Activision's Call of Duty series targets Gamescom
Video games maker Activision Publishing arrives at the industry's biggest European event - Gamescom in Cologne, Germany - from a position of strength.
By Leo KelionTechnology reporter Its first and third-person shooter franchise, Call of Duty, continues to blast its way to success: The Modern Warfare 3 sequel has been one of the top-selling games since its November launch and its online service, CoD: Elite has attracted more than 12 million registered users. The firm is showing off the series' next title, Black Ops 2, and a version for the Sony Vita handheld console at the event. It is also about to launch a free-to-play edition in China which will charge users for weapons and other upgrades. Its Skylanders games targeted at younger children have also proven to be a hit. The firm has sold tens of millions of add-on toys which offer new content when they are placed into a RFID (radio-frequency identification) reader attached to a console. They have proved so popular that the firm recently boasted that the characters had overtaken Star Wars to become the best-selling action figures in the US and Europe. Despite all this, doubts remain. The firm remains a relatively small player when it comes to smartphone games; Vivendi has been exploring a sale of its stake in parent company Activision Blizzard, which could prove a distraction; and some critics claim the company is over-reliant on sequels. Ahead of Gamescom, Activision Publishing's chief executive Eric Hirshberg, spoke to the BBC: