The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum announced that Activision, publisher behind the Guitar Hero phenomenon , has signed on as a new sponsor, supporting the museum’s efforts to collect, preserve and interpret the global impact of rock and roll music.

At the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference earlier today, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick revealed that a Call of Duty MMO is under consideration. The current market has quite a few MMOs, but, as with the recent Star Trek Online/Perpetual fiasco has shown, even more get canceled, which is why Kotick believes the soon-to-be completed Activision Blizzard merger would put the company be in a good position to make it happen, drawing from the WoW user base, as well as the expertise of Blizzard.

The Wayne County Employees' Retirement System has filed lawsuit against the not yet officially formed Activision and Vivendi merger, according to the Delaware Online web site. The local investment group claims that its Activision shares will turn into an unfavorable minority position after the two publishers/developers become one entity ( thanks FiringSquad).

Swedish-based publisher Pan Vision Games signed a three year exclusivity agreement with Yuko Shimizu, creator of Hello Kitty, to make games based on the Japanese IP Angel Cat Sugar. The brand story evolves around Angel Cat Sugar, a princess in a world of angels, and her three mice friends Parsley, Thyme and Basil.

Activision's conf. call revealed quite a few new titles in the works, most scheduled for fiscal 2009 (anywhere from April 2008 - March 2009). New titles in franchises such as: Spider-Man, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Call of Duty, a makeover for the Tony Hawk franchise, the eagerly awaited James Bond (using an updated Call of Duty 4 engine) and titles based on Dreamworks movies Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar II. Giving credence to yesterday's Guitar Hero IV rumor, Activision confirmed two new Guitar Hero titles are in development, but declined to give details.

Activision announced that it had record net revenues of $1.48 billion and net income of $272.2 million for fiscal Q3, respective increases of 80% and 90% over the same period last year, far exceeding their expected revenue of $1.23 billion. This success was driven by strong sales of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Guitar Hero II, Guitar Hero III, Shrek The Third, Spider-Man 3 and Transformers: The Game. Activision has increased its fiscal outlook to net revenues of $350 million for Q4 and $2.65 billion for the 2008 fiscal year.

NecrovisioN is a first person shooter which immerses gamers in the claustrophobic trenches and bunkers of the First World War. Reminiscent of a Lovecraft horror, NecroVisioN seamlessly mixes the harrowing battlefields with a nightmarish demon and vampire underworld, unleashing a truly visceral experience.

A federal judge in Detroit on Monday, Dec. 17 denied The Romantics' request to stop the use of the song "What I Like About You" in Guitar Hero Rocks the 80s, saying that to the extent there were any copyright issues, Activision did exactly what the company was supposed to do in developing the product.

Activision was the #1 U.S. console and handheld publisher for the first eleven months of calendar 2007, according to The NPD Group, in which it increased its market share to a record 16.8%, a 7.9% increase over the same period last year, with Guitar Hero III and Call of Duty 4 leading the way.

Earlier this week, Harmonix accused Activision of blocking its software patch to make the PS3 version of Rock Band compatible with the GH3 peripherals. Today, Activision responded by issuing a statement blaming Harmonix for not accepting an "agreement" that would have allowed the use of Guitar Hero guitar controllers with Rock Band.

Harmonix created a software patch for the PS3 version of Rock Band to allow guitar compatibility for third-party peripherals, including Activision's Guitar Hero III controller. The compatibility patch was approved by Sony and had been scheduled for release on Dec. 4, but due to Activision's continued objection, the patch will not be released.

NecroVisioN is a next-gen First Person Shooter that starts in the rage battlefields of World Word I and leads player to much darker and brutal underground world of vampires and demons.

Activision has signed an $18.9 billion agreement to combine Vivendi Games, which includes Blizzard's World of Warcraft, with Activision, creating the world's largest pure-play online and console game publisher. Activision Blizzard will be led by Activision's current CEO, Bobby Kotick.

Activision has signed an deal with Discovery Communications to develop animal-themed games based on various shows on the TV station's Animal Planet channel such as as Meerkat Manor and Orangutan Island. The multi title agreement will focus on games that appeal to younger and older players outside the core audience of teenage boys, and are scheduled for released in late 2008.

Based on better than expected consumer response to its holiday titles, Activision is raising its outlook from the previously estimated $1.05 billion to an expected record net revenue of $1.23 billion, driven by Guitar Hero III and Call of Duty 4.

Activision, RedOctane and developer Harmonix are getting sued by rock band The Romantics over the inclusion of its hit single "What I Like About You," by cover band Wavegroup Sound, in Guitar Hero II Rocks The 80s. Reason? The Romantics claim that the performance is "virtually indistinguishable from the authentic version" and might confuse consumers as to whether the recording is an original piece.

Activision's latest financial numbers show a net revenue increase of 69% from last year's $188.2 million to $317.7M. Net income jumped from a $42.6M loss to a $28.5M gain. In the conference call, Activision executives said that while it's only been in stores for a week, GH III is the best launch title in company history, selling $100M in North America alone. Looking ahead, Activision is planning new titles in the Call of Duty, Tony Hawk and Guitar Hero franchises and has plans for new titles in cooperation with Dreamworks (Monsters Vs. Aliens, Madagascar II, Kung Fu Panda,) two unannounced superhero titles and, to top it all off, its first James Bond-licensed title.

Unlike the gloomy Sony news from earlier today, Microsoft's latest quarterly financial result reveals that its Entertainment and Devices Division (Games for Windows and Xbox branch) has turned its longtime red numbers into black. While its overall business keeps thriving, with a 27% revenue increase amounting to $13.76 billion, the games division came back from a $142M operating loss to close September with $165M profit, probably in no small part due to Halo 3's success.

Sony Corp just released its 2nd quarter 2007 financial results, and while there is an overall upward trend mainly due to last year's battery pack fiasco, the gaming division is getting hit hard. Sales are up 42.9%, primarily because of PS3, but the hardware division itself is bleeding money, as operating loss increased ($867 million) due to the strategic pricing of PS3 at points lower than its production cost.

In order to bring high def. sound to next-gen video games, Activision announced an agreement with Audiokinetic to integrate the WaveWorks Interactive Sound Engine (Wwise) into select titles across the company’s global development studios.

NecroVisioN is a next-gen First Person Shooter that starts in the rage battlefields of World Word I and leads player to much darker and brutal underground world of vampires and demons.

Activision announced that it has acquired U.K.-based video game developer Bizarre Creations, known for the Project Gotham Racing franchise, a $1.4 billion market that is the fourth most popular video game genre and represents more than 10% of the total video game market worldwide.

German Twintime software revealed it is working on a new action-adventure title Odessa Twins, featuring innovative interfaces and an extraordinary plot, promising to offer an unforgettable game-play experience.

Scholastic Media signed a distribution agreement with Activision Publishing to distribute two new Scholastic developed NDS titles in North America, I SPY Fun House and Animal Genius.

NecroVisioN is a next-gen First Person Shooter that starts in the rage battlefields of World Word I and leads player to much darker and brutal underground world of vampires and demons.