Sunday, December 2, 2007

WoW and CoD Merge in Gaming Coup

Gaming giants Activision and Blizzard have decided to merge and form the world's largest computer gaming company, according to this article in today's BBC online. World of Warcraft meets Call of Duty.

Having introduced Time Warner's AGEIS: Guardian of the Fleet to the market in the mid-90s, I know something about the gaming world - and this is some big news. That's why the deal is being valued at $18.8 Billion. Big bucks for a bid deal. Thank the French parent of Blizzard (WoW), Vivendi, for making this happen.

In addition to Call of Duty, US-based Activision authored gaming blockbusters like Guitar Hero and the Tony Hawk Series. So what does this mean to gamers? First, the industry is maturing and consolidating, for what that's worth. We have lost some fine small developers in the process. But in this case the meaning is clear: More horsepower for more games covering more territory. A good thing.

(Images are included based on "fair use" rules as no alternative images are available and no attempt to exploit the images for commercial benefit is being made.)

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