[quote name='DPsx7']Technically they aren't even Activision games. But no, RTS's aren't that entertaining. I only played one or two. And if they were doing so well then why is Activision whining? Talk your way out of that one...[/QUOTE]
Before I start this, let me say that I believe that you are being deliberately obtuse in order to stir up shit on the internet. If I'm falling for your trap, bravo, you got me.
I don't really enjoy football games. I like watching the sport on TV but every time I try and pick up a football videogame, it falls flat for me. I can never seem to find the balance between utterly destroying the computer and getting raped 56-0 in my first preseason game. Multiplayer is similarly difficult because inevitably, every Madden game has a few key plays that work very well an inordinate amount of the time. As I'm not up to date with the games, I don't know what those plays are or how to defend against them and wind up being demolished without really understanding why.
All that aside, I cannot discount the success of the Madden franchise. It rakes in tons of money for EA and that money comes from people who genuinely find a game that I find dull, enthralling. For me, football games aren't entertaining. For millions of other people, they are the highlight of their videogame playing year.
You don't find RTS' entertaining. Millions of other people, myself included when the mood strikes, do. Your statement that, "I only played one or two." indicates that your opinion on the entertainment value of RTS games is a shallow one. There's nothing wrong with that, I certainly don't spend hours and hours getting frustrated at football games to validate my personal opinion on them. At the same time, I'm not arrogant enough to declare football games dull simply because I don't enjoy them.
Activision is full of shit, that much I certainly agree with you on and their whining is laughable. I don't think that the whining comes from their resident RTS gods, Blizzard. Blizzard divorced itself from consoles a decade ago (if not more) and haven't looked back. In a world of diminished PC gaming, Blizzard managed to cultivate and maintain a staggeringly successful MMORPG while simultaneously supporting older titles and developing new ones.
Like what you want to like but dismissing franchises like Diablo and Starcraft off hand is akin to an art critic writing off Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel by saying, "This painting is too old to be good."