Speaking to MCV, Activision CEO Mike Griffith was feeling pretty confident about his company's position in the game industry this year. "This is the best competitive position we've ever had," said Griffith, adding, "Our titles are strong, and competitive titles are a little sparser than in the past." Griffith sounds particularly proud of the Guitar Hero franchise, which he notes has its strongest lineup ever with DJ Hero, Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero all set to release this year (what, no love for Van Halen?). Griffith also mentioned Modern Warfare 2, which he says will be the biggest Call of Duty ever (no surprises there). And let's not forget Tony Hawk's Ride and Bizarre's upcoming racer, Blur.

Griffith doesn't seem concerned by competition from The Beatles: Rock Band either, saying quite simply, "Well, Rock Band is the most similar title on the market, but Guitar Hero outsells it by four to one in the US; in Europe that number is ten to one." Okay then. Griffith also shakes off the notion that Activision is flooding the market with peripheral-based games (Ride and all of the Guitar Hero games rely on peripherals), stating that the company only uses peripherals when they "define a magical experience that comes about when you marry hardware and software."

Other topics covered in the interview include Griffith's feelings about Natal and the Playstation Motion Controller, Activision's business in Europe and the continued importance of retail.

With rumors pointing to a Call of Duty subscription service under consideration at Activision Blizzard, developer Infinity Ward hopes to remove itself from the idea as much as possible. The company's community manager, Robert Bowling, noted on the developer's forum, "This rumor has absolutely nothing to do with Infinity Ward or our games, including Modern Warfare 2. We would never introduce such a system for Modern Warfare 2 so don't worry. Multiplayer will always be equal and free for everyone as always."

The survey, allegedly sent out by Activision, asked "how likely" players would be to purchase or subscribe to a system that provides "new in-game content like map packs and betas," and "team-management services." It appears Infinity Ward's statement doesn't overrule the rumors completely -- Bowling appears to be addressing pay-to-play multiplayer more than anything -- but it's good to see such rapid response to a concerned community.

So, what's the other Call of Duty developer, Treyarch, up to?

Blizzard president Mike Morhaime confirmed in an investor webcast that StarCraft II has been planned for release later this year. "We're targeting an end of year release this year for StarCraft II," said Morhaime. "But as always, we won't release it until it meets our standards and the expectations of our players."

With the beta opening this summer, it looks like there will be more than enough StarCraft for fans to sink their Zerg-like talons into.

[Via Big Download]

GameStop's site recently posted a price and release date for Tony Hawk Ride, affixing a cost of $120 onto the bundle for all systems, along with a release date of October 13. While it's by no means official confirmation of the game's release date or price, it should prepare you for the worst. Coincidentally, $120 is about how much we think it will cost to replace the first lamp you break in the living room.

[Via Engadget]

Two Activision executives have a lot less Activision this week, according to The Business Insider. Last week, CEO Bobby Kotick unloaded 1.5 million shares of Activision stock, worth around $17 million, and co-chairman Brian Kelly sold 3.6 million shares, or $42 million worth.

According to TBI, Activision stock is up around 30% since the start of the year (strong Q1 sales and the announcement of more Guitar Hero things helped, no doubt), making it an opportune time for the executives to get money. Plus, a long weekend was coming up, and the two executives wanted to make sure they didn't have to stop at the ATM on their days off.

[Via VG247; Image source: Forbes]

Update: Well, that was fast! VG247 managed to get a more definitive answer out of Activision, as the company admits the game will be multiplatform in the UK, despite reports to the contrary. An Activision spokesperson said, "We apologise for the confusion caused by this morning's mail out and we would be grateful if you could update your coverage to reflect the correct details above." So, UK gamers, expect Tony Hawk Ride to be available on the PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii, as previously reported.

However, Eurogamer is remaining skeptical. They seem to doubt the wording of Activision's statement, and assume that Microsoft is still working toward an Xbox 360 exclusive release of the game. We'll be sure to update you as the story develops.

Original post: As of right now, Tony Hawk Ride is still a multiplatform title in the UK, but Microsoft is hoping to change that. MCV reports that the Redmond-based giant and Activision are working toward a deal to ensure that Tony Hawk's new venture is only available on the Xbox 360 initially in the UK.

Edge contacted Activision to get the dirt on this deal, and apparently found out that the game is still intended for multiplatform release, though this could change should Activision and Microsoft manage to come to an agreement. It wouldn't be the first time such a deal has been made, as Sony recently secured Ghosbusters rights there. Oh, and who could forget Rock Band's timed Xbox 360 exclusivity deal?

Source - Initial MCV report
Source - Activision's response to Edge's inquiry on the matter

Activision Blizzard has announced that European territories will be receiving an exclusive "Solo Guitar Game" bundle when Guitar Hero: Metallica launches on May 22 (May 29 in the UK). The bundle will contain a copy of the game, a wireless guitar controller and the exclusive faceplate which you can see in the image to the right.

By now, ardent followers of the rhythm genre should have more peripherals than they can count, but it doesn't end there. With four new games having just been announced, there'll be plenty more plastic instruments -- and DJ decks -- where that came from.

The game industry's annual popularity contest has begun making the rounds, and among game developers in 2008 there was none more in vogue than Activision stepchild Blizzard. According to Develop 100, a list of "the world's most successful games developers," the dev WoW-ed its peers from atop a mountain of money with more than a billion dollars in revenue each year from retail and online sales.

Other notables on the list include 2007's top company, Nintendo, which was forced to settle for second, followed by GTA's Rockstar North in third. LEGO everything manufacturer Traveller's Tales ranked 12th on the list, while LittleBigPlanet's Media Molecule came in at a respectable 18th, the highest among indie UK studios. The complete list can be found on the official Develop 100 website. Check it out, and let us know if your personal favorites made the cut.

Set aside your beef with Shia for just a minute -- you'll want to watch this trailer for Activision's upcoming Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Why? Well, we can understand your hesitation given the quality -- or lack thereof -- of the first movie's game, but this one ... it actually looks good.

Maybe it's the fact that, as we mentioned in our first impressions of the game, Vigilante 8 dev Luxoflux -- who knows a thing or two about vehicular combat -- is at the helm. It could also be how gosh darn fast these big metal guys go from vehicle to 'bot and back again. Of course, there's always the "Giant Robot Game Rule." Y'know, the one that states every game with giant robots looks awesome in trailers. As for the finished product, well, that's the great unknown in this case. Hopefully Luxoflux has the touch.

In Activsion Blizzard's Q1 2009 results announced today, the company made no small deal out of the contributions Guitar Hero: World Tour has made to its bottom line for the quarter. Citing figures from the NPD group, Charttrack and Gfk, Activision claimed software sales dominance with GHWT drawing in more money across all platforms than any other title's cumulative earnings for January 1 through March 31 in North America.

Also trumpeted was GHWT's performance on Wii as the console's highest-grossing third-party title in the US and Europe, noting in particular that it was the only third-party release among Wii's top five games in those territories. Sales of the Guitar Hero franchise in general were up 84% year over year in Europe, it said.

Activision CEO Robert Kotick commented during its investors call that the Guitar Hero franchise has reached $2 billion in sales -- only the third to achieve this status -- while bad-mouthing rival Rock Band as experiencing a "rather precipitous drop-off" in sales.

The "We're No. 1!" trend continued as Activision claimed the top PC spot -- a market where it holds three of the top 10 best-selling titles -- with World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart, according to figures provided by Apple, remains the top paid app for iPhone / iPod Touch, though the company didn't clarify whether that is in dollars or copies downloaded. What about Call of Duty? It did well enough to earn a brief mention in the publisher's earning statement, with publishing CEO Mike Griffith announcing that Call of Duty 4 has officially sold 13 million copies worldwide during the investor call. The franchise will likely have a much larger presence in the quarter following Modern Warfare 2's release.

Reporting earnings for the first quarter of 2009, Activision has announced that its revenues were $981 million. Revenues exceeded the company's estimates, which it had placed at $860 million. CEO Robert Kotick, unsurprisingly, names the Guitar Hero and Call of Duty franchises, along with World of Warcraft, as major drivers of the company's impressive numbers. He added that Activision Blizzard was the number one third-party publisher of both console and handheld titles in North America for the quarter, as well as the number one third-party publisher for the Wii worldwide.

Kotick noted that Activision plans to deliver its "strongest video game slate" this year, built upon "some of the industry's most profitable franchises." But then, we already knew that.

Activision continues to "exploit" its Guitar Hero franchise this year with three new full titles coming this autumn. The newly announced Guitar Hero 5 will offer "the ability to drop in and out of songs and change band members, instruments and difficulty levels on the fly." The press release contains no other details regarding the game, but you can bet it'll be pretty similar to Guitar Hero: World Tour.

Band Hero is the second of Activision's Hero trifecta for this fall. Don't be confused, Band Hero is completely separate from Guitar Hero. Except it's very similar -- it's Activision's attempt at a family-oriented Guitar Hero game, rated E10+, and will be facing off against Harmonix's Lego Rock Band later this year.

Finally, DJ Hero is something we've been hearing a lot of murmurs about for a while. It will feature "diverse music genres including hip-hop, R&B, Motown, electronica and dance" and will include the turntable controller, images of which we posted earlier. Apparently the title "transforms players into DJs who rule the club scene by creating original mixes of popular songs and music from the world's most exciting artists and DJs." We have to wonder, does the world need this many heroes?

Blizzard announced to its children today that they may pay for their return to the warm bosom of BlizzCon on May 16. The cost for the "Tickets of Comradery" will set back the faitful's coin purses by $125 -- that's a 25 percent increase from the previous year. Blizzard apparently has a new system in place to prevent last year's ticket fiasco. Come May 16, attendee hopefuls go to the ticketing website and sit their actual butts in a virtual queue -- this will not guarantee a ticket, just that you'll be in a line for a golden ticket.

For those who can't get to the Anaheim Convention Center on August 21 and 22, there's always the option of the pay-per-view package from DirecTV for $40. There will also be a live stream of the event online, also available for $40, for non-DirecTV customers. So, Blizzard horde, hopefully this year's ticketing process won't be visited by the "Failoc."

[Via WoW Insider]

Jean-Bernard Levy, CEO of Vivendi, will add the role of Activision Blizzard chairman to his resume. Levy will pick up the duties of outgoing 67-year-old Rene Penisson. Vivendi is the majority owner in the empire known as Activision Blizzard. Blizzavision is expected to announce strong sales in the bajillions - despite the economy's influence - during its financial report this Thursday.

Activision Blizzard director, president and CEO Bobby Kotick had no reaction to the news, as he is currently on a deep exploration inside the company's money bin. He'll comment after returning and depressurizing in a couple weeks.

Breaking through the fire and the flames to bring you this week's Guitar Hero: Smash Hits track list update, the game's publisher, Activision, likely embraced the coolness of some nearby raining blood before continuing on. But the company didn't stop, not even to lay down for a moment, as it knew that in order for you fine folks to rock and roll all night, it must persist in its journey.

And so, as Activision managed to miss murder once again and bring us a short list of tracks to be included in GH: Smash Hits -- this week from Guitar Hero III -- we're starting a cult of personality around the publisher. Barracudas be damned, we say! Try and hit us with your best shot! Fire away!

Or, ya know, check out the three new screens in the gallery below and the full list of tracks after the break. But you already know them, don't you?