While relatively sluggish sales of Guitar Hero World Tour has some convinced that the music game series has peaked, Signal Hills analyst Todd Greenwald disagrees.

"Guitar Hero sell-through [is] a bit soft, but not a disaster," he explained to Edge. "Despite this 'weakness,' we disagree strongly with those who contend that Guitar Hero is a 'fad,' or that the franchise peaked last year with [Guitar Hero III]."

Explaining his belief, Greenwald noted that the overall franchise is "up substantially (including extensions like Guitar Hero Aerosmith and Guitar Hero On Tour)."

He added that North American sales for the franchises could be over 20% for the year, "while Europe could be up nearly 300 percent."

And with Activision planning to triple Guitar Hero releases by 2010, Greenwald noted the potential of further growth for next year, pointing to titles like Guitar Hero: Metallica, Guitar Hero: Jimi Hendrix, DJ Hero, "and more."

Details on many of Activision Blizzard's upcoming titles were revealed today during a joint event with in-game advertiser Massive Inc.

According to MTV, Call of Duty 6 is now known as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and is slated to arrive in fall 2009. As previously revealed, series creator and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare veteran Infinity Ward will return for the latest entry.

Furthermore, an in-game shot of Guitar Hero 5 was shown in a demonstration of Massive's in-game advertising strategy for Activision, showing a "Burger King ad to the right of the note highway." Past Guitar Hero games have used similar in-game ads.

Activision also confirmed rumors that the next Tony Hawk title will be played using some type of peripheral rather than with a controller. The skateboarding game will hit Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and DS in October.

An original James Bond racing title from Project Gotham Racing developer Bizarre Creations was also announced, and is set to debut next September. Bizarre is also working on an original racing title, described by Activision as "Mario Karts meets Forza."

Activision has announced a partnership with the USO, the organization that provides American entertainment to troops stationed overseas, in which Activision will donate cash and games to the organization.

"Through this partnership we are able to bring joy to troops that are serving across the globe this holiday season," said Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith. "The USO is an extraordinary organization and we are committed to working together to develop opportunities that show our support for the troops and celebrate... Read more

Following earlier mentions of Guitar Hero subscriptions, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick today stated that "the ability to offer these [downloadable] songs on a subscription basis may very well result in the newest subscription opportunity in our portfolio."

The statement, made during a financial conference call, came as Kotick was discussing songs made in GH Tunes, a music creation suite that shipped with all versions of Guitar Hero World Tour (PS2, PS3, 360, Wii) last week.

Since the game's release, over 25,000 custom songs have been made and uploaded to its online servers, with the company expecting over 100,000 by the year's end.

As for the sales of the Guitar Hero World Tour Band Kit--which packs the game, a wireless guitar, wireless drums and a wired microphone--Activision claimed it was outselling competitors such as Rock Band by a "very wide margin."

The company noted that launch shipments of Guitar Hero World Tour have mostly sold through, but that more units should arrive during the holiday season.

Kotick also joked about the recent deluge of instrument controllers, claiming that, "We generally believe that every man, woman and child needs at least nine guitars."

Activision has inked a deal with IGA Worldwide, the in-game advertisement firm, to serve up ads inside future Activision titles on PlayStation 3.

The first title affected by the Activision deal is to be Neversoft's Guitar Hero: World Tour, due October 26. Other terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Guitar Hero: World Tour, now with 100% more ads on PS3

Dave Anderson of Activision Publishing said in a press release, "By incorporating dynamic in-game advertising in our titles where it is appropriate, we can increase the realism of our games by presenting consumers with authentic environments in genuine settings, while also expanding a key growth opportunity for the company."

"Activision has one of the most impressive stables of games in the video game industry," said Justin Townsend, IGA Worldwide CEO. "To partner with them demonstrates the appeal of in-game advertising to marketers and consumers, alike. We will be able to connect more brands with engaged users than ever before."

While Guitar Hero World Tour (PS2, PS3, 360, Wii) will allow users to create and share their own songs online when the game releases on October 26, publisher Activision will be remove any track that resembles copyrighted material.

"We'll be actively monitoring the site," Neversoft project director Brian Bright explained to 1up. "We can't condone people putting up covers of music. It's really there for original content."

"If there's a licensed song and someone holds the copyright to it, we'll take it down regardless of whether or not someone complains," Activison PR manager Aaron Grant elaborated.

Along with the music creation suite--which allows MIDI track imports--and online sharing tools, the franchise's fourth major release brings drums and vocals to the traditionally guitar-only franchise. The game was developed by Neversoft for the Xbox 360 and PS3, with Vicarious Visions on the Wii edition and Budcat on the PS2.

Updated: GamePolitics is now reporting that the lawsuits are not related to file sharing, according to the attorney representing Activision.

Original story: Game publisher Activision, the house of Guitar Hero (X360, PS3, PS2, Wii, DS) and Call of Duty (X360, PS3, PC, Wii), is suing individuals for pirating Activision games, garnering large cash settlements and agreements to stay silent.

Edge reported today that Activision has sued New York man James R. Strickland in federal court for copyright infringement, specifically mentioning the Xbox version of Treyarch's Call of Duty 3.

In response, GamePolitics uncovered "that Activision has engaged in a pattern of such federal suits, in most cases garnering big settlements from individuals who are not represented by attorneys and who, as part of their settlements, agree not to discuss the case."

The report continues, "Activision's court filings do not specify the manner in which their copyrights were violated, or how they came to learn of the violations."

Activision's legal tactic may sound familiar to the one used by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) against filesharers. GamePolitics found a solid connection to those suits: "Activision's lead attorney on the cases, Karin Pagnanelli, has worked on numerous file sharing cases on behalf of clients in the music business."

GamePolitics' sampling of settlements, reproduced below, follows... Read more

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, speaking yesterday at the company's Analyst Day event, said he couldn't answer a question from an analyst about attempting to hire Sam and Dan Houser, the producers of the Grand Theft Auto series for rival publisher Take-Two.

Kotick did, however, say this: "We really embrace the individual studio model. We know how to take studios and talented teams and appropriately incentivize them. We’ve definitely become the destination location for independently minded entrepreneurial talent," which Silicon Alley Insider translates from PR-speak to an implicit acknowledgement that Activision may try to hire the duo.

The very "independently minded" Houser brothers have together served as producers for the Grand Theft Auto series since Grand Theft Auto 3, seeing it rise into a franchise worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Their contract expires in February 2009, which may send them running to the highest bidder.

While any potential moves on the brothers' part are officially speculation as of now, even a PR-sanitized quote from Kotick serves as the first public acknowledgement from a rival publisher that the two may leave the publisher they helped to build into a major player.

As previously rumored, Activision today confirmed that it will debut an accelerometer motion sensor for the Nintendo DS alongside a new Tony Hawk game this fall.

Due out in November, Tony Hawk's Motion brings twisting, tilting and turning skateboarding controls to the DS. The game, developed by Creat Studios, also marks the first time that a Tony Hawk entry has featured snowboarding.

In addition to Tony Hawk and the motion sensor, the $39.99 bundle will pack a second motion-controlled game, Creat's action-oriented puzzler Hue Pixel Painter.

A new game based off the adventures of Indiana Jones is headed to Nintendo DS and PSP, according to a listing from European game rating board PEGI.

Listed as Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, the action game is reported to be published by Activision, with no other details available.

LucasArts, the license holder for Star Wars and Indiana Jones games, is known to have an as-yet-untitled Indiana Jones title in development for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of LucasArts' upcoming action game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed were developed internally, while the PS2, Wii, Nintendo DS and PSP editions were outsourced to external studios.

Given that precedent, it is possible that the Staff of Kings listing is indicative of a similar multi-platform treatment for the upcoming Indiana Jones game, though no evidence is currently available to support or deny that speculation.

Electronic Arts and Activision, the two largest publishers in the video games industry, are estimated to release a staggering 75 percent of this season's console games, according to a new report from European market research group Screen Digest.

EA looks to lead the time between July and September with 21 releases including major sports franchises like Madden NFL and NCAA Football. Activision will come in a close second with 19 titles --such as Rapala Fishing Frenzy and Ferrari Challenge-- in the same time frame.

While it is unclear whether these numbers apply only to the European market or worldwide, the two companies' clout will carry into the fourth quarter, where the two companies will still account for 40 percent of all releases.

All publishers ramp up their efforts for Q4 but according to the report EA and Activision appear to be getting a head start as both are "ramping up release volumes to similar levels in both calendar Q3 and Q4."

Activision today revealed that it is planning to release future iterations in the Guitar Hero and Call of Duty franchises during 2009.

According to Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith, the publisher's 2009 lineup will include "multiple new Guitar Hero SKUs [and] an all new Call of Duty [due to our] leapfrog studio strategy," along with the next Tony Hawk game.

The next batch of Guitar Hero and Call of Duty games are arriving this fall in the form of Guitar Hero World Tour and Call of Duty: World at War.

The "leapfrog studio strategy" refers to the company's practice of rotating development responsibilities. Series creator Infinity Ward has helmed Call of Duty 1, 2 and 4, while Treyarch has produced Call of Duty 3 and the upcoming Call of Duty: World at War.

Publisher Activision expects to pull in $40-50 million dollars this year from the sale of downloadable content on Xbox Live, PlayStation Store and the Wii Shop Channel.

Most of that will stem from additional Guitar Hero songs and Call of Duty maps. While both of those practices are relatively common on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Guitar Hero World Tour, due out this fall, will be the first Wii game to sell downloadable songs.

"As you know, [DLC revenue has] been steadily growing, although in the grand scheme it's relatively small," commented Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith.

Update: Later in the conference call, it was revealed that World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King will arrive between October and December.

Original Story: Blizzard Entertainment CEO and co-founder Mike Morhaime today discussed the effects that the recent launch of Funcom's PC MMO Age of Conan had on World of Warcraft (PC).

"Age of Conan released with some initial success," Morhaime noted. "We did see some of our players leave, [but] about 40% of those players have returned to World of Warcraft."

According to the CEO, World of Warcraft has a key advantage as competitors are going up against "a product that has been continually enhanced, expanded and refined for almost four years now."

Morhaime refused to specify a release date for either StarCraft 2 or Diablo 3, merely noting that both games were "heavily in development" and that the... Read more

During a conference call today, Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith detailed the company's expectations for console sales across 2008, revealing its belief that the PlayStation 3 will sell more systems than the Xbox 360 this year.

By the end of the current calendar year, Activision believes the consoles will sell:

• PlayStation 3: 8 million units
• Xbox 360: 6-7 million units
• Wii: 15 million units
• PlayStation 2: 4-5 million units

Griffith also noted the company's expectation that handhelds will grow "in excess of 24 million," but did not provide a specific breakdown between PSP and Nintendo DS.

Nintendo today revealed Vicarious Vision's Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades at its conference at today's E3 2008 press conference.

A follow-up to this year's release of Guitar Hero: On Tour, On Tour: Decades incorporates a feature called song sharing, which allows users to share songs from both versions of the title via local wireless.

The game is slated to debut this fall.

In a press release announcing its upcoming lineup, Activision revealed that Raven Software is working on a first person shooter titled Singularity. No additional details were announced, though the publisher did note the game represented an "all-new wholly owned intellectual property."

The press release also noted this about the untitled new Wolfenstein game, also in development at Raven.

Set within a near-fictional, historical WWII setting, players take on the role of the heroic OSA agent BJ Blazkowicz as they are thrust into the unknown and unexpected to battle against combat troops, otherworldly forces, and the dark science created by a supernatural Nazi force hell-bent on world domination. Wolfenstein offers players an action-packed experience as they investigate the powers of a dark parallel dimension, join with resistance forces, and employ an arsenal of conventional and otherworldly weapons in attempts to annihilate the Nazi war machine. Ensuring a deep variety of action, Wolfenstein provides gamers with an assortment of interlinked missions that drive an intense, story-driven combat experience; while the Wolfenstein multiplayer experience continues the world-renowned tradition of class-based team objective gameplay with a full arsenal of conventional and supernatural weapons for addictive online warfare. (Xbox 360, PS3, Windows PC).

Activision and Blizzard Entertainment parent Vivendi Games announced the completion of their multibillion dollar merger resulting in the creation of Activision Blizzard.

Originally announced in late 2007, the merger was approved by shareholders earlier this week. The new Activision Blizzard corporation is valued at roughly $18.9 billion, marking one of the largest corporate consolidations in the industry's history.

"We are very excited about the opportunity for Activision Blizzard to create a broader entertainment software platform," said Activision Blizzard chairman Rene Penisson. "We are determined to 'think big'!"

According to the terms of the transaction, Vivendi will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Activision. Through the merger and a $1.7B stock purchase, Vivendi will acquire roughly 358.3 million shares in the new company, amounting to a 52% ownership stake in Activision Blizzard.

Publisher Activision today announced that its merger with Blizzard Entertainment parent company Vivendi Games has been approved by shareholders, and the transaction is expected to officially close tomorrow, July 9.

The new company, dubbed Activision Blizzard, is valued at roughly $18.9B.

As per the terms of the merger, Vivendi Games will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Activision, and receive approximately 295.3M shares of Activision stock. Vivendi will also purchase nearly 63 million shares of stock at a total value of $1.7B, making Vivendi's ownership stake in the newly created Activision Blizzard around 52%.

Announced late last year, the Activision Blizzard merger is one of the largest corporate consolidations in the history of the gaming industry.

The first supposed details on the formerly revealed Marvel: Ultimate Alliance sequel have surfaced, providing a glimpse at the action-RPG's characters and platforms.

Due out on PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS and PSP, the game is set during Marvel Comic's recent Civil War event.

Players can apparently combine the superpowers of their chosen team. For example, crossing Storm with Spider-Man would produce electrified webs.

Over 20 Marvel heroes will be playable--including Hulk, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Venom, the Human Torch and Storm--as they face off against their own to show their support or dismay of the Superhero Registration Act.

As with many of our other stories today, the information arrived courtesy internal documents from marketing firm Intellisponse, which were rehosted by NeoGAF.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 is expected to arrive during publisher Activision's 2009 fiscal year, which runs from April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009. No developer has been revealed, though Marvel: Ultimate Alliance veterans Raven Software are expected to return.