DigitalBattle.com

Activision Blizzard posts $15m profits in Q3

The newly merged mega-publisher Activision Blizzard just posted their Q3 financial results, where they revealed profits of just $15 million on a whopping $703 million in sales, which as any businessman and wall street analyst will tell, isn’t the best profit margin. The revenue increased almost $100 million compared to the same time last year, but that year, the company lost $108 million. Now $15 million doesn’t seem like a bad thing at all. Activision Blizzard still expects sales to top $4 billion this year.

Call of Duty 4 patched to 1.40 on PS3

Modern Warfare 2’s release is right around the corner, but Infinity Ward is still updating Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

The 1.40 patch focuses on eliminating the recent hacking issues for the PlayStation 3. No official patch notes have been released yet. Unfortunately, the patch is currently only out for North America; a European release has yet to be scheduled.

Modern Warfare 2 will be out on November 10th for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.

Read (Infinity Ward Forums)

World of Warcraft 3.1.2 patch goes live

Blizzard has recently announced that the 3.1.2 patch for World of Warcraft has left the public test realms and entered the live realms today.

Featured in said patch is everything you would expect, class changes, bug fixes, the like. However, the big thing that Blizzard introduced with this patch is the Equipment Manager which they describe as:

When enabled from the Interface Options menu, this feature will allow players to store sets of equipment, easily swap between saved sets using hotkeys, and pull items directly from backpacks or bank slots (must be at the bank to equip inventory from the bank).

This will ease the pain when you have to switch from your PvP set to your PvE set.

Full list of changes after the break. More »

Starcraft II external beta coming this summer

Remember how we told you a few days ago that you could sign up for the Starcraft II beta? Well, that signup may be put to use sooner than we thought.

In a recent Activision Blizzard earnings call, Blizzard President Mike Morhaime was quoted to say that Starcraft II’s external beta testing will take place this summer.

So yes, this means that the general public (those who signed up) will actually get access to a beta form of Starcraft II. Hell, maybe us simple folk (those who didn’t sign up) will be treated to an open beta.

Hey, we can wish, can’t we?

Read (VG247)

Activision Blizzard reports huge profits

While EA and THQ are reporting huge losses, worlds largest game publisher, Activision Blizzard, have just reported a massive $981 million in revenue for fiscal 2008, well above analysts expectations, while net profits were at $181 million. The sales were fueled by World of Warcraft, Guitar Hero and Call of Duty franchises. Another interesting bit of information released, was that World of Warcraft was raking in $100 million per month. That’s right, per month.

Vivendi exec takes role of Activision Blizzard Chairman

It was recently announced that CEO of Vivendi, Jean-Bernard Levy, will replace Rene Penisson as Chairman of Activision Blizzard.

According to Joystiq, Vivendi is the majority owner of Activision Blizzard, just to give you a whiff of the company’s scale.

Let’s see, Activision Blizzard has Warcraft, Starcraft, Guitar Hero, Diablo, and Call of Duty; all colossal franchises. Vivendi, hower, has Activision Blizzard and Universal Studios. Yeah, big companies.

Chinese prohibits World of Warcraft expansion

It seems taht the Chinese government is at it again, and this time completely rejected Blizzard’s attempt to release World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King in the area. But why?

Well JLM Pacific Epoch says that the rejection was due to the game including city raids, and skeleton characters.

City raids and skeleton characters, huh? Aren’t those 2 of the things that made World of Warcraf fun? Probably not, but it seems that the Chinese government is afraid people will use WoW to concoct plans to overthrow the government, or something like that.

Activision Wants to Sue EA Over Brutal Legend

Fuming with rage and wielding the hammer of law, Activision Blizzard has threatened to sue EA for publishing Double Fine’s upcoming action game Brutal Legend even though the company picked up publishing rights back in December. Apparently, Activision Blizzard views the agreement as invalid due to a belief that it was still engaged in negotiations regarding the game.

Originally set to be published by Vivendi, which merged with Activision last year, the game was ditched following the formation of the new company, along with 50 Cent, Ghostbusters and The Chronicles of Riddick, all of which have found new homes.

It is being speculated that Activision wants a cash payment for the publishing rights. Meanwhile, an EA representative expressed doubt that Activision would sue, likening the situation to be “like a husband abandoning his family and then suing after his wife meets a better looking guy.”

Activision Blizzard laugh at recession

It’s all over the news; the economy sucks, WE KNOW, but not for Activision Blizzard. The company responsible for franchises like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Guitar Hero, have recently gotten some numbers and, if you’re the jealous type, look away now.

In 2008 alone, Activision Blizzard raked in $5 billion, with $429 million of that during the holidays making it a record year for the company.

And, with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, god knows how many Guitar Hero titles, and possibly Starcraft 2 just over the horizon, 2009 is shaping up to be an even bigger year for the mega publisher.

Read (Kotaku)

Blizzard releases info on WoW patch 3.1.0

Do you find your eyes plastered to the computer screen for several hours a day playing none other than Blizzard’s enormously popular World of Warcraft? Well good, then this news is just for you.

Recently released via their forums, Blizzard has given us a sneak peak at whats in store in terms of classe changes when 3.1.0 hits. So far only the Priest, Rogue, and Shaman changes (below) have been released, with the rest of the classes to follow suit:

PRIEST

Divine Spirit – this spell is now a core ability available to all priests.

Discipline has access to a new talent, Power Word: Barrier. (Think of it as Power Word: Shield for your whole group).

Several area of effect (AOE) heal spells have been improved: Prayer of Healing can be cast on any groups in your raid party. Holy Nova’s mana cost has been reduced. Circle of Healing now heals for more.

Shadow priest PvP survivability has been improved: Shadow Form now reduces magic as well as physical damage. Dispersion now removes snares.

Penance – this spell can now be targeted on the priest.

Serendipity – this talent now reduces the cast time of Greater Heal and Prayer of Healing when Binding Heal or Flash Heal are cast.

We are also working to give Holy additional PvP utility.ROGUE

Hunger for Blood – instead of a self-buff, this ability can only be used when there is a bleed effect on the target. However, it has no stacks and grants a 15% damage bonus.

Adrenaline Rush – the cooldown on this ability has been lowered.

Lightning Reflexes – reduced to 3 ranks. In addition to 2/4/6% dodge, this talent now also grants 4/7/10% passive melee haste.

Killing Spree – while this ability is active, the rogue does 20% additional damage.

Savage Combat – now causes 2/4% physical damage done.

Mace Specialization – this talent now grants haste in addition to armor penetration.SHAMAN

Chain Lightning – now jumps to 4 targets but does less damage. We wanted to make the distinction between Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning more clear.

Storm, Earth and Fire – this talent now increases all damage done by Flame Shock, not just periodic damage.

Spirit Weapons – now reduces all threat, not just melee threat.

Unleashed Rage – reduced to 2 ranks, now also increases your critical strike chance with melee attacks by 1/2%.

Totem streamlining: The Mana Spring and Healing Stream Totems have been combined. The Disease Cleansing and Poison Cleansing Totems have been combined.

We are also working on giving Enhancement and Elemental more PvP utility.

Read (World of Warcraft)

Neversoft not doing Tony Hawk anymore

Neversoft has confirmed that they are no longer working with the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series. Joel Jewett, one of the founders of the developer, said in an interview: “It’s probably best for the franchise … it’s time for someone else to add fresh ideas to it,” Neversoft is currently working on Guitar Hero as its main franchise.

It has been hinted in the past that the developer to take on the game will be independent Chicago-based Robomodo. It was formed specifically to work on a “high-profile extreme sports title for Activision Blizzard.” The company is currently seeking to fill several job positions on its webpage.

Read (GiantBomb)

Starcraft 2 coming early 2009?

Now loyal readers, take the the following information with a grain of salt but, StarCraftWire has recently gotten their hands on a flyer detailing game releases in the near future for Singapore. The one we really care about? You guessed it, Starcraft 2.

Anyways, as you can see from the above snippet taken from the flyer, Starcraft 2 is stated to have a release date of Q1 2009. This is the first information we have recieved that states a solid time period for which we might be seeing the game hit store shelves.

This is quite possible, considering Activision Blizzard has said in the past Starcraft 2 is projected for an ‘09 release date. Too bad for everyone hoping for it to be out for this holiday season, but we already knew it wouldn’t be, right?

Read (StarcraftWire)

Microsoft signs advertising deal with Activision Blizzard

It was recently announced that Microsoft’s in-game advertising firm Massive Inc. has striked a deal with Activision Blizzard, makers of Guitar Hero and World of Warcraft. The deal states that Microsoft will supply ads for 18 of the companie’s titles, including Battle.net which is the online service used for games like Diablo 2 and Starcraft.

Microsoft has said the ads will be dynamic and change over time as well as adapt to the gamer’s location. Sounds pretty neat.

Along with in-game advertising, it was also announced that Massive Inc will be the main advertiser for Blizzard’s websites. This isn’t the first time Massive and Activision Blizzard have worked together, with their first deal concering ads for a previous Guitar Hero title.

Read (Yahoo! Tech)

Activision CEO: Warner Should Pay US Money for Including Their Music in Guitar Hero

Continuing the public mud slinging match between Activision and Warner Music, AB CEO Bobby Kotick suggested that maybe the publisher behind the Guitar Hero series deserves compensation for including songs from Warner’s label in the popular rhythm series.

"When you look at the impact [Guitar Hero] can have on an Aerosmith, Van Halen or Metallica, it’s really significant," he said. "So much so that you sort of question whether or not, in the case of those kinds of products, you should be paying any money at all and whether it should be the reverse."

Kotick also pointed out that the company doesn’t really need any particular label, especially Warner, seeing as how their parent company also owns Universal Music Group, the world’s largest record label.

Activision Considering Subscription-based Service for Guitar Hero DLC

Speaking at Activision Blizzard’s Analyst Day, company CEO Mike Griffith revealed that they are considering a subscription service to deliver new songs monthly for Guitar Hero.

“Looking even further out, we’re exploring new models, like an annual pass subscription where players can subscribe and get a certain number of songs downloadable each month,” Griffith explained.

He wouldn’t offer any further details, such as a price or start date for such a program. It comes as part of the company’s plans to monetize the Guitar Hero franchise, which they hope to push down your throat by 2010.

Detailing just how popular the franchise is, Griffith revealed that Guitar Hero: Aerosmith “deliver 10x the revenue compared to Aerosmith’s most recently released CD in 2004.”