On Sunday, December 2, Vivendi Games, makers of World of Warcraft, announced it would be acquiring a controlling stake in Activision, makers of Guitar Hero and the Tony Hawk series, for $9.8 billion, creating one of the world’s largest gaming publishing companies valued at $18.9 billion. This also means serious competition for the other big game publisher, Entertainment Arts (EA).

“This transaction has always stuck out as the way to become the number one most successful video-game publisher,” stated Activision Chief Executive Bobby Kotick based on news reports from the AP.

EA spokesman Jeff Brown said, “We wish them luck. We look forward to the competition and believe that EA still has the strongest portfolio of perennial game franchises.”

According to Label Networks’ North American Youth Culture Studies and Video Gaming section, Activision does capture a growing marketplace among 13-25-year-olds based on the popularity of the Guitar Hero series—including new gamers and young women. The Tony Hawk games are also among the most popular within this age group. With Activision, Vivendi, which is based out of Paris, will have captured a growing marketplace particularly among younger gamers, which could chart out new territory to rival EA in the future.

For more information about Label Networks’ North American Youth Culture Studies and Video Gaming primary data results, email info@labelnetworks.com