Last week just before the start of Blizzard Entertainment's big fan convention, we got to stop by their offices for a video tour.

Watch as executive vice president of game design Rob Pardo walks us through all the amenities of Blizzard's swanky Irvine, California offices -- everything from the front gate down to the sand-laden volleyball courts.

(Videos not viewable by users logging in from Canada or the U.K.)

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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...

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