Activision (NSDQ: ATVI) swung to a profit for Q3, after posting a $108 million loss for the same quarter last year. The game publisher’s revenue (excluding charges) dipped by one percent to $703 million. But it met analysts’ non-GAAP EPS expectations, and at $755 million, its non-GAAP revs thoroughly beat…

First, Courtney Love threatens to “sue the s—t” out of *Activision* for putting Kurt Cobain in Guitar Hero 5, and now rock-ska band No Doubt is suing the company for turning it into a “virtual karaoke circus act” in Band Hero. At issue is the way that band members like…

Growth of Activision’s money-making MMO World of Warcraft is being stalled in China, as Reuters reports that the game is now caught up in the government’s crack-down on foreign investment and operations in its online games industry. For context, Activision (NSDQ: ATVI) reported about $70 million worth of revenue from…

The Beatles: Rock Band may have trumped Guitar Hero 5 in terms of both unit sales and actual revenue, but less consumer interest in both franchises has actually dragged down game industry sales overall by about 50 percent. Gamasutra dug into sales for both franchises across all consoles—including downloadable song…

Reports have been flying around about Electronic Arts (NSDQ: ERTS) potentially buying hot social-gaming company Playfish—with sources telling Inside Social Games that the deal may have closed “a few weeks ago”, and GamesIndustry.biz reporting that it was worth $250 million. EA’s response to us: “We don’t comment on rumors about…

While rival gaming companies like EA and *THQ* were laying off thousands of staff earlier this year, Activision (NSDQ: ATVI) kept chugging along. No more. Slumping game sales industry-wide have forced the company to start cost-cutting; the first casualty is former Scratch the Ultimate DJ developer 7 Studios. Reports say…

Electronic Arts (NSDQ: ERTS) has two sequels to its Dead Space survival thriller in the works, and now there’s a feature film coming down the pike, too. It’s EA’s fifth game to make its way into the back rooms of Hollywood, fruit of the representation deal it signed with talent…

Gamers have salivated over the possibility of a World of Warcraft movie ever since Blizzard Entertainment sold the rights to Legendary Pictures in 2007, but no real details have come of the partnership since then. Now, the film at least has a big name director: Spider-Man alum Sam Raimi. Raimi…

It took a few weeks, but *Sony* CEO Sir Howard Stringer has responded to *Activision* CEO Bobby Kotick’s very public threat to stop making games for the PS3 if Sony (NYSE: SNE) didn’t slash the console’s price to boost sales: “He likes to make a lot of noise,” Stringer told…

It’s one thing when indie developers, bloggers and a couple of analysts plead with Sony (NYSE: SNE) to come down on the price of the PS3. It’s another thing when the CEO of *Activision*—currently the biggest gaming company in the world—says that it might stop making games for the PS3…

World of Warcraft publisher Blizzard Entertainment has poached casual games expert Greg Canessa from PopCap Games. Canessa’s new title isn’t clear, but Joystiq has confirmed that he’ll be working on an “unannounced project in the online space” for the World of Warcraft publisher. Canessa previously focused on bridging the gap…

Activision (NSDQ: ATVI) apparently has aspirations well beyond the video-game world for its hit franchise Guitar Hero. CEO Bobby Kotick told THR that the franchise “might make for a good TV show or good concert tour,” but the publication’s sources say discussions about it are well under way. Activision subsidiary…

Rebounding from posting a $72 million loss in Q4, *Activision Blizzard* turned in strong Q1 numbers. Net revenues came in at $981 million—14 percent higher than it had originally forecast. Profits also exceeded expectations, rising to $189 million, or $0.14 per diluted share; Activision (NSDQ: ATVI) had forecast an EPS…

A California judge has just upped the stakes in the trade secrets and IP battle between *Activision* and Scratch: The Ultimate DJ creators Genius Products and Numark Industries: he granted the smaller companies a restraining order against *Activision* and its subsidiary 7 Studios. The ruling forces Activision (NSDQ: ATVI) to…

A pair of indie gaming companies may have tossed a wrench into Activision’s plans to piggyback on the success of its Guitar Hero franchise with the upcoming DJ Hero game. Genius Products and Numark Industries, the two companies behind the as-yet-released Scratch: The Ultimate DJ game, have filed a lawsuit…

Former *Yahoo* COO Dan Rosensweig’s name has come up in the running for a number of high-profile Web positions in recent months: including Yahoo’s hunt for a new CEO and Microsoft’s search for a head of advertising. But All Things D reports that Rosensweig is headed in a completely different…

Being a debt-free company that’s sitting on $3 billion in cash has its perks. One of them is the capacity to gobble up competitors that have strengths in areas where you’re deficient—and that’s just what *Activision* Blizzard plans to do this year. CEO Mike Griffith told Bloomberg that even though…

Robust sales of blockbuster titles like Guitar Hero World Tour and World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King weren’t enough to keep Activision (NSDQ: ATVI) Blizzard in the black for Q4, as the publisher swung to a loss for Q4. The company reported a GAAP net loss of $72…

Microsoft’s Massive in-game ad division has a new leader: former Xbox Live GM JJ Richards. As ClickZ notes, Richards is a natural fit for the new position—he helped initiate MSFT’s acquisition of Massive in 2006, and has helped grow Xbox Live into a viable community (not to mention a steady…