Tag Archives: Mike Griffith

Speaking at last week’s CES 09, Activision CEO Mike Griffith said that Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock became the first single game ever to make more than $1 billion in sales.

That’s an awful lot of money.

Citing data from research group Nielsen, Griffith went on to say that “download sales for artists appearing on Guitar Hero have risen 15-843 percent,” writes Edge.

The CEO also added that Guitar Hero downloads are currently at 21 million units.

That’s an awful lot of units.

By Mike Bowden

Speaking in an earnings call following the release of third quarter financials yesterday, Activision publishing boss Mike Griffith said that the firm’s seeing strong interest from people wishing to upgrade their instruments for Guitar Hero games.

“We’re seeing households, not only in new penetration areas, but the existing, still continuing to show a very strong appetite for music and a very strong interest in upgrading instruments,” he said.

Company head Bobby Kotick joked, “We generally believe that every man, woman, and child everywhere needs at least nine guitars.”

You’re a funny guy, Bobby. Thanks, Kotaku.

Speaking in an earnings call following the release of third quarter financials yesterday, Activision said Guitar Hero World Tour had practically sold out and it didn’t anticipate being able to make enough kits to satisfy Christmas demand.

CEO Bobby Kotick said that Activision has “been surprised” by the response to the full band kit for Guitar Hero World Tour, with publishing boss Mike Griffith adding that the full band kit is “virtually sold out across the channel” and it’s “not likely that we’ll be able to keep up with demand [this holiday season].”

Overall, Griffith said that the entire Guitar Hero franchise has sold 24 million units to date, compared with 5 million units for MTV’s Rock Band.

More on GameDaily.

Activision CEO Mike Griffith said yesterday that he expects PS3 growth to outstrip 360 growth in the US and Europe in 2008.

The numbers:

• Xbox 360 – 6-7 million units
• PS3 – 8 million units
• Wii – 15 million units
• “Handhelds” – 24 million units

The handheld figure wasn’t split into DS and PSP.

Griffith was speaking in an earnings call following the release of third quarter financials yesterday.

Thanks, GameDaily.

According to this Shacknews story, Activision’s currently assessing whether or not to charge a sub for Guitar Hero DLC.

“We’re exploring new models, like an annual pass subscription where players can subscribe and get a certain number of songs downloadable each month,” said CEO Mike Griffith.

Must have missed this in the rush earlier this week: the news comes from Activision Blizzard’s Analyst Day in the US.

More through the link.

Activision Blizzard had something of an information eruption in Santa Monica yesterday, revealing news on the next Call of Duty, the future for Guitar Hero and tons more. It’s all in the list below. Wouldn’t want you to miss anything.

• Acti-Blizz Day – Infinity Ward developing CoD6, confusion over release date
• Acti-Blizz Day – Guitar Hero titles to triple by 2010
• Acti-Blizz Day – PS3 will last for eight more years, says Kotick
• Acti-Blizz Day – Online CoD4 play to be further “monetized”
• Acti-Blizz Day – Guitar Hero boosts track sales by 200-300%
• Acti-Blizz Day – Guitar Hero: Aerosmith brought the band more money than any of its albums
• Acti-Blizz Day – We’re influencing future console design, says Kotick
• Acti-Blizz Day – 60% of CoD4 players go online

Speaking during Activision Blizzard’s Analyst Day last night, company CEO Mike Griffith confirmed that Infinity Ward is developing Call of Duty 6.

There are, however, conflicting reports on a date for the game. Gama’s reporting 2009, while Destructoid – and others – have posted a 2010 date.

Apparently both years were mentioned in presentations from Griffith and Acti-Blizz super-boss Bobby Kotick.

Expect some clarification in the next few days.

Speaking during Activision Blizzard’s Analyst Day last night, company CEO Mike Griffith said that the firm intends to increase the amount of Guitar Hero games on the market by 300 percent by 2010.

That’s right: three times as many Guitar Hero games on sale in the next two years.

The number will be doubled by 2009, said Griffith. We’re not exactly sure how many games that is, but we’ll settle for “enough.”

Thanks, Shacknews.

Speaking during Activision Blizzard’s Analyst Day last night, company CEO Mike Griffith said that Call of Duty 4′s online play can be milked further in terms of cash. We reckon he may have a point.

“We … see strong opportunities to monetize online gameplay,” said the exec. “The average Call of Duty player has spent nearly five full 24-hour days of their lives online since purchasing the game.

“Over time, we’ll qualify more opportunities to increase the monetization of these activities.”

Thanks, Edge.

Activision announced this morning that only five Vivendi IPs will make the transition into the newly formed Activision Blizzard, namely Crash Bandicoot, Ice Age, Spyro, Prototype and an as-yet unannounced property.

The publisher also confirmed is will “support” the existing VUG catalogue.

No mention was made in the release of Ghostbusters, Brutal Legend or World in Conflict, all of which are now assumed dead in the water.

“Four of the five properties that we are keeping will be wholly owned properties that further bolster our strong brand portfolio,” said Activision CEO Mike Griffith.

“We are very excited to add such recognizable and successful brands as Crash Bandicoot, Ice Age and Spyro, which reinforce our leadership position in movie-based and family entertainment video games.

“We have conducted a thorough review of Vivendi Games’ brand portfolio and are retaining those franchises and titles that are a strong fit with our long-term product strategy. We are reviewing our options regarding those titles that we will not be publishing.”

Press release after the link.

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