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Randy Pitchford, the chief executive of Gearbox Software, has used a keynote speech at the Develop conference in Brighton to address the issue of vocal, highly critical gamers – with specific references to the controversy over the studio’s 2013 release Aliens: Colonial Marines.
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/15/gearbox-ceo-randy-pitchford-gamer-criticism
“You may know us from such quality games as James Bond Nightfire and Aliens Colonial Marines,” he said.
“There is always the person who’s got to stand on the sandcastle, they must crush it,” he said. “That’s their way of relating to that. It’s typically a less sophisticated mind. There’s a dark part of us all that likes the idea of crushing a sandcastle, but most of us will respect it and let it be. That’s why we like playing video games where we can blow stuff up and no one gets hurt.”
“If you’re making entertainment on a grand scale, if you’re reaching millions, there will be tens of thousands of people who absolutely hate us, and some percentage of those will take it upon themselves to let us known how they feel,” he said.
“I read it in this way: we moved those people, we touched them – even the person who hates [your game] so much, you’ve affected them. That’s why we fight, we’re creating emotion and experience - and some people thrive on that type of feeling, some people are sadists.”
He later went on to say that he “hoped” there would be another Duke Nukem title, the shooter series that Gearbox took on from previous developer 3D Realms. “I didn’t buy the franchise to ensure we could all play Duke Nukem Forever,” he joked, referencing the critically mauled title.
Answering questions from Twitter, he replied to one that asked his opinion on the acclaimed Creative Assembly title, Alien Isolation. “I think [it] is brilliant,” he said.
Addressing the difficulty of facing harsh critics, once again he stated: “A mission to entertain the world is a good one because it’s impossible to achieve. If you’re going to take a risk, some people will like what you offer, and some definitely won’t.”
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/15/gearbox-ceo-randy-pitchford-gamer-criticism