Bruno Bonnell (CEO of Atari) Interview

[Tannhauser]

You know, I rather wish this fellow had made a comment that would give me an excuse to make a news story out of this interview. Unfortunately, he didn't, but I rather do think people should read this, especially people who expect their games to be decent. This interview is ripe with choice bits. You can read it here.

1UP: Between the rise of companies like Infogrames, Ubisoft, Titus and Microids in the late 1990s, what is it with the French and the videogame industry?
Bruno Bonnell: It's that a generation of French students has been educated under computing and mathematical models. Don't forget the country's depth of culture either. I was a wannabe movie producer myself at first, until I realized I could invent the movies of the 21st century.

As a nation, we had a base of raw talent ready to pounce on any creative outlet, and videogames presented just such an opportunity at the time. But truthfully, most French are bad businesspeople. We kind of burst onto the scene for a while, then lost steam as we went along. It's no wonder only Ubisoft and Infogrames have survived thus far -- these are the only two companies which decided to break out of the Franco mindset.

1UP: Let's look at all the studios you bought, then shut down -- Accolade, Gremlin, Legend, etc. One word: why?

Bonnell: A company is a living body -- people don't understand that. Nothing about a company is set in stone. Let's say you buy an Accolade or a Legend. If a studio isn't performing up to standards, you can always change your mind, change the management, etc. Failing that, you can also incorporate people into other parts of your organization. Shutting down an operation is a purely pragmatic decision -- it has nothing to do with lack of respect. In many cases, a studio, as much as we're fond of it, just may not be delivering the necessary level of quality in its products we demand.

1UP: Where do you see interactive entertainment headed in the years to come?

Bonnell: The future of interactive entertainment is clearly headed towards easier user interfaces and more accessible games. People want to play what they want, when they want. Remember the old days of radio in the U.S.? People listened to music all day long, and programming was formatted. Then we became surrounded by music. The videogame business has been similarly insulated. Now we can download on demand, and play outdoors. Consumers are pushing towards having much more freedom in terms of their gaming experience -- that's why mobile and online gaming is growing.

A second evolution is also going to happen in the space where games have traditionally been seen as an art form. In the past, game designers have viewed making their creations as something like producing an opera...they want to produce something epic, titles that offer 30-40 hours of in-depth (and sometimes open-ended) play. Consumers are moving towards a desire for something more complete, and more exciting. It's as if they want to make the move from opera into pop music.

A new generation of consumers is growing that wants quick, fast-paced entertainment that's instantly gratifying. After all, dancing along to a pop song is more fun than watching a three-hour opera, isn't it? The problem is that in the past, the critics in our game industry have largely been opera specialists. This is going to change going forward.

Does anyone else see the sick humor of Bonnell's statements? I propose we have him removed from the species, to preserve the industry. A single death is little price to pay from preventing him from making any further impact.

 

[Flop]

Damn. This guy sounds like the Jerry Bruckheimer of the gaming industry.

Does anyone else see the sick humor of Bonnell's statements? I propose we have him removed from the species, to preserve the industry. A single death is little price to pay from preventing him from making any further impact.

I'm with you. The line must be drawn somewhere, and I propose we do it here.

 

[Briosafreak]

A new generation of consumers is growing that wants quick, fast-paced entertainment that's instantly gratifying.

Those were the games i used to play in the 80s. He`s not the brightest star in the gaming horizont, and will suffer for that, sooner or later.

You know who i once saw at CNN saying this exact sentence? The president of now bankrupt Akklaim.

 

[Roshambo]

It's no wonder only Ubisoft and Infogrames have survived thus far -- these are the only two companies which decided to break out of the Franco mindset.

Liar. I somehow recall a certain CEO's words about how a crappy game made money based solely on trademarked property alone versus game quality, as if making money was the important thing.

Well, it is, guess which mindset? The same one he says he abhors and has broken from. The humor is increased when you factor in his reply about shutting down game studios because they weren't working up to "par". Apparently "par" for him is just making money, as nothing about EtM remotely reached "par". Shiny used to be known for great graphics, and they didn't even bother for that this time.

Bruno is therefore proven to be just another sleazy lingual whore like Fifi, slagging on his fellow Frenchmen when he in fact is just as guilty or even moreso.

 

[Macaco]

This last weekend i was at a game developing conference here in brazil, and the South american manager of Atari spoke there. He basically said the same things that are on this interview (besides complaining about import taxes and other government related stuff).

Biggest thing about his presentation was him saying games need to be original to sell (haha), and complaining about how little driv3r sold... broke my heart the poor guy...

That kind of shit was half expected, but what made me really sad was the undertone to his speech, basically pointing that we cant make decent games, and should resign to making cell phone games, budget titles (you ha to see how much he praised the (brazilian) developer of the "big game hunter" series).

But two bits of data were interesting: Brazil is responsible for a whooping 0.08% of atari's world revenue, and piracy eats about 65% of the market (used to be 90%, but that decrease has to be taken with a grain of salt, because there was also a loss of average buying power among all layers of the population)

 

[Jabbapop]

I hate pop music!

Most opera is a little too pretentious.

I suggest we find a middle line, and call it Popera!



More accesible games my ass! I like games which are very detailed and provide a rewarding type of difficulty. I don't want my games to play themselves! Down with watereddown user interfaces and shallow gameplay!