Ahh, gaming. What would the point of it be if companies couldn’t extract every last penny out of players through aggressive monetisation? That appears to be a view held by one top industry CEO.
At a time when video game monetisation is coming increasingly under the microscope, now seems like an odd time to make brash and offensive comments about it.
But that didn’t stop former EA CEO and current Unity CEO John Riccitiello. Unity is the engine used in smash-hit games such as Call of Duty: Mobile and Pokemon Go.
Riccitiello recently shared his thoughts on monetisation with PocketGamer.biz. And he didn’t pull any punches.
He was being interviewed about Unity’s upcoming merger with Ironsource. Ironsource specialises in video game monetisation and advertising.
During the interview, Riccitiello was harshly critical of developers who don’t consider monetisation during a game’s early development. He said:
“Ferrari and some of the other high-end car manufacturers still use clay and carving knives. It’s a very small portion of the gaming industry that works that way, and some of these people are my favourite people in the world to fight with – they’re the most beautiful and pure, brilliant people. They’re also some of the biggest f*****g idiots.”
John Riccitiello, CEO, Unity
Despite calling developers “f*****g idiots”, he continued: “It used to be the case that developers would throw their game over the wall to the publicist and sales force with literally no interaction beforehand. That model is baked into the philosophy of a lot of artforms and medium, and it’s one I am deeply respectful of; I know their dedication and care.”
He also pointed out the perceived divide between “those who still hold to that philosophy and those who massively embrace how to figure out what makes a successful product.”
Unity CEO monetisation comments spark furious online response
Unsurprisingly, the harsh criticism hasn’t been received well. One Twitter user said: “If John Riccitiello (Unity CEO, former EA) thinks you’re a “f*****g idiot”, congrats; you’re doing good!”.
Another posted: “Me: I like making games that bring people comfort and joy. Unity CEO: You f*****g idiot.”
In response to the backlash, Riccitiello tweeted: “Clickbait. Out of full context. Deeply sorry if what I said offended any game dev. Absolutely love the people that make games. Creative, hard work.” Boy, that sure does sound sincere.
Adding to the online fury is recent news that Unity has eliminated 263 jobs at the company. Right around the same time it is merging with Ironsource in a $4.4 billion deal.
In the PocketGamer.biz interview, Riccitiello also reflected on why some games may “fail”. And it seems to explain why so many contemporary titles are so grindy.
“I’ve seen great games fail because they tuned their compulsion loop to two minutes when it should have been an hour. Sometimes, you wouldn’t even notice the product difference between a massive success and tremendous fail, but for this tuning and what it does to the attrition rate. There isn’t a developer on the planet that wouldn’t want that knowledge.”
John Riccitiello, CEO, Unity
While these comments are undoubtedly disappointing, they aren’t surprising. Gamers have long thought that top industry executives focus on monetisation over making good games. And this is yet another example.
What’s your opinion on monetisation in gaming? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other gaming articles…
