Founded date October 01,1979
Activision is the largest third-party publisher in the world. It became the first third-party developer for video game consoles, and is responsible for popular franchises such as Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, and Tony Hawk.
| Company Name | Activision |
| Street Address | |
| City | Santa Monica |
| State | California |
| Country | United States |
| Website | http://www.activision.com/ |
| Contact email | |
| Phone number | 310 255 2000 |
| Date founded | Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 UTC 1979 |
| Aliases | Mediagenic Activision Publishing, Inc. |
Activision was originally founded on October 1, 1979 and became the first independent developer and distributor of video games with its first games developed for the Atari 2600. Activision was founded by former music industry executive Jim Levy along with former Atari programmers David Crane, Larry Kaplan, Alan Miller, and Bob Whitehead. Activision's first game release came in the form of Dragster in 1980, with their first big hit being Pitfall! in 1982. Pitfall! quickly became one of best selling Atari 2600 games ever selling over 4 million copies.
On June 13, 1986, Activision merged with Infocom due to Jim Levy being a big fan of the company and did not want to see them fall. Six months later, Bruce Davis, who was heavily against the merger, became CEO of Activision. In 1989, the Infocom studios were finally closed by Activision putting 21 out of 26 employees out of business.
In 1988, Activision moved on to produce more software outside of the video game industry and changed its corporate name to Mediagenic. Activision continued to develop video games, however, for many platforms including the NES, Sega Master System, Atari 7800, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and Amiga.
In the following years, Mediagenic had multiple financial issues including patent infringement suits and eventually was taken over by Robert Kotick, an investor group lead. The company eventually filed for Chapter 11 reorganization and merged with The Disc Company. Mediagenic started to rise out of bankruptcy, made some strategic acquisitions, and changed its name back to Activision in December 1992. Activision also moved its headquarters from Mountain View in the Silicon Valley to Santa Monica, CA deciding as well to produce only video games from that point on.
In 1991, Activision released The Lost Treasures of Infocom which was a package of 20 Infocom games on one disc. A year later, Activision released another 11 games in The Lost Treasures of Infocom II.
2010
Activision has been criticized for forcing developers to release games in popular franchises on a yearly basis. Examples include the Call Of Duty franchise, Guitar Hero franchise, and Tony Hawk franchise. Due to the limited time frame, developers often cannot alter the gameplay or other features significantly, thus releasing a game every year that is usually pretty similar to the one that came before it.
In a recent interview with Game Informer, the studio head of Treyarch was asked what game he would like to develop next. He responded by saying that he isn't the one to make that decision, showing that even the heads of studios under Activision cannot escape the company's grasp.
Sports Action Pak
Four sporting games from Activision game on one cartridge.
Alcazar: The Forgotten Fortress
Alcazar the Forgotten Fortress is an early dungeon-crawling adventure game from Activision.
Wappy Dog
Wappy Dog is a Nintendo DS title from Activision that features pet-simulation gameplay comparable to Nintendogs paired with augmented toy-based play.
Return to Zork
A point-and-click adventure game with heavy use of FMV set in the universe of the Zork series of text adventures.
Master of the Lamps
Master of the Lamps is an action game created by Activision.
Shanghai: Mah-Jongg Essentials
NetMech
Barbie Fashion Show: Eye for Style
Design fashion shows to help Barbie get ready for Fashion Week in Paris
X-15 Alpha Mission
X-15 Alpha Mission is a Flight Simulation game, published by Activision, which was released in 1987.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
An RPG based on the movie/book of the same name.
Sam & Max Hit the Road
A tale about love, country-western music and bigfoots, Sam & Max Hit the Road is a point-and-click adventure game from LucasArts.
Spanish for Everyone!
A Spanish language learning game notorious for the offensive representations of Mexican people.
Guitar Hero: Van Halen
The third band-specific Guitar Hero offering from Activision, Guitar Hero: Van Halen allows you to play as America's greatest hard rock band.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
Take control of real skaters and perform strings of crazy tricks in the first entry of the long-running Tony Hawk skateboarding series.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 brings new levels, new skaters, new tricks (such as hidden trick variations and the Revert), and online multiplayer.
Crash Team Rumble
A multiplayer arena battle/sports game.
The Movies
The Movies immerses players into the world of movie making by letting them create their own studio, stars, and feature films while simulating the challenges and progressions of a real movie studio.
Band Hero
Band Hero is a spinoff game of the Guitar Hero series by Activision released for the Xbox 360 Playstation 3, Wii and Nintendo DS.
Guitar Hero: Metallica
Guitar Hero: Metallica is the second band-specific game in the Guitar Hero franchise. It features 28 songs from the world famous heavy-metal band Metallica, as well as 21 guest acts - picked by Metallica themselves.
GoldenEye 007 Reloaded
GoldenEye 007: Reloaded is a first-person shooter for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 based on the 2010 Nintendo Wii shooter GoldenEye 007, which is based on the 1997 Nintendo 64 shooter of the same name, which is based on the 1995 James Bond movie GoldenEye.
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