Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Activision Blizzard), incorporated in 1979, is engaged in online, personal computer (PC), console, handheld, and mobile game publisher. Through Activision Publishing, Inc. (Activision), the Company is an international publisher of interactive software products and content. Activision Blizzard operates three operating segments: Activision Publishing, Inc. and its subsidiaries, which is engaged in publishing interactive entertainment software products and downloadable content, which includes studios, assets, and titles; Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries, which is engaged in publishing PC games and online subscription-based games in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) category (Blizzard), and Activision Blizzard Distribution, which is engaged in distribution of interactive entertainment software and hardware products (Distribution).
The Company’s distribution business consists of operations in Europe that provide warehousing, logistical, and sales distribution services to third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software, its own publishing operations, and manufacturers of interactive entertainment hardware. It distributes interactive entertainment hardware and software products in Europe through its European distribution subsidiaries, including Centresoft in the United Kingdom and NBG in Germany. These subsidiaries act as wholesalers in the distribution of products and also provide packaging, logistical and sales services. They provide services to its publishing operations and to various third-party publishers, including Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft. Centresoft is Sony's preferred distributor of PlayStation products to the independent retail sector of the United Kingdom.
The Company competes with Computer Entertainment Inc., Nintendo Co. Ltd., and Microsoft Corporation and Time Warner, Inc
The sales of highly-rated core games with online functionality, such as Call of Duty: Black Ops, have continued to trend upwards and have gained share. According to the same information sources, first-person action genres increased retail share by 29% in 2010 as compared to 2009 in North America and Europe, collectively. On the other hand, considerable weakness in casual consumer titles, particularly in the music and casual genres, which declined in 2010, compared to 2009, was reflected in the decline in the retail sales of software for the Wii and handheld devices. The Company’s North American retail customers include, among others, Best Buy, GameStop, Target, Toys R Us, and Wal-Mart. In the United States and Canada, its products are sold on a direct basis to mass-market retailers, consumer electronics stores, discount warehouses and game specialty stores. Its products are sold internationally on a direct-to-retail basis, through third-party distribution and licensing arrangements, and through its wholly owned European distribution subsidiaries. It conducts its international publishing activities through offices in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia and Ireland.
The Company’s distribution business consists of operations in Europe that provide warehousing, logistical, and sales distribution services to third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software, its own publishing operations, and manufacturers of interactive entertainment hardware. It distributes interactive entertainment hardware and software products in Europe through its European distribution subsidiaries, including Centresoft in the United Kingdom and NBG in Germany. These subsidiaries act as wholesalers in the distribution of products and also provide packaging, logistical and sales services. They provide services to its publishing operations and to various third-party publishers, including Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft. Centresoft is Sony's preferred distributor of PlayStation products to the independent retail sector of the United Kingdom.
The Company competes with Computer Entertainment Inc., Nintendo Co. Ltd., and Microsoft Corporation and Time Warner, Inc
The sales of highly-rated core games with online functionality, such as Call of Duty: Black Ops, have continued to trend upwards and have gained share. According to the same information sources, first-person action genres increased retail share by 29% in 2010 as compared to 2009 in North America and Europe, collectively. On the other hand, considerable weakness in casual consumer titles, particularly in the music and casual genres, which declined in 2010, compared to 2009, was reflected in the decline in the retail sales of software for the Wii and handheld devices. The Company’s North American retail customers include, among others, Best Buy, GameStop, Target, Toys R Us, and Wal-Mart. In the United States and Canada, its products are sold on a direct basis to mass-market retailers, consumer electronics stores, discount warehouses and game specialty stores. Its products are sold internationally on a direct-to-retail basis, through third-party distribution and licensing arrangements, and through its wholly owned European distribution subsidiaries. It conducts its international publishing activities through offices in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia and Ireland.