Strong worldwide sales for Call of Duty 4, Guitar Hero III and Spider-Man 3 drove the considerable growth, supported by Transformers: The Game and Shrek The Third. NPD data also shows that GHIII was the year's best-selling game in the U.S. and Europe in dollars during the year, while CoD4 was the number two worldwide best-seller in Europe, and the number one highest-earning PC title worldwide. Both franchises have surpassed a billion dollars in sales since launch.

It was the most profitable fourth quarter ever for Activision, even though the publisher did not release any new titles during that period. With its overall growth outpacing the rest of the market by more than four times, the company is now the number one console and handheld software publisher in dollars, according to NPD Group data.

Activision also said that a thriving video game industry overall bolstered the $1.39 billion growth on the year and near-doubling on the quarter. On the company's call to investors, chairman and CEO Bobby Kotick said he expects the install base of next-gen consoles to continue growing by 60 percent over the coming year, and that current software price points should hold, though he said the company would "monitor prices closely and remain mindful of competitive practices."

Kotick also said the Guitar Hero franchise would "continue to expand, through more SKUs and more hardware innovations, including the first peripheral ever created for Nintendo DS."

Also upcoming on the company's release slate are Enemy Territory: Quake Wars for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3; Kung Fu Panda on the Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, Windows PC and DS; Guitar Hero: On Tour for DS, and Guitar Hero: Aerosmith for Xbox 360, PS3 and PS2.

Additionally, a game based on the upcoming James Bond: Quantum of Solace film will release concurrently in Q3, developed on the same engine as CoD4. Kotick also said that "we're reinventing Tony from the ground up," hinting at big announcements to come regarding innovation on the Tony Hawk: Pro Skater franchise. "This won't be your father's Tony Hawk," he promised.

Activision also announced today that it will release downloadable content "for certain key titles" at the end of 2008, an area in which the company says it sees "continued growth and emerging opportunities."

Primarily, the company looks ahead to the finalization of its merger with Vivendi Games (notably including Blizzard Entertainment and its market-leading World of Warcraft), which still requires stockholder approval and other closing procedures.

Through the partnership, the company is planning moves into the MMO business in both North America and Asia. Activision's September 2007 acquisition of Bizarre Creations also positions the company, it said, to enter the racing game genre.

Kotick said that the company's studio structure positions the company advantageously, as it "allows studios to maintain creative culture which gives edge in attracting talent and fostering creativity." He also said that Activision remains the only publisher not to delay a key title during the year thanks to its proficiency in next-gen console development and the strength of its studio structure.

"Fiscal 2008 marks the 6th consecutive year we have grown our business," Kotick. "This achievement would not have been possible without the creativity, hard work and dedication of our employees and our commitment as a company to deliver long-term shareholder value."

"Over the last two decades Activision has had many successful years. However, this fiscal year was a breakthrough year for the company."

E3 is not the boon to publishers that it once was, says Penny Arcade's director of business development Robert Khoo, who as the organizer of the PAX fan expo clearly has an interest, to say the least, in how things turn out.

"The reason that E3 imploded in recent years was because the publishers felt that it turned into this sort of pissing contest between them... where they were trying to figure out who could one-up each other," Khoo said. "They all thought to themselves that it just wasn't worth it."

The controversial decision to re-format last year's E3 into a smaller, more toned-down event was what Khoo calls "a self-correcting measure by the members of the ESA," in an effort to address its constituency better.

"I would imagine that that show is still trying to look out for what the publishers want - that's the whole goal of that trade association, which is to deliver the needs and try to figure out what their members actually want."

Neither Khoo nor Penny Arcade are ESA members, so he couldn't speak to whether the association is acting optimally to assure its members' best interests. "The real question is whether a show like E3 is something publishers want," Khoo said. "I guess Activision, Sierra, Blizzard, Vivendi feel that is not the case."

Earlier today we reported that several companies skipping E3 blamed their departure on "business issues," which analyst Michael Pachter pinned on poor timing for the July event, inconvenient to those companies' fiscal calendars and overlapping with times during which they must observe a "quiet period" and avoid communicating with investors.

"That blackout period is definitely interesting," Khoo said. "We don't really deal with that at all, just given the timing of our show, because its smack dab in the middle of the quarter. I'm sure that is a genuine concern, but since the third quarter ends at the end of September, it doesn't affect us at all."

According to Khoo, the years where publishers knew what to expect from E3 appear to be over, and that's hurting the event and potentially the ESA by association. After last year's "transitional period," quite a bit looks still to be up in the air, he said.

"It's in flux, and since publishers have that level of uncertainty, that is an unattractive trait to have going into a fairly large investment not knowing what you're going to get out of it."

Several industry sources expressed the same opinion as analyst Pachter: that Gallagher's lack of involvement in the industry not only results in poor planning and poor communication regarding E3, but may weaken the ESA's power to serve the video game industry in the long run.

When prior president Doug Lowenstein gave his final, impassioned speech at DICE 07, he vented his frustration at developers and publishers who refuse to defend their creative work when it's controversial, saying, "Don't duck and cover when the shit hits the fan."

But that's largely what Gallagher did when the association failed to publicly defend Mass Effect during the infamous Fox News "SeXbox" controversy. In an interview with GameDaily, he promised to "support the thrust of the industry activities and the reaction of the video gaming community," but refrained from taking any public position on behalf of the ESA.

However, plenty of the major publishers, including Capcom, Take-Two and EA, continue to support both E3 and the ESA. "It seems that at least four very large members are on the floor and doing press conferences, and it seems like a fifth unaligned company is doing a large event contiguous to that," said EA's Jeff Brown, VP of corporate communications. "That means that there's going to be no problem getting a crowd into LA for E3 this summer."

For the first time in several weeks, Take-Two is in agreement with EA on something: "As a member company, Take-Two Interactive supports the Entertainment Software Association, its leadership and its efforts on behalf of the industry," said CEO Ben Feder. "Mike Gallagher has done an outstanding job as president of the ESA and we look forward to participating in the E3 Media and Business Summit this July."

"No plans to drop out, no issue with Mike, no comment," Capcom said, when asked for their thoughts on the usefulness of the ESA and the fate of the event.

Atlus USA is one of the companies declining to participate in this year's E3, but spokesman Aram Jabbari stopped short of placing the blame on the ESA. "The nature of the show changed when they changed it from a consumer show to an invite-only press show," he said. "A lot of things have changed, but our participation doesn't have to do so much with the changes... we just chose not to exhibit this year and we do wish the ESA and all the exhibiting companies the best of luck."

NCsoft said its refusal to attend E3 was related to a timing issue with their internal development schedule and not with any conflicts about E3, but PR manager Mike Crouch declined to comment on potential issues concerning the state of the ESA. "One of the primary functions of the ESA is to manage E3," Crouch said. "And we still believe in E3, and we would have gone this year had the timing worked out for us. In that regard, we don't have anything negative to say about the usefulness of ESA."

"We would have definitely found E3 useful had it fit into our schedule this year. The judgment would be the ESA serves its purpose as far as we're concerned, as far as E3."

"While the Entertainment Software Association remains the preeminent voice for U.S. computer and video game publishers, we can confirm that Activision and Vivendi Games opted to discontinue their membership. The ESA remains dedicated to advancing our industry's objectives such as protecting intellectual property, preserving First Amendment rights, and fostering a beneficial environment for the entire industry. Our high level of service and value to members and the larger industry remains unchanged."

- Rich Taylor, Senior Vice President of Communications and Research, Entertainment Software Association

This comes a day after it was noted that Activision and a number of other notable publishers were not listed as showing at the industry's big conference.

Neither Activision nor Vivendi have responded to requests for comment. More as this breaking story unfolds.

We have contacted the ESA, Activison and Vivendi for comment and will update the second we hear back.

In 2006 the association announced they would be reworking the annual E3 conference after publishers complained about the expense and focus of the event. Last year it was reworked and made smaller, cutting down on the number of press and publishers allowed to attend and held in Santa Monica rather than Los Angeles. This year the event is moving back to the LA convention center but keeping the smaller, more intimate format.

Tremblay was Vivendi's worldwide studios president since 2006, overlooking the release of titles including Scarface: The World is Yours, World in Conflict, the Crash and Spyro series and F.E.A.R on consoles. Prior to that, Tremblay was President and COO at Ubisoft Montreal.

Warner Bros. has been creating, licensing and publishing some of the best in class interactive entertainment out there today," said Tremblay. "I look forward to working with the team of talented and creative people at WBIE to expand on the great work they are already doing."

Tremblay will begin at WBIE in July 2008, and will report directly to Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group president Kevin Tsujihara.

The Commission said for "all categories of game software, the combined firm would continue to face several strong, effective competitors, such as Electronic Arts, and the game console manufacturers, such as Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft".

EU approves Vivendi-Activision deal [Reuters - Thanks Thibaud!]

Yeah, sure, I like "In Da Club" and "Hate It or Love It" too, but just because the dude has some finger snapping jams doesn't mean we need another game with his visage slapped on it, do we? Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to a wall, Vivendi Games!

EGM SOCOM Cover! [The Real SOCOM]

The audience is always behind Bourne. Bourne is always thinking two or three levels ahead. He's going to deliberately let himself get captured by holding his hands up, and when somebody gets close to him, he executes a quick reversal and kicks people out.

... So how do we do that with the player? For a long time, we wandered down these alleys, like, "Okay, we'll let the player do a mission plant. We'll sneak into the areas ahead of time, plant weapons, case the joint, and figure out where everything is." We just thought we'd end up with a watered-down version of Splinter Cell. It wouldn't be as good or as interesting as that game. So we decided to go up-tempo with the action.

How we tried to preserve the character's thoughtfulness and his improvisation is in the contextual interactions with the environment. What'll happen is when Bourne is fighting, he executes these takedown moves, and depending on what's in the environment, you get different outcomes. The controls are simple, but the outcomes are a surprising and complex.

The interview is a bit longish, but well worth a read through.

Designing Filmic Games: Paul O'Connor And The Bourne Conspiracy [Gamasutra]

The merger, stock purchase and tender offer, working in concert, convey control of Activision to Vivendi but fail to offer the Activision stockholders an opportunity to realize a true control premium for their stock.

it was revealed that Activision and Vivendi management actually got together to discuss a possible merger as far back as November 2006. It wasn't until April and May of last year that talks really heated up, however ....

After going back and forth over certain transaction terms, in June Jean-Bernard Lévy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Vivendi called up Activision head Bobby Kotick "to advise him that, due to the meaningful differences between the two companies' proposals and lack of any apparent progress, he did not think it made sense to continue discussions concerning a possible transaction at that time."

And this goes on and on until we wind up with the announcement that had me reaching for another cup of coffee in December. "The Transaction" section is interesting to page through, if only to get a closer look at how these seemingly out of the blue business transactions come into being.

The Activision Blizzard Deal That Almost Wasn't [GameDaily]

What is this new Blizzard MMO?
Demons, the Blizz don't do new IP.

Next, she makes a pretty interesting counterpoint to those who call EA evil all the time.

What do you think of EA? Industry leader committed to quality, innovation and originality. No other company would have let Will Wright make Spore and definitely no one else would give Will tens of millions of dollars to develop a game about evolution with complete creative freedom. No one else would spend tens of millions on marketing on said title. Et cetera.

Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan told GameDaily "EA has no interest in TTWO, too much to turnaround, and no guarantee of keeping the talent." He adds "EA has enough problems with their own turnaround, doesn't need the headache", pointing to a potential Rockstar Games split from its publisher in 14 months.

Mike Hickey of Janco Partners responds that if EA's going to be buying, they may very well snatch up Take-Two. "The most obvious potential acquisition in our view would be Take-Two Interactive", he says, as the acquisition of Take-Two could "eliminate their most powerful competitor in the sports market, improve their overall sports portfolio product quality, allow entry into sports categories currently protected by exclusive licensing agreements (MLB), and with essentially the same cost structure."

Having the Grand Theft Auto series under the umbrella wouldn't be so bad, either.

Majority consensus is that EA will still continue to expand, but may looking to less expensive purchases, a move into Asia and a couple of new Borg cubes with with to expand their empire. Sorry, still have Star Trek on the brain.

EA's Next Big Move: Take-Two? [GameDaily]

• WoW is not coming to consoles.
• But if a Blizzard title were to come to consoles, Blizzard would manage it.
• Actiblizzard will have 15% of worldwide gaming market and 6000 employees.
• Blizzard announced their revenue for the year: $1.1 billion. Reports suggest that upon the announcement, Activision quickly moved a nearby file over their crotch.

Activision Blizzard Update [MTVmultiplayer] [image]

In fact our games have never been branded as Vivendi. The Activision Blizzard brand will not appear anywhere as a consumer-facing brand. Basically it is a corporate brand for the overall company. If you want to buy stock in the company, the stock is called Activision Blizzard; the central shared services for the company, such as the sales and distribution force, will be Activision Blizzard. But Blizzard Entertainment will continue to be a publishing label... You should not see it [Activision Blizzard] on anything. It will not be associated with any product.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. & PARIS, Dec 02, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE) —
Activision, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) and Vivendi (Euronext Paris: VIV)
today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to
combine Vivendi Games, Vivendi's interactive entertainment business —
which includes Blizzard Entertainment's(R) World of Warcraft(R), the
world's #1 multi-player online role-playing game franchise — with
Activision, creating the world's largest pure-play online and console
game publisher. The new company, Activision Blizzard, is expected to
have approximately $3.8 billion in pro forma combined calendar 2007
revenues and the highest operating margins of any major third-party
video game publisher. On closing of the transaction, Activision will
be renamed Activision Blizzard and will continue to operate as a
public company traded on NASDAQ under the ticker ATVI.

Activision, one of the world's leading independent publishers of
interactive entertainment, is best known for its top-selling
franchises, including Guitar Hero(R), Call of Duty(R) and the Tony
Hawk series, as well as Spider-Man(TM), X-Men(TM), Shrek(R), James
Bond(TM) and TRANSFORMERS(TM). Blizzard Entertainment, a division of
Vivendi Games, has projected calendar 2007 revenues of $1.1 billion,
operating margins of over 40% and approximately $520 million of
operating profit. Blizzard owns the #1 multi-player online
role-playing game franchise, World of Warcraft, which currently has
over 9.3 million subscribers worldwide. Blizzard's World of Warcraft,
Warcraft(R), StarCraft(R) and Diablo(R) games account for four of the
top-five best-selling PC game titles of all time. Vivendi Games also
owns popular franchises, including Crash Bandicoot(TM) and Spyro(TM).
Pro forma for calendar 2007, Activision Blizzard expects to generate
approximately 70% of its revenues from owned franchises. As a result
of the business combination, Activision Blizzard expects to have the
most diversified and broadest portfolio of interactive entertainment
assets in its industry, positioning the combined company to capitalize
on the continued worldwide growth in interactive entertainment.

Jean-Bernard Levy, Chairman of the Management Board and Chief
Executive Officer of Vivendi stated: "This alliance is a major
strategic step for Vivendi and is another illustration of our drive to
extend our presence in the entertainment sector. By combining
Vivendi's games business with Activision, we are creating a worldwide
leader in a high-growth industry. We are excited about the
opportunities for Activision Blizzard as a broader entertainment
software platform. We believe this transaction will create significant
value for Activision Blizzard and Vivendi stockholders. In Activision,
we have found a partner with a highly complementary business and
strong operating team. Bobby Kotick and Brian Kelly are industry
pioneers, well known for creating shareholder value. The combined
strength of the existing management teams at both companies will set
the stage for further profitable growth of Activision Blizzard. We
look forward to being an active and supportive majority stockholder in
a company that is poised to lead the worldwide interactive
entertainment industry in the years ahead."

Rene Penisson, Member of the Management Board of Vivendi and current
Chairman of Vivendi Games, added: "We are very confident that by
combining forces, Activision Blizzard will set the highest standards
in quality, reputation and profitability, and will bring together the
best creative teams in the industry. The combination of this unique
product portfolio with highly professional employees gives us great
confidence in the growth prospects for Activision Blizzard."

Said Robert Kotick, Activision's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer:
"This is an outstanding transaction for Activision and our
stockholders, as well as a pivotal event in the continuing
transformation of the interactive entertainment industry. By combining
leaders in mass-market entertainment and subscription-based online
games, Activision Blizzard will be the only publisher with leading
market positions across all categories of the rapidly growing
interactive entertainment software industry and reach the broadest
possible audiences. By joining forces with Vivendi Games, we will
become the immediate leader in the highly profitable online games
business and gain a large footprint in the rapidly growing Asian
markets, including China and Korea, while maintaining our leading
operating performance across North America and Europe. Activision
stockholders will benefit from significantly increased earnings power
and the recurring nature and predictability of subscription-based
revenues, while also having the opportunity, if they choose, to
receive $27.50 per share for a portion of their shares in the
post-closing tender offer."

Kotick continued: "Vivendi Games provides Activision with unique
strategic and financial benefits and will allow us to leverage our
franchises into emerging online opportunities as Blizzard has done so
successfully. Activision has been very focused on margin expansion,
and this transaction will meaningfully increase our overall operating
margins as we expand our franchises online and in new geographies.
Diversifying our revenue base among subscription-based online, console
and PC formats, as well as wireless and casual emerging opportunities,
gives us the broadest platform to capitalize on industry growth. With
Blizzard's successful franchises, such as World of Warcraft, StarCraft
and an exciting pipeline of yet-to-be announced titles, Vivendi Games'
and Blizzard's management team will join with Activision's strong and
experienced leaders to become an even more powerful force for
innovation in online and offline interactive entertainment across a
wide range of platforms. This transaction also provides a unique
relationship with Universal Music Group - the world's largest music
company - which will benefit Guitar Hero and further extend our
sizable leadership position in music-based games."

Mike Morhaime, President and Chief Executive Officer of Blizzard,
added: "Blizzard's industry-leading PC games business, with a track
record of nine consecutive bestsellers and a global subscriber base of
more than 9.3 million World of Warcraft players, is an exceptional fit
for Activision's highly profitable console games business. From our
interactions with the Activision team, it is clear we have much in
common in terms of our approaches to game development and publishing.
Above all, we are looking forward to continue creating great games for
Blizzard gamers around the world, and we believe this new partnership
will help us to do that even better than before."

Structure & Terms of Transaction

Under the terms of the agreement, Vivendi Games will be merged with a
wholly owned subsidiary of Activision. In the merger, shares of
Vivendi Games will be converted into 295.3 million new shares of
Activision common stock. Based on the transaction price of $27.50 per
share of Activision common stock, this implies a value of
approximately $8.1 billion for Vivendi Games. Concurrently with the
merger, Vivendi will purchase 62.9 million newly issued shares of
Activision common stock at a price of $27.50 per share - a premium of
31% to Activision's average closing price over the past 20 trading
days - for a total of $1.7 billion in cash. As a result of these
transactions, Vivendi will own an approximate 52% ownership stake in
Activision Blizzard on a fully diluted basis.

Within five business days after closing the transaction, Activision
Blizzard will launch a $4 billion all-cash tender offer to purchase up
to 146.5 million Activision Blizzard common shares at $27.50 per
share. The tender offer will be funded by Activision Blizzard's cash
on hand at closing, including the $1.7 billion in cash received from
the Vivendi share purchase. In addition, Vivendi has agreed to acquire
from Activision Blizzard additional newly issued shares for up to an
additional $700 million of Activision common stock at $27.50 per
share, the proceeds of which would also be used to fund the tender
offer. Any remaining funds required to complete the tender offer will
be borrowed by Activision Blizzard from Vivendi or third-party
lenders. If the tender offer is fully subscribed, Vivendi will own an
approximate 68% ownership stake in Activision Blizzard on a fully
diluted basis.

The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive in its first
year post-closing for Activision's stockholders and slightly accretive
for Vivendi's stockholders. Activision Blizzard is targeting pro forma
operating income of $1.1 billion and pro forma earnings per share
(EPS) in excess of $1.20 in calendar year 2009. The transaction is
expected to be at least $0.20 accretive to Activision stockholders in
calendar year 2009.

Governance

Activision Blizzard's board of directors will be comprised of eleven
members: six directors designated by Vivendi, two Activision
management directors and three independent directors who currently
serve on Activision's board of directors. Rene Penisson, currently a
member of the Management Board of Vivendi and Chairman of Vivendi
Games, will serve as Chairman of Activision Blizzard. Brian Kelly,
currently Co-Chairman of Activision, will serve as Co-Chairman of
Activision Blizzard. The three independent directors will be Richard
Sarnoff, Robert J. Corti and Robert Morgado. Other Activision Blizzard
directors will be Robert Kotick (President and Chief Executive Officer
of Activision Blizzard), Bruce Hack (Vice-Chairman and Chief Corporate
Officer of Activision Blizzard), Jean-Bernard Levy (Chairman of the
Management Board and Chief Executive Officer of Vivendi), Doug Morris
(Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Universal Music Group),
Philippe Capron (Member of the Management Board and Chief Financial
Officer of Vivendi), and Frederic Crepin (Senior Vice President, Head
of Legal, Vivendi).

Management

Following the completion of the transaction, Robert Kotick will be
President and Chief Executive Officer of Activision Blizzard. Bruce
Hack, current Chief Executive Officer of Vivendi Games, will serve as
Vice-Chairman and Chief Corporate Officer of Activision Blizzard,
accountable for leading the merger integration and the finance, human
resources and legal functions. Mike Griffith will serve as President
and Chief Executive Officer of Activision Publishing, which after
closing will include the Sierra Entertainment, Sierra Online and
Vivendi Games Mobile divisions in addition to the Activision business.
Mike Morhaime will continue to serve as President and Chief Executive
Officer of Blizzard Entertainment. Thomas Tippl, currently Chief
Financial Officer of Activision, will be appointed Chief Financial
Officer of Activision Blizzard and Jean-Francois Grollemund, currently
Chief Financial Officer of Vivendi Games, will be appointed Chief
Accounting Officer of Activision Blizzard.

Ghostbusters Gameplay [G4TV.com]

According to Variety, the Ghostbusters game is coming to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, courtesy of developer Terminal Reality, with more casual-aimed versions from Red Fly Studio coming to PlayStation 2, Wii and DS. The report has plenty of delicious details on the game's genesis and even includes a teeny, cropped screen shot.

Vivendi, Sony call 'Ghostbusters' [Variety]

"Vivendi Games Mobile is one of the most respected publishers in mobile gaming," said Gregg Sauter, Nokia's director of third party publishing. "Crash Bandicoot is a gaming icon as well as a global powerhouse, having sold more than 33 million units worldwide. With its fun appeal to people of all ages and incredible graphics, the Crash Bandicoot franchise is the perfect fit for N-Gage."

Nokia Announces Vivendi Games Mobile's Popular Crash Bandicoot Franchise For N-Gage

Espoo, Finland - 27 August 2007 - Nokia, the world leader in mobile communications, announced today that they are teaming up with Vivendi Games Mobile, a division of Vivendi Games, to bring the legendary Crash Bandicoot ® franchise to Nokia's new N-Gage mobile gaming platform launching this fall.

"Vivendi Games Mobile is one of the most respected publishers in mobile gaming," said Gregg Sauter, Nokia's director of third party publishing. "Crash Bandicoot is a gaming icon as well as a global powerhouse, having sold more than 33 million units worldwide. With its fun appeal to people of all ages and incredible graphics, the Crash Bandicoot franchise is the perfect fit for N-Gage."

"We are excited to offer Nokia customers the opportunity to enter the thrilling world of Crash Bandicoot and play a number of award winning titles from the popular Crash® franchise," said Paul Maglione, president of Vivendi Games Mobile. "We look forward to working with Nokia to offer entertaining, innovative mobile games that tap into the performance and innovation of the N-Gage application and Nokia's mobile devices."

Crash Bandicoot follows the original storyline where the crazy marsupial must save the world. Jam packed with action and comedy, the player must take on the role of Crash to defeat the game's villain and mad scientist, Dr. Neo Cortex. More information about the Crash franchise can be found at the official Crash Bandicoot Web site at http://www.crashbandicoot.com

Yeah well at least it wasn't Bubsy.

"The Society and Vivendi Games anticipate that Crash's involvement will help attract more students to the Society's various youth programs due to his popularity with kids of all ages. More than 35 million Crash Bandicoot games have been sold worldwide since 1996, making Crash one of the most recognizable gaming and entertainment characters in the world."

Sure he is recognizable to an extent, in much the same way a failed prizefighter is recognized as he ducks into the local bar to drown his dreams of fame and fortune in booze like some 3rd-rate Rocky knockoff. We just shake our heads sadly and move along, remembering the good times.

Still, I applaud Vivendi for lending their character's image to such a worthy cause. Crash will be appearing on posters, pamphlets, clothing, and even the Society's website. Show your support for our plucky fallen icon by downloading some of the wallpapers and icons found at http://www.schoolandyouth.org.

Video Game Hero Crash Bandicoot Urges Kids to Join the Fight Against Leukemia

Crash is the New National Champion of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's School & Youth Programs

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Aug. 6 /PRNewswire/ — The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Vivendi Games today announced that Crash Bandicoot, the valiant, action hero of the highly popular video game series, is the new national champion for the Society's School & Youth programs.

The partnership comes as Sierra Entertainment, a division of Vivendi Games prepares for the launch of the latest incarnation of the top-selling Crash Bandicoot game franchise, "Crash of the Titans", available this October on the Xbox(TM) 360, PlayStation(R)2, Wii(TM), NintendoDS(TM), PSP(R), Game Boy(R) Advance and mobile phone platforms.

Throughout his video game adventures, Crash must battle the evil Dr. Neo Cortex and his no good ways. In joining forces with the Society, Crash now helps in the fight against leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Crash, the fun-loving, adventure seeking marsupial is always ready for a good fight and is a natural fit for the School & Youth programs, which are geared towards teaching kids about community service and helping kids with leukemia and other blood cancers. In the 2006-2007 school year, more than 21,000 schools participated in the program, raising more than $18 million for blood cancer research and patient services.

The Society and Vivendi Games anticipate that Crash's involvement will help attract more students to the Society's various youth programs due to his popularity with kids of all ages. More than 35 million Crash Bandicoot games have been sold worldwide since 1996, making Crash one of the most recognizable gaming and entertainment characters in the world.

"We are extremely honored to be partnering with the Society and in joining the battle against Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma," said Mark Halacy, executive vice president of Human Resources for Vivendi Games. "Crash is a bandicoot with a big heart; he's brave, he's loyal and he's always ready for a good fight and a great cause. We feel this is a winning combination for a tremendous cause."

Crash Bandicoot will appear on the School & Youth recruitment posters and other printed materials as well as on the School & Youth Web site, newsletters, apparel and other items. Free downloads of Crash wallpaper and icons are available at http://www.schoolandyouth.org.

"The Society is extremely excited about introducing Crash Bandicoot as the new national champion of School & Youth programs," said Nancy Klein, the Society's Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications. "Crash is a fun, energetic character with tremendous appeal among kids and will help attract even wider interest in this life-saving campaign which has raised more than $100 million since its inception."

Kotaku really has the most creative readers. Really. So when we throw down the contest hatch, we know: you will impress us. We've got two copies of Scarface for the Nintendo Wii that we are dying to give away. The game is based on the classic Brian De Palma film with Al Pacino and presents a hypothetical "What if Tony Montana survived?" question. Thing is, being mean bastards, we aren't going to just give these copies away. We're going to hold a contest. Here's the deal: paint your face (gaming themes get bonus points), snap a pic and send it to kotakucontest@gmail.com by June 20th midnight EST. Kotaku-land will vote for the two best entries. Winners won't just get a free copy of Scarface. Oh no, they'll get INTERNET FAME. Brian Ashcraft

Now a mobile version, available already in Europe, is coming to North America, featuring 80 levels of mind-bending puzzle goodness.

Between this and Miner 2049er the mobile gaming industry has pretty much guaranteed that my next cell will be gaming capable, and I will start spending a lot more time in the bathroom. Michael Fahey

Vivendi Games Mobile Gets Inventive with Classic Brain Teaser The Incredible Machine

Popular PC Title Now Available on Mobile Phones Around the World

PARIS - June 6, 2007 - Vivendi Games Mobile, a division of Vivendi Games, today announced it is bringing the classic brain teaser The Incredible Machine™ to mobile subscribers worldwide. The mobile version of the game is based on Sierra Entertainment's original PC title and is now available for mobile phones throughout Europe and is coming soon to North America.

"This mind-bending, brain-squeezing, neuron-twisting puzzle with real-time physics and rich graphics allows players to be the inventor and build The Incredible Machine with the only limitation being the imagination," said Paul Maglione, president of Vivendi Games Mobile. "Gamers are sure to enjoy this ultimate test of mind over matter as they attempt to create innovative contraptions and make their way through 80 levels of challenging gameplay."

The Incredible Machine is an intuitive and engaging puzzle game that eases players into increasingly complex levels. As the tasks become more difficult, players must solve each puzzle using the 50+ wacky objects and tools which includes scissors, fans, tubes, balls, pulleys and lasers to name just a few. The Incredible Machine offers players two unique modes: "classic play" in which players progress through each level after correctly solving the puzzle and unlock exciting new content and bonus material along the way; "free play" gives players the flexibility to play as they wish and experiment at will with the seemingly endless variety of devices and parts found throughout the game.

The expansion not only drew in new players across the world, but saw old players returning to type /silly and /flirt several times over, chuckle to themselves, and then go back to whatever it was they were doing. Michael Fahey

Burning Crusade boosts Vivendi profits [GamesIndustry.biz]

Now, it appears that the game is indeed on, regardless of whether current developer Zootfly is at the helm. According to Dan Aykroyd (aka the Ghostbuster's Dr. Ray Stantz):

Universal purchased the rights from Sony for a game. I'm actually going to have to perform and do some motion capture for them. That will be next year.

Well, that about wraps that up. A Ghostbusters game is coming, but not before some time next year, if Aykroyd's dates are to be believed. Michael McWhertor

Dan all about blues & booze [Edmonton Sun]
Dan Aykroyd to appear in Ghostbusters game [Gamespot]

The game will also be hitting the Xbox 360. I've requested some PS3 screens, so I'll make sure to up them as soon as they arrive. Full press release on the jump. Brian Crecente

LOS ANGELES, CA - (August 17th, 2006) - Sierra Entertainment, a division of Vivendi Games, today announced that the award-winning F.E.A.R.™ (First Encounter Assault Recon), is currently in development for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and is scheduled to launch during November 2006.

Already a critical and commercial smash on the PC, F.E.A.R. will bring a new level of FPS game play to PlayStation 3 with exclusive single player content designed to immerse the player deeper in the world of the F.E.A.R. team, as well as the visceral action of F.EA.R. multi-player.

Developed by Day 1 Studios in conjunction with Monolith Productions, F.E.A.R is a paranormal action thriller presented entirely in first person. An unprecedented adrenaline rush of close quarters combat seamlessly melded with the spine-tingling, shocking intensity of the paranormal unknown.