GH Metallica @ Sonisphere Festivals

From/De: Activision & BHPR via GamesPress

GUITAR HERO® TO SPONSOR 2009 SONISPHERE FESTIVALS HEADLINED BY ROCK LEGENDS METALLICA

Guitar Hero® Metallica® to be Playable at SONISPHERE Festivals and Select Metallica Concert Venues In Advance Of Its Release In Europe

Wednesday 1st April/… Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced today its sponsorship of this year’s European Sonisphere Festivals, which are headlined by Metallica, and will be taking place in Holland, Germany, Spain, Sweden and Finland, before finishing off the season with a two day festival in the UK. At the six festivals and a host of Metallica’s European gigs, fans itching to get a taste of Guitar Hero® Metallica® will have the opportunity to hone their skills and shred, drum and wail on a demo of the band’s highly-anticipated game before the European release in May 2009.

“Guitar Hero Metallica offers fans a unique opportunity to live out their dreams of stardom playing as one of the greatest bands of all time to a set list of over 45 explosive rock and metal tracks,” says Siân Evans, European marketing manager, RedOctane. “To be able to play as Metallica and experience their intensity and musical skill in a video game and then watch them perform live, will be an awesomely, unique event for any music fan.”

Fans attending Metallica’s European tour dates will have the chance to win exclusive tickets to the Sonisphere Festivals and get their hands on signed Guitar Hero Metallica merchandise. Each tour date will also include Guitar Hero Metallica pre-show events where fans will have the opportunity to rock on specially made Guitar Hero® stages. At some of the concert venues, there will also be a variety of free limited-edition Guitar Hero Metallica prizes up for grabs, as well as after-parties featuring live DJs, on-stage guitar duel challenges for prizes and celebrity face-offs. A lucky handful of skilled players and performers will be able to win the chance to play the game on the Sonisphere Festival main stage in front of tens of thousands of fans and two fans from each country will win the ultimate prize, a chance to meet Metallica.

“Ride the Lightning” with musical icons Metallica and 21 other rockin’ acts in an all new Guitar Hero experience – Guitar Hero Metallica. Enter the world of Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo and experience the intensity and skill of one of the greatest bands of all time. Shred on the guitar controller, rip on the drum kit controller and wail on the mic to a set list featuring over 45 explosive hits from Metallica’s illustrious career and a wide variety of other legendary artists personally selected by the band, such as Bob Seger, Alice In Chains, System of A Down, Foo Fighters and Queen. Fans will be able to rock as Metallica while performing in venues reminiscent of the band’s epic album covers, themes from their music and real world locales.

Guitar Hero Metallica is developed by Neversoft Entertainment for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. The Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo and the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system versions are developed by Budcat. The game is rated 12+ by the BBFC. For more information on Guitar Hero Metallica, please visit guitarhero.com.

For all UK media inquiries, please contact:
Specialist Games Media
Johanna Hakala
Activision Publishing, Inc.
020 3060 1080
johanna.hakala@activision.com

Mainstream Media
Stu Taylor
Barrington Harvey
01462 456780
stuart.taylor@bhpr.co.uk

Anna Larke
Barrington Harvey
01462 456780
anna.larke@bhpr.co.uk

Kayleigh Watson
Barrington Harvey
01462 456780
kayleigh.watson@bhpr.co.uk

NOTE TO EDITORS

2009 Sonisphere Festival dates are as follows:

20/06/2009 Nijmegen, Holland
04/07/2009 HockenheimRing, Germany
11/07/2009 Barcelona, Spain
18/07/2009 Hultsfred, Sweden
25/07/2009 Pori, Finland
01/08/2009 – 02/08/2009 Knebworth, UK

For full details, tickets and line up, please visit www.sonispherefestival.com.
For more details on the festivals, contact debbie@kililive.com (0207 399 7070).

2009 EU Metallica sold out tour dates are as follows:

03/26/2009 Glasgow, GBR SECC Arena SOLD OUT
03/28/2009 London, GBR O2 Arena SOLD OUT
03/30/2009 Rotterdam, NLD Ahoy SOLD OUT
04/01/2009 Paris, FRA Palais Omnisport de Bercy SOLD OUT
04/02/2009 Paris, FRA Palais Omnisport de Bercy SOLD OUT
05/06/2009 Munich, DEU Olympiahalle SOLD OUT
05/07/2009 Leipzig, DEU Leipzig Arena SOLD OUT
05/09/2009 Stuttgart, DEU Schleyerhalle SOLD OUT
05/11/2009 Frankfurt, DEU Festhalle SOLD OUT
05/12/2009 Hamburg, DEU Colorline Arena SOLD OUT
05/14/2009 Vienna, AUT Stadthalle SOLD OUT
05/16/2009 Oberhausen, DEU Kopi-Arena SOLD OUT
05/17/2009 Cologne, DEU Lanxess Arena SOLD OUT
06/14/2009 Helsinki, FIN Hartwall Arena SOLD OUT
06/15/2009 Helsinki, FIN Hartwall Arena SOLD OUT
06/17/2009 Oslo, NOR Spektrum SOLD OUT
06/22/2009 Milan, ITA Datch Forum SOLD OUT
06/24/2009 Rome, ITA Palalottomatica SOLD OUT
07/07/2009 Nimes, FRA Festival de Nimes SOLD OUT
07/13/2009 Madrid, ESP Palacio de Deportes SOLD OUT
07/14/2009 Madrid, ESP Palacio de Deportes SOLD OUT
07/16/2009 Zurich, CHE Hallenstadion SOLD OUT
07/20/2009 Copenhagen, DNK Copenhagen Forum SOLD OUT
07/22/2009 Copenhagen, DNK Copenhagen Forum SOLD OUT
07/23/2009 Copenhagen, DNK Copenhagen Forum SOLD OUT
07/27/2009 Copenhagen, DNK Copenhagen Forum SOLD OUT
07/28/2009 Copenhagen, DNK Copenhagen Forum SOLD OUT
07/30/2009 Oslo, NOR Spektrum SOLD OUT

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 maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan and South Korea. 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 help 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 (including next-generation hardware), 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 and related software, industry competition, rapid changes in technology and industry standards, protection of proprietary rights, litigation against Activision Publishing, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, vendors and third-party developers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates, integration of recent acquisitions and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities, Activision Blizzard’s success in integrating the operations of Activision Publishing and Vivendi Games in a timely manner, or at all, and the combined company’s ability to realize the anticipated benefits and synergies of the transaction to the extent, or in the timeframe, anticipated, and the other factors identified in 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.

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Guitar Hero Metallica © 2009 Activision Publishing, Inc. Guitar Hero, Activision and RedOctane are registered trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. Metallica is a registered trademark of Metallica.

“PlayStation”, “PLAYSTATION” and “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Used with Permission. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Wii and the Wii logo are trademarks of Nintendo.