Vivendi Games sees 92% increase, gets on knees and thanks Elune for WoW

by Alexander Sliwinski { Sep 2nd 2007 at 7:51PM }

Vivendi is a big ol' company, what we're going to focus on is their Vivendi Games division which earned €119 million for the first half of their 2007 fiscal year, which is a 91.9% increase from last year. All you need to know about this growth, despite growth being the industry standard lately -- unless you're Atari, is that it has so much to do with World of Warcraft it's not even funny. Although Vivendi Games used the very conservative term of "continued momentum" to describe the phenomenon of WoW -- 9 million people hittin' the pipe and handing over around $15 a month to play the game creates fiscal magic and sweet snuggle love to the company's bottom line.

Beyond the games division, Vivendi saw a 10.6% increase in earning over last year, around €2.6 billion. Don't expect WoW to stop making money for Vivendi. Wrath of the Lich King is the expansion many WoW players have been waiting for and the game continues to grow its user base years after release.

Tags: blizzard, vivendi, worldofwarcraft, wow

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Kazi @ Sep 2nd 2007 8:15PM

WoW is an amazing phenomenon. But it's still pretty disappointing seeing such an unoriginal game become one of the most played games.

Rayonic @ Sep 2nd 2007 8:52PM

Well, most of the people playing (including myself) haven't played an MMO before. So the whole genre is new to most of the playerbase.

Nushio @ Sep 2nd 2007 8:52PM

I'm sick of all these "Anti-Atari" comments I'm seeing on this site. I think this writer is clearly not an Atari Fanboy, but a Vivendi Fanboy instead! The horror! The horror!

Abuzar @ Sep 2nd 2007 10:20PM

Or maybe this writer likes using facts and he was referring the the fact that Atari lost money this year. Click the link,it might help.

Nushio @ Sep 2nd 2007 10:24PM

@Abuzar: Or perhaps, just perhaps, I was being silly....

Think of it as a jab to all those MS/Sony/Nintendo fanboys who bitch and whine at every article, just because the writer didn't back up their thoughts or opinions...

Abuzar @ Sep 3rd 2007 1:18AM

That totally went over my head I guess. My bad...

Tibbles @ Sep 2nd 2007 9:20PM

Saying WoW makes money is like saying drugs make money...

Addiction is addiction, no matter how the ESRB rates it. I recently forced myself to break my WoW install disk in half after I was debating whether or not I should go back or not.

Of course, putting a picture of the smashed disk as my display picture on IM did not please many of my WoW buds -_-

tranceaddictfox @ Sep 2nd 2007 9:40PM

don't forget, you can always download it from fileplanet! :D

chispito @ Sep 2nd 2007 9:40PM

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad or dangerous news but you can just download the trial version and log in with your personal credentials, which is the same as the CD install (actually it probably has more recent patches). If you really want to quit for good, you should have deleted your characters.

AndrewNeo @ Sep 2nd 2007 10:16PM

tranceaddictfox: Just the thought of that should keep -anyone- from downloading the game!
Anyway, why would you get it from Wait In Line Planet? Just get it straight from Blizzard's website.

colin @ Sep 3rd 2007 1:01AM

@masterinsano,

as a former "hard drug" addict, i will share that there was a point around the beginning of my use that i had to decide to become an addict. at the beginning, i fell in love with the drug, and in my fantasy world, the good outweighed the bad, and there seemed no consequences. at first there are no consequences, everything is twinkies and ice cream ... its only later (when its too late) do you realize otherwise. i'm clean now, going on three years and always ask myself what i was thinking at that time. i can never come up with an answer.

Anthony @ Sep 2nd 2007 10:12PM

I think you guys are missing the point. Of course you can just download it again. Breaking the disks is symbolic. Its not the fact that he can't install it. Addiction is a hard thing to overcome. I commend you Tibbles.

Tibbles @ Sep 2nd 2007 10:19PM

Thankyou, it was a snap decision on my part. I was ||

MasterInsan0 @ Sep 2nd 2007 11:16PM

I hate to screw up the touching moment, but the game is only an addiction if you let it become one. It's not like hard drugs, where taking them pretty much guarantees you will get addicted; with WoW, you have to choose to be an addict.

colin @ Sep 3rd 2007 1:02AM

Tibbles @ Sep 2nd 2007 10:22PM

Well, what do you know. I had this full, amazing, descriptive multi-paragraph article about symbolism and it's effect on addiction.

...And the comment box bugs out on me, leaving me with "Thankyou, it was a snap decision on my part. I was ||"

Well, in any case, I know I can just download the thing. But I wanted to trash the disks as a way of freeing myself from the bind.

You guys can say you play WoW and still live full and healthy lives, which I am sure you do. But in my experience, it was an addiction. I had owned the game since 1 month after the official US launch, and it was time to put it to rest.

Tibbles @ Sep 2nd 2007 11:20PM

MasterInsan0 anything can become an addiction. ANYTHING.

Not chosen, but influenced. Some are more prone to addiction than others. Thx.

Word of the street. @ Sep 2nd 2007 11:51PM

Quick Examples:Nintendo,Bioshock,The Darkness,Pokémon,Yu-gi-oh(Im glad I snapped out of that one in time,that s*it was weird but I like to play a DS/PSP YGO game from time to time,I'm all out of that stuff but you know just a quick battle here and then but I'm in total control,I can quit when I want it OKAY!)Final Fantasy...

accidental @ Sep 3rd 2007 3:25AM

To be fair though, WoW is designed to be addictive. I did a design project that targeted addicted gamers, and I used real quotes from WoW addicts. Freaky shit man. Broken marriages, neglected kids, pissing in bottles, starvation, choosing WoW over sex.

I read one case where a dude's family had fallen apart due to his neglect from WoW. He calls up Blizzard to cancel his subscription and get the remaining 9 months subscription back. After explaining his terrible story the operator says "sure, just remember that your characters will be sitting here waiting for you so feel free to renew your subscription any time."
That makes me sick Blizzard.

accidental @ Sep 3rd 2007 3:29AM

Have a good long read of this. The comments are unreal.

http://www.plasticbag.org/archives/2006/05/on_wanting_to_stop_wanting_world_of_warcraft/

Mike @ Sep 3rd 2007 3:38AM

My mom plays WoW all the time, but so does my step-dad. It actually brought them closer together. They leveled together from 1-70, and raid together with their guild. Also, they've never let WoW get in the way of responsibilities.

Kazi @ Sep 3rd 2007 9:06AM

MMO addiction is nothing new. The MMO that really started this odd addiction is EverQuest (also known as EverCrack, WoW is heavily modeled after this game). While I haven't known anyone to pull tricks behind 7-11 for a month subscription to an MMO people have committed suicide over the games and have even killed other people over in game disputes. Talk about messed up priorities. I've known a guy that dropped out of high school for an MMO. There's an ungodly amount of college drop outs that only have an MMO and themselves to blame.

All of this is why when ever I stop having fun in an MMO I quit. No questions, if I can ever say that I shouldn't quit because I spent too much time and work on my character I quit even harder. MMO addictions are very real and if you don't take an MMO in with moderation just like drugs you can go down a steep spiral. Since it's not as openly seen as a problem like the obvious drugs are its become a pretty big epidemic. I'm sure most people know someone that's sacrificed their priorities, work or goals for an MMO. Hell, my friend's little brother's grades are slipping because of WoW, and he even denies hanging with his brother and me for some silly raid in WoW. I go over there one day every other week to take him and his brother out somewhere and he can't come down to hang for one night because of WoW.

Tibbles @ Sep 2nd 2007 11:59PM

Exactly. Anything can be an addiction if it meets your standards.

Good example for me is Pokemon Diamond. Last thing I expected to be an addict to, but I picked it up at launch due to the hype and followed the leader. One purchase I still do not regret making.

blooh @ Sep 3rd 2007 12:50AM

i played wow from january to june this year, then decided I'd had enough and just quit it and uninstalled it in one day. Easy-peasy.

klye @ Sep 3rd 2007 2:12AM

You ever suck dick to pay for your WoW addiction?

Shagittarius @ Sep 3rd 2007 3:19AM

Do you think someone will pay for my Wow accounts for that?

whymog @ Sep 3rd 2007 7:03AM

Freaking Blizzard/Vivendi.

I've quit WoW six times now, and I'm back on again.

There are so many better games out there. Why do I keep doing this to myself? :(

If it wasn't for the Call of Duty 4 beta, I don't think I'd be playing much else.

(Note: Before anyone says it, I already finished Bioshock and MP3.)

Slaziman @ Sep 3rd 2007 8:15AM

WoW ruins lifes :'(

Anam @ Sep 3rd 2007 1:26PM

I used to play WoW, but I wasn't even remotely addicted to it. How could I be, when I'm still trying to kick my StarCraft addiction?

...

Wait, what's this about StarCraft II?

UnnDunn @ Sep 3rd 2007 2:06PM

I really don't understand how people get addicted to a game like WoW. I played it a while back and I found it boring and tedious. I actually had to convince myself that I wanted to play WoW many days. I dropped it after a month.

GamerCrusader @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:15PM

I never really got addicted to wow.. I pay for the service.. I question it.. but in the end I forget to unsubscribe and the bill comes around again.. I don't even play that much.. I have characters sitting at level 10 that havent seen the light of day since the game came out.. it's become like the coffee in the kitchen.. tasted once but left alone for ages.