News Corporation has set its sights on the video game market, president and COO Peter Chernin said during his presentation at the 15th Annual Smith Barney Citigroup Entertainment, Media & Telecommunications Conference in Phoenix yesterday. Reportedly, Chernin said News Corp. was "kicking the tires of pretty much all video games companies," but wasn't sure whether it would come up with a viable target for purchase, according to the Financial Times.

　　One game publisher Chernin mentioned by name was Santa Monica's Activision, publisher of Doom 3 and Call of Duty. The News Corp. officer didn't say how much money the media conglomerate might be willing to spend, but he added that its considerable holdings give it plenty of flexibility. The Hollywood Reporter said analysts estimate News Corp. cash holdings to be around $5.5 billion.

　　"We see [video games] as a big business and would like to get into it," Chernin said. "We are struggling with the gap between companies like Electronic Arts, which come with a high price tag, and the next tier of companies. These may be too focused on one or two product lines." While Activision has a market capitalization under $3 billion, EA's is closer to $19 billion.

　　News Corp., operated by media mogul Rupert Murdoch (its chairman and CEO), controls the Fox and Sky television networks, book publisher Harper Collins, and two newspapers in England: The Times and The Sun.

　　News Corp. isn't the first media giant to shop for a game company. Last year, Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone took a majority stake in Midway, publisher of the The Suffering, Mortal Kombat: Deception, and NBA Ballers.