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Activision Going To Court Over Guitar Hero Patent Claims
Activision, the publisher of Guitar Hero and DJ Hero, is being taken to court over claims that the trademarks registered over its popular music titles have little to do with the operations of the actual products. A group going by the name “Patent Compliance Group” has filed suit in the Texas Northern District Court, alleging…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2010 -
Activision Chief Regrets Not Making Guitar Hero With Harmonix
In 2006, Activision bought Red Octane, publisher of Guitar Hero, resulting in series developer Harmonix launching the rival game Rock Band and starting one of the uglier public feuds in gaming. Today, Activision’s CEO said shunning Harmonix was a mistake. “When we were buying Guitar Hero, or buying Red Octane, the makers of Guitar Hero,…
By Stephen Totilo Published February 18, 2010 -
Bobby Kotick, Warm and Fuzzy, Defends Notorious No-Fun Statements
Bobby Kotick, head of Activision, thought he was Luke, not Vader. And he didn’t mean that thing about wanting to make game-making no fun. “I don’t know how this happened, but all my life I was the rebel flying the Millennium Falcon or the X-Wing fighter and suddenly I wake up and I’m on board…
By Stephen Totilo Published February 18, 2010 -
Activision Shutters Guitar Hero Creators, GH: Van Halen Developers [Update]
In addition to sackings at Neversoft and Luxoflux, Kotaku has learned today that publisher Activision has also laid off employees at RedOctane and internal studio Underground Development. We’ve heard that RedOctane, the publisher of the original Guitar Hero and creator of the franchise’s plastic instruments, has been completely shut down. Those responsible directly for the…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 12, 2010 -
Activision Takes Axe To Guitar Hero’s Neversoft, Shuts Down Luxoflux
Prototype developer Radical Entertainment isn’t the only studio that got the axe from parent company Activision today. Sources close to and within developers Neversoft (Guitar Hero) and Luxoflux (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen) are also being gutted. Luxoflux, also responsible for True Crime and Kung Fu Panda games for Activision, is said to have been…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 11, 2010 -
Prototype Developer Radical Cut In Half
Radical Entertainment, developer of Prototype and The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, has been hit with substantial layoffs today, according to development sources close to the Vancouver-based studio. Approximately 90-plus employees have been let go, sources say. That’s about half the studio’s headcount, apparently, affecting two of the three development teams at the Activision Blizzard owned…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 11, 2010 -
Dev Eyes Call of Duty: World at War for iPhone
Treyarch wasn’t really interested in the business of making cell phone games, at least not before the iPhone. But the tremendous success of Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies on the iPhone has the developer, best known for their hardcore console shooters, reconsidering. “We are very interested (in bringing more games to the iPhone),”…
By Brian Crecente Published February 11, 2010 -
The 2010 Console War, According To Activision
Publisher Activision Blizzard is hoping for a better year for the video game industry in 2010, expecting retail and digital sales to up 8 percent in the U.S. and Europe. And it’s calling the Wii to perform strongest this year. Activision is expecting the Wii to outsell its competitors, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3,…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 10, 2010 -
Take Blur For A Test Drive In March
Bizarre Creations’ luminescent racing video game Blur, its first title for owner Activision, will be getting a beta test in March, the game’s publisher announced today, giving drivers a chance to take it for spin in advance of its release. Activision CEO Mike Griffith announced the mutiplayer beta test for Blur today, but didn’t offer…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 10, 2010 -
Activision Has Call of Duty 7 Loaded For Holiday
Given the “disproportionate contribution” that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 provided to Activision Blizzard’s well-padded bottom line, it won’t come as a surprise that the next Call of Duty game is coming this holiday season. See? You’re not surprised. Activision Blizzard confirmed its plans to “continue annualizing” the first-person shooter franchise with the still-unnamed…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 10, 2010 -
Activision Narrows Music Focus To Guitar And DJ Hero
Having released 25 different rhythm game SKUs in 2009, Activision narrows the focus in 2010, with only a new Guitar Hero and DJ Hero 2 slated for release in 2010. During Activision’s 2009 financial results conference call, Activision’s Mike Griffith explained that while 2009 saw Activision increasing its share in the rhythm genre to 51%,…
By Mike Fahey Published February 10, 2010 -
Activision Boasts $1.56 Billion, Better Than Expected Q4
Despite doing business in “difficult times,” super publisher Activision Blizzard had a better than expected holiday quarter, with $1.56 billion in revenue during the company’s Q4, bringing the yearly haul to $4.28 billion. How did Activision do so well? Activision Blizzard CEO gives props to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the “#1 best-selling title…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 10, 2010 -
Must Resist Adorable Hamster Baby
Resisting a Nintendo DS game about cute little robot hamsters might be possible, but when Activision packs in a tiny stuffed hamster baby into the collector’s edition of Zhu Zhu Pets, even the strongest man’s resolve begins to falter. Zhu Zhu Pets, announced back in December, is a game based on the mechanical hamster toys…
By Mike Fahey Published February 4, 2010 -
Meet The New Guitar Hero Boss, Not The Old Guitar Hero Boss
Say goodbye to the old Guitar Hero CEO Dan Rosensweig. He’s leaving the position at Activision after less than a year, a year in which the Guitar Hero (and DJ Hero and Band Hero) franchise didn’t do so well. And please welcome the new Guitar Hero boss, David Haddad, formerly the COO of the Guitar…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 2, 2010 -
Courtney Love Now Says Cobain Would’ve Been Cool With Guitar Hero 5
Professional widow Courtney Love, PO’d at Activision for how Kurt Cobain of Nirvana is presented in Guitar Hero 5, says Cobain probably would have found his game appearance amusing. But since he’s dead she gets to do all the suin’. Telling the U.K.’s NME magazine, Love characteristically spewed filth-flarn-flarn-filth when passing along this update. What…
By Owen Good Published January 30, 2010 -
Sierra Classics Live On Through GOG.com
Sierra might have closed down, but the company’s legacy lives on, as an agreement with parent company Activision brings classic titles Gabriel Knight and Arcanum to DRM-free PC game store Good Old Games. Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers and Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura are the first two games available as part of…
By Mike Fahey Published January 28, 2010 -
Rumor: DJ Hero Goes Mobile
Activision’s DJ Hero may have been a bit of a failure – at least, relative to its exposure and marketing budget – but the mega-publisher is sticking with the franchise, beginning with the upcoming DJ Hero Mobile. We’ve heard the game will be published by port specialists Glu Mobile, and one artist we know will…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 28, 2010 -
Pitfall Creator Honored With AIAS Pioneer Award
Activision co-founder and Pitfall! creator David Crane isn’t just a pioneer in the gaming industry. He’s also a pioneer award winner, having been named the first recipient of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences’ Pioneer Award. David Crane is more than just the father of the platforming genre. The creator of classic titles including…
By Mike Fahey Published January 27, 2010 -
Transformers: War For Cybertron Gets Its Own Toy Line (Update)
Transformers: War For Cybertron is an upcoming video game based on a toy line. There’s now going to be a toy line based on the game which is based on a toy line. Ah, cross-promotion. First hinted at via leaked prototype shots a few weeks back, there’s now been confirmation from Hasbro that a range…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 26, 2010 -
Even Activision’s CEO Knows Spider-Man Games Suck
We give Activision boss Bobby Kotick a ton of stick around here, mostly because he often says some pretty silly things. His latest comments on the Spider-Man series, however, ring as true as truth can ring. “Our Spider-Man games have sucked for the last five years”, he told Game Informer. “They are bad games. They…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 20, 2010