DJ Hero(TM) Ranks as Highest Grossing New IP in the U.S. and Europe for Calendar 2009

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced today that DJ Hero™ was the #1 new intellectual property by revenue in the U.S. and Europe for calendar 2009, according to The NPD Group.  

The game has garnered critical acclaim, securing more than 15 Best Music Game Awards in the U.S. alone and was featured in more than two dozen year end "best of" lists including those from Time Magazine, USA Today.com and Official Xbox Magazine. 

"DJ Hero has transformed music gaming by marrying an innovative turntable controller and exhilarating gameplay with the biggest artists and incredible music from around the world," said Robert Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard. "Consumers and critics agree that DJ Hero is one of the best music games ever created and further establishes Guitar Hero® as the premier franchise of its kind."

DJ Hero delivers an all-new interactive music experience that allows players to interact with music in an all-new way.  Featuring 93 exclusive mixes created by DJ AM, Cut Chemist, Grandmaster Flash, DJ Jazzy Jeff, J. Period, DJ Shadow, DJ Z-Trip from such genres as hip-hop, pop, rock and dance, the game offers the most diverse and international collection of music ever assembled in a music game. 

DJ Hero was developed by FreeStyleGames for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment systems and the Wii™ system from Nintendo.  The game is rated "T" (Teen – Mild Suggestive Themes, Lyrics) by the ESRB.  For more information about DJ Hero, please visit djhero.com, facebook.com/djhero and twitter.com/djhero.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Blizzard, Inc. is a worldwide online, PC, console and handheld game publisher with leading market positions across every major category of the rapidly growing interactive entertainment software industry.

Activision Blizzard maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Russia, South Korea, China, and the region of Taiwan.  More information about Activision Blizzard and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activisionblizzard.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements:  Information in this press release that involves Activision Blizzard's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements under the heading "Company Outlook," are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties.    Activision Blizzard generally uses words such as "outlook," "will," "remains," "to be," "plans," "believes," "may," "expects," "intends," and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements.  Factors that could cause Activision Blizzard's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales levels of Activision Blizzard's titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, any further difficulties related to World of Warcraft in China, Activision Blizzard's ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms, declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Activision Blizzard's products, adoption rate and availability of new hardware (including peripherals) and related software, industry competition, rapid changes in technology, industry standards and consumer preferences, protection of proprietary rights, litigation against Activision Blizzard, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, licensees, licensors, vendors, and third-party developers, counterparty risks relating to customers, licensees, licensors and manufacturers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates and tax rates, integration of recent acquisitions and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities, and the other  factors  identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 and subsequent filed quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.   The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and Activision Blizzard assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect.  These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

© 2009 Activision Publishing, Inc. Guitar Hero and Activision are registered trademarks and DJ Hero is a trademark of Activision Publishing, Inc.  

"PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.  Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Wii and Nintendo DS are trademarks of Nintendo.  © 2006 Nintendo. All rights reserved.

SOURCE Activision Blizzard, Inc.

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