Activision has formally announced that it got shareholder approval for merger with Vivendi. Around 92% of their shareholders approved the proposed merger and the transaction is now officially closed. The planned Activision-Vivendi merger was first mentioned last December 2007; through it, Vivendi which is the parent of Sierra and Blizzard will become a fully-owned Activision subsidiary.

Activision’s name will become Activision Blizzard which had also been approved by its shareholders. Formally, it will trade under NASDAQ under its old symbol though, ATVI. Activision and Vivendi Games will be able to combine through business with this merger. To be headquartered in Santa Monica, this subsidiary is a worldwide console and online game manufacturer with leading market positions in all categories. It will be able to take advantage of the fast growing interactive software industry.

The company also has operations in Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, and Denmark among others. In Asia, it will have a presence in China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.

It is a good day for old-school Atari fanboys and girls. Today, the widely recognized third-party video game publisher and distributor announced that it has reached an agreement with Valve, a leading provider of video games online through their Steam Engine, that will allow for a wide variety of Atari games to start appearing on Steam as early as today.

Some of the games that everyone in North America can add to their Steam games library include:

Act of War: Direct Action- A real-time strategy game that engages the players in a modern warfare setting having them control counterterrorist forces.

Act of War: High Treason- An extremely realistic and tactical real-time strategy game.

Atari 80 Classics in 1 - the ultimate collection of the original games that inspired millions of gamers from around the world.
Death to Spies – A third-person stealth game that squares the players in a World War II setting in the middle of a military intelligence operation.

Desperados 2: Cooper’s Revenge – A real time shooter set in Western times with immersive worlds and graphics.
Indigo Prophecy – A supernatural mystery/adventure game that offers thrills and comes with a dark twist.

Rollercoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum - combines the roller coaster theme park fun of the Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 with included expansion packs Soaked! and Wild!

Tycoon City: New York - a tycoon simulation game that just happens to be set in one of the busiest States in the United States, New York.

Also to note, The Witcher, Neverwinter Nights 2, and the Expansion pack Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer, will be made available to Steam users in the weeks that follow.

“We’re proud to welcome to Steam a company that has become synonymous with video games,” commented Jason Holtman, director of business development at Valve. “Atari cemented video games into the consciousness of modern culture and continues to produce a unique mix of games that appeal to a variety of audiences, as represented by the line-up heading to Steam.”

Take-Two Interactive Software has recently discussed their first quarter financials with the public over a conference call. The company’s report states that it has a net revenue of $240.4 million during the first quarter and attributes these impressive revenue figures to the sales of big name games such as BioShock, Carnival Games, NBA 2k8, and the Grand Theft Auto series. The company does recognize that the first quarter posted a net loss of 38 million or $0.52 a share.

Also to note with the release is the announcement that Take-Two has acquired Illusion Softworks, the makers of many franchises, most notably, Mafia. The studio received a name change, 2k Czech and their first project is to make Mafia II for consoles such as the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3.

Some good news to BioShock fans include the fact that 2k Marin is already working on BioShock 2 and is planning to release it during the fourth quarter of 2009. They also announced that Carnival Games: Mini-Golf will be developed exclusively for the Nintendo Wii.

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Exercise fanatics that own a Nintendo Wii rejoice! Well… only if you are in Australia. Nintendo announced today the upcoming release of Wii Fit for the Nintendo Wii. It is set to debut in Australia on May 8, 2008 for AU$149.95. We are confident that a North American and European release is soon to follow.

Wii Fit, which promises to get kids, moms, and even grandparents out of their couch and into a shiny interactive white platform. This release will not be merely a game according to Nintendo. They are claiming that the Wii Fit package is “a health and lifestyle product” and are marketing it accordingly. This strategy by Nintendo is being used to capture the casual gamer market with a device never seen before that feature more than 40 included exercises divided into four categories. These include balance games, yoga, muscle workouts, and aerobic exercises. Read the rest of this entry »

D3Publisher of America Inc. has announced that their highly anticipated game Dark Sector, will be shipping to stores in North America starting on March 25,2008. The game will be available exclusively on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.

The game has been hyped up and with good reason. It is being developed by acclaimed developer Digital Extremes who where the co-creators of the award winning franchise from Epic Games, Unreal Tournament. Moving on to Dark Sector itself, the all-new thriller will feature a dark and gritty action packed experienced chock full of fast paced action and incredible super powers. Add an immersive and engaging story and we might have a possible game of the year contender. “Dark Sector fans have been waiting for this moment and we’re pleased to say that after months of tweaking and polishing, the game is ready to entertain and wow gamers,” said Peter Andrew, vice president of product development, D3PA.

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This bit of news comes as a bit of a shock considering that MLB 2k8 just hit the stores very recently but nevertheless, the new owners should be happy. 2k Games has released three different sets of free content for its brand spankin’ new baseball title today. What do you have to do to get your hands on this sweet new content? Nothing special really, simply connect to Xbox Live and you will be on your way. Once you do so, you will be treated to a title update as well as receive all the free content.

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For those who are not willing to dish out $49.99 for the awesome package that is The Orange Box, there is some good news coming your way. Soon you will be able to purchase each game individually and test each one of them out to see if you like it or not. According to Gamestop, Portal will make its debut at $19.99 (USD) and Team Fortress and Half Life Episodes I and II will debut at $29.99 respectively.

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Criterion Games announced yesterday a ton of information regarding upcoming fixes that the upcoming Burnout Paradise patch will address. No date has been released as to when the patch will land and the reason for this might be because Criterion seems to be modifying just about every aspect of the game with this patch.

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In a pleasant turn of events for Nintendo owners looking to purchase Guitar Hero III, Activison has announced plans to release a Guitar Hero III pack for the Wii that will come with two guitars instead of one. Take this with a grain of salt as it will only be available immediately in Australia for the time being. All indications point to a worldwide release if all goes well though.
All of you who own Guitar Hero III and have been shopping around for an extra axe know how hard it is to actually find one.

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Grand Theft Auto is the name when it comes to open-world driving/action games. Saints Row 2 is looking to take some of the market away from them. THQ is pushing their new Saints Row 2 game and is looking to come out on top by any means necessary. As many of you may recall, THQ did a completely drastic thing when they launched the first Saints Row game. They created what basically was a clone of Grand Theft Auto and luckily for them, they released it on next-gen systems making it the only “GTA” game available on next-gen consoles. End result: The game was a huge hit. Nowadays, gamers are fired up about GTA IV and THQ still seems to be carefree and confidant that Saints Row 2 will match up to Rockstar’s blockbuster and even steal some gamers away from it.

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Merely a week after his unexpected resignation as head of Sony Computer Entertainment’s studios, Phil Harrison is right back in the industry, joining the ranks of Infogrames, the parent company of Atari for all of you old school gamers out there. In his new position, he will answer directly to the new CEO of Infogrames, David Gardner.

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It’s a good day for all Team Fortress 2 fans out there as Valve has announced the release of a patch that fixes some troublesome issues. If you have not fired up your game today, the first time you do so you will be prompted to update it if you want to proceed to the frantic multiplayer action.

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North America and Europe Rejoice! SEGA has officially announced theat their highly anticipated action strategy title will be coming to North America and Europe as early as this autumn. The game’s development is header by the brilliant Shuntaro Tanaka who is also responsible for such classics as the Skies of Arcadia.

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