Activision Unseats Chief Rival EA

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Activision Inc. said Thursday it had rocked into the No. 1 position in video game sales in North America last year, becoming the first company to unseat Electronic Arts Inc., The Los Angeles Times reports.


The Santa Monica-based game company snagged 17.7% of the market for games played on consoles in 2007, besting EA’s 15.2% share, according to research firm NPD Group Inc. The figures do not include sales of games played on computers, where EA maintained its leadership position.


Activision, which is merging with the game unit of French media conglomerate Vivendi, also reported strong growth in quarterly revenue and profit Thursday.

Sales of two games — “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare” and “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock” — helped Activision’s fiscal third-quarter sales jump 80% to $1.48 billion from a year earlier. Profit in the quarter, which ended Dec. 31, soared 90% to $272.2 million, or 86 cents a share, from $142.8 million, or 46 cents a share.


The “Guitar Hero” franchise has generated more than $1 billion in sales in North America since its launch two years ago.


“It won’t be easy to maintain the No. 1 position,” Activision Chief Executive Robert Kotick said in an interview. “EA is a tough competitor.”


Read the full L.A. Times story

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