SEPT. 26, 2007 • Activision Inc. acquired U.K.-based game developer, Bizarre Creations, best known for the popular Xbox 360 racing game Project Gotham Racing. Financial terms were not disclosed, but it was expected Activision made the investment to expand into new game genres. Racing games are believed to account for 10% of video game sales worldwide. The Project Gotham Racing franchise has sold more than 4.5 million units between the U.S. and Europe.

Impact: The Project Gotham Racing series was a nice, albeit minor, exclusive franchise for the Microsoft systems.  Prior to the Xbox, Bizarre Creations had done some similar exclusives for the Sega Dreamcast.  Activision has a well-established multi-platform strategy so we can expect that this will be the end of such exclusives.