Activision Blizzard (COD and Skylanders) beating the industry's slump #institutions

http://www.trefis.com/stock/atvi/articles/184969/activision-blizzard-preview-beating-the-industrys-slump-handily/2013-05-06

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) is expected to report earnings for the first quarter of 2013 Wednesday, May 8. ^[1] Successful franchises like Call of Duty and Skylanders helped the company beat the industry wide sales decline in the fourth quarter of 2012. Activision reported a 25% year-on-year increase in revenues for the three months ending December. In contrast, video game sales for the entire industry plunged 22% during the holiday period. ^[2] Results were buoyed by Call of Duty: Black Ops II, which was the highest selling game worldwide in 2012. ^[3]

The Black Ops II phenomena has shown no signs of slowing down. The game remained on the charts for the first three months of 2013, both in the U.S. and worldwide. We expect the company to deliver another solid quarter, staying ahead of the industry slow down.

#crosspromotion Black Ops 2 unlocks linked to Call of Duty Ghosts? Pre-order incentives?

http://www.oxm.co.uk/53239/black-ops-2-unlocks-linked-to-call-of-duty-ghosts-infinity-wards-involvement-confirmed/

GTA Shipments hit 125m as "special" series continues to grow

And that’s why the industry gets excited, sits up and pays attention when the words ‘Grand Theft Auto’ are uttered.

*Read beyond the cut for Take-Two's boss comparing Rockstar's GTA products with Activision (And COD/Black Ops) - it's like they are doing our work for us - An essential read!!*

Black Ops 2 breaks pre-order record

A lot of people ordered the latest Call of Duty before it even came out.
Ever since the crazy astronomical numbers of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in which the game sold more than 7 million copies on November 11, 2009, each iteration of the shooter franchise has performed better than the last.