Assessment 2 Using Analytic Techniques to Add Meaning to Data

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1 Assessment 2: Using Analytic Techniques to Add Meaning to Data Christine Pritchett MBA-FPX5008 Applied Business Analytics, Capella University Isabel Wan May 31, 2023

2 Introduction Blizzard Entertainment, a renowned company in the realm of PC gaming, has witnessed significant changes in leadership and structure throughout its history yet has consistently maintained its status as a well-known brand. The release of their breakout game, Warcraft, in 1994, followed by Warcraft II in 1995, laid a solid foundation for the company's future success. With faster internet connections, Blizzard Entertainment transitioned its games to an online format, exemplified by the launch of Diablo in 1996 (Erskine, 2022). Despite its simplicity, Diablo garnered a dedicated fanbase that persists even after 25 years, attesting to its addictive nature. However, the introduction of World of Warcraft in 2001 propelled Blizzard Entertainment into the realm of gaming empires. Players may build their characters, write their backstories, and select their chosen combat position as a warrior or healer in the ground-breaking massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft. Moreover, players can engage with a global community, participating in cooperative endeavors such as dungeons, player-versus-player arena battles, or large-scale raid groups. Blizzard Entertainment has consistently delivered fresh content, engaging storylines, and game expansions, including the recent release of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands in 2020. A deal with Vivendi Games, Blizzard Entertainment's parent company, made it feasible for Activision to buy Blizzard Entertainment in 2008. Activision has established a name in the gaming industry over the past twenty years with blockbuster titles like Call of Duty, Destiny, Guitar Hero, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series (Erskine, 2022). The company has continued flourishing under Activision Blizzard, offering the most captivating online gaming experiences worldwide. Their sustained success can be attributed to their meticulous attention to detail,

3 unwavering commitment to delivering high-quality entertainment, and receptiveness to player feedback and suggestions, enabling direct engagement with game developers. Having a long history of producing exceptional online gaming experiences compared to competitors like Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, and Square Enix, it becomes challenging for newcomers to compete in the same market (Hu et al., 2023) Until 2022, Activision Blizzard maintained its stronghold in the online gaming sphere without any signs of slowing down. However, in August 2022, the company faced serious allegations of pervasive sexual harassment and gender inequality in the workplace. These accusations led to a lawsuit brought against Activision Blizzard by the state of California, which had a negative impact on the company's reputation and resulted in a decrease in support from loyal PC gaming community members. As a result, many players started exploring other gaming options. This downward trend continued throughout the rest of 2022. But in a significant turn of events, Microsoft declared in January 2022 that it intended to buy Activision Blizzard for a staggering $76.7 billion (Press Corner, 2022). The implications of this purchase for dedicated fans of Activision Blizzard remain uncertain, leaving us to ponder the future of the beloved games we grew up playing. Graphical Representations of Data

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4 I used Yahoo! Finance to import the pertinent data into an Excel spreadsheet to create a scatterplot showing the historical stock price highs of Activision Blizzard through time. The imported data was already arranged in chronological order. Next, I selected the entire column corresponding to the "Highs" data and accessed the "Insert" tab in Excel. From there, I chose the scatterplot icon. To enhance the visual representation, I modified the chart title and included axis titles to define the presented data's nature clearly. I followed the same procedure as before to create this scatterplot. But this time, I chose the "Lows" column from the imported data and modified the chart titles and axes with the updated data.

5 To generate this histogram, I utilized Yahoo! Finance to import historical data into an Excel spreadsheet, employing a similar procedure for the scatterplots. Specifically, I highlighted the "Adj Close" column to focus on the daily adjusted closing stock prices. Next, instead of selecting a scatterplot, I opted for a histogram. To ensure the histogram accurately represented the data, I adjusted the bin size, enabling the shape of the distribution to be visible while accommodating all the data within a single graph. Additionally, I changed the chart’s title and added pertinent labels to the X and Y axes to more accurately describe the data shown in the histogram.

6 To create this histogram, I followed a similar process as the previous one but focused on the "volume" dataset. However, I had to make notable modifications to the bin size to represent the data distribution and present valuable information accurately. Descriptive Statistics

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7 The mean represents the average of the data set. On the other hand, the median of a data set is the middle value when the numbers are arranged in ascending order. In other words, the value separates the higher half from the lower half of the data set. The mode represents an entry that has the highest frequency out of all. The number occurs with the highest frequency in the data set. The standard deviation of a data set measures the spread or variability of the numbers. It is computed by first finding the mean of the data set, then subtracting the mean from each number, squaring the result, calculating the average of the squared differences, and finally taking the square root of that average. Fortunately, these calculations can now be easily performed using Excel's data analysis function. To calculate these values for the Adjusted Daily Closing Stock Price and the Stock Volume charts presented above, I utilized Excel's data analysis function. By selecting the "descriptive statistics" option and highlighting the corresponding data set, I obtained all the necessary descriptive statistics for the data. Summary The stock data obtained from Yahoo! Finance for Activision Blizzard over the past year exhibits a notable trend that correlates with the challenges faced by Blizzard due to various scandals. Activision Blizzard was accused in August 2022 of encouraging a society rife with excessive misogyny, sexual harassment, and inequality based on sexual orientation. The stock data indicates a decline in stock prices starting in July, with a significant plummet occurring in August. Moreover, the volume of stock traded experienced a steady decrease following the public disclosure of the allegations. However, stock prices were resurgent in January and February 2023, coinciding with Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

8 References Erskine, D. (2022). When did Activision buy Blizzard? Shacknews. Retrieved from https://www.shacknews.com/article/125927/when-did-activision-buy-blizzard Gentry, M. (2022). WoW, Expansions Ranked from Worst to Best. High Ground Gaming. https://www.highgroundgaming.com/wow-expansions-ranked/ Hu, Jie & Wu, Chenyuan. (2023). Microsoft's Acquisition of Activision Blizzard: A Case Study. Highlights in Business, Economics, and Management. 7. 363-371. 10.54097/hbem.v7i.6969. Press corner. (2022). European Commission - European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_2705 Yahoo! (2023). Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved from https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ATVI/history?p=ATVI

Assessment 2 Using Analytic Techniques to Add Meaning to Data

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