Well, in case you have been living under a rock, you may have heard of a new game called Tony Hawk: Ride.  Not content with just having you controller a skater via a controller, Activision has upped the ante with a new skateboard peripheral.  Full of sensors and gyroscopes, the new Skateboard controller allows you to interact with Tony Hawk: Ride in all new ways.

I think that all the analysts and game companies are going to be watching this release to see how it does, kind of as a barometer for the future of plastic peripheral based games.  So far, we have watched as DJ Hero has debuted to less than stellar sales, and Tony Hawk: Ride could be the nail in the proverbial coffin if it does not sell extremely well.  Word of advice to Tony Hawk – find out how to buy out your contract and hit up the guys working on the skate. franchise at EA.  It is what your games use to be oh so long ago.

Tony Hawk(TM): RIDE(R) Rolls Onto North American Retail Shelves

Innovative Board Controller Gets Kids and Families Off the Couch and Into the Game

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov 17, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ – It’s time to get off the couch and into the game with Activision Publishing, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Tony Hawk: RIDE, the ground-breaking new entry in the popular action sports franchise. Featuring a revolutionary skateboard controller, players of varied skill levels can physically control the action by stepping on board to perform movements and gestures that directly translate into amazing tricks in the game; from grinds, grabs and ollies to Tony Hawk’s signature tricks.

“Tony Hawk: RIDE is THE new way to play. It gives a whole new meaning to game night by allowing the entire family to challenge one another to competitions that are as fun to watch as they are to play,” said Rob Kostich, head of marketing, licensed products, Activision Publishing, Inc. “It’s the perfect activity for the entire family this holiday season … and anytime of the year.”

“This is the game I’ve always wanted to make,” said legendary pro skater Tony Hawk. “The skateboard peripheral opens up a whole new level of interactivity and physicality, allowing players to control the action with their whole body. I can’t wait for everyone to jump on the board and ride.”

Tony Hawk: RIDE takes the popular action sports video game franchise in an all-new direction. The wireless skateboard controller was designed in conjunction with the game to offer a dynamic gaming experience built from the ground up. The innovative motion sensing peripheral offers a completely new way to play games. Without complex button combinations or analog sticks, gamers of various skill levels can literally step on the board and play.

Tony Hawk: RIDE is developed by Robomodo for the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system. Buzz Monkey developed the Wii(TM) system version. The game is rated E10+ by the ESRB. For more information, fans can visit www.THRide.com, www.Facebook.com/TonyHawkRIDE and www.Twitter.com/THRIDE.

About Tony Hawk, Inc.

Tony Hawk, Inc. is a world leader in its field with the unprecedented ability to bring alternative sports and their unique lifestyle to the masses while maintaining an indispensable edge of authenticity with the market’s hard-core, trendsetting audience. Founded by Tony Hawk in 1998 and based in Vista, CA, the company is organized into five segments: Merchandising, Events, Endorsements, Film and Digital Media. These lifestyle sports include skateboarding, BMX, Motocross, surfing and snowboarding. Consumer goods bearing the Tony Hawk brand have dominated several markets, including interactive games, skateboard hard goods, lifestyle apparel, toys, publications and more.

About Robomodo

Based in Chicago, IL, Robomodo is a video game development studio focused on producing top-tier products on current and next generation console platforms. Robomodo’s team has a strong track record for marrying solid game design with an innovative artistic style, as well as harnessing the power of current and next-gen consoles. The core Robomodo team has proven its abilities in the Mortal Kombat, NBA Street and Fight Night franchises. The company’s first game for Activision Publishing, Inc. is Tony Hawk: RIDE, which will be released in 2009 simultaneously on the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system and Wii(TM) system.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

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

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Activision Publishing generally uses words such as “outlook,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “might,” “remains,” “to be,” “plans,” “believes,” “may,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “estimate,” future,” “plan,” “positioned,” “potential,” “project,” “remain,” “scheduled,” “set to,” “subject to,” “upcoming” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing’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 Publishing’s titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, Activision Publishing’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 Publishing’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 Publishing, 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 section of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any 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 Publishing or 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.

A(C) 2009 Activision Publishing, Inc. Activision is a registered trademark and Ride is a trademark of Activision Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Tony Hawk is a registered trademark of Tony Hawk, Inc. All rights reserved. Wii and the Wii logo are trademarks of Nintendo.

The Night Elf Mohawk is back, and this time he is bringing in ranged support to help his cause.  Yes, World of Warcraft has brought back Mr. T to promote the hugely popular MMORPG title, and he has a new weapon.  The Night Elf Mohawk Grenade apparently rains good looks upon the world, according to Mr. T.  Of course, that is only if you think everyone looks great with a Mohawk.

There is a downside to this commercial.  Where is the “Shut up fool!” or “Sucka” quotes that regularly follow Mr. T.  I feel a petition is in order to have Blizzard add these comments into the trailer pronto.

When asked about the viability of sequels for their “Hero” brands next year, the response was rather awe-inducing.  Dan Rosensweig stated:

“We’re working on our 2010 slate now. You will probably see fewer SKUs from us, but the focus on making the best-selling, most fun to play, best-reviewed games will continue. Those are the things that are constant. [There will be] more DJ Hero, and the next iterations of Guitar and Band are on the way. But we will see how the market plays out. What you will see is the games will live longer and be more vibrant through DLC.”

Okay, so apparently, next year is the year when DLC for music games finally becomes an important battleground.  Did I miss something here?  Isn’t that what Harmonix has been preaching about for some time now?  The idea that you do not need to have a new release for your game every year.  Instead, just load up on DLC content for the game, buying what you want to be included in the game.  I am just amazed by the idiocity of the people that run the brands at Activision.  No, I do no think Dan Rosensweig would ever want to admit that his chief competitor is better, but sometimes, you need to acknowledge those that have created something in your field that works.  Borrow from it and innovate, but it is really stupid to completely ignore the fact that someone has outplayed your brand in the downloadable marketplace.

What do you think about the current “Hero” brand games.  Do you need more disc based releases, or should Activision take a page from Harmonix and work on ramping up their DLC offerings?  Make your comments known below.

Starting today, Activision is funding an endowment that will help soldiers that have been disabled or found themselves out of work when they come back from both of the conflicts in Afganistan and Iraq.  The endowment will be funded by Activision, and a website has been set up to give gamers and non-gamers some facts on what soldiers face when they come back to find their lives changed, either by injury or by a loss of work.

If you have a chance, check out www.callofdutyendowment.org, and if possible, make a donation.  Soldiers that have lost so much protecting our country can use all the help they can get.  Check out more info from the press release after the jump.

Call of Duty Endowment Created to Help Veterans Combat Unemployment

Endowment Will Direct Resources to Organizations Helping Soldiers Transition to Civilian Careers – Initial Donation to the Paralyzed Veterans of America will Fund Operations at New Facility in Boston, MA

WASHINGTON, Nov 10, 2009 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ — Recent trends show that America’s veterans face a new adversary – unemployment. According to statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 500,000 unemployed veterans between the ages of 18 and 64 currently live in the United States. And amid the greatest economic uncertainty since the 1930s, today’s veterans by some accounts endure a jobless rate that is nearly twice the national average.

To help combat these alarming trends, Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), a worldwide online, PC and console video game publisher and publisher of the best-selling Call of Duty(R) video game franchise, has established the Call of Duty Endowment (CODE). This non-profit public benefit corporation will focus its resources on assisting organizations that provide job placement and training to veterans, as well as engaging the media and public forums to raise awareness about the issue.

At today’s launch event in Washington, BG Gary H. Cheek, the Assistant Surgeon General of Warrior Care and Transition and Commander of the Warrior Transition Command, stressed the need to help those veterans returning from service who have had difficulty finding employment: “I could make the case that based upon the service and sacrifice of our veterans that American employers have their own call of duty to ensure they have the opportunity for gainful employment and a viable career,” Cheek said. “Our soldiers have a lot to offer: integrity, discipline, teamwork, and personal sacrifice for a greater good. I can think of no stronger candidates for any positions employers might be looking to fill. These brave men and women willingly put their lives on the line to protect the blessings of liberty enjoyed by every business in this great country of ours.”

Activision Blizzard created the organization with a commitment to donate and raise millions of dollars to help raise awareness of veterans’ unemployment. Recognizing that Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2™ is expected to be one of the biggest entertainment properties of the year, and that the Call Of Duty(R) game is extremely popular among troops, Activision chose to give back to veterans by using the proceeds from Modern Warfare 2 to fund the Call of Duty Endowment and raise awareness for this important issue. Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2™ was released to gamers worldwide, at midnight on November 10.

To help guide the endowment, Activision Blizzard’s CEO, Robert Kotick, recruited an advisory board composed of respected veterans representing the various branches of the military. The advisory council assists in identifying potential organizations that will receive grants from CODE and helps to raise awareness of the issue across the country.

During the event, Kotick highlighted the need for other corporate leaders to step forward and ensure that hiring veterans is a priority. “We embark on this effort as a grateful nation. Business leaders have an opportunity to renew their commitment to the American spirit and to reverse an alarming trend of not recognizing the sacrifices made by the men and women of our military service,” Kotick said.

In addition to announcing Activision’s commitment to raise millions of dollars, CODE also announced a grant of $125,000 made to the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) organization. The grant will provide resources to help underwrite the cost of a new PVA Vocational Rehabilitation Services Center in Boston, MA. This PVA program offers vocationally-oriented services to veterans with disabilities, especially those veterans with spinal cord dysfunction.

Homer S. Townsend, Jr., executive director of PVA, expressed how grave the employment issue is for disabled veterans. Speaking at the event Mr. Thompson noted, “PVA estimates the national unemployment rate for veterans with severe disabilities to be over 85 percent. With this grant, and the work already being done by PVA, we aim to make this grim statistic a thing of the past by helping to unleash the untapped talent and potential of this often underutilized part of our workforce.”

Moving forward, CODE will have an active online presence through its website at www.callofdutyendowment.org. This website will house statistics about the issue, resources for veterans and employers, recent news items, and videos about the challenges veterans face. CODE also will award several more grants in the upcoming weeks and months and sponsor several events to bring greater awareness of the issue to a variety of audiences.

About CODE:

The Call of Duty Endowment (CODE) is a non-profit, public benefit corporation created by Activision Blizzard. The organization seeks to help soldiers transitioning to civilian life find work and establish careers and to assist organizations that provide job placement and training.

About Activision Blizzard

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Blizzard, Inc. is a worldwide online, PC and console 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, China, South Korea and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision Blizzard and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activisionblizzard.com.

Hold on to your record collection folks, because Activision has released DJ Hero to retail today.  DJ Hero allows players to feel like a mash-up technician as you play through 93 unique mixes created specifically for DJ Hero. 

DJ Hero can be found in two different flavors – either the standard package that comes with the DJ Hero game and turntable controller, or the Renegade edition, which comes with the game, a special colored controller, a transport case, stand and a 2-disc soundtrack containing special tracks from Jay-Z and Eminem.

You can pick up the standard bundle for $120, while the Renegade edition will set you back 200 bones.  DJ Hero is available for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii and Playstation 2.

Activision sent out the track list for the Renegade 2-disc CD set that you will get if you preorder the DJ Hero Renegade edition of the game, and it is a solid looking track list.  Also, it looks like an unreleased Eminem track, “Taking My Ball” will be on the collection, and will debut on SiriusXM radio station Shade45 on October 16th, 2009 at 6:00PM. 

If you would like to see the full track list for the pack in CD collection, check the jump below.

DJ Hero Renegade album – JAY-Z’s disc track list:

Ain’t No N***a – JAY-Z Featuring Foxy Brown
Where I’m From – JAY-Z
Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem) – JAY-Z
Jigga My N***a – Ruff Ryders Featuring JAY-Z
I Just Wanna Love U (Give it 2 Me) – JAY-Z
Izzo (H.O.V.A.) – JAY-Z
03′ Bonnie & Clyde – JAY-Z Featuring Beyonce Knowles
Dirt Off Your Shoulder – JAY-Z
Show Me What You Got – JAY-Z
Roc Boys (And the Winner Is). . . – JAY-Z
Brooklyn Go Hard – JAY-Z Featuring Santigold
D.O.A. (Death of Auto Tune) – JAY-Z

DJ Hero Renegade album – EMINEM’s disc track list:

Taking My Ball – EMINEM
Say Goodbye to Hollywood – EMINEM
Soldier – EMINEM
The Re-Up – EMINEM & 50 Cent
Rabbit Run – EMINEM
Get U Mad – EMINEM
Bad Guys Always Die – Dr. Dre & EMINEM
Public Enemy No. 1 – EMINEM
Say What You Say – EMINEM Featuring Dr. Dre
Lose Yourself – EMINEM
Hey Lady – Obie Trice Featuring EMINEM
One Shot 2 Shot – EMINEM Featuring D-12

After a long and arduous journey, Brutal Legend has finally hit retail shelves.  Starting at Sierra, getting acquired by Activision, getting dumped by Activision, snapped up by Electronic Arts, a lawsuit that almost killed the game, and now into the hands of gamers.  I am sure that somewhere, Tim Shafer is saying, “Let’s not do that again”.

Brutal Legend stars Jack Black as lifetime roadie, Eddie Riggs.  Upon his apparent death by way of set crushing, his blood unlockes a hidden world trapped in his belt buckle where everything is made from those metal ablum covers we remember from the 80’s.  Full of combat, light RTS elements, a multiplayer component and a kick ass soundtrack, Brutal Legend should have legs to be a solid hit this holiday season.

Brutal Legend is coming to both the PS3 and Xbox 360.

After having its coming out party at E3 2009, Project Natal will now have a compliment of developers working on software for its feature set.  Microsoft touted a list of developers, including Konami, SquareEnix, Electronic Arts, Activision, MTV Games and more as having signed on to provide games for the Project Natal experience.  The list of developers equals 70% of the third party developers that released games for the 360 (their numbers, not ours).

There was no word on whether these would be new franchises or existing ones, and if existing, would they only allow Project Natal control schemes.  At least it is good to know that there will be something there when Project Natal does finallyhit retail shelves.  Whether it will be good or not is a totally different story.

Activision released, what appears to be a financial guidance letter regarding Blur to investors, announcing that the title will be moving to the 2010 release schedule.  They did not give a specific timeframe for the release, only using the 2010 year for guidance.

Now, I am not an Activision insider, but I do know that word around the blogosphere is that Blur was less than enthusiastcally received by the press.  Many complained about the look of the game, the racing feel and other major issues with the title, and when you already look at the three titles that should be out by the end of 2009, Need for Speed Shift, Forza 3 and Gran Turismo 5, this might be a wise decision.  Maybe the extra development time will lead to an interesting game.

I can say from my own experiences from seeing a bit of the game at E3, that the delay can only help that title.  Activision paid a lot to bring Bizarre Creations into the fold, and to get a poor first title from them would be a big hit.  We will have more info on an exact release date when the info becomes available from Activision.

It looks like the rumors were almost completely true about a 250GB Xbox 360.  Yes, the unit is coming, but it is not a full blown production model.  Major Nelson posted up a couple of pictures of the Call of Duty Modern Warfare Limited Edition Xbox 360.  The unit, priced at $399.99, will include an Xbox 360 with a 250GB drive, a custom Call of Duty Modern Warfare design, two wireless controllers and a copy of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.

Looking at the contents of the console, this is a really good deal.  You are getting a $60 hotly desired game, a second $50 controller, and twice the hard drive space of the Xbox 360 Elite, considering the pricetag of a 120GB hard drive (since you would need a second hard drive to get the same comparable space).

Check the jump for a straight on picture of the console.  Also, let us know if you might be picking one of these up.