For the quarter ended June 30, 2008, Activision’s stand-alone net revenues were $654.2 million, a 32% increase, as compared to net revenues of $495.5 million reported for the June quarter last fiscal year. Activision’s stand- alone net income for the June quarter was $59.0 million, or $0.18 earnings per diluted share, as compared to net income of $27.8 million, or earnings per diluted share of $0.09 reported for the previous fiscal year’s June quarter.

Excluding the impact of expenses related to equity-based compensation of $0.02 per diluted share and one-time costs related to the business combination between Activision and Vivendi Games of $0.02 per diluted share, Activision had non-GAAP net income of $74.3 million and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share of $0.23 for the June quarter. This compares to non-GAAP net income of $32.8 million and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share of $0.11 for the June quarter of the previous year, in each case excluding the impact of expenses related to equity-based compensation.

Separately, on July 24, 2008, Vivendi announced its preliminary June quarter financial results (on IFRS basis) which included results for the business that became part of Activision on July 9, 2008. For the quarter ended June 30, 2008, Vivendi reported 223 million euros in revenues and 42 million euros in EBITA for Vivendi Games which includes the results of Blizzard Entertainment®.

Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, stated, “Activision’s June quarter stand-alone results were the highest ever for a non-holiday quarter, driven by two new Guitar Hero titles - Guitar Hero®: Aerosmith® and Guitar Hero®: On TourTM -, Kung Fu PandaTM and continued sales of our catalogue titles. Our record performance highlights the continued strength of our business. We are well positioned to continue to capitalize on our strong product portfolio and the positive trends in our industry.”

Kotick continued, “We have completed our transaction with Vivendi and our integration plans have identified higher than anticipated cost-synergy opportunities. Both Activision and Blizzard Entertainment’s businesses have maintained their momentum. Activision Blizzard’s combined outlook for calendar year 2008 is set to exceed the comparable calendar year 2009 non-GAAP financial targets that we provided on December 2, 2007, by approximately $600 million in non-GAAP net revenues and $100 million in non-GAAP operating income.”

“We are very excited to add Vivendi Games’ multi-million unit selling properties Crash Bandicoot®, Ice Age® and Spyro®, as well as two new intellectual properties - Prototype and an as yet unannounced title - to our game roster,” commented Mike Griffith, President and CEO of Activision Publishing. “The combination with Vivendi Games strengthens our holiday slate which is already anchored by three of the top-selling franchises in the industry - Guitar Hero, Call of Duty®, James Bond and includes such highly anticipated games as Call of Duty®: World at War, Guitar Hero® World TourTM and Quantum of SolaceTM, as well as Crash Bandicoot®: Mind Over Mutant and The Legend of Spyro®: Dawn of the Dragon.”

Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, added, “Since June 2007, World of Warcraft® has grown its subscriber base by over 1.8 million, to 10.9 million players. Blizzard Entertainment also continues to launch World of Warcraft in new territories and we are very excited about its recent release in Latin America and the upcoming launch in Russia. Blizzard has a strong pipeline of products in development including World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich KingTM, StarCraft® II and Diablo® III.”

via Gamespress.com.

“The launch of World of Kung Fu into Western markets represents the culmination of many months of strenuous effort, and is a real milestone for VestGame. It’s great to see so many new players enjoying the fruits of our labor”, said Jonathan Seidenfeld, VestGame’s Director of Business Development. The game has been averaging 700 to 1000 new registrations every day over the past several months.

WoKF allows players to master their own style of Kung Fu, then take part in the creation of a “Wulin”, or classic Kung Fu society. As players perfect their skills, they can establish their own schools, and pass their knowledge along to others. Along the way they will undergo numerous tests and encounter ferocious enemies as they strive to become Kung Fu legends.

The astonishing 3D graphics in the game are inspired by the natural landscapes portrayed in traditional Chinese painting. The character art was drawn by the famous Japanese designer Senri Kita, best known for her work on Samurai Shodown, as well as other titles from SNK and Capcom. The awesome artwork and exceptional gameplay come together in a huge 3D virtual world for players to explore and ultimately, to master. The game allows player versus player combat as well as player versus environment. There are systems that allow full scale battles between different Kung Fu schools, and even between citizens of different countries.

“It’s unusual to find a game that succeeds so well in combining different styles of gameplay together in such a huge, well balanced, and ultimately enjoyable package. It has been a great pleasure to oversee the production of this outstanding game”, says David Clarke, the Producer of World of Kung Fu.

Although it is now officially released, there will still be regular updates designed to keep WoKF fresh, with new challenges adding depth and enhanced playability to the game going forward well into the future.

More detailed information about World of Kung Fu and its many unique features be found on the Official World of Kung Fu Website

IGG has announced that they will be starting the open beta for the Wonderland Online European Server.

In order to offer players better service, IGG will be launching the European Server open beta and releasing new servers soon. Players will then have the option of choosing a server close to their country when playing Wonderland Online. In the future, IGG will also be releasing more servers for different areas so that players can fully enjoy Wonderland Online.

Since its debut, Wonderland Online has earned the support of its players by consistently offering great service, events, and a real sense of community. The number of players has been increasing constantly and more and more players from all over the world have joined this game. All players speak highly of the game quality and stability.

For more info please visit: http://wl.igg.com/.

Images via Gamespress. Copyright 2008 IGG

Wow! It looks like the rumors were true, after all. Cryptic, creator of all things superhero MMO related, is indeed developing Star Trek Online or more sexily known as just “STO”.

Cryptic Studios™, a leading developer and publisher of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), announced today that it has secured the global rights to develop and publish Star Trek® Online, a massively multiplayer online game based on the legendary Star Trek franchise, from CBS Consumer Products.

Cryptic will unveil the first Star Trek Online gameplay footage as well as details about this highly anticipated MMO at the annual Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas on Sunday, August 10, 2008. Trek fans from around the globe can also view the event live via webcast at http://www.startrekonline.com/.

Interested participants can register today for the Star Trek Online webcast and to sign up for the STO community by visiting http://www.startrekonline.com/.

Read what Cryptic’s CCO Jack Emmert has to say about STO after the jump.

Star Trek® has been a part of my entire life. Few other of my geeky obsessions can make that claim.

I started watching the original Star Trek when it reached syndication and cult status. I can remember even more vividly where I was for the premiere of every subsequent Star Trek series. For Star Trek: The Next Generation, I watched “Encounter at Farpoint” lying on the floor of my childhood apartment. When Star Trek: Deep Space Nine rolled around, I was a graduate student at the University of Chicago. I watched the first episode in the basement of my dorm with a dozen other students. A few years later, I was at Ohio State and saw Voyager travel to the Delta Quadrant while sitting on a friend’s couch in Columbus, Ohio. And I was thrilled to see the beginnings of Starfleet in Star Trek: Enterprise. At the time, I was just starting out as a game designer, with little to no idea that I’d be jumping into that very universe within several years.

When the opportunity came for Cryptic to obtain the license for Star Trek, we were absolutely thrilled. I realized how many people at Cryptic loved the IP when the possibility of us getting the rights leaked out to the rest of the company. I had more Trekkies in my office asking to work on the project than I ever imagined.

Cryptic would now be given the task of bringing to life this entire universe that has been so brilliantly conceived and executed over years of TV, movies, books and comics. There are few other fictional backgrounds that fit the MMORPG medium so well. After all, Star Trek was never about a single character, ship or even planet; Star Trek was always about an entire universe. And MMORPGs are uniquely suited to create such a thing and allow players to explore every inch.

Admittedly, Star Trek has its challenges. We want to make a game that best captures the real essence of Star Trek. We see Star Trek as much about exploration as combat. As much about the variety of alien civilizations as it is about the core Vulcans, Klingons, Humans, etc. It’s going to be an exciting ride over the coming months as we begin to unveil STO. I can’t wait.

Source. Images via Stratrekonline.com. Copyright 2008 Cryptic Studios.

An in-house Nintendo DS™ version of the successful „Neighbours from Hell“ brand (with more than 2 million copies sold worldwide) is already in development. The DS version will be enriched by several mini games and provides entertainment for all ages combined with simplified controls. The acclaimed gameplay of the series remains unchanged, but new concepts for further conversions are in process.

The release of „Neighbours from Hell DS“ is scheduled for Q4 2008, while the following Nintendo DS titles will already be released by the end of August:

Published with The Games Company:
• Aquarium DS
• Fantasy Aquarium DS
• Matchstick Puzzle by DS
• Paint by DS
• Paint by DS: Military Vehicles

Published with Tivola Publishing
• Music Monstar DS in Spain and Portugal

JoWooD Productions is already in negotiation with several developers and publishers for FY 2009. Further cooperations will be announced soon.

Microsoft today announced the European release date of “Too Human”, the epic third person action game from renowned Canadian developer Silicon Knights. Exclusive to Xbox 360™, “Too Human” will be available across Europe from 29th August 2008.

In this modern take on classical Norse mythology, players are thrust into the midst of an apocalyptic battle that threatens the very existence of mankind. Playing as the divine cybernetic son of Odin, Baldur, you are one of the Aesir, humanity’s protectors charged with defending mankind from the onslaught of ancient machine armies.

As “Too Human” chronicles this epic story, the game breaks the genre barrier by combining elements of both the action and RPG genres. Players are treated to a non-stop barrage of action, powered by the seamless integration of melee and firearms combat, with the deep role-playing game elements fuelled by breathtaking visuals. Battles unfold on awesome scale as players engage with vast numbers of enemies, and gamers can also take this to the next level playing cooperatively on Xbox LIVE.

“Too Human” is produced by Canadian-based Silicon Knights, bringing a wealth of knowledge, story-based design and gameplay expertise to the next generation of video gaming, and committed to elevating games to the prime form of entertainment.

Images via Gamespress.com. COpyright 2008 Microsoft and Silicon Knights.

Total revenues across the half year hit EUR 444 million (USD 698 million), compared with EUR 500 million (USD 786 million) last year, while Q2 revenues were EUR 223 million (USD 350 milion) - up from EUR 209 million (USD 328 million) in the same quarter in 2007.

That represents a Q2 literal increase of 6.7 per cent year on year, or a 17.9 per cent increase with currency fluctuations taken into account.

Vivendi Games and Activision completed a merger at the beginning of this month, forming Activision Blizzard, a move which has triggered restructuring that looks set to hit the Vivendi Games UK office hard.

Source

Hello Hellgaters,

I know everyone is looking for an announcement, and we’d love to make one — but right now, many things are in flux and we don’t have all the information yet. As soon as we do, we’ll post here on the forums, on the website, and anywhere else we can find you.

In the short term, please do not worry. The game is up, the servers are not going away in the short term and any major changes to status will be communicated in advance.

I’d like to ask for your patience as we try to figure it all out and chart a new course. We value your community, your commitment, and your passion for Hellgate and we will make sure that any solution that we architect will support all of you as best as we are able.

Thanks again. We hope to have a real announcement shortly.

Source

Nintendo’s Cammie Dunaway talks to Wired and wants to let us know that she’s not fake.

“Tell your blog that I’m really a genuinely smiley, nice person. Because people think I’m fake, smiling up there,” Nintendo’s new executive vice president said in an interview during last week’s E3 Media & Business Summit. Dunaway was referring to the company’s poorly received E3 press conference days before, in which she served as the lead presenter. Gaming fans watching at home, and even some in-person attendees, thought her exuberant performance sounded like false enthusiasm for the company’s lineup of mostly casual games.

For me, it’s not as she’s fake or not. When she presented for Nintendo at E3, a lot of gamers were shocked to see someone as cheerful as her (well, relative to the Reggienator) onstage. I read someone even say: “Gee, that looks like my Mom having fun out there”. Not exactly a good pitch for the “core” gamers that Nintendo supposedly is also thinking about.

Sorry, Ms. Dunaway. It would have helped if Ninty showed core gamers games they would actually play. And for me, maybe even Zelda and Mario just wont cut it anymore…..

Wired.com: Let me preface this by saying, I understand that Nintendo keeps getting hammered with: Wii is a fad, you’re not going to keep engaging these Wii Sports people, they’re going to get bored of it, and you had to show how Nintendo is going to keep these people playing with new ideas. A-plus. Home run. But as a hard-core gamer who bought a Wii for Zelda and Mario, where’s the content for me?

Cammie Dunaway: Well, you heard [Nintendo President Satoru] Iwata’s commitment, that the Zelda and Mario teams are hard at work. And you know us, Chris, we don’t talk about things until we are confident that they are in a place where we’re going to be able to deliver on them in relatively short order after talking about them. So you have to know that those teams are working hard and there will be stuff that will be delightful coming out. Meanwhile, hopefully titles from third parties like Call of Duty will be fun for you. Also, hopefully you’re going to be able to enjoy titles like Animal Crossing and Wii Music for what they are — very different experiences. Experiences that’ll be social, and you’ll play with a group of different people.

Wired.com: At the same time, isn’t E3 the time to do this? Aren’t you really addressing the hard-core gamer crowd when you come to E3, even now?

Dunaway: I think we’re addressing both. Absolutely the hard-core gamer crowd is critically important to us.

Wired.com: Because there are kids at home watching this press conference on TV. Or glued to their monitors, popcorn in hand. And they’re waiting for, here’s the new Zelda, the new Mario, Kid Icarus, whatever.

Dunaway: Absolutely, but we announce what we have that’s ready to share. And one of the things that I love so much about Nintendo that I think is certainly unique in the scope of the companies that I’ve been involved in is that we don’t release stuff until it’s perfect. And so we don’t talk about stuff until we’ve got a great degree of confidence that we’re close enough to release it. So we announce what we have. And we’re really proud of what we have coming in to this holiday season. Animal Crossing with WiiSpeak, which is a completely different take on the social experience, being able to have a room full of people talking to another room full of people. And Animal Crossing is a franchise that’s been really enjoyed and embraced by a lot of serious gamers. And Wii Music, which is just such vintage Nintendo. Because it’s taking something that’s a genre that everybody thinks they understand and twisting it on its ear, and doing it in a really fresh way. It’s all about creativity, all about improvisation rather than mastery.

Full Interview via Wired. Images via Wired.com.

Flagship Studios has also put its other MMO, Mythos, on indefinite hold following reports that the company has laid off most of it’s staff and has shut down Hellgate London.

We regretfully announce that on Friday, July 18, 2008 at 11:59 CST the world of Uld known as Mythos will be going on hiatus. On behalf of all of the Devs and Community team we want to thank you to everyone for their support and assistance with Mythos Alpha and Beta testing and we hope to see you soon.

I loved Mythos much more than Hellgate and if some developers/publisher would pick it up and not alienate its asian users then sign me up on that bandwagon again.

Image from Gamespress.com.Copyright 2008 Flagship Studios.