Tag Archives: atvi

E3 Preview: Hot Video Games, Virtual Reality, Toys

This year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, comes at an auspicious time for the video game industry. Leading publicly traded game companies have seen their stocks rally as the console upgrade cycle hits its sweet spot. Top publishers like Activision Blizzard (ATVI) and Electronic Arts (EA) have helped lift the video game software sector to the No. 2 spot among the 197 industry groups tracked by IBD. Activision and EA are among

E-sports to generate $252 million this year

Electronic sports, or e-sports, have defied skeptical parents everywhere to become a big new category of professional sports. In a report Wednesday, market research firm Newzoo estimates that global e-sports revenue will hit $252 million this year, with a fan base of 113 million enthusiasts. Revenue is forecast to grow 30% year over year in 2015. This revenue includes sponsorships, online advertising, media rights, consumer spending on merchandise and tickets. At e-sports tournaments, teams compete in multiplayer video games, usually strategy, shooting or combat games. Top games played include “League of Legends” from Riot Games, majority owned by Tencent Holdings (TCEHY); “Dota 2” from Valve; and “Call of Duty” and “StarCraft II” from Activision Blizzard (ATVI). North America is the largest and fastest-growing major market, with $93 million in expected revenue this year and year-over-year growth of 32%, Newzoo said. Asia Pacific is a close second with $85 million in…

Activision Q1 report calm before the ‘Storm’

Video game publisher Activision Blizzard (ATVI) delivered better-than-expected Q1 results late Tuesday as it prepares for a coming “Storm” next month. The Santa Monica, Calif.-based company earned 16 cents a share excluding items, down 16% from Q1 2014, on sales of $703 million, down 9%. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected 7 cents EPS on sales of $655 million. Activision stock was up more than 5% to above 24 in afternoon trading in the stock market today. Activision stock hit an all-time high of 24.50 in intraday trading. Activision’s Q1 was fueled by the continued success of its “Call of Duty” and “Hearthstone” franchises.