Book Review: Play Nice by Jason Schreier

I finished this book last month. Why post about it on a blog that's mostly about tabletop gaming? Why not? Besides, videogames and tabletop games aren't nearly as separate as some folks prefer to believe.

I think the axe in the title is an interesting touch.

Play Nice presents a balanced view of Blizzard Entertainment, its history, and its role in the video game industry. I found the first third of the book - covering the company's early years - to be an enjoyable romp through nostalgia filled territory. Those were the days when Blizzard earned its reputation for putting out quality games over minor matters like deadlines.

Bobby Kotick shows up a third of the way into the book and takes a larger and larger role in Blizzard and the book's narrative over time. Schreier doesn't go out of his way to villainize Kotick, but even a dry accounting of his statements and actions would prompt questions. Kotick is the usual modern investor bro. He displays a shallow understanding of video games other than how to maximize profits from them. His vision extended only as a far as the next financial report. When running Activision, he proudly sacrificed long term viability by running popular franchises into the dirt with relentless release schedules - a move that Blizzard resisted. The book repeatedly shows Kotick challenging the costs of projects in incubation only to seize the credit the moment there was a whiff of profit to be had.

In short, Kotick seems the type to put a certain fabled goose in a noose to maximize golden egg production. Then cook the remains to maintain consistent profits for the following quarter.

The last third of the book is depressingly familiar to anybody who's worked in the corporate world. Constant demands to meet arbitrary standards. Destructive policies still in place after being implemented by long gone executives. Then the song and dance after a takeover to boost morale followed by layoffs and restructuring. All leaving an empty shell of a company with none of the people who made its reputation still around to work their magic.

Fans of video games who desire a deeper understanding of the industry would do well to start with this book. On my part, there's a few of Blizzard's unused ideas that might make their way into the kinds of games I run at the table.