Today on a conference call at 4:30 PM EST, the bigwigs at Activision released the company’s Third Quarter Fiscal 2008 results.

America’s top third-party game publisher revealed details about last year’s earnings as well as its future plans for the 2008 calendar year and beyond.

Activision CEO and Chairman Robert Kotick stated that 2007 was Activision’s “best year ever” with record financial and market share results, making it the #1 U.S. console and hand-held publisher for the first time ever. Net revenues for the third quarter were reported at an unprecedented $1.48 billion, an 80% increase from $824.3 million reported for the same quarter last fiscal year. He saw this trend as “a validation of our belief that our audience is expanding… taking mindshare from traditional forms of entertainment, like movies and television.” He also credited the company’s “Guitar Hero” franchise for contributing to the rise of female and first-time gamers.

Most of the call focused on the company’s record earnings and sales as well the growth of the industry in general. “The market continues to reward proven properties further widening the gap between first- and second-tier publishers,” Kotick said. Translation: Expect more “Call of Duty,” “Guitar Hero,” “Marvel Ultimate Alliance” and even another “Tony Hawk” and “Spider-Man.”

Read on for more highlights, including what’s going on with the Activision-Blizzard merger and what to expect for the aforementioned franchises…

Activision’s Plans for 2008:

• Michael Griffith, President and CEO of Activision Publishing acknowleged the “Tony Hawk” brand is still “very relevant and highly appealing but we need to step up innovation.” Over the past six months, the company has been working to “re-engineer” the franchise by focusing on evaluating new gaming trends along with consumer research and testing. Expect it for the holiday season.

• “Guitar Hero” will have two new offerings, though he declined to specify at this time. [UPDATE 2/8: To clarify, the "Guitar Hero" franchise will have two new offerings by the end of Q1, with "additional new titles for 'Guitar Hero' and 'Call of Duty'" by the end of Fiscal 2009.]

• The end of the quarter, there will be additional downloadable content for “Guitar Hero III” and the first for “Call of Duty 4.“

• There will be an all-new “Spider-Man” title and sequel to “Marvel Ultimate Alliance.”

• Gamers will see the annual release of the “Call of Duty” franchise on more platforms, adding PS2 and Wii to Xbox 360, PS3, DS and PC.

• Activision’s “largest Nintendo slate ever” is planned, with exclusive titles on the Wii and DS to be announced later.

• The company’s first James Bond release in conjunction with the next Bond movie, “Quantum of Solace,” is slated for November.

• In quarter one, Dreamworks’ “Kung Fu Panda” will be released on six platforms tied in with the theatrical release.

• A standalone “Kung Fu Panda” game is scheduled for the holiday season timed with the DVD launch; also games for other Dreamworks films including “Madagascar 2” and “Monsters vs. Aliens.“

Activision-Vivendi Games Merger Update:

• Regarding the pending merger with Vivendi Games announced in early December, “it is hard for us to contain our enthusiasm,” Kotick said.

• While they are still sorting out the details with federal regulations and the FCC, a “transition team is in place” and the company is on track to complete the transaction during the first half of 2008.

• Later, CFO Thomas Tippl reiterated that, “the integration team is up and running, formulating plans to deliver the synergy objectives and facilitate an issue-free transition for customers, supplies and employees” so that they can “hit the ground running” upon closing of the deal.

Highlights of sales last year:

• “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare” sold more than seven million copies.

• “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock” was the #1 title in dollars worldwide and the #1 best-selling video game in units and dollars of all time in a single year.

• “Spider-Man 3” was the #1 movie-based video game in dollars worldwide.

• “Call of Duty 4“’s website CharlieOscarDelta.com averaged over 20 million page views a month and helped drive the largest pre-sale program ever for the brand.

• In two months, approximately five million individual songs were sold on the Xbox 360 online for “Guitar Hero III.”