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Activision Q2 revenues down, earnings up

Activision has released its financial results for the second quarter of 2010, reporting revenues of $967 million. That's down from $1,038 million reported during the same period last year. Net income is up, however, with the company reporting earnings of $219 million, a 12 percent increase over last year's $195 million. Before you get too confused, know that costs were down dramatically, dropping from $820 million in Q2 2009 to $667 million this year, which led to the increased income.

The driver behind Activision's results, according to CEO Bobby Kotick, was "strong consumer response" to the company's workhorse brands, World of Warcraft and Call of Duty. The report also mentions that Activision's digital sales "exceeded retail sales for the first time," having grown more than 20 percent year over year. Somehow, we're not terribly surprised.

Looking forward, Kotick pointed to StarCraft 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops and the World of Warcraft expansion Cataclysm as potential bright spots for the rest of the year. Specifically, Kotick noted that Black Ops pre-orders are already outpacing the number of Modern Warfare 2 pre-orders at this time last year.