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Activision's $500 Million Investment

Half a billion dollars. That's how much Reuters says Activision is putting into developing and promoting Destiny:

CEO Bobby Kotick revealed the number, which dwarfs Hollywood spending on some of its biggest firms, during the Milken conference in Los Angeles last week. A company spokesperson said on Monday the number was accurate but also included marketing, packaging, infrastructure support, royalties and other costs.

While that sounds like a huge sum of cash for a new IP, keep in mind that Destiny is planned to be a 10-year franchise:

The spokesperson added that investment in the next generation engine and a "robust backend infrastructure are upfront expenditures that should reduce future product development costs."

"Over the long term, we expect the ultimate product costs to be roughly in line with other Triple-A titles."

This just leaves one question: What's the exchange rate of dollars to glimmer? (Thanks for the heads-up, Mr Danger.)