ACTIVISION INC AND VIVENDI GAMES TO MERGE INTO ACTIVISION BLIZZARD

Just when it looked like it was safe to go in the boardroom, Activision Incorporated (Guitar Hero) and Vivendi Games (World of Warcraft) have announced that they will be merging into Activision Blizzard – a move that involves some 19 billion dollars and will result in Vivendi gaining a 52 percent interest in the new company.

"December 2, 2007 (Santa Monica, Calif. and Paris, France) – Activision, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) and Vivendi (Euronext Paris: VIV) today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to combine Vivendi Games, Vivendi's interactive entertainment business — which includes Blizzard Entertainment’s™ World of Warcraft®, the world’s #1 multi-player online role-playing game franchise — with Activision, creating the world’s largest pure-play online and console game publisher. The new company, Activision Blizzard, is expected to have approximately $3.8 billion in pro forma combined calendar 2007 revenues and the highest operating margins of any major third-party video game publisher. On closing of the transaction, Activision will be renamed Activision Blizzard and will continue to operate as a public company traded on NASDAQ under the ticker ATVI." – Activision Blizzard merger announcement

I've got to say that this one is actually a little bit shocking as it would appear that neither company was really in a situation where they needed the assistance of the other. It's also somewhat interesting to see that of all the different companies under Vivendi Games' banner, Blizzard is the one that made the title of the new company. I guess both sides know where the money train is, eh?

The terms of the merger seem fairly intricate, so I won't begin to go into them here in an abbreviated manner. If you're looking for all the details, be sure to check out Activision Blizzard's new website at www.ActivisionBlizzard.com. One thing that I should say right off the bat, is that World of Warcraft fans appear to have nothing to worry about, as according to Blizzard, they will continue to operate as a seperate division of the new company. (and certainly the fact that Blizzard was considered important enough to represent the new company in name indicates both sides are well aware that Blizzard should continue it's operations without interference)

"We're pleased to announce that along with the other companies that make up Vivendi Games, we are merging with Activision to form a new global entertainment organization called Activision Blizzard (pending shareholder and regulatory approval). Similar to our previous arrangement, Blizzard Entertainment will now operate as a division of this new organization.

There will be no changes to our games, our websites, our personnel, or our day-to-day operations as a result of the deal. However, this combining of resources will benefit all of the companies involved and will further strengthen Blizzard's ability to continue delivering high-quality content for our players around the world for many years to come. To learn more about this exciting new development, please read our Activision Blizzard FAQ." – Blizzard.com

I'm also sure Electronic Arts is a bit upset at once again losing the "biggest third party software company" title once again, so be sure to keep an eye out for more possible acquisition announcements in the coming weeks.

• Activision Blizzard – Official website
• Viviendi and Activision to form Activision Blizzard – Official press release
• Activision Blizzard FAQ – Blizzard.com

WORLD OF WARCRAFT: WRATH OF THE LICH KING ANNOUNCED

Yesterday’s BlizzCon event saw many thrilling announcements come from Blizzard, however none were perhaps as large as the unveiling of the next expansion for World of Warcraft. Wrath of the Lich King will continue the evolving story on Azeroth, as one can only guess that all the time the world’s heroes have spent in Outland has given the Lich King Arthas time to consolidate his power and threaten the world once more…

“In the cold, harsh northlands…

The Lich King Arthas has set in motion events that could lead to the extinction of all life on Azeroth. With the armies of the undead and the necromantic power of the plague threatening to sweep across the land, only the mightiest heroes can oppose the Lich King’s will and end his reign of terror for all time.

Blizzard Entertainment’s latest expansion to World of Warcraft – Wrath of the Lich King – adds a host of epic content to the existing game world. Players will achieve soaring levels of power, explore a vast new continent, and battle other high-level heroes to determine the fate of Azeroth. As you pit yourself against the dangers of the north, prepare to:

• Master the necromantic powers of the Death Knight – World of Warcraft’s first Hero class.
• Quest to level 80, gaining potent new abilities and talents along the way.
• Learn the craft of spell augmentation with the new Inscription profession.
• Brave the harsh new continent of Northrend, the icy domain of the Lich King.
• Engage in epic siege warfare, deploying mighty siege engines to lay waste to destructible buildings in your path.
• Transform your hero’s look with new character-customization options, including new hairstyles and dances.
• Explore perilous new dungeons filled with some of the deadliest creatures — and greatest treasures — on Azeroth.
• And much, much more…” – World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King product page

I was out. I had freed myself of the curse of World of Warcraft. Unfortunately, I’ve played some form of evil knight in every mmog I’ve every played, and the fact that it looked like Blizzard was never going to add hero classes (and thus, Death Knights) to the game was one of the many factors in my calling it quits. I guess I’ll have to start levelling up again. Ugh.

• World of Warcraft – Official website
• World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King – Product page at WorldofWarcraft.com

BLIZZARD BANS 59,000 WORLD OF WARCRAFT ACCOUNTS

On the official World of Warcraft forums, a Blizzard employee has announced that in an attempt to stem the rising tide of goldfarmers in World of Warcraft, they banned some 59,000 World of Warcraft accounts in June and removed some 22 million gold from the game.

"As part of our efforts to eliminate cheating from World of Warcraft, we recently banned approximately 59,000 World of Warcraft accounts in the month of June, and with that removed well over 22 million gold from the total economy across all realms. While we regret having to take such extreme action, these accounts were participating in activities that directly violated World of Warcraft’s Terms of Use, including the use of third-party programs to farm gold and items. Such behavior not only negatively impacts the economy of a realm, it diminishes the achievements of those who play legitimately. We will continue to aggressively monitor all World of Warcraft realms in order to protect the service and our players from the harmful effects of cheating." -Eyonix

More power to you Blizzard. While I’m sure these people are just coming back on other accounts, at least you’re trying to do something about the problem. I’m sure anyone who has ever had to deal with an annoying goldfarmer in game agrees with me on this one. Then again, most people who’ve had that experience probably feel Blizzard didn’t go far enough and should actually be doing something a little more dire to these people.

Check out the World of Warcraft forums announcement here in between ranting about Paladins and Shamans.

PALADINS AND SHAMANS AND THE BURNING CRUSADE, OH MY!

Blizzard has announced that the upcoming expansion to World of Warcraft, The Burning Crusade, will add the Paladin class to the Horde and Shaman class to the Alliance. According to WorldofWarcraft.com, the additions of each class to their previously unavailable factions is explained in the story behind the expansion.

“In the upcoming expansion, players will finally be able to play classes that were previously unavailable to their faction. The blood elves have harnessed the power of the Light for their own needs, and the Horde recognizes the value of these renegade blood elf paladins. Meanwhile, the draenei have been granted the wisdom and strength of the elements, and a number of draenei now follow the path of the shaman.” – World of Warcraft official site

Naturally, the player base is up in arms over this and the official World of Warcraft forums are peppered with comments both for and against the addition of the classes. My advice? If you play, don’t look at the forums just like you don’t look at the chat channels any more. It’s better that way.

Check out The Burning Crusade official page here and the class combo page explanation here.

WORLD OF WARCRAFT PAID TRANSFER ELIGIBILITY LIST

The official World of Warcraft website has posted a list of which servers will eventually be allowed to use the paid transfer service as well as a schedule for when some of those server transfers will begin.

Check out the official World of Warcraft website here, the full list of servers eligible for transfers here and a brief schedule of some transfers here. While you’re at it, you may as well click a few other links somewhere because at $25 per character, you should at least try and feel like you’re getting some kind of value for your buck.

WORLD OF WARCRAFT PAID TRANSFER SERVICE LIVE

Blizzard has announced that their long anticipated Paid Character Transfer Service for World of Warcraft is now active. In short, those players wishing to move their characters from one server to another can now do so at a coast of $25 per character.

Currently, the service is only available on the most crowded servers, and transfers are limited to servers with lower populations, but the program should expand the number of eligible servers once the initial transfers are completed;

“The initial launch of the Paid Character Transfer service will only allow transfers between a limited set of realms. You can now transfer characters off of these realms:

• Altar of Storms
• Argent Dawn
• Demon Soul
• Illidan
• Warsong

We’ll gradually scale up the list of realms to accommodate more players as quickly as possible. To start transferring your characters, just log in to the account-management section and click the Paid Character Transfer button. Good luck in your continued adventures in Azeroth, and have fun on your new realm!” -World of Warcraft Official Website

A full FAQ on the service can be found at this link. I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that making your customers pay $25 because your servers are overcrowded is a bit much.

WORLD OF WARCRAFT: BURNING CRUSADE – NEW ALLIANCE RACE REVEALED

The official World of Warcraft site has announced that the Dreanei will be the new Alliance race in the upcoming expansion. Check out the Draenei page at the World of Warcraft site for more details.

BLIZZARD UPGRADES WORLD OF WARCRAFT SERVERS

Blizzard unveiled their latest “battle plan” for World of Warcraft on their official forums today, and the news is something WoW players have been wanting for awhile now. Blizzard noted that they are upgrading the older servers to new, faster servers which should eliminate the lag that pervades more crowded servers and will be working on dispersing the population on the more popular servers by opening their realm transfer service later this year. Check out the details at the official World of Warcraft forums here.