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Activision-Blizzard is not Blizzard
I worked at Blizzard for close to three years. During my time there I saw a lot of big things happen: the closing of the Console Division and shelfing of Starcraft Ghost, the launch of the first (and second!) World of Warcraft expansion ... and one that some people say is the biggest event in Blizzard's history, Vivendi Games' merger with Activision.The merger was, of course, a controversial move; and, like any corporate maneuver, it's generated a lot of misunderstandings, misreporting, misinformation ... in general, it's been a flurry of mis-es. It's upsetting and frustrating to see so many people not understand what the merger means and, in turn, form stubborn opinions.If you want to help curb ignorance and misunderstanding regarding what's going on with the merger, you're in luck. My former employment at Blizzard means I have a lot of information to share to set the record straight. Even if you're going to continue believing that Blizzard is somehow dipping in quality or in a bad way because of the merger, at least read what I have to say. It'll be worth it.
Activision-Blizzard is not Blizzard, part 2
This portion addresses questions about the merger's affect on Blizzard's day-to-day. So if most publishers control what their developers produce, does Activision control what Blizzard does? No, since Activision is not Blizzard's publisher.What about in areas like support?When I was in support at Blizzard, the only negative change I noticed in my day-to-day work post-merger was that we suddenly had an influx of terrible A-B-themed benefits program posters hung up around the office. Things may have changed since I left, but my contacts have expressed mostly positive opinions about how things are running over there.Won't the merger result in a dip in quality of Blizzard products? Has it already?No and no. The merger gives Blizzard the opportunity to hire more employees to produce more content while maintaining the standard of quality that we expect from Blizzard. It also allows them to keep more employees due to the new financial backing provided by the merger, which affects things like benefits and payroll.Blizzard has stated that you can't get quality content made just by throwing money at it, but money obviously helps sometimes.Did Activision force Blizzard to release Wrath of the Lich King during the holiday season to maximize sales? Let me answer this with an anecdote.Blizzard's office walls are decorated with a lot of stuff -- concept art, murals, lifesize statues of characters, and posters with Blizzard's philosophies on art and design, etc. One of these posters talks about mistakes developers make, like pushing for a holiday release when the game's not done or polished enough.It's my belief, which is backed up by Blizzard bigwigs, that if they didn't feel the expansion was worthy for release then they wouldn't have released it when it was released. What's up with this money-making scheme of releasing Starcraft II as three games? This is because of their post-merger greed, right? I've been hearing this a lot lately. Even our own Mike Schramm commented that the Blizzard that let people play Warcraft 2 on Battle.net for free isn't the same Blizzard that's releasing three Starcraft II games.This really, really confuses me. Why would anyone familiar with Blizzard's work be put off by them releasing expansions? Because that's exactly what the last two Starcraft II titles will be -- expansions. One will add the Zerg campaign and one will add the Protoss campaign, as well as likely multiplayer additions and enhancements to the experience. The single-player campaign for each game will be incredibly robust as well, with tons of in-game engine cinematics and branching events. Devs explained to me that they had three choices once they realized the depth of the Terran campaign: - Shorten and pare down each campaign, resulting in campaigns about as long as Warcraft III, and release it as one game.- Make the campaigns as robust as possible and release the Protoss and Zerg campaigns in expansions.- Put everything in on game exactly how they want it and have Starcraft II come out in 2014.They said the the choice was obvious, and I agree. It's about delivering the player the best experience.Won't this merger result in a lot of stupid cross-promotions?Probably. Activision isn't known for its advertising or marketing subtlety. We dealt with it a little at work -- Activision sent us a ton of copies of Guitar Hero Aerosmith that none of us really cared about (but hey, extra Rock Band guitar, right?), as well as posters in the office with Activision desperately trying to equate our flagship properties with their licensed crap. Yes, Activision, clearly Zeratul is on the same level as the main character from Kung Fu Panda.The best I can hope for is that we'll never see World of Warcraft advertised on KFC combo meal boxes. Blizzard seems to consider the insulation of the WoW universe important, which is why we'll likely never see in-game advertising or "Lars Umlaut <Guitar Hero>" as an NPC.What's your personal opinion on the merger?From a corporate perspective, it makes sense and gives Blizzard access to more funding and assets. You can see that they've begun hiring a ton of designers and other WoW-relation positions, which can only increase the amount of content we get to experience and enjoy.From a gamer's perspective, Activision is an IP-exploiting shovelware mill run by a doddering blowhard who doesn't play games and it hurts my heart to see Blizzard's name attached to them.On the bright side, if you look at your Wrath box, you won't see Activision's logo on it anywhere. That's more than just literal -- it's symbolic, and I hope that it stays that way for a long, long time.If you have any specific questions about the merger that you think I can answer, you're more than welcome to email me at sacco [at] wowinsider dot com and I'll compile the questions and responses in a followup article.
Ghostbusters spooking you out in June 2009
Atari recently caught the Ghostbusters game in its ghost trap, and has now revealed a release date for the title -- the once-shaky project will escape its Ecto-Containment Unit in June 2009! There's no word yet on which region that date is for, though Atari's press gathering is taking place in the UK, for what that's worth.Who's excited, then? We noticed a few naysayers in the comments of our last Ghostbusters post, but the involvement of (Mushroom Men creator) Red Fly gives us confidence!%Gallery-27664%
Atari rescues Ghostbusters
When your game's aloneWith no publisherWho you gonna call?Ghostbusters! Atari!For a while, the merging of Activision and Blizzard looked like it might spell a grisly end for the Ghostbusters game, but now HERO OF THE PEOPLE Atari has stepped in to save the day, confirming previous assurances from Dan Akroyd and Variety. Once caught in development limbo, Ghostbusters is now due to release in 2009, and will feature the film's original main cast and a storyline penned by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. We never imagined ourselves saying this, but let's all raise a glass to Phil Harrison.%Gallery-27664%[Via press release]
We ain't afraid of no ghosts, just cancellation
If there's something strange in your neighborhood, who ya gonna call? Ghostbust ... er ... well, maybe not.With the Blizzavision merger, a few Sierra titles (like Ghostbusters) may get the axe. When it comes to efficiency, Sierra has been deemed a "non-strategic business unit," which (we're sure we don't have to tell you) is not good. While the recently merged publisher reports that Sierra franchises like Crash Bandicoot and Spyro will be safe, the fate of Ghostbusters is still up in the air. Offering a bit of reassurance, Sierra claims, "[Ghostbusters] is not cancelled and will not be cancelled." Some words from the people with the money, though, would probably make us feel better.
Vivendi Games sales down from this time last year
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.
E308: Ghostbusters busting ghosts, faces
Ghostbusters could be good, but the antics of Slimer and the gang might not make a smooth video-gamerial transition. If you watch the above trailer, peruse the new gallery and your head doesn't explode, there's a chance for success in an otherwise disappointing scenario.While "cartoonish" graphics might not be everyone's cup of tea, Red Fly still stood up to defend the game, with fun a priority. Realistically, that should be the goal for all games, but somehow adding the word "party" when describing a Wii title actually results in negative fun levels. %Gallery-27664%[Via press release]
BEHOLD: Activision Blizzard is born
Stockholders have approved the merger of Activision and Vivendi Games to form the goliath Activision Blizzard. GameDaily reports the deal officially closes on July 9 and the new company will trade on the Nasdaq under Activision's ATVI ticker. This instantly makes Activision Blizzard the new alpha dog in the industry with a value of $18.9 billion -- EA now trails with $14.1 billion.Without getting into the nitty-gritty details, Activision Blizzard is expected to have the highest profit margins in the industry. Activision Blizzard should also continue to enjoy bagiggles of cash flowing into its coffers unless franchises like World of Warcraft and Guitar Hero suddenly self-destruct.
Vivendi and Activision merge nears completion as Delaware Court denies preliminary injunction
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?
Blizzard to Activision: we choose you
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.
Where the Activision Blizzard merger stands
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.
No WoW causes Vivendi Q1 sales to drop 24%
Vivendi Games, soon to merge with Activision and become the goliath Activision Blizzard, saw its sales fall 24% from Q1 last year, thanks to the lack of a World of Warcraft expansion. The percentage may be down, but the money still flows like an Azerothian river, with Blizzard contributing €192 million of Vivendi's €221 million in sales this quarter. Vivendi also announced that WoW added another 700,000 players and the Sierra divisions performed "slightly higher" than last year.With Vivendi expecting the next WoW expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, sometime later in 2008, we'll plan on a Naaru size jolt to Activision Blizzard's cash flow at that time. For now, Vivendi will just have to enjoy the disgusting amounts of cash it gets from WoW, instead of the nauseating amounts Activision Blizzard will make from the WotLK release.
Breaking: Activision and Vivendi discontinue ESA membership
Following up on a rumor posted on Kotaku, we've just learned that Activision and Vivendi Games has discontinued its membership with the Entertainment Software Association. This information comes in the wake of yesterday's announcement that Activision and Vivendi would not attend E3 this year. The ESA's Rich Taylor, senior VP of communications and research (full quote after the break) says, "We can confirm that Activision and Vivendi Games opted to discontinue their membership. The ESA remains dedicated to advancing our industry??s objectives such as protecting intellectual property, preserving First Amendment rights, and fostering a beneficial environment for the entire industry."
Connect your Wii and DS, track paranormal activity
Our enthusiasm for Ghostbusters has taken a real beating these past few weeks -- after the initial yaaaay period of retro-tinged excitement wore off, suddenly we started to receive worrying news. Terms such as "casual" and "family-friendly" were bandied about in relation to the Wii edition, and we began to panic and hyperventilate a bit, despite Red Fly's admirable attempts to calm us down.So here's something to lift our spirits (har): according to Sierra studio director John O'Keefe, the Wii version will support both four-way split-screen and the ability to connect your DS to your Wii and deploy the handheld as a PKE meter, a.k.a, the device with the winged arms that the real Ghostbusters used to track spooks. How totally awesome is that?"Very awesome" is the answer.
Variety: Sierra devs need to justify games after Activision merger
Blizzard might get a free pass when Activision officially takes over Vivendi Games, but the Sierra branch of the company isn't so lucky. Variety reports that Sierra developers will have to justify their games currently in development to Activision executives once the merger is complete and re-pitch their work to survive.Variety believes games expected this year like Bourne, Prototype, Brutal Legend and Ghostbusters are safe, but that games for '09 (titles that we'd probably hear about for the first time at E3) are all in limbo. For example, will there be another Bourne game when it conflicts with Activision's James Bond license? The fate of Sierra titles now lies in the whims of Activision execs.*In case you're justifiably young enough not to know who Roberta Williams is, here's a link.
How Activision Blizzard almost didn't happen
A proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission tells the tale of how the Activision Blizzard merger almost didn't happen. GameDaily sifted through the massive document to discover that discussions about the possible merger go back to November of 2006, with things really heating up going into last summer. After little progress on transaction terms, Jean-Bernard Lévy, CEO of Vivendi, called up Activision head Bobby Kotick in June to say that he "did not think it made sense to continue discussions concerning a possible transaction at that time."Around July, Kotick contacted Lévy with Activision's new proposal. The lawyers went to work and sometime around September, with "little progress on open issues," Kotick called the deal off. Strangely, Blizzard's Mike Morhaime and other Blizzard managers (who were under the Vivendi umbrella at the time) stepped up and got things back on track with a management structure proposal. By November the Activision Blizzard deal was final and the industry got another 800 lb. gorilla to keep EA company.
World of Warcraft to invade Russia
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]
Activision and Vivendi merge, officially a 2 ton gorilla
Yeah, yeah, we're late to the news. Let's get it out of our systems, shall we? All better? Good. The simple fact is we were wrist-deep in poopy Fancast yesterday, so the news had to wait. If, by some miracle, you haven't heard, Activision has merged with Vivendi Games, owners of Blizzard (World of Warcraft). So, the number one third party publisher has merged with the owners of basically the most successful game ever made to create Activision Blizzard. Lots of follow-up stories have broken since then, and instead of recounting them all here, we present you with a nice list culled from the headlines at Joystiq. Feel free to peruse them at your leisure. Make sure you do though, or you'll look like a fool when the subject comes up at your next gamer cocktail party. Activision and Blizzard parent merge in $18 billion deal Blizzard wants you to know that merger won't affect their games GameSetWatch analyzes Activision/Vivendi merger The Activision Blizzard conference call Activision stock way up after merger news Joystiq Podcast Roundtable - Blizzavision ... Actiblizzard?
The Activision Blizzard conference call
Following yesterday's big Activision Blizzard news, executives from Activision and Vivendi Games held an 8:30am conference call explaining the merger, the product of over a year of discussion between the two companies. There are a few major takeaway points from the conference call, most of which involve Blizzard. Those worried that the merger could affect Blizzard's sterling reputation for quality -- and those still unconvinced despite Blizzard's FAQ on the topic yesterday -- will be pleased to know the company will operate as its own entity. The deference paid to Blizzard's properties throughout the call -- not to mention the new comapany's name itself -- serves as a testament to the value of Blizzard in the arrangement. Will Blizzard make World of Warcraft for consoles? "There are no plans to release anything on the console side. Blizzard's focus is on the PC side. If we were to release anything on the console side, that would be managed by the Blizzard side of the business. At some point in the future, if it made sense to talk to the Activision side of the business about that, we would certainly do so. At this point, there are no plans to release any of the Blizzard franchises on the consoles," says Blizzard boss Mike Morhaime.
Blizzard rolled into Activision Blizzard mega-publisher [Updated]
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.
