Stern Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia reported Wednesday that the subscription-based WoW amounted to 30 cents per share out of 60 - a total of about $400 million for the fiscal year that ended in December.WoW oro  With 11.5 million people around the world currently playing - yes, those are current, active subscriptions, not counting players who have moved on - that number isn't too hard to believe.

The report only mentions the subscription numbers as a source of income, wow gold leading one to wonder if those figures include the revenue from the record-shattering Wrath of the Lich King launch. If not, then that already-impressive 50% figure might well be even higher.

With those sorts of numbers, it's no wonder that Stern Agee agrees with its fellow analysts at Lazard Capital Markets - if you're looking to invest in videogame companies, Acti-Blizz is your best bet. Even so, Bhatia is reportedly concerned about the industry giant's financial guidance, lowering his 2009 estimates from $5.2 billion to $4.9 billion.

Still, as long as WoW remains a money-printing machine like it currently is (and it certainly shows no signs of slowing down), it's hard to imagine a situation in which anything short of complete financial idiocy causes Activision-Blizzard to stop raking in money hand over fist.