Ever since the launch of Guitar Hero: World Tour, the game and it’s peripherals have been met with generally favorable reviews from critics, and less than favorable reviews from the general public. With the newest information that Activision might start up a subscription-based fee for user content, it doesn’t seem like consumers are going to be any happier than before.

At a meeting to discuss quarterly earnings, Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, made a note that subscription fees for Guitar Hero World Tour would be a good idea. For those of you that are out of the loop, you should know that Bobby Kotick is critically insane. He was once quoted saying that GH Tunes had the “potential to be one of the credible alternatives to iTunes.” If you’re the kind of person that absolutely loves paying for things that should be free, I’m sure you and Bobby Kotick are going to be BFFs.

Activision Blizzard has received $6 million in damages, courtesy of MDY industries; the company behind MMOglider used in the popular World of Warcraft game.

Blizzard began the case against the company on the premise that the software violated copyright, reports BBC news. It was ruled that the use of the software broke the rules of the license agreement which players accept when creating an account. Read more…

It wasn’t long ago that we all questioned Rick Moranis’s decision to turn his back on the Ghostbusters video game. The same game Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd said yes to. The same game so many of us nerds have been looking forward to.

Well, today Activision Blizzard joins Moranis, as they announce their post merger line-up. Ghostbusters (as well as several other games listed at the end of this article) were nixed by the new level 70 (soon to be 80) elite rare spawn perked out mega publisher — Activision Blizzard for short.

Activision CEO, Mike Griffith, stated the following regarding the line-up change:

“We are focused on improving efficiency across the combined organization and are concentrating on businesses where we have leadership positions that are aligned with Activision Publishing’s long-term corporate objectives,”

The new “streamlined” list of games includes Crash Bandicoot, Ice Age, Spyro the Dragon, Prototype, and one yet to be announced title. Ice Age and Spyro the fucking Dragon over Ghostbusters? Are you fucking kidding me?

In all honesty, I find it funny that Activision Blizzard’s focus is now to” streamline” things, when the  two companies had several months to “streamline” their new name, but in the end decided to keep it as lengthy as humanly fucking possible.

Who you gonna call? Not Activision Blizzard, that’s for fucking for sure.

Full list of games cut: Brutal Legend, Wet, Ghostbusters, Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, World at Conflict: Soviet Assault, 50 Cent Blood on the Sand, Zombie Wranglers, Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust, and various Xbox Live Arcade titles.

Source: Gameindustry.biz

Activision Blizzard CEO, Bobby Kotick, discusses the companys split with the ESA in an upcoming interview with Variety. The full interview has yet to be published, however a few short quotes pertaining to Activision’s involvement with the ESA were transformed into a write up.

When asked specifically about their break up, Kotick attempted to clarify stating:

“… don’t view it as anything but time off …”

The logic, explained by Kotick below, revolves around the merger, controlling expendatures, and interum decision making.

“With the combined companies, the dues went up enough that I said for it to make sense [to spend that money], we have to make a strategic plan … We don’t have that because nobody owns it for us right now.”

I will attempt to predict the collective reaction by ESA upon hearing this news. “So you’re telling me there’s a chance.” - Lloyd, Dumb & Dumber. If no one owns strategic planning and company expendature, why is Activision going to be present at Comic-Con? Maybe the “time off” would better be described as “time off to see other people”.

Source: Variety

Like it or not, with a reported shareholders vote of 92%, the merger first announced back in December 2007, is finally complete. All last minute hopes of a creative name for the new company are officially squashed, as the new name, “Activsion Blizzard”, proves that compromise is often boring as hell.

In exchange for 295.3 new shares of Activision stock, Vivendi, and all associated properties, become subsidiaries of Activision. However, an additional purchase of 62.9 shares at the tune of $1.7 billion put Vivendi in the drivers seat with nearly 52% ownership in the new entity.

Full details after the jump. Take a deep breath, you’re going to need it. Read more…