I think hes doing one hell of a job...
Hes a businessman, not a gamer.... Sadly, most of these stocks are ran by gamers/programmers that dont know how to secure a strong long term investment for their investors.
I love the model of developing games with CONTINUAL revenue... Not just a one shot sale.
"Now he wants to raise prices of his games. Gamers and investors alike may look elsewhere, imho. "
LOL... No they wont... This company makes the BEST games. People pay for QUALITY ($15 per MONTH for WOW)... Watch how massive Starcraft gets. Its still extremely popular in many Asian countries... I bet the opening day shatters all sales records on any game in history.
Many people dont like and/or have the time to sit for hours and play WOW, but most every strategy gamer loves to sit down and play a quick SC or Warcraft (original) battle.... Expect to pay a fee as well. The original SC was free online. FYI, the new Battle.net site might charge one fee for multiple games, drawing people to their other titles.
Theres huge $$$$$ coming down ATVI's pike... There will possible be many more acquisitions of their failing competition as well. Hes a smart CEO and knows when to wait for them to bottom out and surrender.
IMO this is GREAT investment long term