Activision Beats Earnings Estimates, Continues Record-Breaking Year

Activision reported earnings for the third quarter of its current fiscal year today, bringing in $841 million in net revenue, including digital revenue of $427 million. The quarter beat estimates, rising 20% compared to last year, and Activision said it’s broken records for the first nine months of the calendar year. Activision CFO Dennis Durkin noted that as of September 30th (when the quarter ended), Activision “had no debt and $3.4 billion in cash and investments."

Particular highlights were the Skylanders franchise -- which has brought in more than $500 million in sales to date -- and Diablo III, which has been sold more than 10 million times. Activision also reiterated that World of Warcraft has more than 10 million subscribers and remains the world’s biggest MMO thanks to 2.7 million copies of Mists of Pandaria sold in its first week. Activision did note that it expects a decline next year, with CEO Bobby Kotick commenting “as we look to calendar 2013, we remain cautious in light of a challenging worldwide macroeconomic environment, the ongoing console transition and difficult year-over-year comparables as a result of Blizzard's record-shattering success with Diablo III in 2012.”

Looking ahead, Activision revised its expected earnings for the full 2012 calendar year from $4.3 billion to $4.57 billion, pointing to the potentially record-breaking launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops II and the continued success of both Skylanders and Diablo. Activision also hinted at content set to come next year and beyond, with Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm scheduled for the first half of 2013 and the news that Diablo III will receive an expansion.

Next-gen consoles were also brought up many times by investors, and Kotick noted “we can't really talk too much about next generation console plans, but I think it's safe to say you have a Wii U coming out and there will be another new console coming and we expect that they'll be very successful.” He added that “we always evaluate all platforms with an eye towards being able to create the most compelling differentiated content. And whether it's Facebook as a platform or tablets or mobile devices platforms, once we think that we can put our best creative foot forward and we can deliver something that's compelling and engaging and meaningfully different and really capitalize on the capabilities of a new platform, we'll support it.”

In addition to Black Ops II, Activision’s upcoming release slate includes Transformers Prime for Wii U in November as well as The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct and Deadpool in 2013.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following @garfep on Twitter or garfep on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Diablo III Expansion Confirmed by Blizzard

Blizzard has confirmed that Diablo III will receive an expansion. During an earnings call for the third quarter of Activision Blizzard’s current fiscal year, Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime said that an expansion is currently planned, but no timeline is in place just yet for when it might be released. Morhaime noted that the quality of the expansion and its gameplay is the top priority, and both will be a “big factor” in driving the actual schedule of the release.

Elsewhere in the call, Activision Blizzard also mentioned that more than 10 million copies of Diablo III have been sold to date, expanding upon the number of players revealed in August. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick referred to “Blizzard’s record-shattering Diablo III sales” as one of the primary drivers for earnings so far this year, with Activision noting in a statement that Diablo III is “the #1 bestselling game in dollars and units on the PC in the U.S. and Europe” since its release in May.

Diablo III’s 1.0.5 patch was released last month.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following @garfep on Twitter or garfep on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse Release Date

Activision has announced that Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse will be released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 23, 2012.

It also revealed details of the game's 'Multiplayer Challenges', which will let you invite up to four friends to assume the roles of popular characters from the show – including Peter, Brian, Quagmire and, of course, Stewie – and head into an "epic battle" or a "wild team battle". No more details were forthcoming but the multiplayer component is said to be in keeping with the Family Guy 'spirit', with "unexpected gags and cameos at every turn".

Here are some new screenshots of the challenges:

There hasn't been much information released on the game so far, but you can find out a bit more about here.

Daniel is IGN's UK Staff Writer, and you can be part of the world's worst cult by following him on IGN and Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse Release Date

Activision has announced that Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse will be released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 23, 2012.

It also revealed details of the game's 'Multiplayer Challenges', which will let you invite up to four friends to assume the roles of popular characters from the show – including Peter, Brian, Quagmire and, of course, Stewie – and head into an "epic battle" or a "wild team battle". No more details were forthcoming but the multiplayer component is said to be in keeping with the Family Guy 'spirit', with "unexpected gags and cameos at every turn".

Here are some new screenshots of the challenges:

There hasn't been much information released on the game so far, but you can find out a bit more about here.

Daniel is IGN's UK Staff Writer, and you can be part of the world's worst cult by following him on IGN and Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Adds Insecticons

Activision has released a new Insecticon pack for Transformers: Fall of Cybertron’s multiplayer. Available now on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, the Massive Fury Pack adds several new multiplayer characters, including full body and parts available for use in the character creator.

The Massive Fury Pack is available for $9.99 (800 Microsoft Points) and adds the following items for single-player:

• Kickback (Flying Insecticon)
• Sharpshot (Flying Insecticon)
• Hardshell (Beetle Tank Insecticon)
• G1 Retro Optimus Prime
• Autobot Hound
• G2 Bruticus character skin
• G1 Shockwave Blast Cannon
• G1 Megatron Pistol Gun

The Insecticon pack follows the Dinobot content released earlier this month.

For more on Fall of Cybertron, read our Transformers: Fall of Cybertron review, plus check out more details in our Transformers: Fall of Cybertron wiki guide.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Activision Blizzard Sale ‘Still Under Consideration’

A new report suggests that Vivendi is still interested in selling its majority stake in Activision Blizzard. According to CVG, a credible source says the sale "absolutely remains under consideration" and that Vivendi is exploring its options.

CVG also reports that negotiations between Vivendi and Microsoft, who was once considered as a buyer for Activision Blizzard, “have not advanced,” while Sony “immediately ruled out” the idea of a purchase.

Vivendi owns a 61% stake in Activision Blizzard, which it acquired in 2008. Activision Blizzard’s value is currently estimated at $13.4 billion, making Vivendi’s stake worth approximately $8 billion. Due to Vivendi’s current debt, it’s been considering a sale since early June, but was later said to be finding “little enthusiasm” from buyers including Microsoft, Disney, Tencent and Nexon due to the massive amount of cash required to make the purchase.

Later reports suggested that Activision could partner with investors to buy itself back from Vivendi. Activision has only publicly commented on the sale during its second quarter 2012 earnings call last month, when CEO Bobby Kotick said “While we're unable to comment on Vivendi's behalf, we continue to remain focused on strong execution, the delivery of great games and the provision of superior shareholder returns as we have for over 20 years. Our strategy has served us very well in the past and will position us very well for the future.”

The future of the sale is uncertain for now, but while we wait for concrete information to emerge, read our thoughts on what would happen if Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Is The Walking Dead FPS Convincing?

As a big fan of The Walking Dead in all its forms, I entered the Gamescom presentation of this survival-FPS with one hope: that the doubt I’ve felt since Activision announced the game last month will be put down for good by a crossbow bolt to the brain. By the close of the session, I’m heartened by some of what I’ve seen and heard, but the doubt still lingers. I wish I could say otherwise, I really do.

The presentation is hosted by developer Terminal Reality’s principal effects artist, Glenn Gamble, which seems an apt name for someone working on an attempt to marry a franchise associated with strong narrative with a genre that often eschews it. The biggest disappointment thrown up by the session is that it’s presented via a series of static screenshots, despite Gamble stating that a playable build exists (and is in fact where the screenshots have come from).

A gameplay video could have done much to reassure me that comments made earlier this year by franchise creator Robert Kirkman (during which he said a straight-up run and gun FPS of The Walking Dead “would be pointless”) need not apply to Terminal Reality’s efforts. However, as the presentation plays out, Gamble raises some interesting concepts that the team are working into The Walking Dead. It suggest the developer agrees that if it’s to make this project work, it needs more meat on its bones than a straight-up, gung-ho shooter can offer.

First, the choice of character: Daryl Dixon, who so far has existed only in The Walking Dead AMC TV series, was introduced to the fiction as something of a loose cannon. His evolution through series one and two has seen him become the show’s rough diamond; the bad boy with a heart who’s not afraid to do what it takes to get the job done and survive in a world that’s gone to hell

“

If you watch the show and play the game you’ll get a much deeper and broader sense of his character.

“He’s a survivalist, which is a huge part of the show as well as the game,” posits Gamble. “His evolution of character through season two has let us work with AMC to try, with our story, to plant those seeds of change earlier on. So now, if you watch the show and play the game you’ll get a much deeper and broader sense of his character."

If Daryl is a survivalist then his brother Merle is, frankly, an ass. A highly strung fellow of low moral fibre, Merle will be along for the ride as a companion to the player. This concept of companions, which will take in various other survivor NPCs met along the way, is a second positive factor.

Each survivor NPC has skills that can aid the player and while the NPCs do not appear to join in the zombie killing (all of the screens show only Daryl embarking on missions into towns to gather resources), they contribute to the group and introduce an element of resource management and survival considerations.

In addition to skills, the NPCs also have their own back-stories, as well as pros and cons that must be balanced when considering whether to take them with you: one guy might have a medical background which will be useful when you’re able to source medicinal items, but he’s also an extra mouth to feed, which will necessitate more food to be sourced when Daryl heads into a town.

“

I wish we had co-op, but the decision was that since it’s easier to tell a better story with single-player than with multiplayer.

Vehicles, too, have their own attributes to be considered as you try to make your way across state for a currently unknown reason. Some vehicles will offer bountiful passenger space (think along the lines of the RV that belonged to poor old Dale) but will guzzle more gas; a pick-up truck, meanwhile, has plenty of room in the back for equipment and resources, but only limited space for survivors.

Despite the seemingly blatant potential for co-op play presented by the two brother set-up, Gamble reveals, somewhat wistfully, that the team believe a single-player-only experience will serve them better from a narrative standpoint.

“I wish we had co-op, but the decision was that since it’s easier to tell a better story with single-player than with multiplayer, we decided to go with the single-player,” says Gamble. “That’s because story is bullet point number one; bullet point two is survival; bullet point three is the walkers”

Unlike the comics and TV show where it’s the living that can provide the greatest threat, it appears from Gamble’s presentation that it will be the walkers that the player will have to be most wary of. Gamble describes them as being “super environmentally aware”, able to see, hear and even smell the player. So, while sneaking past a lone walker may seem sensible, it leaves one more to add to a potential horde if you’re foolish enough to cause a commotion within earshot of the walking cadaver later on.

Overall, the survival elements, resource management and strong narrative aspects suggested by the presentation cast The Walking Dead in a positive light and do much to encourage hope that maybe wanton zombie slaying will come a distant second to the focus on survival. In-game footage and, ultimately, hands-on time with this survival-FPS will be necessary to ascertain whether Terminal Reality can deliver on the concepts introduced here. Until then, despite wishing it were otherwise, the doubt will continue to gnaw at me.

Stace Harman is a freelance contributor to IGN and is convinced that zombies will one day inherent the Earth. You can follow him on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Wii U Version of Black Ops 2 Appears on Resume

A Wii U version of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 appears on the resume of an Activision quality assurance tester. According to the LinkedIn page of a tester named Randall, QA testing for Black Ops II has been in the works since May, and his responsibilities included “QA testing on PS3 and Wii U, multiplayer testing while collaborating with team, ad hoc testing, and regression. Bug writing, research, and documentation are performed with each issue that is found.”

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard rumors about a Wii U version of Black Ops II, but marks the closest thing so far to official confirmation. Back in June, magazine scans suggested that Wii U would receive Black Ops II before Christmas 2012, and video game analyst Michael Pachter recently theorized that Nintendo developed its Wii U Pro controller specifically to convince Activision to make a Wii U version of Call of Duty.

The last few Call of Duty games have come to Wii, including Modern Warfare 3 and the original Black Ops. Treyarch’s previous game, Call of Duty: World at War, also received a Wii version.

For now, Call of Duty: Black Ops II has only been announced for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 & PC and is set to launch on November 13th. We’ve reached out to Activision for clarification about a Wii U version, but until they comment, be sure to read about all the changes to Black Ops II’s multiplayer as well as its eSports functionality.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Diablo III Has More than 10 Million Players

In its second quarter earnings report today, Activision Blizzard confirmed that as of July, more than 10 million people have played Diablo III. This is up four million from the figures announced after the game’s launch and supports the game’s continued success at retail.

According to an Activision Blizzard earnings call that followed, the company said that Diablo III is the best-selling PC game of the first half of 2012 and once again reiterated that changes are coming to the game in the future. Elsewhere in the earnings report, Activision Blizzard also revealed that World of Warcraft subscriptions are down by more than one million.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Final Modern Warfare 3 DLC Plans Revealed

Activision has announced the final pieces of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s season of content.

On August 9th, the Chaos Pack will launch on Xbox 360, offering a brand new Special Ops Chaos Mode, three new Face Off maps and four new Special Ops missions. The Face Off maps include Vortex, U-Turn and Intersection (previously released for Elite subscribers on Xbox 360 in June and PlayStation 3 in July). The Special Ops missions include Vertigo, Arctic Recon, Light ‘Em Up and Special Delivery.

On September 6th, the Final Assault Pack will launch, adding five new multiplayer maps. The maps include Boardwalk, Gulch and Parish (which leaked out earlier this week) as well as Decommission and Offshore, which hit Xbox 360 in July.

As always, the packs are arriving first on Xbox 360. Each pack will be available for $14.99 (1,200 Microsoft Points), but the content will arrive first to Premium Elite members for free. This will mark the end of Modern Warfare 3’s content season, which includes 29 separate pieces of content overall.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Bond Actors Reprising Roles in 007 Legends

Activision has announced that several original Bond voice actors will reprise their roles in upcoming Bond game 007 Legends. Daniel Craig will once again provide his voice and likeness as James Bond, and he’ll be joined by Richard Kiel reprising his role as Jaws from Moonraker and Michael Lonsdale once again playing Hugo Drax.

In addition, Naomie Harris and Rory Kinnear will voice their characters from upcoming Bond film Skyfall, with Harris playing Eve and Kinnear playing MI6 chief of staff Bill Tanner. Beyond the game’s voice cast, Bruce Feirstein -- writer of The World Is Not Enough, Tomorrow Never Dies and GoldenEye -- wrote 007 Legends’ script, while composer David Arnold (Die Another Day, Tomorrow Never Dies) contributed to the soundtrack.

007 Legends tells the story of six different Bond films, letting you play through six missions that cover five classic films as well as the upcoming Skyfall. Activision has confirmed two of the classic Bond films included so far: Moonraker and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

007 Legends will launch on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this fall, around the same time that Skyfall will hit theaters. For an extended look at the 23rd Bond film, check out our Skyfall set visit from earlier this year.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com