Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), a video-game publisher that competes with Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), THQ (NASDAQ: THQI), and Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO), reported earnings for the fourth quarter on Wednesday after the bell. The company did well during the holiday-selling season, in my opinion. According to this source, adjusted quarterly earnings of 31 cents per share beat estimates by two pennies. Non-GAAP sales of $2.3 billion also beat analyst expectations.

However, the market decided to sell the stock in the after-hours session after the earnings were released because of what was perceived to be a poor outlook for the next fiscal year (as I was writing this piece, the shares were off by about 4%). Analysts were hoping that 2009 would bring 67 cents per share on an adjusted basis, but Activision Blizzard's management team thinks 61 cents per share is more likely.

Believe me, I am no Guitar Hero fanboy (although I do own the game), but as a 30-something male who would listen to Metallica's Black CD repeatedly before playing in a college football game, even I am excited about the latest offering from Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI).

Seriously, what heavy metal fan isn't drooling at the chance of playing air guitar to some of the greatest Metallica songs of all time? But before I get too far ahead of myself, the news is that the play list for the game has been released (I found the list through RollingStone.com).

Yes, there are some dogs on the list (I'm not a big fan of The Unforgiven or One - it's just too long); but the chance to play my Guitar Hero axe to Seek and Destroy and Sad But True is enough to make me shell out the cash when the game is available for the PlayStation 2.

The Associated Press reported on five upcoming albums this fall in an article posted yesterday, raising new questions about the music industry and the success these albums may enjoy. The big news are the number of comeback albums being released in the next few months, notably from Metallica and Australian band AC/DC. Both albums come after lapses of five years or more from the artists, a time period that has seen major upheaval and change in the industry, and the AP cites reports that both return the bands to their roots.

Nevertheless if Metallica and AC/DC are returning with new material, the music industry is simple not a safe place for anyone involved with it: artists, managers, investors, and vital customers. In fact, both Warner Music Group Corp. (NYSE: WMG) and Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE), which owns Sony Music Entertainment Inc., have seen declining prices throughout the summer. None of this is any different from the declines the industry has been seeing in recent years, but digital sales and excitement over new albums in the summer might have pointed in the opposite direction.

The AP's projections for other top albums this fall include material from rapper T.I., still reeling from a weapons charge and punishment, and High School Musical 3 from Disney (NYSE: DIS). It is just too hard to suggest if these projections are reliable in an industry currently in flux and continuously declining. However, they are sure to be successful, in particular the next installment of High School Musical, but they will probably all be paled by an unexpected success. If the summer excitement could continue from the festivals and tours into the fall, then these albums could do well, but whether that will improve the industry or improve investors is just too risky to speculate.

The next installment of Activision, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: ATVI) Guitar Hero franchise, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, is coming out this month, but that has not stopped rumors about future installments, namely one based on the music and career of Metallica. No official announcement from Activision has been made, but Billboard cites a recent SEC filing and a Gamespot post that fuels the rumor. According to Gamespot, the new game is the second rumored title relating to Metallica, a vehicle-based shooting game was announced and canceled a few years ago.

Guitar Hero 4, now known as Guitar Hero: On Tour, is expected for release later this year, but if speculation is correct then a Metallica-based game could see release next summer similar to the release schedule for the Aerosmith version. On Tour will feature a full compliment of instruments like the Rock Band game. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith follows the career of the band from their beginnings in Boston and uses the band's music prominently, "along with a smattering of songs from bands that Aerosmith wanted included." Aerosmith appears in the game as motion-captured animated versions of themselves.

Like Aerosmith, a Metallica-based game would provide a lengthy career storyline to follow, as well as numerous songs that have remained a staple of the band's live acts over the years. It would also present an interesting case to examine success with Metallica since the band seems doomed forever due to band member's stances on illegal music trading and Napster in the late 1990s. Not that the band does not have a large and loyal fan base, but the lasting stigma from that debacle has not abated in the last few years.