Kotick, Call of Duty Endowment Announce Memorial Day Facebook Campaign

On May 25, 2011, Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty Endowment announced its second Memorial Day Facebook Campaign to raise awareness about the dire state of unemployment for returning veterans. The campaign will also raise funds for an additional grant for Hire Heroes USA (HHUSA), a non-profit providing post military career help to returning veterans.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in March that the unemployment rate for returning male veterans ages 18-24 was just below 22 percent. The unemployment rate for female veterans in the same range exceeded 15 percent.

In 2009, after learning of the struggles faced by many returning veterans, Activision’s CEO Bobby Kotick started the Call of Duty Endowment to help provide job placement assistance to veterans. The Endowment is a non-profit, public benefit corporation that raises national awareness about veteran unemployment and assists organizations that provide job assistance and training to veterans coming home.

“It is a great honor to support these organizations that are training and placing our military men and women in 21st century careers,” said Bobby Kotick. “For those who give selflessly to defend our freedom, we must continue to increase the public’s awareness of this problem, and we must work together with businesses around the country to find our heroes fulfilling and sustainable jobs.”

This years Memorial Day Facebook Campaign will honor service members and increase funding for veteran job training. The campaign encourages of The Call of Duty Endowment Facebook page to honor a current military member or veteran in their Facebook status.

For every fan that donates their status, the Call of Duty Endowment will donate an extra dollar to Hire Heroes USA’s current grant of $20,000. The Memorial Day Facebook Campaign will last from Wednesday, May 25 until Monday, May 30. HHUSA provides veterans with career workshops and job fairs to help match veteran skill sets and interests with the needs of partnering companies.

Since Kotick and Activision Blizzard started the Call of Duty Endowment in 2009, more than $1 million in grants and scholarships have been donated to provide post military career help to returning veterans. Last November, Activision Blizzard pledged another $1 million to the Endowment.

For more info or queries in regards to Bobby Kotick or the Call of Duty Endowment please click here on Kotick

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Activision’s Kotick To Talk Call Of Duty At The E3 Convention

Last week Activision discussed the company’s first quarter earnings in a conference call with shareholders. Much of the commentary from the company’s executives addressed the industry’s shift toward digital distribution platforms and the ability to deliver their product directly to gamers. With the approach of the E3 Convention in June, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick says he hopes console makers focus on their online networks more than the consoles themselves.

“The industry is evolving – we had more than 50 per cent of our revenues from digital this quarter – and one of the things you realize is that there’s less of a need for new hardware when people become much more enthusiastic about the online components of the game,” said Kotick during last week’s conference call.

Activision Blizzard publishes the wildly successful Call of Duty series. The most recent installment in the series, Call of Duty: Black Ops, broke all records, to become the biggest video game launch of all time. So far, Activision has digitally released two content packs for the game that contain additional gaming maps and forms of gameplay. The two digital releases, Call of Duty: Black Ops First Strike and Call of Duty: Black Ops Escalation, are available directly through Xbox LIVE and have sold extremely well. In fact, Black Ops: First Strike logged 1.4 million downloads in the first 24 hours.

“We’ve more confidence in consumer spending, we feel like spending has stabilized and there are price cuts on the [console] hardware in the works,” said Kotick. “With an increasing amount of business available in digital markets, it makes sense to make it easier for more people to access those digital products.”

Bobby Kotick’s remarks towards console makers coincided with a security breach that occurred of the PlayStation Network. While a shutdown of the Network did not affect Activision’s financial outcome in the first quarter, it is still a cause for concern. Kotick believes that the gaming industry will benefit from console makers focusing more on their networks and not so much on creating state-of-the-art hardware.

“The platform used to be defined as just the box, but the platform today is really the box plus all the online services and capabilities,” said Kotick.

Activision Blizzard has plans to release its own gaming platform specific to the Activision Call of Duty franchise. The new platform will offer users a specialized experience geared towards optimized Call of Duty gameplay. While Activision is not abandoning physical game releases, it believes the future lies in the digital sector of the industry. The company is expected to showcase its new platform at this year’s E3 Convention in Los Angeles.

For additional information or quesitons about Bobby Kotick or Activision please click here on Kotick

Robert Kotick, Activision Blizzard Prepare For Modern Warfare 3

This year’s E3 Expo in Los Angeles is fast approaching. The videogame convention will be held June 7-9 and rumors have already surfaced about the products that will be showcased at the event. A significant amount of buzz has surrounded Activision’s newest Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. In what is undoubtedly one of the largest information leaks ever, the game’s storyline and game details broke on Kotaku.

According to Kotaku, the game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will take place in multiple cities around the world including New York, London, and Paris and is being developed by Infinity Ward studios and Sledgehammer Gamers.

In addition to the retail game, Activision is expected to also release DLC content packs for Modern Warfare 3. Activision Blizzard has a successful track record with post release DLC content. To support Call of Duty Black Ops, they launched two map packs — Black Ops First Strike and Black Ops Escalation. First Strike saw record success with 1.4 million downloads in the first 24 hours on Xbox LIVE.

“Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 has a very high bar that has been set. We believe this year’s game will result in the best Call of Duty experience we have created to date. [Gamers should be excited with the] creative excellence and sheer scale of the game we are making,” said Activison Blizzard’s CEO Bobby Kotick.

Activision has also announced the release of an online platform specifically made to support Call of Duty. The new platform is expected to offer new social interaction and an enhanced online multiplayer experience for the Call of Duty online community.

“The platform is a response to the passion that people have shown for the Call of Duty games,” said Hirshberg, CEO of Activision. “We continue to hear from fans that they want to engage with one another in a more connected way. Our new platform is designed to enhance and supercharge their Call of Duty multiplayer experience.”

Video gamers and industry analysts are anxiously waiting for Activision to release more info regarding Modern Warfare 3 and the new online platform. Kotick and Activision are expected to announce additional details at next month’s E3 Expo. Unfortunately, Call of Duty fans will have to wait until then to hear more.

For additional information or questions about Bobby Kotick or Activision please click here on Kotick

Kotick Of Activision Blizzard Talks Earnings, Call Of Duty: Black Ops

Activision Blizzard, Inc. publically released first quarter earnings last Monday, noting jumps in net income and revenue. The videogame publishing company’s success this quarter was largely due to the release of digital content for their Call of Duty series.

Activision Blizzard saw a net income of $501 million in the first three months of the year, up 32% from last year. An increase of 11% was also seen in the company’s revenue, which grew to $1.45 billion. The most interesting data showed Activision Blizzard earning 30% of net revenue from digital channels. On non-GAAP basis, the split of digital and retail revenues was 50-50.

When asked about the company’s financial future, CEO Bobby Kotick said, “We continue to shift our business towards digital delivery of content and establishing direct ongoing relationships with our audiences. While this quarter 50 percent of our revenues were digital, we are still scratching the surface.”

During the quarter, Activision Blizzard released two online content packs for Call of Duty: Black Ops called Call of Duty: First Strike and Call of Duty: Black Ops Escalation. Both of the content packs broke Xbox LIVE 24-hour launch records. In addition to Call of Duty: Black Ops, Blizzard Entertainment’s MMO World of Warcraft continued to perform well during the quarter.

However, the recent breach to Sony’s PSN Network has forced Sony to shut down online gaming, which is a concern for Activision.

“We’re really concerned about it,” said Kotick in an interview. “People are really disappointed.” Because of the network being suspended, PlayStation gamers can only play Call of Duty alone. Despite this, Activision was still able to significantly increase its revenues from digital channels year over year.

With these impressive first quarter numbers, and no plans of slowing, Activision and Kotick will be attracting the attention of gaming industry analysts for the rest of the calendar year.

For additional info or queries in regards to Bobby Kotick or Activision please click here on Kotick

Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick Discusses First Quarter Earnings

On May 9, 2011, Activision Blizzard held their First Quarter 2011 Earnings Conference Call. Executives present during the call included Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision; Thomas Tippl, COO and CFO of Activision; Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing; and Mike Morhaime, CEO of Blizzard Entertainment. They discussed Activision’s recent retail success as well as future plans for product release and the general direction of Activision Blizzard.

First up to speak was Bobby Kotick, going over some basic numbers and discussing the move toward digital content. The CEO noted that Activision Blizzard delivered record setting first quarter net revenues, operating margins and EPS. Net revenues increased more than 30% year-over-year. Additionally, net revenues from digital channels grew 30% year over the year.

“We continue to shift our business towards digital delivery of content and establishing direct ongoing relationships with our audiences. While this quarter, more than 50% of our revenues were from digital channels, we are still scratching the surface when it comes to the role that digital delivery will play in our products and franchises,” said Robert Kotick.

Bobby Kotick noted that Activision Blizzard’s resources have allowed them to take advantage of the opportunities in digital. Activision’s first quarter results were largely increased by digital content packs for Callof Duty Black Ops: First Strike and Call of Duty Black Ops: Escalation which Activision is able to instantly distribute over the Internet via platforms like Xbox LIVE and PSN.

“Today, we make games for and support two of the largest online communities in consumer entertainment, World of Warcraft and Call of Duty, which collectively serve more than 30 million people,” said Kotick.

Following Bobby Kotick, Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing spoke about Activision Blizzard’s new family entertainment title Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure. The game includes action figures that allow the user to transport the real-life toys into the game simply by placing them on an external portal.

“Today, the Skylanders property has tested incredibly well, has generated tremendous buzz and support from our retail partners as it is expected to launch in the holiday quarter,” said Hirshberg.

As the leading interactive entertainment company, Activision Blizzard should continue benefitting from the convergence between entertainment, the Internet and TV. The company’s focus on digital content as well as its anticipated console releases like Spyro’s Adventure, indicate that its future is bright. This is not surprising for the publishing company responsible for the record-breaking titles such as World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Call of Duty andGuitar Hero.

For additional info about Bobby Kotick and Activision please click here on Robert Kotick

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Kotick And Activision Blizzard See Profits Rise Amidst Re-Election

On Thursday June 2, 2011, Activision Blizzard will hold their Annual Shareholders Meeting. As is the case with all publicly traded companies, Activision’s Board of Directors will be reelected by the stockholders. Most online publications are using this voting to speculate that Activision CEO Bobby Kotick may be replaced. However, the success that Activision Blizzard has experienced under Kotick’s leadership this past year make the prospect of him being voted out highly unlikely.

In fact, the re-election of the Board at any shareholder’s meeting is, for all intensive purposes, simply a formality. Of course, should there ever be a real problem with a board member, the shareholders have the power to vote them out.

In Activision Blizzard’s case, for fiscal year 2010 that ended in on December 31, the company’s GAAP earnings per diluted share increased to $0.33, compared with $0.09 per diluted share for 2009. This performance was in part due to the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops, which shattered sales records set by its predecessor Modern Warfare 2.

As CEO of Activision for the past 20 years, Kotick has created some of the industry’s most popular franchises including Call of Duty, Tony Hawk, and Guitar Hero. In addition, Bobby Kotick has orchestrated deals that have shot his company to the top of the multi-billion dollar gaming industry. In 2008, Kotick finalized a merger between Activision and Vivendi Games, which owned Blizzard Entertainment, creators of the blockbuster online subscription-based MMORPG World of Warcraft. This merger resulted in Activision Blizzard which has surpassed Electronic Arts to become world’s largest and most successful video game company.

Beyond being an astute businessman, Kotick is also an enthusiastic philanthropist. He serves on the Board of the Tony Hawk Foundation, a non-profit supporting the creation of skateparks for America’s youth and is a member of the Board of Trustees at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the largest art museum in the Western U.S. In 2009, Kotick made the Call of Duty Endowment using profits from the blockbuster game franchise as a way of giving back. The Endowment’s mission is to raise awareness of veteran’s unemployment and to provide funding to organizations that help veterans with job training and placement after returning from service overseas.

With his successful track record Bobby Kotick has delivered more value to Activision’s shareholders than any of his competitors. And it is not likely his shareholder’s are going to want to give that up anytime soon.

For more information and questions about Bobby Kotick please see here on Kotick

Bobby Kotick, CEO Activision, A Gamer

Activision Blizzard is the largest videogame makers in the world. As an industry leader, Activision is an easy target for gamers to express their displeasure. Dan Amrich, former videogame journalist and Activision’s social media manager, defended the gaming giant in an interview by saying the maker has not earned all the bad press it receives.

Amrich believes that gamers’ negative feelings began with Activision’s merger with Vivendi Games in 2008. Activision’s CEO Bobby Kotick orchestrated a deal, whereby Vivendi’s Blizzard Entertainment would become a part of Activision. Blizzard Entertainment is responsible for the subscription-based blockbuster World of Warcraft as well as the StarCraft, Warcraft, and Diablo franchises. The merger created Activision Blizzard, the world’s largest and most successful videogame publisher.

Kotick remained CEO after the merger, and he is often the subject of criticism. Amrich maintains that there exists a great deal of misinformation with regards to Kotick and that he is a natural target as the man at the top.

Many critics claim Kotick is not a fan of videogames, and only cares about only making profits. However, Kotick has spent the last twenty years rebuilding an insolvent videogame publisher, and says that because of his responsibilities as a single father he cannot play videogames as much as he would like to. He also reminds critics that he played a lot of games during high school and college which is what fueled his dedication for games to begin with.

“It comes with the territory,” said Amrich regarding negative public opinion for Activision. “In gaming, we are all trained from birth to root for the underdog. Activision is a multi-billion dollar corporation with a string of hit franchises, global success, and market leadership. That does not sound too much like an underdog to me.”

While Activision Blizzard may foster mixed emotions among gamers, the company is still responsible for some of the most successful videogame titles in history. Since Bobby Kotick became CEO in 1991, Activision has produced blockbuster titles including the Tony Hawk Pro Skater, Guitar Hero, and Call of Duty series.

For more information or questions in regards to Bobby Kotick or Activision please see here on Kotick

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