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Activision

Activision
TypeSubsidiary of Activision Blizzard
IndustryVideo game industry
Founded1979
HeadquartersSanta Monica, California, United States
Area servedWorldwide
ProductsCrash Bandicoot series
Call of Duty series
Marvel Video Games
Spyro the Dragon series
Tony Hawk series
James Bond series
Guitar Hero series
Prototype series
RevenueUS$2.9 billion (FY 2008)[1]
Owner(s)Vivendi
Employees4,000[2][3]
ParentActivision Blizzard
WebsiteActivision.com
Activision headquarters in Santa Monica, California

Activision is an American video game publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Eric Hirshberg. It was founded on October 1, 1979[4] 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).[5] 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.[6] On January 18, 2008, Activision announced they were the top US publisher in 2007, according to the NPD Group.[citation needed]

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.[7] Activision will still exist as a subsidiary owned by Activision Blizzard, and it will still develop and publish games such as Call of Duty, along with some of Vivendi's owned IPs, such as the Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon and Prototype 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.[8] On February 9, 2011, Activision announced that it was cancelling the Guitar Hero franchise, and would no longer be developing or publishing future titles for the series[9] and eventually clarified that the series was merely taking a break.[10]

Contents

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.[11]

Atari programmers David Crane, Larry Kaplan, Alan Miller, and Bob Whitehead met with Atari CEO Ray Kassar in May 1979 to demand that the company treat developers as record labels treated musicians, with royalties and their names on game boxes. Kaplan, who called the others "the best designers for the [2600] in the world", recalled that Kassar called the four men "towel designers" and that "anyone can do a cartridge." Crane, Miller, and Whitehead left Atari and founded Activision in October 1979[12] with former music industry executive Jim Levy and venture capitalist Richard Muchmore; Kaplan soon joined the company.

Activision was the first third-party developer of software for the 2600.[11] Unlike Atari, the company credited and promoted game creators along with the games themselves. The steps taken for this included devoting a page to the developer in their instruction manuals[13][14][15] 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.[16][17][18][19] 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 that 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!, 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. On June 13, 1986, Activision purchased struggling text adventure pioneer Infocom. Jim Levy was a big fan of Infocom's titles and wanted the company 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.[20]

In 1988, Activision began involvement in other types of software besides video games, such as business applications. As a result, Activision changed its corporate name to Mediagenic to have a name that globally represented all its 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 wherein 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 also known as Bobby Kotick. After taking over the company, the new management filed for a Chapter 11 reorganization. In the reorganization, the company 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 concentrate solely on video gaming.

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 did not violate their licensing agreement. These included NetMech, MechWarrior 2: Ghost Bears Legacy, and MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries. The entire MechWarrior 2 game series accounted for more than US$70 million in sales.[21]

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 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.[22]

Acquisitions and partnerships

YearAcquisition
1997Raven 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).
1998Pandemic 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.
1999Activision acquired Neversoft, best recognized for their line of Tony Hawk skateboarding games. That same year, Activision acquired Expert Software (maker of Home Design 3D).
2000Activision made an equity investment in Gray Matter Interactive, to develop the follow-up to id Software's Wolfenstein 3D.
2001Activision acquired rights to Columbia Pictures' feature film Spider-Man. That same year, Activision also acquired Treyarch.
2002Activision 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.
2003Activision 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.

2004The company marked its 25th anniversary, and stated that it had posted record earnings and the twelfth consecutive year of revenue growth.
2005Activision acquired ShaderWorks, acquired game developers Vicarious Visions, Toys For Bob and Beenox.
2006Activision 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 for release in May 2008 being developed by Treyarch, Beenox and Vicarious Visions.[23] Also in 2006, Activision acquired publisher RedOctane, Inc. (the publisher of the Guitar Hero franchise).
2007Activision acquired the control of games developer Bizarre Creations.

Activision acquired Irish multiplayer technology company Demonware.[24]

2008Merger with Vivendi (who owned Blizzard) to become Activision Blizzard.[25]
2008Activision acquired UK games studio FreeStyleGames.[26]
2009Activision acquired Los Angeles based developer 7 Studios.[27]
2010Partnership with Bungie.[28]

Activision announced that Sledgehammer Games will be making Call of Duty games.

2011Beachhead Studios is developing the ELITE Website for the Call of Duty games.

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 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.[29] The new company is estimated to be worth US$18.9 billion, ahead of Electronic Arts, which is valued at US$14.1 billion.[30]

Post-merger developments

Sledgehammer Games was founded on November 17, 2009 by Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey,[31] who left Electronic Arts subsidiary, Visceral Games.[32][33][34]

The Sledgehammer Games micro site went live on December 8, 2009 with information on the studio development team, location, and current job openings. Speculation on the studio's next game has been offered by industry sites, Kotaku and Gamasutra.[35] The studio's first game was originally planned to be a first-person shooter in the Call of Duty series, with rumors of MMO aspects, as revealed on their website[36] on June 19, 2010. However, after the resignation of many Infinity Ward employees, Sledgehammer Games was brought in to help with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.[37]

On February 9, 2011, Activision announced that it was ending its once profitable Guitar Hero franchise, in the process doing a layoff of approximately 500 people. At the same time it announced that it was discontinuing development of True Crime: Hong Kong, and that it was refocusing its efforts into a new online service named Call of Duty: Elite for its IP Call of Duty. At the same meeting these announcements were made, Activision reported net losses of $233 million for fourth quarter 2010.[9]

Activision has recently (mid-2011) restarted its in-house development team, releasing Generator Rex: Agent of Providence in October 2011 for PlayStation 3, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, Wii, and Xbox 360.[38] The game was roundly ignored by critics, with no review scores available on Metacritic as of February 2012.[39]

Studios

Current

  • Beachhead Studios in Santa Monica, California, founded in February 2011.
  • Beenox in Quebec City, founded in May 2000, acquired on May 25, 2005.
  • DemonWare in both Dublin, Republic of Ireland and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, founded in 2003, acquired on May 2007.
  • FreeStyleGames in Leamington, England, United Kingdom, founded in 2002, acquired September 12, 2008.
  • High Moon Studios in San Diego, founded as Sammy Entertainment in April 2001, acquired by Vivendi Games in January 2006.
  • Infinity Ward in Encino, California, founded in 2002, acquired in October 2003.
  • Neversoft in Los Angeles, founded in July 1994, acquired October 1999.
  • Raven Software in Madison, Wisconsin, founded in 1990, acquired in 1997.
  • Sledgehammer Games in Foster City, California, founded July 21, 2009.
  • Toys For Bob in Novato, California, founded in 1989, acquired May 3, 2005.
  • Treyarch in Santa Monica, California, founded in 1996, acquired 2001.
  • Vicarious Visions in Albany, New York, founded in 1990, acquired January 2005.

Defunct

  • Gray Matter Interactive in Southern California, founded in the 1990s as Xatrix Entertainment, acquired January 2002, merged into Treyarch in 2005.
  • Infocom in Cambridge, Massachusetts, founded on June 22, 1979, acquired in 1986, closed in 1989.
  • Luxoflux in Santa Monica, California, founded in January 1997, acquired October 2002, closed February 11, 2010.[40]
  • Shaba Games in San Francisco, California, founded in September 1997, acquired in 2002, and closed on October 8, 2009.[41][42]
  • RedOctane in Mountain View, California, founded November 2005, acquired in 2006, closed February 11, 2010.[43]
  • Sierra Entertainment in Los Angeles, founded in 1979 as On-line Systems, acquired from the merger with Vivendi Games, closed in 2008.
  • Underground Development in Foster City, California, founded as Z-Axis in 1994, acquired in May 2002, closed February 11, 2010.[43]
  • Budcat Creations in Las Vegas, Nevada, founded September 2000, acquired on November 10, 2008. Closed November 2010.
  • 7 Studios in West Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Utah and Taipei, Taiwan, founded in 1999, acquired on April 6, 2009. Closed in February 2011.
  • Bizarre Creations in Liverpool, England, founded as Raising Hell Productions in 1987 and changed name in 1994, acquired on September 26, 2007.[44] Closed February 18, 2011.
  • Radical Entertainment in Vancouver, Canada, founded in 1991, acquired by Vivendi Games in 2005. Closed June 28th, 2012.

Sold

  • Wanako Studios in New York City, founded in 2005, acquired by Vivendi Games on February 20, 2007, sold to Artificial Mind and Movement on November 20, 2008.
  • Swordfish Studios in Birmingham, England, founded in September 2002, acquired by Vivendi Universal Games in June 2005, sold to Codemasters on November 14, 2008.
  • Massive Entertainment in Malmö, Sweden, founded in 1987, acquired by Vivendi Universal Games in 2002, sold to Ubisoft on November 10, 2008.

Notable games published

See also: List of Activision games

1980s

  • Fishing Derby (1980)
  • Skiing (1980)
  • Freeway (1981)
  • Ice Hockey (1981)
  • Kaboom! (1981)
  • Stampede (1981)
  • Barnstorming (1982)
  • Enduro (1982)
  • Chopper Command (1982)
  • Pitfall! (1982)
  • River Raid (1982)
  • Robot Tank (1983)
  • H.E.R.O. (1984)

1990s

  • Popeye 2 (1994)
  • MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat (1995)
  • Quake series (with the exception of the first Quake)
  • Interstate '76 (1997)
  • Battlezone (1998)
  • SiN (1998)
  • Vigilante 8 series (1998-2008)
  • Civilization: Call to Power (1999)
  • Tony Hawk series (1999–present)

2000s

  • X-Men series (2000 – present) (with the exception of X-Men: Mutant Academy 2)
  • Star Trek series (2000–2002)
  • Call to Power II (2000)
  • Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX (2001)
  • The Weakest Link (2001)
  • Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (2002)
  • Spider-Man movie series (2002–present)
  • Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy (2003)
  • True Crime series (2003–2005)
  • Call of Duty series (2003–present)
  • Doom 3 (2004)
  • Rome: Total War (2004)
  • Gun (2005)
  • Guitar Hero series (2006–2011) (with some exceptions)
  • Marvel: Ultimate Alliance series (2006–present)
  • Quantum of Solace: The Game (2008)
  • Crash Bandicoot series (2008-present)
  • Spyro the Dragon series (2008-present)
  • Prototype series (2009–2012)
  • Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D (2008)
  • Wolfenstein (2009)
  • DJ Hero series (2009–2011)

2010s

  • Blur (2010)
  • Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2011 (2010)
  • Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2 (2010)
  • GoldenEye 007 (2010)
  • James Bond 007: Blood Stone (2010)
  • Singularity (2010)
  • Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions (2010)
  • Transformers: War for Cybertron (2010)
  • NASCAR The Game 2011 (2011)
  • Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
  • Goldeneye 007: Reloaded (2011)
  • NASCAR Unleashed (2011)
  • Generator Rex: Agent of Providence (2011)
  • Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure (2011)
  • Zoobles! Spring to Life! (2011)
  • The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
  • Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (2012)
  • Skylanders: Giants (2012)
  • 007 Legends (2012)
  • Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse (2012)

Upcoming games

2013

  • Fast & Furious: Showdown (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC)
  • Deadpool (PS3, Xbox 360)
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
  • Call of Duty (2013) (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC)
  • Skylanders: Swap Force (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Wii, Nintendo 3DS)

TBA

  • Destiny (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360)

References

  1. ^ Activision 2008 Annual Report
  2. ^ Alex Pham (February 9, 2011). "Activision pulls plug on Guitar Hero, laying off 500 workers". Los Angeles Times. 
  3. ^ "Activision". Archived from the original on 2 November 2010. http://www.linkedin.com/companies/act ivision. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  4. ^ Activision – Investor Relations: Historical Timeline from Activision's official website
  5. ^ Zoom
  6. ^ "Activision Beats EA As Top Third Party Publisher In U.S.". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 11 August 2007. http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news _index.php?story=14803. Retrieved July 24, 2007.
  7. ^ Rachel Rosmarin (2). "Vivendi To Merge With Activision". Forbes (Forbes.com LLC). Retrieved 22 August 2012. 
  8. ^ IGNentertainment (14). "Call of Duty: Black Ops Gameplay Demo Pt. 2 - E3 2010" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4gSJv jy9rE. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Activision pulls plug on Guitar Hero, laying off 500 workers". Los Angeles Times. February 9, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2011. 
  10. ^ Tom Ivan (12). "Guitar Hero 'on hiatus' for now - Activision". CVG. Future Publishing Limited. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/ 297719/guitar-hero-on-hiatus-for-now- activision/. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  11. ^ a b Classic Gaming Expo (1999–2010). "Classic Gaming Expo Distinguished Guest: ALAN MILLER". Classic Gaming Expo. CGE Services, Corp. http://www.cgexpo.com/bios/amiller.ht m. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  12. ^ Hubner, John; Kistner, William F. Jr. (1983-11-28). "What went wrong at Atari?". InfoWorld. Originally published in the San Jose Mercury News. p. 151. Retrieved March 5, 2012. 
  13. ^ Ice Hockey Instructions, page 4. Activision 1981
  14. ^ Pitfall! Instructions, page 4. Activision 1982
  15. ^ Chopper Command Instructions, page 4. Activision 1982
  16. ^ Ice Hockey instructions, page 3. Activision 1981
  17. ^ Pitfall! Instructions, page 3. Activision, 1982
  18. ^ Chopper Command Instructions, page 3. Activision 1982
  19. ^ Chopper Command patch[dead link] on eBay
  20. ^ Down From the Top of Its Game: The Story of Infocom, Inc. report from MIT
  21. ^ MechWarrior History
  22. ^ Mechwarrior History
  23. ^ iTZKooPA (August 22, 2007). "Activision Dates 'Call of Duty 4'; Drops Word on Bond Title". Totalgaming.net. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved August 22, 2007. 
  24. ^ Activision confirms Demonware acquisition | News
  25. ^ Blizzard Entertainment – Press Release
  26. ^ Bramwell, Tom (October 28, 2008). "Activision man confirms DJ Hero". Eurogamer (Eurogamer Network). Retrieved November 10, 2008. 
  27. ^ "Activision Blizzard Announces Better-Than-Expected Second quarter CY 2009 Financial Results". Activision. August 15, 2009. 
  28. ^ Ashcraft, Brian. "Halo Developer Joins Forces With Activision". Kotaku. http://kotaku.com/5527119/halo-develo per-joins-forces-with-activision.
  29. ^ "Vivendi and Activision to create Activision Blizzard – World's Largest, Most Profitable Pure-Play Video Game Publisher" (Press release). Activision, Vivendi. December 2, 2007. Archived from the original on April 9, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/2008040921 1320/http://www.activisionblizzard.co m/pressReleases/pr120207.php. Retrieved December 2, 2007.
  30. ^ Activision-Vivendi to Shake Up Games Biz
  31. ^ "Michael Condrey". MobyGames. http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sh eet/view/developerId,27510/. Retrieved December 19, 2009.
  32. ^ "News: Activision cracks EA with Sledgehammer". ComputerAndVideoGames.com. November 18, 2009. Archived from the original on 20 November 2009. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/ article.php?id=227584. Retrieved December 19, 2009.
  33. ^ "Activision Publishing Hires Industry Veterans Glen A. Schofield and Michael Condrey to Lead Sledgehammer Games – Yahoo! Finance". Finance.yahoo.com. November 17, 2009. Archived from the original on 27 November 2009. http://investor.activision.com/releas edetail.cfm?releaseid=424906. Retrieved December 19, 2009.
  34. ^ Andy Chalk posted on Nov 18, 2009 16:02 (November 18, 2009). "The Escapist : News : EA Vets Launch New Activision Studio". Escapistmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 21 November 2009. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/ view/96205-EA-Vets-Launch-New-Activis ion-Studio. Retrieved December 19, 2009.
  35. ^ "Sledgehammer Games Goes Online, Needs Help – Sledgehammer games". Kotaku. December 8, 2009. Archived from the original on 12 December 2009. http://kotaku.com/5421701/sledgehamme r-games-goes-online-needs-help. Retrieved December 19, 2009.
  36. ^ "Sledgehammer Games working on new Call of Duty". Extra Guy. June 19, 2010. http://www.extraguy.com/2010/06/sledg ehammer-games-working-on-new-call-of- duty/. Retrieved June 19, 2010.
  37. ^ "Modern Warfare 3 on track for November". Fudzilla. January 21, 2011. http://www.fudzilla.com/home/item/216 15-modern-warfare-3-on-track-for-nove mber. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  38. ^ "Activision is developing again.". Retrieved August 1, 2011. 
  39. ^ Generator Rex: Agent of Providence for 3DS Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More - Metacritic
  40. ^ "Activision lays off about 200 employees, shuts down Santa Monica studio Luxoflux". Los Angeles Times. February 11, 2010. Archived from the original on 15 May 2010. Retrieved May 2, 2010. 
  41. ^ Michael McWhertor. "Activision Lays Off Shaba's Ranks, Closes Studio (Update)". Kotaku. http://kotaku.com/5376826/activision- lays-off-shabas-ranks-closes-studio.
  42. ^ Activision confirms Shaba Studios closure | News
  43. ^ a b Luke Plunkett. "Activision Shutters Guitar Hero Creators, GH: Van Halen Developers (Update)". Kotaku. http://kotaku.com/5470149/activision- shutters-guitar-hero-creators-gh-van- halen-developers.
  44. ^ Activision Acquires U.K. Game Developer Bizarre Creations from Activision's website

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