Activision Blizzard loses $72m in Q4 '08; outlook misses '09 expectations

Bobby Kotick and co. got together for the Activision Blizzard earnings report this afternoon and dropped a few numbers on their investors, aside from confirming a mess of games that still haven't officially been announced yet. After reconfirming what we told you a few weeks ago regarding the $1 billion in sales of Guitar Hero III, Kotick went on to note, "In North America, Activision Blizzard was the #1 third-party console and handheld software publisher in dollars for the calendar year, according to The NPD Group."

And how did the company fare during the holiday season? As you might expect, due to releases like Call of Duty: World at War, Guitar Hero: World Tour (which outsold Rock Band 2 at 2:1 in 2008) and a little expansion you may have heard of called Wrath of the Lich King, "Activision Blizzard was the #1 console, handheld and PC publisher in the U.S. and Europe, according to The NPD Group, Charttrack and Gfk." Unfortunately, during a recession like this, even being "the #1 console, handheld and PC publisher in the U.S. and Europe" wasn't enough, with the company losing $72 million in Q4, or 5 cents a share, and announcing a 2009 outlook that falls shy of Wall Street's expectations. Sometimes it's tough being the king.