Sequel titles mark windfall for Activision
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Anybody who thinks that making games is still a niche industry unworthy of serious attention in the global entertainment market is probably still right, because the companies that make games generally aren't the ones getting filthy rich off of their creations.Much as is the case in any creative endeavor, it's the parent company at the top of the ownership ladder that is pulling in the big bucks. Case in point, Activision is putting up some dizzying numbers this year by doing exactly what Hollywood has been doing for a long time now: milking the absolute hell out of sequel titles.
...sales for “Guitar Hero III†and “Call of Duty 4†helped Activision boost its guidance for the second time in under a month, sending its stock skyrocketing by 14% on Tuesday.
Vidgame publisher said Tuesday that it is upping revenue guidance for the fiscal year ending March 31 from $2.07 billion to $2.3 billion. Most of the increase is expected to come during the current holiday season, where Activision increased its predicted revenue from $1.05 billion to $1.225 billion.
Activision is still trying to chase down Electronic Arts, but they aren't going to get there anytime in the near future. But with numbers like that, is it any wonder that people keep talking about the movie studios and game publishers in the same paragraph this year?
Those may not be studio-level numbers yet, but a billion bucks is still a billion bucks no matter how you got it. And to think, these guys don't even have the Halo franchise under their belt, that gem belongs to Bungie/Microsoft. Somebody, perhaps a lot of somebodies still think that Halo can be turned into a feature film, and bring even more top-dog congloms even more riches beyond what they already have.
I say go for it, it's not like anybody can reach the low bar Uwe Boll keeps setting for everybody with his crappy adaptations. Right?
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