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How Much Do Blizzard Contribute To Activision’s Bottom Line?
Activision and Blizzard, they’re now tight, combining Guitar Hero and Call of Duty’s dollars with those World of Warcraft rakes in on a monthly basis. But what’s the split between the two? Activision’s freshly-released annual report lets us know (using net revenue as a yardstick). And the winner is…Activision, who for 2008 (and we’re talking…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 27, 2009 -
Activision to Publish Bakugan Game
It was only a matter of time before the soaring popularity of card and toy game Bakugan was snatched up by a developer and turned into a video game. Activision today announced they’ve signed a deal with Nelvana Enterprises to develop and distribute a video game based on the toy and animated television series. The…
By Brian Crecente Published February 24, 2009 -
Singularity Screens Show The Power Of Glove
Raven Software‘s Singularity may have an uphill battle ahead of it to convince the first-person shooter market of its unique qualities, but Activision top brass loved it. Supposedly, it play-tested better than anything before it. Perhaps more gamers will need to go hands-on with its unique power glove, the TMD. That’s short for Time Manipulation…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 23, 2009 -
Guitar Hero: Metallica’s King Diamond In Evil Polygons
The inclusion of Mercyful Fate‘s King Diamond will ratchet up the evil in Guitar Hero: Metallica, as well as the Danish black metal quotient. As you can see, Mr. Diamond looks authentically and theatrically evil. That’s partially due to the details, like the appearance of Kind Diamond’s trademark microphone handle, made of real (polygonal) human…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 23, 2009 -
Mystery Rocker is in Fact King Diamond
Probably not much of a surprise, but inspection of the Guitar Hero: Metallica trophies list reveals one for “Rock Out as King Diamond,” meaning he’s a playable character in the game. Gene Simmons is thrilled. Lars Umlaut is readying his own C&D letter. Guitar Hero: Metallica is out March 29 in the U.S., May 5…
By Owen Good Published February 22, 2009 -
Rumor: Brutal Legend Wii, Battlefront III & LEGO Indy 2
A Go Nintendo reader – from the retail sector by the looks of it, given the breadth of tips – has come forward with loads of new information on EA & Activision’s 2009 lineup. Details are scarce beyond some brief listings, so we’ll move straight into those. Note that there are some Lucasarts games in…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 19, 2009 -
Guitar Hero, Now On Google Phone
Activision like to exploit franchises. Guitar Hero is probably their biggest. So when a new platform – the Google Phone – comes around, you can bet Activision will be exploiting Guitar Hero on it. Announced yesterday was an Android-ready version of Guitar Hero World Tour Mobile. It differs from the standard version of GHWTM by…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 18, 2009 -
Guitar Hero: Metallica Misspells Band Name
Uh. Whoops. Somebody at Activision thought it would be a good idea to put all the game’s featured band names on the cover of Guitar Hero: Metallica. Nobody at Activision edited said list. So we’re left with a cover that features band names like, well, Metallica. Queen. Alice in Chains. Slayer. And Lynyrd Skynrd. Where’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 18, 2009 -
Activision Threatens EA, Double Fine With Brütal Legend Lawsuit
Activision may not be giving up Brütal Legend to EA without a fight—or at least a payout. Activision, which abandoned the game last year following its merger with Vivendi, thinks it still has publishing rights. According to a report from Variety, Activision Blizzard has informed Electronic Arts of its claim to Double Fine’s Brütal Legend,…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 13, 2009 -
Guitar Hero Metallica Comes With Slice Of Lemmy
Metallica announced today that Guitar Hero Metallica will feature Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister as a playable character, presumably when one plays the band’s hit “Ace of Spades,” one of many guest tracks in the game. It should be a very profitable year for the English bassist, as he’ll also be appearing in the similarly umlauted Brütal…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 12, 2009 -
Guitar Hero Standalone Controllers Hit This Week
Finally. Starting Sunday Guitar Hero World Tour players will be able to purchase individual guitar controllers and drum kit controllers in stores in North America. While the quite lengthy press release goes into all kinds of details we already knew about the drum, the guitar and the songs you can use to play them with,…
By Brian Crecente Published February 12, 2009 -
Activision Predict 2009 Console Sales
Step aside, analysts and amateur crystal ball-gazers! Continuing a trend set by Microsoft, Activision have decided to start throwing console guesstimates around, taking a swing this morning at guessing console sales for 2009. So just what does Activision boss Bobby Kotick see when he gazes into his crystal ball? All was revealed as part of…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 12, 2009 -
James Bond Racer Delayed to 2010
The James Bond racing game, which we first caught wind of late last year, has been pushed back to 2010 to give Bizarre Creations a bit more development breathing room. The game is said to be a third-person Bond game that’s racing and driving focused. But they’re also working on a second racing game, described…
By Brian Crecente Published February 11, 2009 -
Activision: No Plans To Drop Phelps, A-Rod From Guitar Hero Ads
Now that Alex Rodriguez has admitted to being a juicer and Michael Phelps has been caught sucking on a bong, will Activision yank its Guitar Hero World Tour ad spots featuring the two? Nope! According to the New York Daily News, Activision has no plans to stop running the ads amid controversy over two of…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 11, 2009 -
Activision Hastily Tosses Together Fun4All Wii Label
Activision UK has had a smashing idea, cobbling together a half-dozen Wii games that “the whole family can enjoy!” then slapping on the Fun4All label. Sound familiar? The North American Activision recently did the same. The UK’s Fun4All label is, for all intents and purposes, North America’s “Wee 1ST” label, a branding scheme that will…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 10, 2009 -
Activision’s Green Screen A Hit At Comic-Con
Activision’s Comic-Con booth was not only filled with gaming goodness, but they also allowed fans a chance to be “in” two of their upcoming titles. Before being photographed you would select from five different backgrounds, four from Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, and one from X-Men Origins: Wolverine (pictured after the jump). After striking your pose,…
By Jim Reilly Published February 10, 2009 -
Transformers Trailer: Optimus Warned You
Here’s your trailer and a few screengrabs for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Duh-duh-duhhhhhhh …) Call me old, but I liked their look better when I could visualize how their parts fit together. Not only that, if the robots from the 1980s actually did look like this, they’d be the ouchiest, finger-pinchiest, consumer-product-safety-commission-recallingest mofos ever…
By Owen Good Published February 7, 2009 -
X-Men Origins: Wolverine Preview: A Bloody Good Time
Has as good stand-alone Wolverine game finally been made? I tried out an early hands-on demo tonight of X-Men Origins: Wolverine at Activision’s pre-New York Comic Con press event to find out. What It Is X-Men Origins: Wolverine is an action game based off the upcoming movie developed by Raven Software, which brought you Quake…
By Jim Reilly Published February 6, 2009 -
New Wolfenstein Features Otherworld
What’s this? A new Wolfenstein game? Yeah, apparently I didn’t get the memo. Activision brought the game, simply titled Wolfenstein, along to their press event in NYC last night and showed off the latest build. I was a bit disappointed to find out this was not a hands-on preview. An Activision rep played through the…
By Jim Reilly Published February 6, 2009 -
Prototype Preview: Slick, But Not A Stand Out
What’s that? You say you wanted more sandbox-style games? Activision has you covered with the release of Protoype on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC this Summer. New York Comic Con attendees will have a chance to go hands-on with the game at the show this weekend and we recently got to see the…
By Jim Reilly Published February 6, 2009