Activision

Folks aren't buying video games the way they used to -- and that's a problem for the industry. But if the big players are willing to consider some outrageous strategies, they can buy themselves some bonus lives.

Even as investors reel from the stock-market roller coaster this week, Wall Street is moving on, with plenty of news on the way. Next week will bring headlines about retail and gaming earnings, as well as quarterly reports from News Corp., SodaStream and some newly public Chinese firms.

Teenage boys talking about business and investing? It happens in this household. The Bush family has even made a household contest out of following the market. But mother Joan, who says that the investment education goes in both generational directions, is hoping for tangible returns.

Activision Blizzard's shares fell after the video-game maker forecast that 2011 sales would fall short of analysts' estimates and announced that it would cease creating Guitar Hero games because of lackluster sales.

Activision Blizzard has added video-game competitor Electronic Arts to its $400 million countersuit against two former executives of "Call of Duty" creator Infinity Ward, claiming that EA tried to lure the executives away while they were still under contract with Activision.

U.S. gamers spent about the same amount of money on video games last year as they did in 2009, even as sales of consoles and other hardware took a plunge. Purchases of physical game discs slid 5%, in spite of the record-breaking success of "Call of Duty: Black Ops," but downloadable and social-network games made up the difference.

At least 5.2 million copies of Activision Blizzard's Call of Duty: Black Ops were illegally downloaded between its Nov. 9 release and the end of 2010. All told, more than 19 million people illegally downloaded five of the top-selling games of 2010. As broadband spreads, so does the piracy.

Activision Blizzard's "Call of Duty: Black Ops" video game has raked in more than $1 billion in sales since its Nov. 9 release, making it the fastest-selling video game in history -- and one of the fastest-selling entertainment products of all time.

November delivered some welcome news for the gaming industry, with sales of consoles and games surging 8%. And Activision had plenty of reasons to smile as strong sales of Black Ops, the latest installment in the Call of Duty franchise -- earned it another spot on the list of best-selling video games.

Videogame publisher Activision Blizzard said its "Call of Duty: Black Ops" has had the most successful entertainment debut ever, generating more than $650 million in global sales in five days.