Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Vivendi Games sales down from this time last year]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/25/vivendi-games-sales-down-from-this-time-last-year/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/25/vivendi-games-sales-down-from-this-time-last-year/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/25/vivendi-games-sales-down-from-this-time-last-year/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


The word around town is that Vivendi Games has suffered an 11% sales drop in the first half of its fiscal year of 2008. Most of this is related to its 24% sales drop in the first quarter alone, but is this the entire story?

Many times these fiscal sales comparisons don't paint the complete picture. In a recent Gamasutra article, it's pointed out that this sales drop is due to the fact that the first half of this year didn't have a major expansion for World of Warcraft in its line-up. So comparing sales figures from a time with no new expansion to that with a new expansion is apples and oranges. In fact, with Vivendi's recent merger with Activision and the upcoming Wrath of the Lich King which should release by the end of this year, we're sure to hear some incredibly positive numbers for Vivendi's sales numbers during the second half of 2008.

MassivelyVivendi Games sales down from this time last year originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionactivision-blizzardblizzardvivendivivendi-gamesworld-of-warcraftFri, 25 Jul 2008 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Vivendi and Activision merge nears completion as Delaware Court denies preliminary injunction]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/03/vivendi-and-activision-merge-nears-completion-as-delaware-court/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/03/vivendi-and-activision-merge-nears-completion-as-delaware-court/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/03/vivendi-and-activision-merge-nears-completion-as-delaware-court/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


It's a hectic summer over at Blizzard HQ. Inundating the masses with Wrath of the Lich King across the pond at the World Wide Invitational, announcing Diablo 3 on top of that, and battling it out in the courts against the kingpin responsible for World of Warcraft's bot brigade. Aside from all that, there's the whole pending merger with Activision and Vivendi approval process with Blizzard Entertainment right in the middle.

The latest legal development involves a preliminary injunction filed by some shareholders who weren't satisfied with the $27.50 per share offer. The injunction suit was filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery last February by the Wayne County Employee's Retirement System in an attempt to halt the merger. Activision has announced that a Delaware Court junked that preliminary injunction, a decision made by the very illuminated and WoW-knowledgeable Chief Judge William B. Chandler III. Activision will be holding a stockholder meeting next Tuesday on July 8, if approved the merger will complete on July 9th and a new titan, Activision Blizzard will join forces and the gaming world will never be the same again.

We wonder how many level 70 characters the Judge plays or maybe he's already level 75 in the WotlK beta?

MassivelyVivendi and Activision merge nears completion as Delaware Court denies preliminary injunction originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionactivision-blizzardblizzardblizzard-entertainmentcorporate-mergerdelaware-courtdiablo-3industrylegalvivendivivendi-gameswayne-country-employee-retirement-systemworld-of-warcraftwrath-of-the-lich-kingThu, 03 Jul 2008 21:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Blizzard to Activision: we choose you]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/30/blizzard-to-activision-we-choose-you/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/30/blizzard-to-activision-we-choose-you/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/30/blizzard-to-activision-we-choose-you/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

We don't know if anybody has told you, but Blizzard is actually kind of a big deal. Not many companies can hold the attention of their target audience for an entire week with naught but a series of cryptic splash pages. They're such a big deal, in fact, that when it came time for Vivendi to choose a partner for their big merger, Blizzard's preference for Activision was instrumental in their ultimate decision. That is, if Blizzard COO Paul Sams is to be believed.

It was no secret that Blizzard was the real prize in the merger, having pulled in approximately $1.2 billion for Vivendi in 2007 alone. With the twin juggernauts of Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 looming on the horizon, and their "next-gen MMO" project still lurking in the shadows, it seems clear that Sams' comments are anything but idle boasting. According to Sams, the leverage they have in this arrangement is what is going to allow them to preserve their existing management structure that has proved so spectacularly successful. I think that's something we can all get behind.

MassivelyBlizzard to Activision: we choose you originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionactivision-blizzardblizzarddiablo-3interviewmergerpaul-samsstarcraft-2vivendivivendi-gamesworld-of-warcraftMon, 30 Jun 2008 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Where the Activision Blizzard merger stands]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/11/where-the-activision-blizzard-merger-stands/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/11/where-the-activision-blizzard-merger-stands/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/11/where-the-activision-blizzard-merger-stands/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Shock and awe hit the gaming industry on December 2, 2007, on that morning two giants announced a deal worth 18.8 billion dollars. Activision and Vivendi Games are to merge, a monstrosity in the making set to rival Electronic Arts for the throne to the word's biggest and most profitable force in game development and business.

An acquisition on this scale doesn't happen overnight, and since the original announcement there have been numerous noteworthy developments. Gamasutra delves into the acquisition providing an in-depth analysis which focuses on the overall impact thus far about key players and their new positions, what this means for Blizzard Entertainment, and of course more numbers. The piece also includes commentary with some respected authorities in their field including Massively's own Michael Zenke.

MassivelyWhere the Activision Blizzard merger stands originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionactivision-blizzardblizzardblizzard-entertainmentcorporate-mergerelectronic-artsgamasutraindustryvivendivivendi-gamesworld-of-warcraftWed, 11 Jun 2008 20:30:00 EST<![CDATA[World of Warcraft to invade Russia]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/10/world-of-warcraft-to-invade-russia/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/10/world-of-warcraft-to-invade-russia/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/10/world-of-warcraft-to-invade-russia/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


World of Warcraft is literally taking over the world one country at a time. It turns out Blizzard Entertainment, the Vivendi money-maker see great potential in the Russian market and will be translating and localizing World of Warcraft there next. This will be the sixth official World of Warcraft port to another language that supports official localization. Other localizations include: English, Spanish, French, German, and Korean. I think the next localization should be Barrens chat. Blizzard could build their own country out of money and call it the Barrens, and all the players that don't read quests and like Chuck Norris jokes can live and play WoW there.

Translating and localizing the behemoth that is World of Warcraft is no easy undertaking, and Blizzard Europe is looking for new employees based out of their France and Ireland offices. Take your pick of in-game support, offline technical and customer support, localization and quality assurance, community relations and website development. Players will benefit from the same quality of 24/7 native-language support like the other localizations. For further information please see the Blizzard UK employment page. For those in Russia already playing WoW, Blizzard will release language packs to make the transition much more smoothly when the time comes.

Which country has the best official World of Warcraft site? If I could actually read and completely load the WoW Korean website I could give you my input. What I can see does look flashy.

[via, WoW Insider]

MassivelyWorld of Warcraft to invade Russia originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 Dec 2007 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blizzardblizzard-entertainmentblizzard-europebreakinglanguageslocalizationsvivendivivendi-gameswarcraft-russiaworld-of-warcraftwowwow-europewow-russiaMon, 10 Dec 2007 21:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Blizzard rolled into Activision Blizzard mega-publisher [Updated]]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/02/blizzard-rolled-into-activision-blizzard-mega-publisher/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/02/blizzard-rolled-into-activision-blizzard-mega-publisher/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/02/blizzard-rolled-into-activision-blizzard-mega-publisher/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

In a HUGE news story that we were quite unprepared to have fall into our laps on a lazy Sunday morning, it's been announced that Activision and Vivendi Games have signed a major agreement to the tune of $18.8 billion, that will see the two mega-publishing houses rolled into a company to be known as Activision Blizzard, which will collectively have the biggest and most expansive portfolio of game titles of any company to date - even surpassing rival Electronic Arts in sheer size and scope.

According to the terms of the agreement, Vivendi Games will be merged into Activision as a wholly owned subsidiary, and Vivendi Games stock will be turned into Activision common stock. We're not financial analysts nor are we fluent in legalese, so its difficult for us to interpret the exact terms of the deal, but Vivendi will come out of the merger as a 68% owner of the newly formed company. There's no indication yet if the merger will have any bearing on Blizzard's current or future development plans, though it seems likely that there is going to be a change as the management at the highest levels of the company will have a different face to it.

For some quotes from the parties involved, and our reaction, follow us after the jump.

Continue reading Blizzard rolled into Activision Blizzard mega-publisher [Updated]

MassivelyBlizzard rolled into Activision Blizzard mega-publisher [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 02 Dec 2007 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionactivision-blizzardblizzardbreakingcorporate-mergerindustrytakeovervivendivivendi-gamesworld-of-warcraftSun, 02 Dec 2007 12:20:00 EST