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Activision

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Activision
Company typeSubsidiary of Activision Blizzard
IndustryVideo game industry
Founded1979
HeadquartersSanta Monica, California, United States
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsCrash Bandicoot series
Call of Duty series
Guitar Hero series
Spider-Man series
Spyro the Dragon series
Tony Hawk series
James Bond series
RevenueIncreaseUSD $2.9 billion (2008)[1]
OwnerVivendi
ParentActivision Blizzard
WebsiteActivision.com
Activision headquarters in Santa Monica, California

Activision is an American video game developer and publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO and president is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979[2] and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles. Its first products were cartridges for the Atari 2600 video console system published from July 1980 for the US market and from August 1981 for the international market (UK)[3]. Activision is now one of the largest third party video game publishers in the world and was also the top publisher for 2007 in the United States.[4] On January 18, 2008, Activision announced they were the top US publisher in 2007, according to the NPD Group.[5]

On December 2, 2007, it was announced that Activision would be acquired by Vivendi, with Vivendi contributing its gaming division plus cash, in exchange for a majority stake in the new group. The merger between Activision and Vivendi Games took place on July 9, 2008, with the newly formed company known as Activision Blizzard.[6] Activision will still exist as a subsidiary owned by Activision Blizzard, and it will still develop and publish games such as Call of Duty, and Guitar Hero, along with some of Vivendi's owned IPs, such as the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon series.[clarification needed] As of June 15, 2010, Activision and Microsoft, specifically the Interactive Entertainment division, have an exclusive multiyear agreement; Don Mattrick announced this on June 14, 2010 during Microsoft's 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo conference.[7]

History

Before the formation of Activision, software for video game consoles were published exclusively by makers of the systems for which the games were designed. For example, Atari was the only publisher of games for the Atari 2600. This was particularly galling to the developers of the games, as they received no financial rewards for games that sold well, and did not receive credit for their games. This caused several programmers to resign from their jobs. Activision became the first third-party game publisher for game consoles.[8]

The company was founded by former music industry executive Jim Levy, venture capitalist Richard Muchmore, and former Atari programmers David Crane, Larry Kaplan, Alan Miller and Bob Whitehead. Atari's company policy at the time was not to credit game creators for their individual contributions; Levy took the approach of crediting and promoting game creators along with the games themselves. The steps taken for this included devoting a page to the developer in their instruction manuals[9][10][11] and challenging players to send in a high score (usually as a photograph, but sometimes as a letter) in order to receive an embroidered patch.[12][13][14][15] These approaches helped the newly formed company attract experienced talent. Crane, Kaplan, Levy, Miller, and Whitehead received the Game Developers Choice "First Penguin" award in 2003, in recognition of this step.

The departure of the four programmers, whose titles made up more than half of Atari's cartridge sales at the time, caused legal action between the two companies which were not settled until 1982. As the market for game consoles started to decline, Activision branched out, producing game titles for home computers and acquiring smaller publishers.

In 1982, Activision released Pitfall!, which is considered by many to be the first platform game[citation needed] as well as a best selling title on the Atari 2600. Pitfall! was a huge success for the company and the developers. Due to this success, many clones of the game were introduced, including stand-up arcade games. This also launched the entire platform genre which became a major part of video games through the 1980s.

On June 13, 1986, Activision merged with struggling text adventure pioneer Infocom. Jim Levy was a big fan of Infocom's titles and wanted Infocom to remain solvent. About six months after the "InfoWedding", Bruce Davis took over as CEO of Activision. Davis was against the merger from the start and was heavy-handed in its management. Eventually in 1989, after several years of losses, Activision closed down the Infocom studios in Cambridge, Massachusetts, extending to only 11 of the 26 employees an offer to relocate to Activision's headquarters in Silicon Valley. Five of them accepted this offer.[16]

In 1988, Activision started to get involved in other types of software besides video games, such as business applications. As a result, Activision changed its corporate name to Mediagenic in order to have a name that would globally represent all its fields of activities. Under the Mediagenic holding company, Activision continued to publish video games for various platforms notably the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Sega Master System, the Atari 7800, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and Amiga.

New Activision

Following a multi-million judgment on damages in a patent infringement suit where infringement had been determined many years prior during the Levy era, a financially weakened Mediagenic was taken over by an investor group led by Robert Kotick. After taking over the company, the new management filed for a Chapter 11 reorganization. In the reorganization, they merged Mediagenic with The Disc Company. While emerging from bankruptcy, Mediagenic continued to develop games for PCs and video game consoles, and resumed making strategic acquisitions. After emerging from bankruptcy, Mediagenic officially changed its entity name back to Activision on December 1992 and became a Delaware Corporation (it was previously a California Corporation). At that point Activision moved its headquarters from Mountain View in the Silicon Valley to Santa Monica in Southern California. Activision chose from then on to only concentrate on video gaming and nothing else.

In 1991, Activision packaged 20 of Infocom's past games into a CD-ROM collection called The Lost Treasures of Infocom without the feelies Infocom was famous for. The success of this compilation led to the 1992 release of 11 more Infocom titles in The Lost Treasures of Infocom II.

Activision published the first-person perspective MechWarrior in 1989, based on FASA's pen-and-pencil game BattleTech. Activision released the sequel, MechWarrior 2, in 1995 after two years of delays and internal struggles. Because of these delays, FASA decided against renewing their licensing deal with Activision. To counter, Activision released several more games bearing the MechWarrior 2 name, which didn't violate their licensing agreement. These included NetMech, MechWarrior 2: Ghost Bears Legacy and MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries. The entire MechWarrior 2 series of games accounted for more than $70 million in sales.[17]

Activision procured the license to another pen-and-paper-based war-game, Heavy Gear, in 1997. It was well received by critics, with an 81.46% average rating on gamerankings.com[4] and being considered the best game of the genre at the time by Gamespot. The Mechwarrior 2 engine was also used in other Activision games, including 1997's Interstate '76 and finally 1998's Battlezone.[18]

Acquisitions and partnerships

Year Acquisition
1997 Raven Software made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequentally acquired by them. This partnership resulted in Hexen II, Heretic II, Soldier of Fortune, its sequel and Quake 4. That same year, Activision acquired CentreSoft Ltd., (an independent distributor in the United Kingdom) and NBG Distribution (a German distributor).
1998 Pandemic Studios was founded with an equity investment by Activision. Pandemic's first two games, Battlezone II: Combat Commander and Dark Reign 2, were both sequels to Activision games. That same year, Activision also inked deals with Marvel Entertainment, Head Game Publishing, Disney Interactive, LucasArts Entertainment and CD Contact Data.
1999 Activision acquired Neversoft, best recognized for their line of Tony Hawk skateboarding games. That same year, Activision acquired Expert Software (maker of Home Design 3D).
2000 Activision made an equity investment in Gray Matter Interactive, to develop the follow-up to id Software's Wolfenstein 3D.
2001 Activision acquired rights to Columbia Pictures' feature film Spider-Man. That same year, Activision also acquired Treyarch.
2002 Activision made an equity investment in Infinity Ward, a newly formed studio comprising 22 of the individuals who developed Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. That same year, Activision acquired Z-Axis Ltd. (the studio behind Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX) and Luxoflux Corporation.
2003 Activision and DreamWorks SKG inked a multi-year, multi-property publishing agreement. That same year, Activision also formed a partnership with Valve and acquired both Infinity Ward (developers of the Call of Duty franchise) and software developer Shaba Games LLC.

Activision and Sega made a deal to publish the US releases of PC versions of some titles, especially Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut.

Activision, along with several other game software publishers, was investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its accounting practices, namely the use of the "return reserve" to allegedly smooth quarterly results.

2004 The company marked its 25th anniversary, and stated that it had posted record earnings and the twelfth consecutive year of revenue growth.
2005 Activision acquired game developers Vicarious Visions, Toys For Bob and Beenox.
2006 Activision secured the video game license to make games based on the world of James Bond from MGM Interactive. An exclusive agreement between the two begins in September 2007 with Activision's first game set to be released in May 2008 being developed by Treyarch, Beenox and Vicarious Visions.[19] Also in 2006, Activision acquired publisher RedOctane, Inc. (the publisher of the Guitar Hero franchise).
2007 Activision acquired the control of games developer Bizarre Creations.
2007 Activision acquired Irish multiplayer technology company Demonware.[20]
2008 Merger with Vivendi (who owned Blizzard) to become Activision Blizzard.[21]
2008 Activision acquired UK games studio FreeStyleGames.[22]
2009 Activision acquired Los Angeles based developer 7 Studios.[23]
2010 Partnership with Bungie.[24]

Merger with Vivendi

In December 2007, it was announced that Activision would merge with Vivendi Games which owns fellow games developer and publisher Blizzard, and the merger would later close in July 2008. The new company is called Activision Blizzard and is headed by Activision's former CEO, Robert Kotick. Vivendi is the biggest shareholder in the new group.[25] The new company is estimated to be worth $18.9 billion, ahead of Electronic Arts who is valued at $14.1 billion.[26]

Post-merger developments

Sledgehammer Games was founded on November 17, 2009 by Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey,[27] who left Electronic Arts subsidiary Visceral Games.[28][29][30]

The Sledgehammer Games micro site went live on December 8, 2009 with information on the studio development team, location, and current job openings are now available. Speculation on the studio's next game has been offered by industry sites Kotaku and Gamasutra [31]. The studio's first game will be a first-person shooter in the Call of Duty series, which was revealed on their website[32] on June 19, 2010.

Studios

Current

Defunct

Sold

Notable games published

See also: List of Activision games

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

Upcoming games

2010

References

  1. ^ Activision 2008 Annual Report
  2. ^ Activision - Investor Relations: Historical Timeline from Activision's official website
  3. ^ http://www.atarimania.de/zoom_frame.php?TYPE_IMG=CAT&ID=142&NUM_IMAGE=0
  4. ^ "Activision Beats EA As Top Third Party Publisher In U.S." Gamasutra. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
  5. ^ Video Game News, Video Game Coverage, Video Game Updates, PC Game News, PC Game Coverage - GameDaily
  6. ^ Regarding Vivendi - Activision merger and expectations
  7. ^ Call of Duty Black Ops demonstration at Microsoft E3 2010 - YouTube (IGN)
  8. ^ "Classic Gaming Expo Distinguished Guest: Alan Miller". Classic Gaming Expo. Retrieved 2006-08-30.
  9. ^ Ice Hockey Instructions, page 4. Activision 1981
  10. ^ Pitfall! Instructions, page 4. Activision 1982
  11. ^ Chopper Command Instructions, page 4. Activision 1982
  12. ^ Ice Hockey instructions, page 3. Activision 1981
  13. ^ Pitfall! Instructions, page 3. Activision, 1982
  14. ^ Chopper Command Instructions, page 3. Activision 1982
  15. ^ Chopper Command patch on eBay
  16. ^ Down From the Top of Its Game: The Story of Infocom, Inc. report from MIT
  17. ^ MechWarrior History
  18. ^ Mechwarrior History
  19. ^ iTZKooPA (2007-08-22). "Activision Dates 'Call of Duty 4'; Drops Word on Bond Title". Totalgaming.net. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
  20. ^ http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/activision-confirms-demonware-acquisition
  21. ^ http://www.blizzard.com/us/press/080710.html
  22. ^ Bramwell, Tom (2008-10-28). "Activision man confirms DJ Hero". Eurogamer. Eurogamer Network. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
  23. ^ "Activision Blizzard Announces Better-Than-Expected Second Quarter CY 2009 Financial Results". Activision. 2009-08-15.
  24. ^ Halo Developer Joins Forces With Activision
  25. ^ "Vivendi and Activision to create Activision Blizzard – World's Largest, Most Profitable Pure-Play Video Game Publisher" (Press release). Activision, Vivendi. 2007-12-02. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  26. ^ Activision-Vivendi to Shake Up Games Biz
  27. ^ "Michael Condrey". MobyGames. Retrieved 2009-12-19.
  28. ^ "News: Activision cracks EA with Sledgehammer". ComputerAndVideoGames.com. 2009-11-18. Retrieved 2009-12-19.
  29. ^ "Activision Publishing Hires Industry Veterans Glen A. Schofield and Michael Condrey to Lead Sledgehammer Games - Yahoo! Finance". Finance.yahoo.com. 2009-11-17. Retrieved 2009-12-19.
  30. ^ Andy Chalk posted on 18 Nov 2009 16:02 (2009-11-18). "The Escapist : News : EA Vets Launch New Activision Studio". Escapistmagazine.com. Retrieved 2009-12-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  31. ^ "Sledgehammer Games Goes Online, Needs Help - Sledgehammer games". Kotaku. 2009-12-08. Retrieved 2009-12-19.
  32. ^ "Sledgehammer Games working on new Call of Duty". Extra Guy. 2010-06-19. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  33. ^ Activision Acquires U.K. Game Developer Bizarre Creations from Activision's website
  34. ^ "Activision lays off about 200 employees, shuts down Santa Monica studio Luxoflux". Los Angeles Times. February 11, 2010. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  35. ^ Activision Lays Off Shaba's Ranks, Closes Studio (Update)
  36. ^ http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/activision-confirms-shaba-studios-closure
  37. ^ a b Activision Shutters Guitar Hero Creators, GH: Van Halen Developers (Update)

Development studios

Template:Video game companies of the United States

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