Welcome to “Game On,” The Fly’s weekly recap of the stories powering up or beating down video game stocks. NEW RELEASES: Among this week’s major game launches is Sony’s (SNE) “God of War,” the eighth installment of the popular action series, which will roll out on April 20 exclusively on PlayStation 4 consoles. Also out is Sega’s (SGAMY) adventure game “Yakuza 6: The Song of Life,” which comes out today for PS4. In addition, Nintendo (NTDOY) is rolling out its Nintendo Labo cardboard creation kits this Friday. The Labo kits, which are used as an extension for the Switch console, include cardboard cut-outs and other materials that are meant to be assembled in combination with the Switch display and Joy-Con controllers to create more interactive gaming experiences. ACTIVISION, NIELSEN PARTNERSHIP: On Monday, Activision Blizzard (ATVI) said it is partnering with Nielsen (NLSN) to measure and value esports brand investments across the game maker’s multiple leagues and titles. As part of the agreement, Nielsen will measure brand exposure in esports events representing a variety of Activision Blizzard titles, event formats and geographic locations based on the same methodology that Nielsen uses to quantify value and benchmark performance for traditional sports rights holders and brands. Nielsen plans to start tracking Blizzard’s Overwatch League, Overwatch World Cup, and Overwatch Contenders this year, as well as Activision’s Call of Duty World League, with plans to expand to other programs in the coming year. The announcement comes nearly two weeks after the Call of Duty World League entered its first stage finals with the top eight teams from the CWL Pro League Stage 1 facing off. EA EXECUTIVE ADDITIONS: Last Friday, Electronic Arts (EA) Chief Executive Officer Andrew Wilson shared a note with EA employees saying that the game maker had aligned on several strategic organization changes that will “sharpen focus on the creative core of EA, drive precision in our operations, and define clear leadership for our growth initiatives.” As part of the announcement, Wilson said that Patrick Soederlund will become chief design officer, Laure Miele will become chief studios officer, Blake Joergensen will become COO and CFO, Chris Bruzzo will become chief marketing officer, Matt Bilbey will become executive vice president of Strategic Growth, and Ken Moss will continue in his role as chief technology officer.
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