby, then there is absolutely no case to be had. The fact that they have made an absurd amount of money from the game and map packs regardless of the events after the release, should bring this case down as it stands now. Beyond that, Blacks Ops has outdone MW2 monetarily and would the effect upon the franchise sales not be their largest concern overall?
I have a feeling that Kotick is going to reap what he has sewn. This entire ordeal makes me very put-off by the fact that Bungie signed on with Activision. I have serious doubts that Bungie's favorably attitude will remain throughout the ten years.
drangel_jam
It is funny EA still uses the same dirty tactics they've always had, yet people seam to see them in a whole new light. I never get caught up in controversies, because all I know is what the media reports, and it's almost impossible to get cold hard facts when each party has so much to lose or gain. Sure, it's fun to read about it, but that ain't going to make pick sides, Nor boycott anybody just because of bad PR.
EA is the underdog now, and most people will instantly root for the underdog this goes without saying about the IW guys.
All I'm saying is that there are no saints in this quarrel.
top8cat
The fact that it was sent after their termination means that it holds no real weight. You fired them and are declaring conspiracy because of an email they were going to get? All it shows is that they were frolicking with EA executives. I doubt it will hold much weight in court. Most likely one of the Execs at EA sent it out as pure witticism after hearing about the incident. Who the hell puts "Given that they've already made a billion, he was cool with that, obviously Kotick took it as being belligerent" in a email as serious as your inside "snoop" being removed for manipulating a multi-million dollar franchise.....its a joke, geesh.
They probably have more documents of inconsequential evidence like this to use as ammunition, but they are all most likely blanks and they know it. It sounds like Activision is doing anything that can to postpone the case of the owed bonuses and Respawns development process. At least until EA can no longer support the developers at respawn and/or drowning Zampella and West in legal bills forcing them to wave the white flag. Which I doubt EA will take that sitting down.
However the case goes, I feel for the people with families who followed Zampella and West and are unsure if they'll still have a job after all of this is over.
JoshLouderback
I don't believe EA and Infinity Ward could possibly be that idiotic. If Infinty Ward ever wanted to get back at Activision they know making a great game with EA as Respawn would do the trick. And watch the Call of Duty franchise crash and burn. If anyone even says it is in good hands with Treyarch I will slap you because you are wrong.
And Activision is so greedy it is ridiculous. They keep money from a company that worked hard for it. And now that they are in a law suit and are going to lose it they go crazy and make outrageous claims so they can get out of paying a dime and even make some money out of EA and IW.
Get it through your head Activision this is KARMA biting you so hard in the ass. Pay up and deal with it. If you wanted more money well you should have pleased your game developers and they would have made another CoD that would have made you even more.
I hope you enjoy hell Activision.
Symicide
I just had a crazy thought. I swear this could happen. Watch Valve be the one to have to game that will be the CoD killer.
zimmy91
Oh wow, thirty days without profit! What a killer! Who would have givin a BLEEP!
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