Seth Gilbert, 09-12-2008
The video game industry has been on fire. For twenty seven months, a streak almost unfathomable in electronics retail, the U.S. marketplace returned double digit year over year percentage growth (via NPD). Every month had yielded a more than 10% gross sales improvement, every month until now. The August NPD retail report came out this week and it showed a surprise slowdown. In August, the industry grew only 9% year over year in the U.S. Many are questioning what happened and if it’s cause for concern.
Gaming is one of those entertainment industries that is often called “Recession Resistant.” In tougher times, the theory goes, people need their escapism and fun more than ever. Even as they watch their spending, they’ll pay for a movie ticket, or a DVD, or a new game to suspend reality. But most anyone who has ever owned a water resistant watch will tell you, water resistance isn’t the same as waterproof. If you take that watch down deep enough underwater, it will let the water in. Recession Resistant is the same thing. It’s a reasonable safety zone but not a guarantee.
That fact has some analysts asking: did the gaming industry finally spring a leak?
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Seth Gilbert, 09-4-2008
For the die-hard fanatic with tunnel vision for a new consumer product, price may have little meaning. The hardcore gamer with a passion for Halo is going to find a way to pay whatever price it takes. For the average consumer, the mainstream, soccer moms in suburbia, pass-time gen-x gamers, the value proposition is different. To warrant a purchase, a product needs to be well designed (playable) and well priced.
In an early move apparently designed to gear up for holiday sales, Microsoft aimed for the sweet-spot of that consumer value equation with price cuts for all of their Xbox 360 consoles in the U.S.
Effective tomorrow, September 5th, the entry level “Arcade” edition will drop from $280 o $199. The 60GB Pro and the 120 GB Elite will each trim $50 off their stickers to $299 and $399 respectively.
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Seth Gilbert, 09-3-2008
There’s a natural affinity between movies and video games, an overlap apparent in the convergence of story lines and visual techniques. Like many studios, Paramount has seen this and recognizes the potential games bring for ancillary sales and cross media marketing. In March, the Viacom owned movie studio formed a division within their interactive department to explore funding the development (and publication) of gaming titles. In July, the studio partnered with Legacy Interactive to build Internet games around their Pretty in Pink, Clueless and Mean Girls films. Now, Paramount has opened their checkbook to make their first gaming related purchase too.
Paramount has bought Washington based ScreenLife, the makers of a popular DVD trivia game called “Scene It.” Click to Read More
Seth Gilbert, 08-29-2008
It’s the “back to school” shopping season not the holiday period, still Nintendo’s seen enough. With a slightly stronger dollar improving exchange rates and continuously impressive demand for both the Wii and DS (not to mention software), the Kyoto based game company upgraded their annual profit forecast by 23% Friday.
Wii sales forecasts have been notched up to 26.5m units (from 25m) for the fiscal year ending in March 2009. Forecasts for the DS portable have been pushed to 30.5m units, up from estimates of 28m.
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Seth Gilbert, 08-25-2008
Dating back to February, Electronic Arts and Take Two were pitted against each other in a very public corporate takeover battle. For months, the companies issued dueling press releases and went back and forth in SEC filings. On August 18 that process ended. Electronic Arts announced they were allowing their Tender Offer to expire. In reply, Take Two invited the formerly hostile suitor to review documents on a possible path toward a friendly merger.
Today, the companies filed one last document. An 8K announcing they’d entered into a new material agreement – one assuring confidentiality in all their future discussions.
The update from the comanies s there will be no more updates. From here on in, and for the near term foreseeable future, the rollercoaster ride of back and forth press releases is officially closed. Silence will be golden. Click to Read More
Seth Gilbert, 08-22-2008
It’s a presidential election year and mobilizing potential voters, especially young ones, is an important activity. To advance the cause, youth centered voting activist organization, Rock the Vote, has creatively partnered with Microsoft’s Xbox Live online gaming community.
Beginning Monday August 25, the first day of the democratic National Convention, Xbox LIVE members will be able to register to vote, share opinions, interact and participate in polls through the console community.
While we’ve covered some clever nontraditional uses of game consoles before, this has to rate near the top of the list. It is up there just slightly behind using Wii controllers for robotics or Stanford’s groundbreaking Folding@home molecular research project.
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Seth Gilbert, 08-20-2008
Wednesday was a busy day for Sony. The company’s gaming division used the Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany to reveal a number of new hardware offerings.
Topping the list was a new SKU for the Playstation 3 platform. With Sony’s focus evolving more and more toward connected entertainment, “PS3 owner’s are demanding more storage capacity,” said Jack Treton, President and CEO of SCEA. Sony will try and answer the call with a 160GB capacity PS3.
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