Oh Bobby Kotick, you sure say the darnedest things. Actually, his latest declaration isn't too insulting, though I guess that's up to the reader.

Supporting price hikes, threatening to pull support for the PS3, and now discussing where he would like to see the gaming industry (Activision especially) in the near future. He doesn't sound like any less of a capitalist ogre after he glides over upcoming innovations (like the possibility of console-less gaming), moving straight back into industry speak and reminding us that CEO Bobby Kotick loves money like flies love honey.

Other than that, Kotick predicts that new hardware is still nowhere in sight, as he has not received any word from manufacturers -- usually publishers are told two years in advance before the next generation hits shelves.

While games like Guitar Hero have proven popular for the tactile experience of their peripherals, Kotick said Activision is also working to push the envelop in emotional game experiences. He showed the audience a clip of Call of Duty: World at War, saying his friends in the movie industry all react by pointing out how unreal the mouth movement looks. The executive said game makers just haven't reached a point yet where the mouth movement and facial animation of game characters is good enough to establish a compelling emotional attachment from the player.

To remedy that, Kotick noted a realtime rendering and mouth movement technology Activision has been working on. He showed a clip of the technology, saying it could could represent nothing less than a transformation of the medium. While Kotick said the technology wouldn't surface until the next generation of games, he did say it would be ready before the next generation of hardware.

Kotick added that publishers don't take advantage of the full capabilities of today's hardware, and said it might be some time before the next generation arrives...

RabidChinaGirl via gamespot.com »