Blizzard 2011 Annual Report Download - page 51

ACTIVISION BLIZZARD, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
1. Description of Business and Business Combination
Description of Business
Activision Blizzard, Inc. is a worldwide online, personal computer (“PC”), console, handheld, and mobile game
publisher of interactive entertainment. The terms “Activision Blizzard,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” are used to refer
collectively to Activision Blizzard, Inc. and its subsidiaries. We maintain significant operations in the United States, Canada, the
United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea and China.
The common stock of Activision Blizzard is traded on The NASDAQ Stock Market under the ticker symbol “ATVI.”
Vivendi S.A. (“Vivendi”) owned approximately 60% of Activision Blizzard’s outstanding common stock at December 31, 2011.
Based upon our current organizational structure, we operate three operating segments as follows:
(i) Activision Publishing, Inc.
Activision Publishing, Inc. (“Activision”) is a leading international developer and publisher of interactive software
products and content. Activision develops games utilizing internally-developed, acquired and licensed intellectual property.
Activision markets and sells games it develops and, through our affiliate label program, games developed by certain third-party
publishers. We sell games both through retail channels and by digital download. Activision currently offers games that operate
on the Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. (“Sony”) PlayStation 3 (“PS3”), Nintendo Co. Ltd. (“Nintendo”) Wii (“Wii”), and
Microsoft Corporation (“Microsoft”) Xbox 360 (“Xbox 360”) console systems; the Nintendo Dual Screen (“DS”) handheld
game systems; the PC; Apple iOS devices and other handheld and mobile devices.
(ii) Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (“Blizzard”) is a leader in the subscription- based massively multi-player online role-
playing game (“MMORPG”) category in terms of both subscriber base and revenues generated through its World of Warcraft
franchise, which it develops, markets and sells role-playing action and strategy PC-based computer games, including games in
the multiple-award winning Diablo® and StarCraft® franchises. Blizzard also maintains a proprietary online-game related
service, Battle.net®. Blizzard distributes its products and generates revenues worldwide through various means, including:
subscriptions (which consist of fees from individuals playing World of Warcraft, prepaid cards and other value-added service
revenues such as realm transfers, faction changes, and other character customizations within the World of Warcraft gameplay);
retail sales of physical “boxed” products; online download sales of PC products; and licensing of software to third-party or
related party companies that distribute World of Warcraft and StarCraft II®.
(iii) Activision Blizzard Distribution
Activision Blizzard Distribution (“Distribution”) consists of operations in Europe that provide warehousing, logistical
and sales distribution services to third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software, our own publishing operations, and
manufacturers of interactive entertainment hardware.
Business Combination
On July 9, 2008, a business combination (the “Business Combination”) by and among Activision, Inc., Sego Merger
Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Activision, Inc., Vivendi, VGAC LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vivendi , and
Vivendi Games, Inc. (“Vivendi Games”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of VGAC LLC, was consummated. As a result of the
consummation of the Business Combination, Activision, Inc. was renamed Activision Blizzard, Inc. For accounting purposes,
the Business Combination is treated as a “reverse acquisition,” with Vivendi Games deemed to be the acquirer.
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