SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Activision Inc posted a quarterly profit on Thursday that was far higher than expected as ongoing demand for its "Guitar Hero 3" and "Call of Duty 4" video games offset an absence of new releases.

Activision also said it expected earnings of 13 cents per share, excluding special items, on revenue of $500 million for the current first quarter.

Wall Street analysts, on average, have forecast 13 cents per share on revenue of $493 million on Reuters Estimates.

Those forecasts do not include results from the games unit of France's Vivendi, which makes the popular "World of Warcraft" game and is merging with Activision in a deal expected to close by the middle of the year.

Shares of Activision rose 3.9 percent to $28.78 in extended trade from a close of $27.70 on Nasdaq, where they had gained less than 1 percent in the regular session.

For its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, Activision showed a profit excluding stock-based compensation costs of $54.9 million, or 17 cents per share.

That compared with a loss of 4 cents per share a year earlier and handily topped Wall Street expectations for a profit of 5 cents a share.

Revenue was $602.5 million, up 93 percent from a year ago and burying the average Wall Street forecast of $373.6 million.

Activision, which also makes the "Tony Hawk" skateboarding games and "Spider-Man" titles, competes with Electronic Arts Inc, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc and France's Ubisoft.

(Reporting by Scott Hillis; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Braden Reddall)

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