Dominate the Pro Bass Tour With Activision Publishing's Rapala Pro Bass Fishing

MINNEAPOLIS, July 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) and Rapala, the world's leading fishing brand, announced today that Rapala Pro Bass Fishing is coming this Fall to the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment systems, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, the Wii™, and Nintendo DS™.  Xbox 360 and PlayStation®3 system versions are available with first of a kind wireless Rapala Rod & Reel controllers and an all new Rapala Rod & Reel peripheral is available for Wii™.  Featuring full motion controls, players will be able to cast, reel, jig, set the hook and more as if they had an actual fishing rod in their hands.

Rapala Pro Bass Fishing pits players against real-life fishing pros on top freshwater lakes across North America – only the finest techniques and equipment will determine who is the best of the best. For the first time ever in a fishing game, the competition is set up in a professional tournament structure and the action is presented as a live TV event with announcers (including Barry Brueland, the voice of InFisherman TV), live updates, competitive leader boards, analysis, and heart-pounding final weigh-ins. The competition gets tough as you fish through over 20 tournament events on your quest for the season trophy.

"Pro tournament action is all about the intensity and adrenaline of live fishing competition," said David Oxford, Activision Publishing. "Rapala Pro Bass Fishing captures every detail from the starting line to the championship trophy presentation."

Equipped with an unequaled assortment of licensed boats, rods, lures, and apparel, players can fish by themselves, compete, or challenge friends in contests in simultaneous 2-player mode. There are over 50 of these contests, including challenges based on location, time, fish weight and accuracy of casts.

"We've brought in our Rapala-sponsored professionals to make sure Rapala Pro Bass Fishing is the most realistic tournament fishing experience to date," said Tom Mackin, Rapala. "Activision is really outdoing themselves - all of us couldn't be more pleased with the game."

The game is not yet rated by the ESRB.

About Rapala

Rapala is a leading fishing tackle company and the global market leader in the fishing lures, treble hooks and fishing related knives and tools. The Group also has a strong global position in other fishing categories. The Group has its own distribution companies in all the main markets and the largest distribution network in the industry. The main manufacturing facilities are located in Finland, France, Estonia, Russia and China. The Group brand portfolio includes the leading brands in the industry, Rapala, and other global brands like VMC, Storm, Blue Fox, Luhr Jensen, Williamson, Terminator, Trigger X, Sufix and Marttiini. The Group, with net sales of EUR 242 million in 2007, employs more than 4,000 people in 30 countries.

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, 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 including from used games and other forms of entertainment, litigation risks and associated costs, rapid changes in technology, industry standards, business models including online and used games, and consumer preferences, including interest in specific genres such as music, first-person action and massively multiplayer online games, protection of proprietary rights, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, licensees, licensors, vendors, and third-party developers, including the ability to attract, retain and develop key personnel and developers that can create high quality "hit" titles, 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, and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities and potential challenges associated with geographic expansion, and the other factors identified in the risk factors sections 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.

©2010 Activision Publishing, Inc. Activision is a registered trademark of Activision Publishing, Inc. "PlayStation" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. © 2010 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft. Wii and Nintendo DS are trademarks of Nintendo. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

SOURCE Activision, Inc.