Activision Widens Mobile Reach With Skylanders Cloud Patrol For iDevices

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) is expanding the reach of Skylanders franchise with the debut of its mobile version, Skylanders Cloud Patrol. ^[1] The game will be available for download from Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iTunes App store and can be played on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. We believe the move emphasizes the significance of mobile gaming in the current video-gaming industry, and is in-line with Activision’s long-term strategy of increasing its mobile gaming business. Activision Blizzard competes with other game developers like Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA), Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ:TTWO) and casual gaming mainstays such as  Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA).

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Growing stature of mobile gaming in video-gaming industry

With the rapid digitization of the video-gaming industry and enhanced capabilities of mobile devices after the arrival of smartphones, mobile devices have emerged as a credible platform in the video-gaming space. This trend is expected to continue as the penetration of smartphones and tablets continues to increase.

Though Activision is widely regarded as the largest third-party video game developer on consoles, the company doesn’t enjoy similar popularity on the mobile platform. However, with the growth of mobile gaming in the overall gaming industry currently, the development of mobile business has become high priority for Activision Blizzard.

In September 2011, Activision’s CFO Thomas Tippl had said that the company is methodically investing in mobile and social gaming projects and is aiming $1.25 billion in revenues from the division. Additionally, the company recently announced that it is also looking at porting WoW to mobile devices. See: Why Activision Blizzard Is Considering Mobile Gaming For World Of Warcraft

The storyline of Skylanders Cloud Patrol is similar to its counterpart on the consoles. Skylanders Cloud Patrol allows fans to unlock Skylanders and Magic Items and bring them to life using the code bundled with each Skylanders action figure. Additionally, it also allows gamers to earn or purchase in-game currency to build their virtual mobile skylanders collection, Magic Items, and more. Gauging by the popularity of the Skylanders brand coupled with its availability on the Apple devices such as the iPhone 4S, we expect Skylanders Cloud Patrol to be a major contributor to Activision’s mobile endeavors.

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1. Activision launches Skylanders Cloud Patrol, Source: Activision Blizzard’s IR [↩]