Handheld answer to PS3’s virtual world Home is cancelled
Having announced in September last year that it was developing a portable version of PS3 Home for PSP users, Sony has now confirmed that it has scrapped the project.
Dubbed PlayStation Room, the service was supposed to offer a virtual world that allowed for portable interaction on the go, sharing pictures and blog posts and creating avatars.
It was scheduled to arrive by the end of 2009.
However, Andriasang spotted an update to Room’s official site stating that all development of the service has been cancelled, bringing the closed beta to an end. No reason was given, though Sony added that it would be using the feedback gained from the beta for future projects.
The natural question to ask is whether its demise is linked to the performance of PSP or the performance of PlayStation Home?
Handheld answer to PS3’s virtual world Home is cancelled
Having announced in September last year that it was developing a portable version of PS3 Home for PSP users, Sony has now confirmed that it has scrapped the project.
Dubbed PlayStation Room, the service was supposed to offer a virtual world that allowed for portable interaction on the go, sharing pictures and blog posts and creating avatars.
It was scheduled to arrive by the end of 2009.
However, Andriasang spotted an update to Room’s official site stating that all development of the service has been cancelled, bringing the closed beta to an end. No reason was given, though Sony added that it would be using the feedback gained from the beta for future projects.
The natural question to ask is whether its demise is linked to the performance of PSP or the performance of PlayStation Home?
Probably both. I'm amazed the project lasted as long as it did.
Should we overanalyze and see this as a sign Sony's shifting development to the PSP2?
Then again, the project would have been awesome if it was an adaptation of this:
Handheld answer to PS3’s virtual world Home is cancelled
Having announced in September last year that it was developing a portable version of PS3 Home for PSP users, Sony has now confirmed that it has scrapped the project.
Dubbed PlayStation Room, the service was supposed to offer a virtual world that allowed for portable interaction on the go, sharing pictures and blog posts and creating avatars.
It was scheduled to arrive by the end of 2009.
However, Andriasang spotted an update to Room’s official site stating that all development of the service has been cancelled, bringing the closed beta to an end. No reason was given, though Sony added that it would be using the feedback gained from the beta for future projects.
The natural question to ask is whether its demise is linked to the performance of PSP or the performance of PlayStation Home?
Probably both. I'm amazed the project lasted as long as it did.
Should we overanalyze and see this as a sign Sony's shifting development to the PSP2?
Then again, the project would have been awesome if it was an adaptation of this:
Oh hai Sony.
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HedgethornAssociate Professor of Historical Hobby HorsesIn the Lions' DenRegistered Userregular
At least the story can't get worse from all the story people leaving.
Be careful what you wish for.
Hired scab 1: Okay, the last game was well-known for that level where you gun down civilians for some reason. We have to come up with something even more shocking for the sequel!
Hired scab 2: Hmmm... I've got it! In order to infiltrate the latest terrorist organization so you can eventually gun them down, you have to rape a puppy!
Gamers may soon be able to help reduce the United States' massive budget deficit.
In an effort to reduce the USA's $12.8 trillion federal budget deficit, President Barack Obama's fiscal commission co-chairman Erskine Bowles has asked Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer about creating a debt-reducing videogame, USA Today reports.
According to the report, the game would "enable anyone with a computer to take a stab at balancing the budget." Democratic Senator Bob Kerrey said the game could even "go viral."
"What you could get is support among the populace for the exceptionally unpopular things you need to do to solve this problem," added Kerry, who help release his own budget-reducing game called Budget Shadows for PC in 1994 as chairman of the Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform.
Think all this bad press about the IW situation is getting Activision execs down? Naw, they're too busy swimming in their money bin.
As if Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's record-setting launch weren't enough, Activision has also been reaping rewards off the game's first map pack. Last week, the publisher said that the $15 Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package had set day-one and week-one Xbox Live sales records, selling 1 million and 2.5 million, respectively. Notably, those figures don't include the PlayStation 3 and PC versions of the multiplayer map add-on, which are due May 4.
Given the premium-priced map pack's unprecedented success, Activision Blizzard today said that earnings per share and revenues for the January-March quarter are tracking ahead of previous guidance. The publisher didn't provide specific figures, noting only its previous outlook of $0.20 earnings per diluted share on $1.1 billion revenues.
However, the publisher did provide updated guidance for its full-year earnings. Diluted earnings per share are now expected to come in at $0.49 for the three-month window, up $0.02 from prior estimates.
"We are tracking ahead of our March quarter outlook due to strong global demand for Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft and Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2," Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said in a statement. "We benefited from the record breaking launch of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 map pack, which was previously expected to launch in the June quarter. Additionally, certain operating expenses previously planned for the March quarter will now be incurred in the June quarter."
Ironically, Activision may have gutted the goose that laid one of its golden eggs. Today, two more senior-level developers confirmed their departure from Modern Warfare 2 manufacturer Infinity Ward. According to the LinkedIn profiles of lead animator Mark Grigsby and lead character animator John Paul Messerly--listed as the only two animation leads in Modern Warfare 2's credits--both departed the Encino, California-based studio this month.
A member of Infinity Ward since the studio formed in 2002, Grigsby has been credited on the original Call of Duty through Modern Warfare 2. Also an Infinity Ward veteran, Messerly joined the studio in 2005, picking up credits on Call of Duty 2, Modern Warfare, and Modern Warfare 2.
Grigsby and Messerly's departures are just two in a string of high-profile departures from Infinity Ward following Activision's decision to fire studio head Vince Zampella and game director Jason West in March. The studio has seen the departure of its entire lead design team, as well as senior-level programmers and artists.
The departures come despite Activision's stated intent to reallocate Modern Warfare 2 bonuses previously intended for West and Zampella to "those employees responsible for the success of the game who remain employees of the company." However, disbursal will only come if Activision prevails in its counterclaim against West and Zampella's initial $36 million suit against the company.
Gamasutra's got a great article looking in-depth at Gamestop.
Since 2006, GameStop has increased its revenue by 194 percent, nearly tripling the amount of sales it does in a year. Much of this growth has been driven by expanding its number of retail locations, through acquisitions and opening of new retail locations, both in the United States and abroad. In the U.S., the company controls 801 more stores now than it did in 2006, an increase of 22 percent.
Despite that trend, even GameStop's growth was stunted by economic conditions during 2009. While revenue grew by 24 percent in 2008 (from $7.09 billion to $8.81 billion), that same measure increased only 3 percent in 2009. The company claims that decreased consumer traffic through its stores contributed to weaker revenues.
In the coming year, GameStop expects revenue to increase at rate of 4 to 6 percent in the coming year, with revenue between $9.44 and $9.62 billion. Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter expects that GameStop will achieve revenue at the higher end of this range.
As the figure above shows, GameStop's business last year experienced a decline in the New Hardware and Other segments while both New Software and Used Product saw growth.
The drop in hardware revenue is understandable. At least in the U.S. all four consoles with significant sales (Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2) saw their average prices drop in calendar 2009, according to data from the NPD Group.
Combining New Hardware and New Software sales, the company saw a modest 1 percent decline in revenue during its 2009 fiscal year. For the sake of comparison, the entire U.S. industry saw a decline of 10.7 percent in those same segments during the comparable months in 2009 and 2010. (These numbers are directly comparable since GameStop's figures also include revenue from Europe, Australia, and Canada.)
As the figure above shows, however, the Used Product segment drove most of the revenue growth in fiscal year 2009. There the company saw revenue increase by $367 million, which is nearly $100 million more than the company's total revenue increase for the year. That is, outside of the Used Product segment GameStop's revenue actually fell by $95 million.
Yeah, no wonder they push the hell out of used.
Whereas new software revenue increased by a staggering 32 percent from 2007 to 2008, the same segment saw a much more modest 1.2 percent increase from 2008 to 2009. Given that software sales took a hit globally last year, it is no surprise that a major videogame retailer like GameStop was similarly affected.
GameStop's used software business acts as a buffer in tight times, and 2009 was no exception. While The company does not provide explicit used software revenue figures we estimate that 80 percent of the revenue reported in its Used Product segment can be attributed to used software specifically. The figure above reflects this estimate.
According to figures provided by the NPD Group and Michael Pachter, the average price of new software in the United States during GameStop's FY2009 was just below $40. While the comparison is not direct, it does appear that GameStop's software mix trends toward the higher end. However, we note that some of the higher price may have to do with the higher prices for software in Europe and other markets, or on favorable currency conversion rates for revenue generated outside the U.S.
Putting the data from the last two figures together, we obtained the following estimates for GameStop's software unit sales, shown below. As mentioned above, we see that GameStop's new software unit sales actually declined in the last year.
Analyst Todd Greenwald with Signal Hill said Thursday that U.S. video game retail sales are poised for "six straight months of growth," beginning with NPD Group's March sales results, releasing this evening.
"We expect the year-on-year changes to improve dramatically," he said in an investor note. He expects that video game software sales will be up a modest 2 percent for March, marking the first year-on-year growth since September 2009.
He added, "We expect this growth to come as a result of a stronger release slate, easier comps, and a larger console installed base, though it will be slightly held back by weaker software attach rates (especially on the Wii) and overall sluggish catalog sales."
The monthly year-on-year comparisons should be relatively easy, Greenwald said, as the next six months saw double-digit declines in 2009.
A strong release list is also a major growth factor in the months ahead. This year has already seen strong sales performances from titles including Electronic Arts' Mass Effect 2 and Battlefield 2, as well as Sony's God of War III.
In the next three to four months, Greenwald notes the release of games including Splinter Cell Conviction, Red Dead Redemption, FIFA World Cup, Alan Wake, Prince of Persia, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Blur, Singularity, Metroid: Other M, Crackdown 2, StarCraft II, and later releases like Halo Reach and L.A. Noire. And that doesn't include any major titles to be announced at L.A-based E3 in June.
Thanks to a strong release slate, Greenwald expects publishers to report results in-line with or better than expectations. Specifically, he said that "Activision remains very well positioned, despite unfortunate Infinity Ward situation," referring to the recent firing of the Activision-owned studio's two heads.
The conspiracy theorist in me notes that microtransactions didn't show up in WoW until after Kotick started going nuts. Then again the Koreans have been going bonkers with this stuff for some time now.
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HedgethornAssociate Professor of Historical Hobby HorsesIn the Lions' DenRegistered Userregular
edited April 2010
Here's the rest, courtesy of GAF.
Data care of NPD Group
PlayStation 2 118.3K
PlayStation 3 313.9K
PSP 119.9K
Xbox 360 338.4K
Wii 557.5K
Nintendo DS 700.8K
1. GOD OF WAR III* PS3 SONY Mar-10 1.10M
2. POKEMON SOULSILVER VERSION NDS NINTENDO OF AMERICA Mar-10 1.02M
3. FINAL FANTASY XIII PS3 SQUARE ENIX Mar-10 828.2K
4. BATTLEFIELD : BAD COMPANY 2 360 ELECTRONIC ARTS Mar-10 825.5K
5. POKEMON HEARTGOLD VERSION NDS NINTENDO OF AMERICA Mar-10 761.2K
6. FINAL FANTASY XIII 360 SQUARE ENIX Mar-10 493.9K
7. NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. WII WII NINTENDO OF AMERICA Nov-09 457.4K
8. BATTLEFIELD : BAD COMPANY 2 PS3 ELECTRONIC ARTS Mar-10 451.2K
9. WII FIT PLUS W/ BALANCE BOARD* WII NINTENDO OF AMERICA Oct-09 429.6K
10. MLB 10: THE SHOW PS3 SONY Mar-10 349.2K
Edit: For comparison, GAF says God of War 2 did about 830K its first month in March '07.
Really kind of shocked at how well XIII did. The PS3 alone put up numbers equal to the entire first month of XII, and then the 360 moved another 500k units. Huge reversal of the series' decline in the US and going multiplatform is unquestionably a major factor.
Another beautiful reminder of how little Internet forums matter! I'm enjoying the game a lot myself.
Posts
Probably both. I'm amazed the project lasted as long as it did.
Should we overanalyze and see this as a sign Sony's shifting development to the PSP2?
Then again, the project would have been awesome if it was an adaptation of this:
So basically most of the lead designers are gone.
Congrats, Activision.
Oh hai Sony.
Goodbye design leads, goodbye art leads...
At least the story can't get worse from all the story people leaving.
Be careful what you wish for.
Hired scab 1: Okay, the last game was well-known for that level where you gun down civilians for some reason. We have to come up with something even more shocking for the sequel!
Hired scab 2: Hmmm... I've got it! In order to infiltrate the latest terrorist organization so you can eventually gun them down, you have to rape a puppy!
I will play this if they somehow turn it into a Splinter Cell Conviction clone
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Call of Duty: Custer's Revenge
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This has to be a good sign.
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Well god knows they could probably get more than 4 hours of gameplay out of the idea.
pleasepaypreacher.net
I know it's started to raise my interest in the series and I hadn't really been to interested in them until now.
I didn't realise they made a new model of the classic controller though.
I ordered the bundle myself, since it fixes every complaint I had about the Classic Controller.
The pro is just awesome looking.
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http://www.gamespot.com/news/6258400.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=topstory&tag=topstory%3Btitle
Wait, so are there two more IW departures, or is that old news? It's so hard to keep up.
Lol, is that why my shipping estimate April 26th?
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
Yeah, no wonder they push the hell out of used.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/27879/InDepth_Inside_The_Business_Of_GameStop_Part_One.php
-Marcus and Dom from Gears of War (Xbox Only)
-Wesker from Resident Evil
-Frank West from Dead Rising
-Some spiky dude from Monster Hunter (PS3 only)
Also in the field of cross promotion, if you preorder the new Sam and Max series on Steam, you get a new hat and weapon skins in Team Fortress 2.
Wasn't Mega Man in Lost Planet?
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stupidity knows no bounds
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I'm pretty sure, yes.
He was in the PS3 version.
Follow-up confirms GoW 3 at 1.1 million sold.
That is good. What was GoW2's sales its first month?
Edit: For comparison, GAF says God of War 2 did about 830K its first month in March '07.
And once again, the less feminine-sounding Pokemon wins a decisive victory. :P
And the sales of both hardware are still pretty much equal.
Another beautiful reminder of how little Internet forums matter! I'm enjoying the game a lot myself.