Press
Release
GROUND-BREAKING
MOVIE CREATED WITH ACTIVISION AND LIONHEAD STUDIOS’ THE MOVIES™
ATTRACTS INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION
Santa Monica, CA – December 13, 2005 – A unique short
film entitled “The French Democracy,” created using Activision (Nasdaq:
ATVI) and Lionhead® Studios’ game The Movies™, has attracted
international media attention since its release on November 22, 2005
on the game’s website,
www.themoviesgame.com. The film, made by French designer Alex
Chan, is a commentary on the social situation which led up to the
recent riots in Paris and other French cities. First written about
in The Washington Post, “The French Democracy” has since been
featured on MTV.com, Business Week, and 20 Minutes -- a French
newspaper with a circulation of over 800,000.
Commenting on the media attention which the movie has attracted,
Peter Molyneux, Managing Director of Lionhead Studios said, “With
The Movies we wanted to make a game that allows anyone to easily
express themselves by making a short film and posting them online to
share with the world. Alex’s film, which is absolutely terrific,
really demonstrates the potential power and impact that these films
can have.”
The movie’s creator, Alex Chan added, “I did not expect such a
reaction to my little ‘home-made’ movie, but I have spread some
human values that are important to me. I'm very happy that ‘The
French Democracy’ has moved so many people, even if it is not always
in a positive way. I'm very glad and proud that this movie may help
people to think a bit more.”
Activision and Lionhead Studios are delighted with both the quality
and quantity of films already online, just a month since the game’s
release, as traffic shows no signs of slowing and new movies are
being posted daily. Launched on November 8, 2005,
www.themoviesgame.com has
already attracted over one million unique users, has received 100
million hits*, and currently features over 19,000 user-created
movies, available online for anyone to view.
The Movies allows gamers to become the ultimate Hollywood player by
building and running their own movie studio, from crafting and
shooting unique movies to making or breaking the stars they discover
and create. In Story Mode, players take command of their inner movie
mogul and manage all aspects of a studio from talent and resources
to research and development. They can make a wide variety of movies
such as crime dramas, psycho thrillers, musicals, spaghetti
westerns, sci-fi cliffhangers and black comedies, and work to
maximize box office success by staying one step ahead of the
competition. In addition, players can jump right into movie making
in Sandbox Mode, creating films from their favorite time period from
the silent film era of cinema to present day and beyond. Ultimate
control is at gamers’ fingertips as they customize everything from
scripts and dialog to the look of their stars from head-to-toe. With
thousands of exciting movie characters and limitless options, The
Movies allows players to take full creative control of their
Hollywood ambitions, ultimately posting their box office
blockbusters or obscure B movies to
www.themoviesgame.com for
the entire world to see.
The Movies for Windows® PC is available for a suggested retail price
of $49.99 and is rated “T” (Teen with blood and gore, crude humor,
mild language, sexual themes, use of alcohol and tobacco, and
violence) by the ESRB. The Premiere Edition version of The Movies is
available for Windows PC for a suggested retail price of $59.99 and
is rated the same.
*These statistics apply to
www.themoviesgame.com/community
For more information on The Movies, please visit
www.themoviesgame.com.
About Lionhead Studios
Lionhead Studios is based in Guildford, Great Britain, and was
founded in 1997. The company’s first game, “Black & White” for PC,
was released in 2001, and worldwide sales of it have topped 2
million copies. Its second game, “Fable” for Xbox, has sold more
than 1.6 million copies worldwide, and the numbers continue to
climb, making it one of the top-selling Xbox titles of all time.
Three further titles Fable: The Lost Chapters, Black & White 2 and
The Movies, have all been released on PC this fall. For more
information about Lionhead Studios, visit
http://www.lionhead.com.
About Activision, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision, Inc. is a
leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of
interactive entertainment and leisure products. Founded in 1979,
Activision posted net revenues of $1.4 billion for the fiscal year
ended March 31, 2005.
Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United
Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Australia, Scandinavia,
Spain and the Netherlands. More information about Activision and its
products can be found on the company's World Wide Web site, which is
located at www.activision.com.
The statements made in this press release that are not historical
facts are “forward-looking statements.” These forward-looking
statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that
are subject to risks and uncertainties. The Company cautions readers
of this press release that a number of important factors could cause
Activision's actual future results to differ materially from those
expressed in any such forward-looking statements. Such factors
include, without limitation, product delays, retail acceptance of
our products, industry competition, rapid changes in technology and
industry standards, protection of proprietary rights, maintenance of
relationships with key personnel, vendors and third-party
developers, international economic and political conditions,
integration of recently acquired subsidiaries and identification of
suitable future acquisition opportunities. These important factors
and other factors that potentially could affect the Company’s
financial results are described in our filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, including the Company’s most recent Annual
report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Readers of
this press release are referred to such filings. The Company may
change its intention, belief or expectation, at any time and without
notice, based upon any changes in such factors, in the Company’s
assumptions or otherwise. The Company undertakes no obligation to
release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to
reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect
the occurrence of unanticipated events.