In January, Netflix announced the first of several ambitious partnerships to integrate the software behind their “Watch Now” streaming video service into TV-connected consumer electronics.  The deal, they revealed just prior to the Consumer Electronics show, was with LG for a set-top box.  At the time, the battle for next-gen DVD standards was still ongoing so it was unclear if “set top box” meant we might see a DVD player (HD DVD or Blu-ray) or some other device.   Little clarifying information was provided.  Today, long after the standards war ended, the mail-order DVD pioneer and the South Korean electronics giant filled in the blanks with detail.

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Mention in-game advertising to video game fanatics and you’re likely to get one of two responses. The first will be bitter complaints that lament the scourge cluttering their virtual worlds.  The other will be an uneasy acceptance that harbors hope the included ads will somehow make future games more affordable or more realistic.  Love ‘em or hate ‘em, however, in-game ads are here to stay.

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The monthly NPD reports tend to give a decent macro perspective on the video game industry economy in the U.S. market but there’s nothing like earnings season to unwrap the details.  Yesterday, Sony and Electronic Arts opened their books.  Sales were up.  Today, Nintendo, THQ and Capcom rounded out the story.  They and Disney, all reported results.  Here’s the earnings wrap up for all four consolidated to a single Metue report:

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Earnings season is always a busy time in the corporate finance world but for those watching the media and entertainment sectors, Tuesday was a day of particular information overload.  DreamWorks Animation, Electronic Arts, Sony and Viacom all reported quarterly results.  The news was mixed. There were some bright spots and some unpleasant surprises too.  One by one we’ve got the four consolidated into one place; a single stop to summarize all four quarterly performances.

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During Apple’s July 2007 earnings call, the company gave guidance that fell short of some expectations. The explanation was a then-unexplained product shift that turned out to be the introduction of new iPods.   Flash forward a year to last week and Apple’s July 2008 earnings call was a deja vu like repetition: Apple turned in a strong performance but guided  weaker than some expected due to  another ambiguous product transition.  The mystery is cranking up the Applevine.  The latest round of explanatory rumors are starting to circulate.

One popular theory guesses these changes will apply to the Macbook notebook line.  (more…)

Streaming movies online can be expensive but not so much so that Netflix has any reason to worry. The mail-order-DVD pioneer came out Friday with better than expected Q2 earnings and up-adjusted guidance for 2008.

By the numbers, overall, Q2 net income rose 3.8% to 26.6m (42 cents a share), up from $25.6m or 37 cents a share for the same period a year ago.  Total sales were up 11% to $337.6m.  Netflix had previously forecast revenue in the range of $334m to $339m.  Excluding special items, profit was 45 cents a share, ahead of Reuters analyst estimates by about 4cents.

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From the Wii News Files, 3 Short Takes on Nintendo News and Gossip. i. Talking storage and hard drives. ii. A Fuji Film partnership. And iii. an unlikely patent filing getting misrepresented in the rumor mills.

The Storage News:
Nintendo has been a trend setter in the gaming world.  While competitors focused on horsepower and graphics engines, Nintendo put the emphasis on playability.  While competitors catered to core audiences, Nintendo engaged the masses.  They’ve focused on accessible games and innovated in an otherwise stagnant paradigm of user controls.  The strategies have paid off.   The Wii recently became the top selling console in the U.S.  But behind the high demand, there’s one trend Nintendo has neglected to its own disadvantage: storage.

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