By now most of our readers should be aware of the recent merging of industry giants Activision and Vivendi. This acquisition has created the Activision Blizzard brand, which will more than likely start an industry trend.
Perhaps more crucially, the move has now cemented Activision Blizzard as the world’s largest videogame publisher, surpassing Electronic Arts, which has held the crown for some time now.
Electronic Arts views this as a solemn period that they must go through, and ultimately one that will prove that they are quality company, or show they lack the tools essential to being an industry top dog.
Speaking on the matter, an EA representative commented, "…We’re always at our best when we have a clearly defined competitor, [The Activision/Vivendi merger] doesn’t change our strategy. Our CEO John Riccitiello has been encouraging senior managers to think of all other publishers as one large competitor–he’s been encouraging them to think like challengers."
As it stands now, Activision Blizzard is expected to bring in USD 3.8 billion in revenue for the 2007 calendar year while conversely, EA is expecting USD 3.35 – 3.65 billion for their fiscal year ending March 31, 2008. Additionally, Activision Blizzard currently holds control over the world’s largest MMO, World of Warcraft, while EA made the move to buy out Pandemic/Bioware, which is said to be working on a Star Wars MMO.
The rep closes things out by offering some industry support to what will be their biggest competition for the next few years, "…We wish them good luck and look forward to the competition. We believe that EA still has the industry’s strongest portfolio of game franchises."
Source: CVG