Opinion on  Activision Inc (ATVI)     Sector: Technology  >  Industry: Software & Programming
Guitar Hero is ATVI's Grand Theft Auto

Every once in a while a game software company hits it big with a franchise. Nintendo has it in Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong and Mario Brothers. Take Two was the envy of all videogame companies with its GTA series and now we have Activision rocking out with record sales of its Guitar Hero games. This will be a blow out Xmas season for this title. It will be the "must buy" gift. True, it is priced into the stock somewhat, but there has been recent weakness thanks to the overall market.  It's time to get  in.

I think Vivendi is getting Activision cheap and I wouldnt be surprised if these shares go even higher than offer. I think ERTS is next up for a takeover by a studio. Their new CEO Riccitiello is a former Elevation Partners guys and he likes doing deals. He already bought Bioware and Pandemic, trying to dress up EA as a lot more than just a video game company with copy-cat franchises ( Madden NFL) and other licensed titles. I think he is dressing up ERTS for sale and I hope Disney is smart enough to take the bait.  Pixar, ESPN, EA Sports, etc... Makes sense.