Activision is aiming to create an alternative music store to iTunes.
Apple might be expanding its iPhone into gaming, but the Guitar Hero franchise is gunning for iTunes’ music business.
Bobby Kotick, Chief Executive Officer of Activision, intends to extend the Guitar Hero games into a music platform similar to the system promised by Rock Band studio Harmonix.
Kotick considers this move “the natural evolution” of Activision’s music series.
He continued, “I don’t think there have been a lot of credible alternatives to iTunes, but Guitar Hero certainly has that potential.”
In order to compete with a well-established store like iTunes, Activision will utilize its merger with Vivendi to access its subsidiary Universal Music and its international payment processes in “virtually every country,” explained Vivendi CEO Jean-Bernard Levy.
“We have a strong presence in Asia, and when you combine the two companies there are going to be opportunities to grow, particularly in Europe,” added Levy.
With Vivendi’s vast entertainment empire, Kotick concluded, “These are all the things that enable you to be a successful competitor (to iTunes).”
Source: MSN
Published: Jul 30, 2008 02:03 pm