Vivendi Games

Activision Blizzard Inc. posted a fourth-quarter loss Wednesday, but its operating profit and revenue beat Wall Street's forecasts. Amped by strong sales of its Guitar Hero, Call of Duty and World of Warcraft game franchises, the Santa Monica company reported revenue of $1.6 billion for the quarter and $3 billion for the full year. "We had a fantastic year," Chief Executive Bobby Kotick said in an interview. "And we're expecting to grow our margins even further this year." Revenue would have been higher had Activision not deferred revenue from sales of titles that have online gaming features.

Today: DVDs and games DVD sales Top-selling movies for the week that ended Saturday: 1 Monsters Vs. Aliens DreamWorks 2 Monsters Vs. Aliens/B.O.B.'s Big Break DreamWorks 3 The Wizard of Oz (70th Anniversary Edition) Warner 4 X-Men Origins: Wolverine Fox 5Ghosts of Girlfriends Past New Line -- DVD rentals Most-rented movies for the week that ended Sunday: 1 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past New Line 2 Monsters Vs. Aliens DreamWorks 3 X-Men Origins: Wolverine Fox 4Management Image 5 Observe and Report Warner -- Video games Most-rented games for the week that ended Sunday (with console, publisher)

French media and telecommunications giant Vivendi said Thursday that profit increased more than fourfold in the third quarter, to 2.76 billion euros ($3.46 billion) from 578 million euros a year earlier, thanks to a gain of 2.32 billion euros on the dilution of its stake in video game publisher Vivendi Games. Vivendi Games merged with Activision in July to form Activision Blizzard Inc. of Santa Monica.

Activision Blizzard Inc. posted a fourth-quarter loss Wednesday, but its operating profit and revenue beat Wall Street's forecasts. Amped by strong sales of its Guitar Hero, Call of Duty and World of Warcraft game franchises, the Santa Monica company reported revenue of $1.6 billion for the quarter and $3 billion for the full year. "We had a fantastic year," Chief Executive Bobby Kotick said in an interview. "And we're expecting to grow our margins even further this year." Revenue would have been higher had Activision not deferred revenue from sales of titles that have online gaming features.

Today: DVDs and games DVD sales Top-selling movies for the week that ended Saturday: 1 X-Men Origins: Wolverine Fox 2 Barbie and The Three Musketeers Universal 3 Grey's Anatomy -- The Complete Fifth Season Disney 4 The Office: Season Five Universal 5 Crank 2: High Voltage Lionsgate -- DVD rentals Most-rented movies for the week that ended Sunday: 1 X-Men Origins: Wolverine Fox 2 State of Play...

Activision Inc. and Vivendi announced a deal Sunday that would put "Guitar Hero" and "World of Warcraft" under one corporate roof and knock the king of the video game industry, Electronic Arts Inc., into second place. Vivendi, the French conglomerate that owns Universal Music Group, said it would pay $1.7 billion in cash and contribute its Los Angeles-based games business, valued at $8.1 billion, for a 52% stake in a company to be called Activision Blizzard. It would be worth an estimated $18.

Media and telecom conglomerate Vivendi said Thursday that its second-quarter profit rose 53%, boosted by the settlement of tax litigation and strong performances from its video-game and pay-TV arms. The French company reported earnings of 1.16 billion euros ($1.48 billion) for the April-June period. The company said its bottom line was inflated by a one-time gain related to the June settlement of litigation against U.S.

Vivendi's planned acquisition of Activision Inc. would blend the companies' strengths but won't necessarily lead to cross-pollination among game developers. Santa Monica-based Activision, whose shares rose nearly 13% on the news, is strong in console games, with titles that include the music game "Guitar Hero III," the combat game "Call of Duty 4" and skateboarding games starring Tony Hawk. Vivendi Blizzard Entertainment Inc.

Vivendi Universal Games, a subsidiary of French entertainment conglomerate Vivendi Universal, has sued Interplay Entertainment Corp. for allegedly violating a contract that gives Vivendi exclusive rights to publish Interplay's games. The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims that Irvine-based Interplay made "flagrant attempts to terminate VUG's exclusive rights" to publish its games. Neither Vivendi nor Interplay returned calls seeking comment.

French media and telecommunications giant Vivendi said Thursday that profit increased more than fourfold in the third quarter, to 2.76 billion euros ($3.46 billion) from 578 million euros a year earlier, thanks to a gain of 2.32 billion euros on the dilution of its stake in video game publisher Vivendi Games. Vivendi Games merged with Activision in July to form Activision Blizzard Inc. of Santa Monica.

Vivendi's planned acquisition of Activision Inc. would blend the companies' strengths but won't necessarily lead to cross-pollination among game developers. Santa Monica-based Activision, whose shares rose nearly 13% on the news, is strong in console games, with titles that include the music game "Guitar Hero III," the combat game "Call of Duty 4" and skateboarding games starring Tony Hawk. Vivendi Blizzard Entertainment Inc.

Activision Inc. and Vivendi announced a deal Sunday that would put "Guitar Hero" and "World of Warcraft" under one corporate roof and knock the king of the video game industry, Electronic Arts Inc., into second place. Vivendi, the French conglomerate that owns Universal Music Group, said it would pay $1.7 billion in cash and contribute its Los Angeles-based games business, valued at $8.1 billion, for a 52% stake in a company to be called Activision Blizzard. It would be worth an estimated $18.

Media and telecom conglomerate Vivendi said Thursday that its second-quarter profit rose 53%, boosted by the settlement of tax litigation and strong performances from its video-game and pay-TV arms. The French company reported earnings of 1.16 billion euros ($1.48 billion) for the April-June period. The company said its bottom line was inflated by a one-time gain related to the June settlement of litigation against U.S.

Vivendi Universal Games on Monday laid off 350 employees, or nearly 30% of its workforce in North America, as the publisher of the popular "Crash Bandicoot" and "Warcraft" series slashed costs amid falling sales. "Restructuring the organization and reducing our cost base are necessary to improve our operating effectiveness and profitability," said Bruce Hack, chief executive of Los Angeles-based VUG, a subsidiary of French entertainment company Vivendi Universal.