Activision still owes me $41. This time, they simply deducted the amount from the last check from this check (which was zero, but since one product lost a few bucks in returns, they deducted the $41 from that). My contract clearly states that losses are carried over into the next check, not the previous, so they're actually in material breach of my contract. It's only for $41, though, so they know I won't take any action against 'em. Even with triple damages, it's not worth pursuing.
I guess I can take comfort in the fact that the $23 million Activision paid for Expert has basically come to nil, as the real value that Expert had (lots of discount-rack space in several major retailers) disappeared while Activision dragged their feet.
John closes his eyes and counts to ten
OK, I'm better now.
Speaking of Expert, I got a message from an Expert alumnus. Alvin Mullins, the product manager for my Expert games. He's now the head of software for the CD Stomper folks. I finally got to meet with him in person a little over a year ago, and we swapped stories. Turns out my games were his first major assignment.
It also turns out that I was correct about Expert's marketing department --it was indeed staffed entirely by spider monkeys that threw their droppings at a board in order to determine name and packaging of their products.
Also speaking of Expert, isn't it time they just put up a banner on their website that says "Sorry, but we don't exist anymore" on their website? As it stands, it's just a front-page connected to a webstore that doesn't work and product descriptions that are no longer there.
Time for some closure, guys.
