Activision Blizzard publishing CEO Mike Griffith promised more than twice as many Activision-branded music games in 2009 in today's earnings call, while also revealing their next "James Bond" title has been moved into next year, and Blizzard declared an intention to release a game this year. Read more...

Electronic Arts has picked up the rights to publish games based on the work of Robert Ludlum, the author of the Jason Bourne series. The first game is being made by "Chronicles of Riddick" developer Starbreeze Studios. Read more...

We know Activision Blizzard loves sequels.

Just moments ago, the publisher revealed a slate of follow-ups coming this year at an Massive Inc. upfront attended by Stephen Totilo.

An upfront is where publishers showcase their upcoming lineup to advertisers and are a new practice for games. Upfronts occur every year for TV and movies.

This event is being held in downtown Manhattan to get advertisers pumped to buy more ads in games. Massive is a Microsoft-owned firm that did the Barack Obama ad in "Burnout Paradise."

At the meeting, Activision Blizzard showcased new games that would make sense for in-game ads, including the vaguely titled "Guitar Hero 5," which included a screen shot of gameplay with a Burger King ad to the right of the note highway.

The publisher confirmed rumors that "Tony Hawk" will be different this year. "You're not going to be playing this game with a controller in your hands," said the company. The new "Tony Hawk" arrives on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and DS in October.

Additionally, Activision Blizzard acknowledged the "Call of Duty" series will move forward yet again with "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" coming this fall. No details on the game were released.

We've also heard rumors that Bizarre Creations was working on a racing-oriented "James Bond" game, which have turned out to be true. The original Bond adventure, not tied to a movie storyline, is coming this September. The former "Project Gotham Racing" studio is also working on an original racing IP for the publisher, which they tagged as "'Mario Kart' meets 'Forza.'"

Curiously, the lineup included absolutely no Blizzard Entertainment games.

If any more news breaks from the Massive Inc. upfront, we'll let you know.

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First-person James Bond? Third-person James Bond? Which would you prefer for a James Bond video game?

James Bond fans were polled by Activision in advance of the development of the publisher’s first game in the franchise, this fall's multi-platform "Quantum of Solace." And the survey showed that they were divided about what kind of game they wanted.

During a demo of the game this morning, Josh Olin, community manager for the game's lead development studio, Treyarch, said a market research survey produced two distinct requests.* Some fans wanted first-person; some wanted a third-person game. The split, Olin said, was 60-40 in favor of first-person.

The "Quantum of Solace" game, which covers the action of 2006's "Casino Royale" and its upcoming cinematic sequel, "Quantum of Solace," is played primarily as a first-person shooter. But when Bond takes cover or engages in a fancy hand-to-hand take-down, the game shifts to third-person.

Will the first-person/third-person split prove to present the best of both styles? Or will it prove that only one perspective per game -- "GoldenEye," "Everything Or Nothing" -- best serves Bond?

Activision, it seems, believes serving both groups of fans is the best approach. Shaken and stirred, as it were.

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*I asked if the firm was Intellisponse and at least got a laugh -- if not an answer.

How do you make James Bond the video game character feel like James Bond the movie character?

That was the question I posed several different ways to Garrett Young, the executive producer of this fall's first-person game "Quantum of Solace," during a phone interview earlier this week. For instance...

• How do you make sure he doesn't shoot so many people that he no longer seems like a suave super-spy?
• How do you make the player feel like a ladies' man?

Well, it starts with making sure the developers adhere to the first official Bond commandment, the first item on a four-page document that Young was shown by the series' franchise-owners so that he could know what is Bond and what isn't.

Read more...