14 DAY TRIAL // Activision is seriously considering licensing its most important franchises for use in other mediums, like movies and television. And it seems that the most sought after of its properties are Guitar Hero and Call of Duty, predictably.
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, Bobby Kotick, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Activision Blizzard, said that Guitar Hero “might make for a good TV show or a good concert tour.”
Until such ideas come to life, Guitar Hero is a perfectly good money machine, as the franchise has generated no less than 2 billion on revenue for the publisher, which makes it one of the biggest earners in the world of videogames.
According to an anonymous source, talks regarding a television show based on the game are already under way. Probably, it will come out as some sort of reality show centered around people who are capable of playing plastic instruments while also conspiring about who to kick off the show.
The Hollywood Reporter is also stating that the source points to Call of Duty as “being talked about for the big screen.” Kotick only commented on that by saying, “We have growth and we're making money. That's better than others can say.” He is obviously referring to Electronic Arts, which posted a 1.08 billion dollar loss for the previous fiscal year.
Another Activision Blizzard property set to become a movie is World of Warcraft. Apparently, the project is on hold and there is no known estimated date for a release. Such plans might seem like easy money to Activision Blizzard but the company should be careful about taking some of the luster of the image of franchises like Call of Duty, Modern Warfare or Guitar Hero. Gamers might be less interested in them if they go too mainstream.