In the quarterly earnings call today, Activision’s bigwigs got on the horn and told the investors the good news — money was made from January to March of this year. The news wasn’t quite as eventful as last time (thankfully) and you can read the complete transcript if you like, but for gamers, there were some interesting bits worth noting:
What Was Said: Escalation will launch for PS3 “later in the quarter.”
My Take: Specifically, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg said it would be launching “later in the quarter, and hopefully the [PlayStation Network] situation will be resolved by then.” Also, CFO Thomas Tippl noted that PlayStation Network’s outage may affect next quarter’s earnings. Details were not offered on exactly how much, but I think this was just to set expectations. The PSN outage’s effects will likely be felt for a while.
Escalation is coming for PS3 and PC. After that? They're still mum.
What Was Said: A new Call of Duty game is coming out later this year, but no title was named.
My Take: Last year, Activision said a COD title would be coming in 2011, so this is more a reassurance, but for anyone hoping to hear the name of the game or details about it, none were offered. “This year’s Call of Duty has a very high bar to exceed,” Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick acknowledged. Eric noted that this year’s game “has exceeded every internal milestone.” The suits promised we’d hear more details soon.
What Was Said: Blizzard has not confirmed a game for 2011 — but that means we should get two in 2012.
My Take: If you’re an investor, you want to know what’s coming as well as what isn’t. So if Activision and Blizzard don’t expect Diablo III to make this year, they have to say that. Blizzard Entertainment CEO Mike Morhaime said Diablo III just went into internal beta, and there’s an external beta planned for Q3. But, as has always been their credo, Blizzard is not rushing anything to market. “I want to be clear that we do not have an official release date or window yet,” he said. “As always, we will not compromise the quality of the game in order to hit a window.” Remember that Cataclysm and StarCraft II both came out in 2010, so two in a year from Blizzard is not unheard of.
Eruptor from Skylanders lives on all platforms, apparently.
What Was Said: A few new Skylanders details were mentioned.
My Take: The game made its debut at Toy Fair, but it was only shown to attendees on Wii. Eric mentioned that Skylanders is also coming to 360, PS3, Wii, handhelds, mobiles, and the web. The “web world” was mentioned before but the specific hardware platforms were not. Eric also said the game will come with a starter pack — the game, the portal that lets the toys interact with the virtual world, and three toys that let you play the game from start to finish. Additional toys will be made available later, and they’ll be priced at less than $10 each. The game is due out for the holiday. Hearing Bobby describe it as “one of the biggest investments we’ve ever made in a new intellectual property” and hearing these details, I am a little more interested.
What Was Said: Beachhead’s project is kind of a big deal.
My Take: Eric said that Beachhead, the studio he announced on the last call, is creating an “all-new connected digital universe for the Call of Duty franchise. This platform will include a suite of services and content plan that will unite and ignite the community like never before. The platform will support in-game integration and bring online experiences and console play together for the first time.” He said it is ”an integral part” to the game in development, and also noted the Beachhead project has been in the works for two years — so clearly, this was percolating long before they actually announced the studio that is steering it.
What Was Said: Activision is STILL not charging for COD multiplayer.
My Take: While answering a follow-up question about Beachhead’s project, Eric clarified one more time for good measure: “While we are attempting to deliver new, incremental experiences [...] we are not attempting to monetize or take any experience away that currently comes as part of the value proposition of buying the game.” In other words, when it comes to charging for MP, no still means no. Bobby added: “Very importantly, our community of COD players is one we celebrate. You will see a lot of new services and capabilities that will be provided free of charge to all of our customers.” This rumor, of course, has been addressed definitively before.
Wipeout In The Zone will be Activision's first Kinect title
What Was Said: There are two Kinect games in the works for this year.
My Take: In addition to namechecking licensed games based on Transformers, X-Men, Spider-Man, James Bond, and Bakugan, Eric noted that Wipeout In the Zone as Activision’s first Kinect title for Xbox 360, and that the Cabela’s hunting franchise will expand “this year to include all-new peripherals and a brand-new Kinect experience.” I hope I get to run (in place) for my life from a rampaging grizzly bear!
What Was Said: Activision’s goal: Fewer games, better games.
My Take: “The best way to achieve success is to provide gamers with the highest possible creative quality,” said Eric, and later reiterated with the phrases “fewer, better franchises” and “fewer, better opportunities” during the call. Bobby took a historical look at it: ”This year, as in the last few years, we expect only a handful of franchises are likely to generate the vast majority of industry profits as players continue to grativate toward the very best entertainment experiences.” In other words…fewer games, better games.
What Was Said: StarCraft II’s expansion will be revealed soon.
My Take: Mike said Blizzard expects to show Heart of the Swarm, the first StarCraft II expansion pack, to the press later this month. Keep your eyes on your favorite PC gaming news source for that one.
First Strike had a major financial impact. You probably guessed that.
What Was Said: Digital product revenues were up 30% over this time last year.
My Take: That means “Activision sold a lot of DLC” — thank you, First Strike! (Actually, Eric did thank Treyarch and the rest of the Activision team for their hard work; he later noted that the community’s passion was “truly humbling.”) First Strike sold 1.4 million units in the first 24 hours, and sold about 20% more than the MW2 Stimulus Pack; it’s still early, but so far, Escalation is selling the same 20% over Resurgence. As for the overall 30%, I would also suspect the ability to download Cataclysm directly might add to this number, but when asked, Mike Morhaime noted that Blizzard doesn’t release the split between retail and digital when it comes to their games. But I am mentioning this here at the end because everybody seemed bullish on the idea of digital content on the call, so it might be something to watch.
There was more info, lots of it financial, but I thought this was what mattered most. If you have any further questions or clarifications, hit me below in the comments. I’ll tackle whatever I can from my notes.
