Activision’s “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock” and “Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground” Join Massive Network

Activision Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) and Massive Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corp. and a leading network for video game advertising, announced that Activision’s popular “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock” and “Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground” have been added to the Massive Network.

“Our partnership with Massive provides a highly effective advertising solution for brands and marketers while enhancing the realism and preserving the creative integrity of our leading titles,” said David Pokress, vice president of new franchise and business development at Activision. “We’re pleased to add two more of our premier titles to the Massive Network.”

Since its introduction, the “Guitar Hero®” franchise has quickly become a pop culture phenomenon that has drawn an enormous and passionate audience. The franchise’s popularity is continuing to expand with the newest release, “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock,” which offers an expanded online multiplayer mode that allows would-be rock gods worldwide to compete head to head. Massive ads served into the game will be contextually relevant to the rock venues in which players perform, further increasing the game’s realism while providing targeted reach into the many demographics participating in the “Guitar Hero” phenomenon.

The latest release in the No. 1 action-sports franchise, “Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground” offers players the freedom to define their game character based on the choices they make, the paths they skate and their skating style. The game features a fully loaded video editor with which players can create cool skate videos and a customizable skate lounge where they can skate with friends online. Massive will give brands high visibility among this engaged audience with ads tailored to real-world skating environments.

Said Cory Van Arsdale, CEO of Massive, “Our role as Activision’s global partner for dynamic in-game advertising for some of its best-selling franchises has delivered impressive results for marketers and opened new revenue channels for Activision titles. The latest versions of ‘Guitar Hero’ and ‘Tony Hawk’ will provide compelling marketing opportunities, allowing advertisers to connect with these audiences and capitalize on the tremendous excitement and promotional activity around these powerful franchises.”

Massive provides advertisers the ability to engage an aggregated gaming audience in real time. All forms of downloadable media and advertising content can be contextually integrated into the game environment, including image, audio, video, and game object formats.