Activision Q3 Profits up on Guitar Hero, Call of Duty

Activision Blizzard announced a profit for the third quarter, thanks to two important events: a reduction in costs and strong sales of titles like Guitar Hero 5. Shares rose 2 percent in afternoon trading on the news. The company also predicted lower fourth quarter numbers than what Wall Street expected, despite the pending release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which ships next Tuesday.

For the third quarter, Activision reported a net income of $15 million - 1 cent per share - compared with a net loss of $108 million - 8 cents a share, for the same period a year ago. Net revenue dipped 1 percent in Q3 to $703 million. Excluding revenue that was deferred from the sale of certain titles, the company said revenue for the period would have been right around $755 million.

In the quarter Activision Blizzard increased its U.S. and European share 1.2 points over the previous year across all platforms to 12.3 percent and had two of the top-10 best-selling titles in the U.S.: Guitar Hero 5 and Guitar Hero World Tour, according to retail sales data from NPD Group (U.S.) and Charttrack and Gfk (Europe).

The top selling games for the quarter were Guitar Hero 5, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, and older versions of Guitar Hero, Call of Duty and - of course - World of Warcraft.

For the fourth quarter, Activision is predicting earnings of 43 cents a share on revenue of $2.22 billion, on a non-GAAP basis. Analysts were expecting earnings of 44 cents a share on revenue of $2.3 billion. The fourth quarter will include the release of Modern Warfare 2, Tony Hawk: Ride, DJ Hero and Band Hero.

2.6 million copies of Tekken Shipped

No matter what Scott Jones thinks of Tekken 6 (read his freshly penned review where calls me a cheap bastard for some reason), it is proving to be a top seller for publisher Namco Bandai Games. Across all platforms the game have shipped over 2.5 million copies of the standard retail, Arcade Stick and Limited editions shipped to retailers worldwide for launch. Europe is having a big impact on Tekken 6 - or at the very least Namco Bandai Games and retailers’ expectations of the game’s potential. Shipped just means that retailers want copies of the game in their stores in the hopes than fans want to buy the game.

Tekken 6 is available for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 now.

WWE extends deadline for THQ license agreement renewal

THQ has been granted an extension by World Wrestling Entertainment for the deadline to renew the joint licensing agreement held with JAKKS Pacific. The new deadline is Dec. 31, 2009. If the agreement is renewed and extended it would be good until Dec. 31, 2014. Obviously THQ needs to continue to hold this license to make any more of its SmackDown vs. RAW video games.

THQ said in a brief statement today that the “WWE’s action provides the company with increased flexibility with respect to the renewal of the videogame license.”

No doubt the biggest hurdle for THQ is its tumultuous relationship with JAKKS Pacific, who it has taken legal action against in regards to its share of revenues from products based on the license. We watch and we wait.

CD Projekt and Optimus complete transaction

Poland-based CD Projekt and Optimus S.A. have concluded a deal this week that will see the creator of The Witcher and the owner of the classic games web site Good Old Games get a 23 million dollar injection cash once the deal is complete. As part of the deal CD Projekt will retain control of the company (CD Projekt Group) and gain control of Optimus by acquiring 50 percent of the listed company’s shares. This also makes CD Projekt a publically traded company.

“This transaction represents the full realization of the strategic goals that CD Projekt’s owners set for themselves,” said CDP Investment stockholder Adam Kiciński in a statement of the company’s official web site this morning. “Above all, we will become a publicly listed company, which denotes access to capital. That in turn will spur further company growth. The immediate financing we obtained through the deal will allow us to pursue our operational goals in troubled times. We have gained all this while retaining control of the business, which was essential to us. The added spice of the contract is that we are merging with a corporation that, like CD Projekt, has been at the center of the Polish computer market throughout its history.“

Optimus S.A. is a Warsaw, Poland-based computer company that makes PCs and providing IT solutions for companies. In the 1990s Optimus S.A. was one of the leaders of the Polish computer market.

2010 D.I.C.E. Summit speakers announced

The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences revealed its line-up of initial speakers for the 2010 D.I.C.E. Summit taking place at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, February 17-19, 2010. The speaker line-up is an interesting mix of legal professionals, entertainment industry luminaries and game developers at the forefront of the field.

The 2010 line-up includes Dr Susana Martinez-Conde and Dr. Stephen L. Macknik, Laboratory Directors at The Barrow Institute; Ken Doroshow, Senior Council, Electronic Software Association , former Senior VP, Litigation and Legal Affairs, Recording Industry Association of America, and senior counsel to the United States Department of Justice; Matias Myllrinne, President of Remedy Entertainment, makers of the upcoming Alan Wake; Steve Perlman, Founder, President and CEO, OnLive; and Professor Jesse Schell, Carnegie Mellon University, who teaches Entertainment Technology, specializing in Game Design - and formerly Director of the Walt Disney Imagineering VR Studio.

The D.I.C.E. Summit 2010 is also the home of the 13th annual Interactive Achievement Awards, which takes place on February 18th (and once again hosted by Jay Mohr). Immediately following D.I.C.E. this year, will be the Indie Games Challenge winners announcements and celebration.

Registration for the event is currently open and those that register by October 30th will get special 2009 early bird pricing. Find out more by visiting www.dicesummit.org.

Epicenter Studios opening new shop in Michigan

Epicenter Studios, the makers of Real Heroes: Firefighter for the Wii, are planning to open an office in Detroit , Michigan, according to a report in Michigan Job Search. The company currently holds court in Las Angeles (or more precisely, Sherman Oaks), California and plans to continue to do business there as well. The starting goal is to open a Detroit-area studio and hire 20 workers beginning next month.

Speaking to Michigan Job Search, CEO Nathaniel McClure pointed to Michigan’s refundable tax credits program for entertainment companies as a key factor in its decision to look in Detroit. In a perfect world where everything goes according to plan, McClure hopes that the new studio will employ anywhere from 50 to 90 game designers and developers in two years. He also said that “handshake deals” are in place to hire a handful of recent college graduates from the Detroit area.

“I need to be fully operational by January because we already have our first title to ship by next Christmas,” McClure told Michigan Job Search in a phone interview from downtown Detroit.

That new title is unknown as of this writing  though it has been pegged as an Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3 game. Epicenter is also going to dabbling in a television show in preproduction and a couple of low-budget films — if it can find some partners.

Michigan Job Search also confirmed with Janet Lockwood, the director of the Michigan Film Office, that “McClure has spoken with staff there about obtaining an infrastructure tax credit to offset construction or remodeling costs.”

While it might all seem like wishful thinking or something, McClure must be fairly serious about opening a new studio because he has moved to nearby Farmington Hills from Los Angeles.

We’ll have more on this story as it develops.

Aion, Champions Online top Sept. PC charts

I’m sure that NCsoft is delighted and more than a little relieved that its newest massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Aion, has topped U.S. retail charts for the month of Sept., according to sales data from NPD Group.

Another MMO, Champions Online, also managed to take the number 3 spot in Sept., followed by World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King and the Aion Collector’s Edition SKU.

That means that 4 out of the 5 top spots in Sept. were occupied by MMO releases. Out of the top ten, six were MMO products  - and of those, 3 were World of Warcraft related. Go figure. Anyway here’s the top ten for the moth of Sept.:

Best Selling PC Game Software for Sept. 2009:

1. Aion (NCsoft)

2. The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts)

3. Champions Online (Atari)

4. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (Blizzard)

5. Aion Collector’s Edition (NCsoft)

6. Mumbo Jumbo Assortment (Mumbo Jumbo)

7. The Sims 2: Double Deluxe (Electronic Arts)

8. World of Warcraft: Battle Chest (Blizzard)

9. Reel Deal Slots: Treasures of the Far East (Phantom EFX)

10. World of Warcraft (Blizzard)