What will help shape the week that lies ahead on Wall Street? Video game companies will let us know the score; satellite TV providers will give us a signal; Tesla and Priceline are traveling forward; and Johnny Depp and Tim Burton could put some teeth in the year's box office numbers.
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.
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.
Stores sold 4% less video-game equipment -- including hardware, software and accessories -- in October compared to a year ago, according to research firm NPD Group. While players are spending more on the games themselves, they aren't shelling out for new consoles: Sales of those systems declined significantly.
Videogame publisher Activision Blizzard said its "Call of Duty: Black Ops" set a new first-day videogame sales record, generating about $360 million in U.S. and U.K. sales within the first 24 hours of its release Tuesday. The company already has sold 5.6 million copies.
