Activision Acquires U.K. Game Developer Bizarre Creations.Activision Enters $1.4 Billion Racing Genre Market, Representing More than 10% of Worldwide Video Game Market SANTA MONICA Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. , Calif. -- Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATVI ATVI Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute ) today announced that it has acquired U.K.-based video game developer Bizarre Creations Bizarre Creations is a Liverpool-based video game developer beginning development under this name in 1994. The company is most known for the Dreamcast videogame Metropolis Street Racer and their Xbox console game series Project Gotham Racing. , one of the world's premier video game developers and a leader in the racing category, 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. This acquisition represents the latest step in Activision's ongoing strategy to enter new genres. Last year, Activision entered the music rhythm genre through its acquisition of RedOctane's Guitar Hero franchise, which is one of the fastest growing franchises in the video game industry. With more than 10 years' experience in the racing genre, Bizarre Creations is the developer of the innovative multi-million unit franchise Project Gotham Racing Project Gotham Racing (PGR) is a racing game, first in its series, developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Microsoft for the Xbox gaming console. , a critically-acclaimed series for the Xbox[R] and Xbox 360[R]. The Project Gotham Racing franchise currently has an average game rating of 89%, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. GameRankings.com and has sold more than 4.5 million units in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. and Europe, according to The NPD Group The NPD Group, Inc. is a leading global market research company[1] founded in 1967 and provides consumer and retail information to manufacturers and retailers. Using actual sales data from retailers and distributors as well as consumer-reported purchasing behavior, NPD , Charttrack and Gfk. Bizarre Creations is currently finishing development on the highly-anticipated third-person action game, The Club, for SEGA (company, games) SEGA - manufacturer of video game hardware and software. Usenet newsgroup: news:rec.games.video.sega. , which is due to be released early 2008. They are also the creators of the top-selling arcade game An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, typically installed in businesses such as restaurants, pubs, video arcades, and Family Entertainment Centers. Most arcade games are redemption games, merchandisers, video games or pinball machines. series Geometry Wars on Xbox Live Arcade[R]. Bizarre Creations and its games have won numerous industry awards including: Best Racing Game for Project Gotham Racing 2 from the prestigious British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA Baf´ta n. 1. A coarse stuff, usually of cotton, originally made in India. Also, an imitation of this fabric made for export. ); the Industry Grand Prix Award from Develop; MCV's UK Development Team 2006 award; Best Racing/Driving Game from IGN IGN Ignored (Status) IGN Institut Geographique National IGN Ignition IGN Instituto Geografico Nacional (Spain) IGN Imagine Games Network IGN In-Game Name (gaming) ; Game of the Year from OXM OXM Official XBox Magazine OXM Official X-Box Magazine and Gamespy for Project Gotham Racing 3; and IGN's Best XBLA XBLA Xbox Live Arcade (gaming) XBLA X-Box Live Arcade Game for Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. "Activision continues to grow and drive greater value for our shareholders by broadening our portfolio and entering new gaming categories with strong global appeal," said Robert Kotick, Chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Activision, Inc. "Bizarre Creations is the leading independent developer with a proven track record in developing highly successful and influential original properties, especially in the racing field. They are one of the most innovative and creative studios in the industry, and we are very excited to welcome this talented creative team to Activision." Mike Griffith, President and CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc., added, "Bizarre Creations will play an important role in our growth strategy as we develop an original new intellectual property for this important racing segment, expand our portfolio in other genres and utilize their proprietary technology for cross platform development." Martyn Chudley, Managing Director of Bizarre Creations, said, "Our goal at Bizarre Creations has always been to do all we can to nurture our creative and passionate teams, who excel at and enjoy what they do. Activision's independent studio model will continue giving us creative freedom to build exciting new brands. Their financial support and marketing prowess will also enable us to build upon the commercial success that we currently enjoy, and take the company - and our games - to an even higher level." Under the terms of the acquisition, Bizarre Creations will become a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. of Activision and the company's management team and employees continue with the company as their teams start to develop two new AAA AAA: see American Automobile Association. (Triple A) A common single-cell battery used in a myriad of electronic devices of all variety. Like its double A (AA) cousin, it provides 1.5 volts of DC power. When used in series, the voltage is multiplied. titles alongside their current projects. The 160-person development studio is located in Liverpool, England. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Activision expects that its first game from Bizarre Creations will be released after fiscal year 2009. About Bizarre Creations Bizarre Creations is an independent developer, based in Liverpool, UK. Established in 1994, the company is famed for such high profile franchises as Formula 1, Fur Fighters, Geometry Wars, Project Gotham Racing and The Club. Bizarre prides itself on providing high-quality next-generation gaming experiences that excel in gameplay, graphics, audio and technology. Find them on the web at www.bizarrecreations.com. About Activision Headquartered in Santa Monica, California For other uses, see Santa Monica (disambiguation). Santa Monica is a coastal city in western Los Angeles County, California, USA. Situated on Santa Monica Bay of the Pacific Ocean, it is surrounded by the City of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades and Brentwood on the north, , Activision, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products. Founded in 1979, Activision posted net revenues of $1.5 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007. Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Scandinavia, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan and South Korea. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's World Wide Web site, which is located at www.activision.com. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. In this release they are identified by references to dates after the date of this release and words such as "will," "will be," "remains," "to be," "plans," "believes," "may," "expects," "intends," and similar expressions. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, sales of Activision's titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, Activision's ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms (including next-generation hardware), declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Activision's products, adoption rate and availability of new hardware and related software, industry competition, rapid changes in technology and industry standards, protection of proprietary rights, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, vendors and third-party developers, international economic and political conditions, integration of recently acquired subsidiaries and identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities, limitations on our ability to issue stock and options and foreign exchange rate changes. Other factors that could cause Activision's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, without limitation, the further implementation, acceptance and effectiveness of the remedial measures recommended or adopted by the special sub-committee of independent directors established in July 2006 to review Activision's historical stock option granting practices, the board and Activision; the outcome of the SEC's formal investigation and the derivative litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. filed in July 2006 against certain current and former directors and officers of Activision relating to Activision's stock option granting practices, the possibility that additional claims and proceedings will be commenced, including additional stockholder litigation, employee litigation, and additional action by the SEC and/or other regulatory agencies, other litigation (unrelated to stock option granting practices), and the risks identified in Activision's most recent annual report on Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. and recent reports on Form 8-K Form 8-K The form required by the SEC when a publicly held company incurs any event that might affect its financial situation or the share value of its stock. Form 8-K See 8-K. . The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision as of the date of this release, and Activision assumes no obligations to update any such forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and may cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations. Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved. |
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