Activision Blizzard (ATVI)

The interactive entertainment industry is highly competitive and competitors may succeed in reducing our market share and sales.

        We compete with other publishers of PC and video game console interactive entertainment software and peripherals. Those competitors vary in size from small companies with limited resources to very large corporations with significantly greater financial, marketing, and product development resources than we have. For example, integrated video game console hardware and software companies such as Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft compete directly with us in the development of software titles for their respective platforms. Certain of these competitors may spend more money and time on developing and testing products, undertake more extensive marketing campaigns, adopt more aggressive pricing policies, pay higher fees to licensors for desirable motion picture, television, sports, music and character properties, and pay more to third-party software developers than we do. Further, certain major media companies, such as Disney and Time Warner, who have been investing in the videogame products, have increased the competition within the industry.

        We also compete with other forms of entertainment and leisure activities. For example, the overall growth in the use of the Internet and online services by consumers may pose a competitive threat if customers and potential customers spend less of their available time using interactive entertainment software and more using the Internet and online services. A number of software publishers who compete with us have developed and commercialized or are currently developing online games for use by consumers over the Internet. Future increased consumer acceptance and increases in the availability of online games or technological advances in online game software or the Internet could result in a decline in platform-based software and negatively impact sales of our console and hand-held products. Newer technological advances in online game software may also render products such as World of Warcraft obsolete. Direct sales of software over the Internet by competitors could adversely affect our distribution business as well.

        Competition in the interactive entertainment industry is intense and we expect new competitors to continue to emerge.

The interactive entertainment industry is highly competitive and competitors may succeed in reducing our market share and sales.

        We compete with other publishers of PC and video game console interactive entertainment software and peripherals. Those competitors
vary in size from small companies with limited resources to very large corporations with significantly greater financial, marketing, and product development resources than we have. For example,
integrated video game console hardware and software companies such as Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft compete directly with us in the development of software titles for their respective platforms.
Certain of these competitors may spend more money and time on developing and testing products, undertake more extensive marketing campaigns, adopt more aggressive pricing policies, pay higher fees to
licensors for desirable motion picture, television, sports, music and character properties, and pay more to third-party software developers than we do. Further, certain major media companies, such as
Disney and Time Warner, who have been investing in the videogame products, have increased the competition within the industry.

        We
also compete with other forms of entertainment and leisure activities. For example, the overall growth in the use of the Internet and online services by consumers may pose a
competitive threat if customers and potential customers spend less of their available time using interactive entertainment software and more using the Internet and online services. A number of
software publishers who compete with us have developed and commercialized or are currently developing online games for use by consumers over the Internet. Future increased consumer acceptance and
increases in the availability of online games or technological advances in online game software or the Internet could result in a decline in platform-based software and negatively impact sales of our
console and hand-held products. Newer technological advances in online game software may also render products such as World of Warcraft
obsolete. Direct sales of software over the Internet by competitors could adversely affect our distribution business as well.

        Competition
in the interactive entertainment industry is intense and we expect new competitors to continue to emerge.