Guitar Hero, Call of Duty help double Activision profits

Sales of Guitar Hero II and Call of Duty 3 have helped Activision more than double its profits for the latest financial year from USD 40.3 million (EUR 29.9m) to USD 85.8 million (EUR 63.8m).

Sales for the year were USD 1.51 billion (EUR 1.12bn) up from USD 1.47 billion (EUR 1.09) the previous year, with the the companies Tony Hawk's Project 8 and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance also highlighted as key sales drivers.

"Activision's fiscal year 2007 net revenues, which were the highest in the company history, totalled USD 1.5 billion, marking 15 consecutive years of revenue growth," stated Robert Kotick, CEO.

Activision is bullish about the coming year, expecting to reach sales of USD 1.8 billion (EUR 1.3bn) with USD 425 million (EUR 316m) in the first quarter, driven by sales of number one title Spider-Man 3, the recently released Guitar Hero II for Xbox 360 and Shrek the Third.

"We expect fiscal 2008 to be our largest and most profitable year ever," said Kotick.

"The combination of our first quarter slate and superb release schedule for the balance of the year, Guitar Hero's rapid rise as a popular cultural phenomenon and our solid leadership position on all of the major gaming platforms, should provide us with a competitive advantage as we enter the growth phase of the new hardware cycle," he said.

During a conference call following the results, the company brushed aside suggestions that EA's forthcoming Rock Band would be in direct competition to Activision's Guitar Hero franchise, pointing to the strong support from retail and accomplished brand recognition that the game enjoys.

According to Activision, 200,000 song packs for the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II have been downloaded since release and the company expects DLC to account for USD 20 million (EUR 14.8m) in sales in the next fiscal year.

The company also stated it was reassessing its support of the Wii after considerable sales success, and it expects to supply stronger products for the home console than it did for Nintendo's GameCube.