Activision "laser-focused" on exploiting franchises

Annual updates promised of all major brands

Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision, has revealed that the company is "laser-focused" with the intension to exploit its franchises to drive growth over the next ten years.

He also highlighted the importance of becoming the leading publisher on the Xbox 360 and launching new intellectual property into the market.

"We have a huge competitive advantage owning and controlling some of the world's most valuable franchises in the videogame industry," said Kotick speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference.

Kotick revealed intentions of "taking those franchises that we own and control, annualising them, increasing their penetration and their interest to consumers every single year."

"Tony Hawk is an example of a franchise that we've managed to exploit, with over nine separate versions of the game," said Kotick.

"This year will be no exception as we launch Tony Hawk's Project 8 to an older demographic, and for the first time we'll be launching a product - Downhill Jam - which will be orientated towards the six to eleven year-old consumer."

As Activision continues to challenge the annual franchise market dominated by EA, Kotick also highlighted the company's success in establishing a strong early presence on the next-generation, with Call of Duty 2 for Xbox 360.

"Most importantly, for the first time we are the leading publisher on the next-generation consoles," he said

"We had the number one Xbox 360 title on launch and we continue to have one of the top-selling titles - it's the number one attach rate product on the Xbox 360. So we've had great success early on in launching new products for the next-generation."

New properties that the company intends to exploit include recent signings Transformers and James Bond, the latter of which holds stronger international appeal than it does in the US.

"We have developed a real expertise in taking proven franchises, particularly those that are tied to movie launches, and making sure that we get the maximum benefit from the movie launch. These will be no exception," said Kotick.

Following the news that hit music game Guitar Hero will be make the leap to other formats, Kotick revealed possible plans to exploit opportunities including music downloads, to take advantage of a growing genre.

"The music genre is growing very quickly. Guitar Hero is a great IP. The long term opportunities here include all sorts of product extensions - music downloads that are very high-margin opportunities - and you can expect next calendar year, launches of Guitar Hero on every significant new format."

"This is an exciting product that we believe offers a lot of opportunities for margin expansion," he added. "We now have the best record of introducing new intellectual property of any company in the videogame industry."