Activision Blizzard announced today it’s hired Eric Hirshberg as the new Chief Executive Officer for Activision’s Publishing Department. He’ll report to Activision Blizzard COO Thomas Tippl, the right-hand man of Dark and Evil overlord Robert Kotick.
Why is this notable? Eric Hirshberg, running marketing firm Deutsch LA, created the persona of Fake VP of everything awesome Kevin butler for Sony. Kevin Butler signalled a huge turn-around for the console manufacturer – through a fun and effective marketing campaign that veered away from the creepy, nonsensical ones past. Considering the general perception of Activision as Hades for game developers, he may be just the man for the job.
“I’m not in the building yet,†he told Kotaku. “I only have my perceptions as a outsider to go on. I think that Activision, based on the number of great gaming experiences they have delivered, should be a more beloved brand than you would think they are by reading the core-gaming blogosphere.
“I think I will be helping to kind of find an equilibrium between that and the general tone of the public discourse.â€
Hirschberg also purports to be a real gamer, having owned just about every console imaginable. He cites Call of Duty, Guitar Hero and LittleBigPlanet as some of his favourite games.
Read more, over at Kotaku
Last Updated: July 14, 2010
