Activison Blizzard Announces Popular Sequels

Upfronts are a relatively new phenomenon in gaming. These events are ones in which publishers preview their games to advertisers in an attempt to gain some early advertising support. It was at one of these events, held by Massive Inc. (the guys behind the Burnout Barack Obama in-game ads), that Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, Guitar Hero 5, and a new Tony Hawk title were announced.

While this event did not shed much light on many details, it was chock full of perspective games that will be coming from Activision in the coming months. Of the games announced, the only bit of information given was in the way of a hinting at the next Tony Hawk. Activision was quoted as saying "you are not going to be playing this game with a controller in your hands." As Skate It for the Wii used the balance board, it was only expected for Tony Hawk to follow, in an attempt to remain competitive.

In a surprising turn of events, Bizarre Creations had some interesting announcements to make themselves. One was in the form of a James Bond racing title (not related to any specific story). Perhaps the most unexpected, however, was the announcement of an original IP racing game. This is a game they said should remind you of Mario Kart meeting Forza. This seems like an odd pairing, as they are at two completely different ends of the racing spectrum, but one never knows.

With these new events starting up to try and get more in-game advertising, is there a new era being ushered in? If so, is it a good one? What do you think of an increase to in-game advertising, good or bad?

Via MTV Multiplayer