Activision bullish about Skylanders in face of Disney Infinity

by Alexander Sliwinski on Jun 13th 2013 3:00PM

Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, says the company isn't changing its sales projections on the Skylanders franchise, or this fall's Skylanders: Swap Force, in the face of Disney Infinity.

"We're still bullish on our projections. We feel like it was only a matter of time, given the scale of the success of Skylanders, that other competitors entered the genre. That's to be expected," said Hirshberg.

"I get this question a lot on Call of Duty. We have tough competition every year. We have tough competition in every category we play in, it's a part of the business. We try not to focus on it. We try to focus on making the best games we can and exceeding the expectations of our fans and bottling magic."

Skylanders has surpassed $1 billion in lifetime sales since launching in 2011. Disney Infinity will launch this August.

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[Wii U] Activision officially confirms Call of Duty: Ghosts for the Wii U

[Wii U] Activision officially confirms Call of Duty: Ghosts for the Wii U

Activision have put any doubts about a Wii U version of Call of Duty: Ghosts to bed by confirming the game for Nintendo's platform.

That's right, the pointless and frustrating guessing game is at an end.

A press release from Activision revealed that the Wii U version will welcome back Wii Remote integration as well as second-screen support on the Wii U GamePad.

Call of Duty: Ghosts will be available for the Wii U on November 5th.

Will you be picking it up?

Thanks Kotaku Australia.

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[PC, PS3, Wii U, X360] Activision practically confirm Call of Duty: Ghosts exisitence

[PC, PS3, Wii U, X360] Activision practically confirm Call of Duty: Ghosts exisitence
We know that we're building to the next big Call of Duty announcement; especially when retailers were receiving their signage notifications. Well, today we've taken another step towards final confirmation with Activision claiming that "the Ghosts are real."
The above image has appeared on a Facebook page for Call of Duty: Ghosts and on the main Call of Duty website. The Facebook page also credits Infinity Ward as contributing to the latest installment, so all that's left to do now is wait for Activision's first trailer.

Call of Duty: Ghosts has popped up in listings for PC, PlayStation 3, Wii U and Xbox 360 but we'll have to wait for confirmation on platforms from Activision.

Thanks VG247.

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[Multi] Activision poised to announce this 2013's Call of Duty title on May 1st?

[Multi] Activision poised to announce this 2013's Call of Duty title on May 1st?
Well, it is quickly becoming that time of the year where Activision throws back the curtain and reveals their latest Call of Duty game. Although Activision haven't announced any date for the reveal, IGN was sent images of promotional materials indicating that there'll be something Call of Duty related to display after May 1st.
It is worth noting that Activision revealed Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 on the 1st of May last year, so it definitely seems like you can all expect to be snowed under Call of Duty hype in a few days time.

The question is; will this have anything to do with the leaks concerning the mysterious Call of Duty: Ghosts? Listings have been popping up on a variety of online websites, some seem to be hyping a new engine could be on the way.

What would you like to see Activision do with the new Call of Duty game?

Personally, I hope it is actually called Call of Duty Title.

Written by: Kyran Morrison

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Activision Blizzard sees 'best performance in history' during 2012

by Jordan Mallory on Feb 7th 2013 4:49PM

Activision Blizzard and its many, many franchises brought in $4.85 billion dollars in net revenue over the course of calendar 2012, with $1.76 billion of that hitting its coffers during the three month period ending on December 31, 2012. Digital sales represented 32 percent of that total annual new revenue, raking in $1.54 billion.

As far as actual profit is concerned, Activision Blizzard reports net post-tax income of $1.14 billion for the year and $354 million for Q4; a 5.8 and 257 percent year-over-year increase, respectively.

"Activision Blizzard delivered the best performance in its history," CEO Bobby Kotick said in the financial statement. "In the short-term, we expect to continue delivering strong profitability, but below our record setting 2012 performance, due to a challenged global economy, the ongoing console transition and a difficult year-over-year comparison because of Blizzard's record-shattering Diablo 3 success in 2012."

In addition to said Diablo 3 success, Activision Blizzard also lists Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Black Ops 2 and Skylanders among the many reasons that it had such a successful year, with Skylanders as a series having crested $1 billion in lifetime sales.

Looking forward, Activision Blizzard anticipates total net revenues for calendar 2013 to ring up at $4.08 billion, with $1.16 billion of that being generated during the year's first quarter.

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Activision reports $3.4 billion in cash and investments, no debt

by Jessica Conditt on Nov 7th 2012 5:30PM

Activision Blizzard reports $841 million in net revenue for the third quarter of 2012, which is $100 million higher than its outlook of $740 million, and surpasses 2011's Q3 net revenue of $754. For the third year straight, Activision generated more than $1 billion of operating cash flow in the trailing 12-month period ending this quarter, on September 30.

Activision is in the black, with $3.4 billion available in cash and investments, and no debt to speak of, Activision Chief Financial Officer Dennis Durkin reports during a financial call.

"On September 30, we had no debt and $3.4 billion in cash and investments," Durkin says.

Activision cites World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, Diablo 3 and Skylanders Spyro's Adventure as its main revenue drivers: Mists of Pandaria sold through 2.7 million copies in its first week, Diablo 3 has sold 10 million copies and Skylanders was the No. 1 action-figure line in the US for the first nine months of 2012, and topped game-sales charts.

With all that considered, plus the imminent launch of Black Ops 2, Activision raises its calendar-year outlook from $4.3 billion to $4.6 billion.

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Pachter: Activision Blizzard spinoff 'far more likely' than Vivendi sale

by Alexander Sliwinski on Jul 3rd 2012 8:00AM

Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter has weighed in on recent speculation suggesting Vivendi would get rid of its stake in Activision Blizzard, following mounting reports that the French conglomerate is trying to sell the game publisher.

Although a sale is "likely the preferred route" for Vivendi, Pachter wrote in a investor note, there aren't any "readily apparent buyers." Running through the list of suitors, it's noted that companies like Tencent Holdings have reportedly payed out $400 million and $600 million to acquire Riot Games and a minority stake in Epic Games, respectively, but those numbers still pale in comparison to Activision's worth at over $10 billion.

Acquisitions by Electronic Arts, Time Warner and Disney usually stay below a billion. Viacom did a $500 million write-off on its Harmonix debacle. It's also unlikely that any of the console manufacturers would purchase Activision Blizzard, since they would have to cannibalize sales. Activision's franchises du jour, like current champ Call of Duty, make so much money because they are available on every major platform.

Pachter believes the more likely outcome is a spinoff of Activision Blizzard. It would require some fancy financing on the back end, but it would give Vivendi an estimated $5 billion in cash, easing its personal burden. After the spinoff, Pachter feels Activision's shares would rise according to how much cash the company generates every year, paying off its debts. Wedbush maintains an "outperform" rating for Activision Blizzard.

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Activision pays $42 million to Infinity Ward Employee Group

by JC Fletcher on May 15th 2012 9:30AM

Activision has paid out $42 million to the "Infinity Ward Employee Group," which sued Activision in 2010 seeking profits from Modern Warfare 2. A source speaking to Polygon said that the payment was not a settlement; rather, Activision's discovery phase (for its own lawsuit against former Infinity Ward leads Jason West and Vince Zampella) found no evidence that the Employee Group members were complicit in the breach-of-contract issues for which Activision is suing, and so Bobby Kotick and Activision agreed to pay them.

That group sought $75 million to $125 million, plus punitive damages. IWEG attorney Bruce Isaacs told Polygon that "although it is a meaningful payment it is only a small portion of what we are seeking in litigation." And it is still going forward with said litigation. Isaacs said the payment was a "cynical attempt to look good before the jury trial."

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Activision grabs 'Skylanders Giants' domains

by Ben Gilbert on Jan 24th 2012 8:00AM

The land of Skylanders may be getting giant-sized in the coming months, as a smattering of domain registrations bearing the name "Skylanders Giants" recently popped up. A few of said domains even go as far as to call it a full on "game" rather than just an expansion to last October's magical character-swapping action game slash collectible addiction. Just imagine a giant Drobot! The possibilities!

The registrations are still fairly recent according to Fusible, only dating back to January 19, and none are tied directly to Activision. That said, it's common for publishers to register domains for unannounced projects via proxy, which is exactly how these were handled. We've reached out to Activision for comment, as well as Drobot, but don't expect to hear much from either.

Update: Activision offered no comment and neither did Drobot.

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Report: Activision scoops up blackops2.com

by Alexander Sliwinski on Jan 9th 2012 10:30AM

Activision, by proxy, has bought BlackOps2.com. Fusible did the detective work on this, which posits Activision bought up Black Ops domains last year -- up to Black Ops 6 -- through brand protection company MarkMonitor. Black Ops 2 domains were missing from the previous list, but it appears that's being rectified.

Now, none of this guarantees that Black Ops 2 is on the way as this year's Call of Duty, but it does mean that MarkMonitor is under orders to protect the brand for the future.

Call of Duty: Black Ops had a record-breaking debut of $650 million in sales during its first week at retail in 2010, which it held for one year until Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 crushed that with $775 million.

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Activision trumpets $1 billion for Modern Warfare 3

by Ludwig Kietzmann on Dec 12th 2011 10:58AM

As Bobby Kotick nestles himself between a cloud masquerading as a mattress and a gold-trimmed white goose down duvet (the goose has the gold trim, not the duvet), his mind can gently waft into unconsciousness, accompanied by the pleasing crackle of bloggers typing "one billion dollars." Activision announced the enormous sales figure for Modern Warfare 3 this morning, claiming the milestone flew by within 16 days of the game's launch. We hope George Michael was adequately rewarded for providing his flattest cover yet.

The information is derived from retailer sell-through data and the UK's Chart-Track service, and is positioned in comparison to entertainment nemesis Hollywood, where 2009's Avatar took longer to reach the same sales (19 in total if you ask Wikipedia). James Cameron's 3D spectacle rested on an awful lot of noses and eventually reached $2 billion worldwide.

Alas, that's an indication of Modern Warfare 3's diminishing returns in the news sphere. Next year, we want to see two billion bucks before we commit a sentence.

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Activision enjoys record revenues in Q2, digital represents 37% of sales

by Alexander Sliwinski on Aug 3rd 2011 5:40PM

Activision Blizzard enjoyed record revenues in the second quarter (ending June 30, 2011) with $1.1 billion in sales and $335 million in profit, compared to $967 million in sales and $219 million in profit during the same period last year. Overall, Activision has seen revenues of $2.6 billion for the first six months of the year, compared to $2.2 billion in 2010.

Digital sales, like those Call of Duty: Black Ops map packs, saw a 27 percent increase year over year. Digital represented 37 percent of the company's total net revenues, or $423 million in the quarter. Don't take that to mean retail is dead to Activision: $660 million (an increase of 13 percent) comes from ye olde shoppe, though part of that 58 percent of the company's revenues still goes into champagne baths and caviar breakfasts.

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Activision head Bobby Kotick positive but unsure on Vita; sees Wii U as 'really necessary' for Nintendo

by Ben Gilbert on Jul 2nd 2011 1:30PM

When Bobby Kotick's not busy making appearances in major motion pictures alongside Brad Pitt, he heads up Call of Duty publisher Activision. And as head of one of the largest (if not the largest) third-party game publisher, what he says about the future of various consoles can have some major implications. It seems that, like Activision has done in the past with new platforms, Kotick's stance on both Nintendo's Wii U and Sony's PlayStation Vita is "very interested" with a heavy side of apprehension.

In an interview with The Guardian, Kotick spoke to his feelings on the PS Vita. "Technically, we're super excited about what we can do on it, it's really something incredible. The question is, where is the market?" While he's excited by the capability of the PS Vita, and his company has already pledged support, Kotick acknowledged the burgeoning smart phone market for games as well. "It's a really nice product and its very well differentiated from what you can get in even the most capable smartphone or tablet today," he professed.

As for Nintendo's Wii successor, the Wii U, Kotick said that Activision has had dev kits "for awhile now" and that, while Nintendo has yet to fully clarify its online system even to him, the console apparently makes "rich multiplayer games" a possibility -- a first for Nintendo, if true. As far as timing goes, Kotick stated that Nintendo's hardware reveal was a necessity. "For the kinds of games we create, it was becoming very difficult for us to support the Wii with the expectations that our gamers have ... from a development perspective, having a Nintendo device that is on parity with the other hardware from a graphics perspective was really necessary." As you might expect, Activision is apparently "very enthusiastic about it," though he wouldn't detail any specific titles in development at the publisher.

When pressed on new intellectual properties, Kotick deferred to Bungie's unannounced project, as well as "the new MMO from Blizzard" (the rarely spoken of "Titan" project). And as expected, he spoke ambiguously regarding this year's Guitar Hero franchise gutting. "Until we can deliver a really high level of innovation and tap into the high level of creativity and inspiration of the people we have making games, we won't put the products out," he admitted. "That goes for everything -- we've always subscribed to that philosophy." We're not sure that the last few Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk titles would back up Mr. Kotick's claim, but then we're not the corporate figurehead of an enormous public company.

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Infinity Ward suit against Activision going to trial

by Richard Mitchell on Jun 17th 2011 5:44PM

After languishing in the legal system for over a year, the lawsuit filed against Activision by Infinity Ward founders Vincent Zampella and Jason West appears to be moving forward, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The publication reports that a Los Angeles judge has ruled that Zampella and West's claims against Activision have merit -- complaints of unpaid royalties among others -- meaning the suit should finally be going to court.

The news comes months after a judge allowed Activision's countersuit to move forward as well. Both sides of the suit are seeking significant damages. Appropriately enough, with both sides cleared to proceed, it looks like it's finally time for Activision and the former Call of Duty developers to go to war.

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[Multi] Activision announce 'Call of Duty Elite' subscriber model

[Multi] Activision announce 'Call of Duty Elite' subscriber model

Fresh from the embargo-broken state that it is, news has surfaced about the long-planned subscriber service for Activision's multi-million dollar printing Call of Duty franchise.

The service is called Call of Duty Elite and it will act as a digital platform of sorts, it is being developed by Activision's new Beachhead studio. It is a paid service and will be ready in time to compliment this November's Modern Warfare 3, however some aspects of the service will still come free of charge such as a Facebook-inspired 'Groups' feature.

Other bonuses you'll be able to expect from the service are very much like those offered in Bungie Pro. You'll be able to track your stats, analyze player performance and your best weapons that you have the most success killing enemies with. This digital platform will not force you to pay for Call of Duty's regular online multiplayer, which will still come free of charge.

The service will also provide users with the year's map packs as well. No prices have been confirmed yet but expect them to be next week when E3 hits everyone in the face.

Written by: Kyran Morrison

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Activision claims Guitar Hero only 'on hiatus,' gets new DLC

by Alexander Sliwinski on Apr 13th 2011 6:30PM

A dramatic reinterpretation:

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick: But we killed the Guitar Hero franchise.

Miracle Max: Ooh-hoo-hoo, look who knows so much. Guitar Hero is only mostly dead, which means it's slightly alive. See, mostly dead I can work with. Even your own veep Dan Winters just said the franchise was only "on hiatus -- we're not ending it."

Kotick: But we disbanded the Guitar Hero business unit!

Miracle Max: Didn't you hear me? Slightly alive. Now, all dead? Well, if Guitar Hero was all dead there's usually only one thing that you can do ...

Kotick: What's that?

Miracle Max: Go through its catalog of unreleased DLC and gather up the loose change.

New Guitar Hero Music Library additions:
"Lifelong Dayshift" – Middle Class Rut ($1.99)"New Low" – Middle Class Rut ($1.99)"Sad To Know" – Middle Class Rut ($1.99)"Middle Class Rut Track Pack" ($5.49)"Savor The Kill" – Darkest Hour ($1.99)"Beyond The Life You Know" – Darkest Hour ($1.99)"Doomsayer" – Darkest Hour ($1.99)"Darkest Hour Track Pack" ($5.49)"Hey Superstar" – Madina Lake ($1.99)"Ignorance" – Paramore ($1.99)"Across 5 Oceans" – Madina Lake ($1.99)"That's What You Get" – Paramore ($1.99)"Emo Edge Track Pack" ($7.49)
[Image credit: MGM; source: Netflix Move Fans]

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Rumor: Dance Hero under development at Activision

by Alexander Sliwinski on Mar 8th 2011 2:30PM

Activision is allegedly working on Dance Hero, say sources speaking to Kotaku. The site has also been informed that artists like Timbaland, Jay Sean, The Prodigy and Afrojack will be featured in the unannounced title.

There are no further details on what platform the product will be on, leaving the door open to it being something controller-focused like Ubisoft's mega Just Dance franchise or Kinect-driven like Harmonix hit Dance Central. Heck, it could be both; Activision has the cash -- especially after recent unfortunate reductions. Also, depending on how current the information is, there's the slight possibility that the Dance Hero baby got thrown out with the Guitar Hero bathwater.

Housekeeping for such a franchise was already done way back in 2008 when the publisher trademarked Dance Hero. Several years later, with the rise of the dance genre, it would seem the publisher is ready to hit the dance floor.

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No Doubt's Activision lawsuit can go to the next level

by Alexander Sliwinski on Feb 18th 2011 1:00PM

The LA Times reports a panel of judges, agreeing with a lower court ruling, rejected Activision Blizzard's appeal to throw out a suit by the band No Doubt over the use of its images in the game Band Hero. In a classic example of making sure to "read the fine print" on the contract, No Doubt sued after the band felt it was turned into a "virtual karaoke circus act," when its in-game avatars could be used to sing songs that were not its own.

Two years ago, when this whole situation started, the Guitar Hero franchise (and its spin-offs) were adding billions to the Actiblizzard coffers. The Guitar Hero franchise may be dead now, but the lawsuits carry on.

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Activision surprises DJ Hero 2 fans with Pendulum DLC

by JC Fletcher on Feb 15th 2011 10:25AM

With two weeks left in February, each DJ Hero 2 or Guitar Hero DLC pack released seems like it could be the last one, thanks to Activision's announcement that it will curtail Hero DLC after this month. The latest set of tracks to make it out during this series countdown clock is a set of three tracks from the Australian group Pendulum. Interestingly, this pack had yet to be announced ahead of time, despite Activision's assertion that only what had already been announced would be available, and will be available today.

The Pendulum Mix Pack includes "Watercolor," "Set Me On Fire," and "Salt in the Wounds" -- that last one maybe hitting a little close to home for DJ Hero/Guitar Hero fans -- andcosts 640 Microsoft Points or $7.99. Tracks can be purchased independently on Wii for 300 Wii Points each.
DJ HERO® 2 HEATS THINGS UP WITH TRIO OF DOWNLOADABLE TRACKS FEATURING ELECTRONIC MUSIC ACT PENDULUM

"Watercolour," "Set Me On Fire" and "Salt In The Wounds" - All Tracks From The Band's New Album, Immersion - Available Now
SANTA MONICA, CA - February 15, 2011 - It may be cold outside, but budding beat chemists, singing sensations and all their friends can heat up their decks with three exclusive additions to DJ Hero® 2's award-winning mix list, Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) today announced. While Australian electronic music act Pendulum is on tour with Linkin Park, gamers will be able to experience hits off their newest chart-topping album, Immersion, in an all-new way. Virtual DJs can spin, scratch and sing to the best soundtrack in entertainment with three new tracks:

Pendulum Mix Pack (available now):
· "Watercolour"
· "Set Me On Fire"
· "Salt In The Wounds"

The Pendulum Mix Pack will be available on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 640 Microsoft Points and on the PlayStation®Store for PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system for $7.99. All tracks will be released as downloadable singlesfor Wii™ for 300 Wii Points™.

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DJ Hero dev FreeStyleGames in limbo, 'actively working with Activision on various options'

by Ben Gilbert on Feb 10th 2011 12:00PM

Despite reports of "severe layoffs" at DJ Hero development house FreeStyleGames yesterday, a statement issued by creative director Jamie Jackson, design director David Osbourn, and commercial director Chris Lee says that "no decisions have been taken at this stage" regarding the future of the studio. Furthermore, the trio noted, "We're actively working with Activision on various options going forward" -- it all sounds very reminiscent of Bizarre Creations' recent closing, frankly.

It certainly doesn't help that plans for future downloadable content in the DJ Hero and Guitar Hero franchises have been dissolved, not to mention Activision's statement during yesterday's financial call: "We simply cannot make these games profitably based on current economics and demand." Neither Activision nor FreeStyleGames have commented regarding yesterday's alleged layoffs.

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