WarCraft Continues To Boost Vivendi Results

Officials from French-headquartered media giant Vivendi Universal, which includes music and mobile phone divisions alongside game division Vivendi Universal Games, have released details of the company’s first quarter financial results, in which the company saw sales rise 5.7 percent from the previous year. Sales for the company as a whole rose to €4.77 billion ($5.88bn) from a restated €4.51 billion ($5.56bn) in 2005. This was above analyst predictions for revenue of €4.68 billion ($5.77bn). Details of the company’s profits were not revealed at this time, inline with standard French financial practices. As has been the case since the game’s release, the popularity of Blizzard’s World of WarCraft was specifically singled out as a major contributor to the company’s overall success. On its own, Vivendi Universal Games recorded revenues of €134 million ($165m), up 18.6 percent on the previous year, or 9.7 percent at constant currency. The company also described movie license Ice Age 2: The Meltdown as a “solid performer” in its official financial results, and noted continuing strong sales from backlist products including 50 Cent: Bulletproof and Crash Tag Team Racing. The move comes shortly after former Ubisoft senior executive Martin Tremblay joined Vivendi as President, Worldwide Studios. Interestingly, in that announcement, it was revealed that World Of Warcraft creator Blizzard Entertainment has been designated a stand-alone division reporting to VU Games' CEO, and is not part of Tremblay's product development mandate.