Activision Company

Activision Inc. said Thursday it had rocked into the No. 1 position in video game sales in North America last year, becoming the first company to unseat Electronic Arts Inc. The Santa Monica-based game company snagged 17.7% of the market for games played on consoles in 2007, besting EA's 15.2% share, according to research firm NPD Group Inc. The figures do not include sales of games played on computers, where EA maintained its leadership position.

Activision Blizzard Inc. reported a strong profit for its fiscal first quarter Thursday, in contrast to losses posted earlier this week by its video game industry rivals THQ Inc. and Electronic Arts Inc. Santa Monica-based Activision said net income doubled to $59 million, or 18 cents a share. Sales rose 32% to $654.2 million on the strength of its Kung Fu Panda game and two new titles based on its Guitar Hero franchise.

Activision Inc. said it amended the employment agreements of Chief Executive Robert Kotick and co-Chairman Brian Kelly to avoid tax penalties because some stock option grants may have been misdated. Kotick and Kelly agreed to remove a provision in their contracts that automatically re-prices options if control of the company changes, Santa Monica-based Activision said.

Video game maker Activision Inc. said Thursday that its fiscal third-quarter sales beat its forecast, and it raised its 2007 revenue projection. The Santa Monica company also said it would restate as many as 15 years of earnings reports because of misdated option grants. Preliminary figures for the quarter, which ended Dec. 31, indicate the company had a profit of 41 cents a share on revenue that rose to $822.8 million, topping a Nov. 6 forecast for $600 million.

Activision Inc., a Santa Monica-based maker of video games, said profit for its fiscal third quarter almost doubled, boosted by such titles as including "Guitar Hero II." Net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31 rose to $124.8 million, or 41 cents a share, from $67.9 million, or 23 cents, a year earlier, the company said. Sales were little changed at $822.8 million. Results matched a Jan. 25 preliminary report.

Activision Inc., maker of "Call of Duty" and other video games, has agreed to buy Ireland-based DemonWare Ltd., a producer of software used by game platforms to connect players. DemonWare's top managers have agreed to join Activision, the Santa Monica-based game maker said.

Video game maker Activision Inc. said Thursday that investigators conducting an internal probe of stock option grants had recommended that 10 current and former executives and directors give up any related gains. The investigators found that four current or former executives were at least partly responsible for misdated grants, but the inquiry didn't determine whether there was any intentional wrongdoing by those executives, Santa Monica-based Activision said.

Activision Inc., publisher of the "Guitar Hero" and "Tony Hawk" series of video games, said Thursday that it would take a $67-million charge to account for 13 years' worth of improperly dated stock options. Analysts said the one-time charge should bring an end to concerns regarding executive stock options that have dogged the Santa Monica company since it launched a review of its compensation practices in July.

Activision Inc., the Santa Monica-based video-game publisher behind the "Guitar Hero" and "Tony Hawk" series, on Thursday posted higher fourth-quarter losses due in part to a costly internal inquiry into its stock-option accounting. Its fiscal fourth-quarter revenue rose 66% to $313 million from the year-earlier period. But Activision posted a net loss of $14.4 million, or 5 cents a share. It had lost $9.1 million, or 3 cents, the same quarter last year.

Shares of Activision Inc. slid nearly 6% after the company disclosed Thursday that the Securities and Exchange Commission had launched a formal investigation into the way the Santa Monica video game publisher accounted for stock options over a 13-year period. Analysts said the company's own inquiry into stock-option backdating had apparently failed to satisfy SEC regulators.