By Mary Jane Irwin, 2:10 PM on Mon Dec 3 2007, 234 views (Edit, to draft, Top, Slurp)

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Vivendi is forking over $1.7 billion to take a controlling stake in videogame publisher Activision. With their powers combined, they'll create a new game-publishing goliath, Activision Blizzard, ostensibly worth $18.9 billion. In size, it will rival longstanding industry leader Electronic Arts. The deal pairs Vivendi-owned Vivendi Games and Blizzard, the folks behind online multiplayer game World of Warcraft, with Activision's portfolio of Tony Hawk-licensed skateboarding games and Guitar Hero.