Vivendi Games First Half Sales Fall With No WoW Expansion

In its last quarter separate from newly merged sister company Activision, Vivendi Games has announced that sales have fallen 11 percent in the first half of its fiscal year as the first half of 2007 saw the release of WoW expansion The Burning Crusade. Forthcoming WoW expansion Wrath of the Lich King is due in the second half of the year. Blizzard did manage to bring in 1.8 million new subscribers since June 2007, growing its overall population to 10.9 million. Sales in the division were €378 million ($591.8 million) in the first half. Overall, Vivendi's games division saw sales of €444 million ($695.2 million), compared to €500 million ($782.9 million) for the first half of 2007. Sierra Entertainment, Sierra Online and Vivendi Games Mobile sales, the company said, were "slightly higher" than the year prior. Looking specifically at the second quarter, the overall division saw sales up 6.7 percent to €223 million ($349.2 million), with Blizzard sales up 5.2 percent to €185 million ($289.7 million), and Sierra Entertainment, Sierra Online and Vivendi Games Mobile sales again up "slightly higher." Vivendi's merger with Activision was completed on July 9th, a move that new Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick said has created a new company with "leading market positions across all categories" of the industry.