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Activision 3Q earnings soar, 2011 outlook raised
BARBARA ORTUTAY
(The Associated Press)



05:30:30AM (ET) Wednesday,November 8,2011.

NEW YORK (AP) — Activision Blizzard Inc. reported strong results for the latest quarter and raised its outlook for the full year on Tuesday as it began selling its latest "Call of Duty" game ahead of the holidays.

Long lines formed outside retail stores to buy "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3," which went on sale at midnight Monday. The game is expected to break industry records set by its predecessor a year ago for metrics such as first-day sales and overall dollar sales. Last year's "Call of Duty: Black Ops" sold more than 25 million copies.

Investors, though, seemed to focus on Activision's other big game, "World of Warcraft," as the company's stock fell after the results came out. That's because the game ended the quarter with 10.3 million active subscribers, down from 11.1 million from the previous quarter.

Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said the 7 percent drop "freaked people out."

Activision gets much of its revenue and profit from "Call of Duty" and "World of Warcraft," Pachter said, so "if either is threatened, it makes people wonder about future profit growth."

The company hasn't given day-one sales figures for "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3," though it said pre-launch orders shattered prior records. The game's predecessor earned more than $1 billion in sales.

Blockbuster disc sales aside, Activision is also focusing on the game's long-term future — its online components that let people download add-on chapters, challenge other players online and keep playing long after the game's initial story ends.

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It has been a good year and a half for Activision.

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