Activision's 2008 slate... "Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2," multiple "Guitar Hero" games, and a lot more

Activision just reported boffo - a.k.a sick - earnings for the holiday quarter, and you can read all about it in the story just posted on Variety.com.

But I thought Cut Scene readers would be particularly interested in the 2008 release slate that Activision publishing president Mike Griffith laid out on a conference call with analysts. These are the main titles you can expect from Activision in the upcoming year.

Readers will note that the list is entirely sequels and move adaptations. Activision being Activision, that's not too surprising. The company is unabashedly focused on building and growing franchises. And it's hard to blame them, since the vast majority of best selling games are franchises or licenses, and it's sequels like "Call of Duty 4" and "Guitar Hero 3" that drove Activision's record results.

However, in an interview with me, Kotick noted that we shouldn't necessarily assume Activision won't be releasing any original properties this year. "We typically don't announce new IP without a pretty thoughtful plan," he explained. "So it wouldn't be something you see on an earnings call." So there may still be an original game or two (but no more) coming from Activision in '08.

(Stay tuned for a separate post with highlights from my interview with Kotick in just a few minutes.)

It's also worth noting that this list doesn't include big titles like "The Bourne Conspiracy" and "Ghostbusters" on Vivendi's release slate for later this year that will be released by Activision once the merger is complete.

But still, we now know a lot. Here's the list:

• Multiple "Guitar Hero" follow-ups, including two mysterious add-ons (probably along the lines of last year's "Rock the '80s") in the spring and a proper sequel, "Guitar Hero 4," in the fall.

• Adaptations of DreamWorks Animation spring release "Kung Fu Panda," for which Activision has particularly high hopes, and the fall's "Madagascar 2," as well as a separate "Kung Fu Panda" game for the holidays.

• An adaptation of Sony and MGM's new James Bond movie "Quantum of Solace" in the fall.

• A new "Spider-Man" game.

• A sequel to "Marvel Ultimate Alliance."

• "Call of Duty 5"

• A new "Tony Hawk" skateboarding game. (Activision admitted that the last installment, "Proving Ground," didn't sell well and said it's totally revamping the skateboarding strategy for '08)