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Video game industry thread: Trogdor commands you to use the new thread
Isn't the Windows phone doing poorly too, or am I just remembering someone going "lol M$"?
Early reports I've seen seemed to indicate that the market for WP7 games is even smaller than the market for XBLIG, but of course, it just came out. It could be a very different situation in a year or a two.
Early reports I've seen seemed to indicate that the market for WP7 games is even smaller than the market for XBLIG, but of course, it just came out. It could be a very different situation in a year or a two.
To be fair, that could in part be because Windows Phone 7 doesn't seem to be as app-centric as Android and iOS are, something I'm quite thankful for.
It's a milestone in the life of any OS: the day you reach that magical 10,000 app number. Windows Phone 7 is the latest kindred soul to achieve the feat, accomplishing the task in just over four and a half months -- that's faster than both the Android Marketplace and iTunes App Store. Microsoft's been adding around 1,000 apps a week since it hit 5k right before the New Year, and as of late that rate's been picking up. Congrats WP7 devs, you've officially issued more software updates than Microsoft itself. Your move Microsoft, we're still waiting for copy & paste.
Obviously that isn't a complete correlation with how it's selling, but it's still something.
Meanwhile, The Xperia Play doesn't just look like the PSP Go, it's priced like the PSP Go:
Apparently in an effort to reduce confusion and settle the situation once and for all, Sony Ericsson's Spanish outpost has taken to the wires today to clarify the pricing and availability situation of the Xperia Play there: €649 off contract and unlocked (which works out to roughly $907) on April 1st. That more or less lines up with what we've been hearing in other European locales, though in Spain, Vodafone will have a 15-day exclusive on the white model -- other carriers will only have access to black at first, and none of the carriers have come clean with on-contract pricing details just yet. Clearly, $900 is an enormously tough sell, but a weak dollar never helps these situations -- we'll need to wait for word on the US retail picture before we've got the whole story.
In other words, $300 more expensive than the most expensive off-contract iPhone.
For fuck's sake, Sony.
Wordherder on
Why the crap did I ever make my original name "cloudeagle?"
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HenroidMexican kicked from Immigration ThreadCentrism is Racism :3Registered Userregular
edited March 2011
Well, the Windows 7 Phone (Windows Phone 7? Hell if I know) reaching that milestone sooner may not mean anything aside from smartphones being more widespread in society.
Edit - As in more people have them, they're less special, they're easier to buy / understand what they are for, so more consumers exist.
Details are still emerging on this one, but it looks like Microsoft has finally killed off the Zune -- or the hardware side of things, anyway. According to Bloomberg, a "person familiar with the decision" has confirmed that Microsoft won't be producing any new Zune media players, and that the company will instead focus solely on the Zune software that already has a foothold on the Xbox 360 and Windows Phone devices (it's not clear if the name will stick around). Microsoft will apparently continue to sell its existing Zunes as long as it has stock of them. More as we get it.
via Business Insider
source@dinabass (Twitter), Bloomberg
This is relevant because the turd was attached to Microsoft's entertainment division and was probably dragging down profits for that division. The software side of things shouldn't drag down or raise profits much.
In other words, $300 more expensive than the most expensive off-contract iPhone.
For fuck's sake, Sony.
Wait, so, the most expensive iPhone, off-contract, which I believe has processing and memory capacity comparable to, and slower than some, of the highest end smartphones....is $700?
Details are still emerging on this one, but it looks like Microsoft has finally killed off the Zune -- or the hardware side of things, anyway. According to Bloomberg, a "person familiar with the decision" has confirmed that Microsoft won't be producing any new Zune media players, and that the company will instead focus solely on the Zune software that already has a foothold on the Xbox 360 and Windows Phone devices (it's not clear if the name will stick around). Microsoft will apparently continue to sell its existing Zunes as long as it has stock of them. More as we get it.
via Business Insider
source@dinabass (Twitter), Bloomberg
This is relevant because the turd was attached to Microsoft's entertainment division and was probably dragging down profits for that division. The software side of things shouldn't drag down or raise profits much.
Huh. Damn. I like my Zune.
This won't stop you from using it, I would assume. Back in 2008, the Zune turned a pretty big profit.
It’d be nice to get more precise Zune data, but the company says that between Zune and Mediaroom (IPTV) revenue increased 65 percent or $539 million, primarily the result of the Zune launch.
But, I don't know how much money was spent in development for this "turd".
A retailer exclusivity agreement has been announced for a promotional game, potentially limiting its ability to reach users and promote the movie, but also increasing the promotion for the retailer. Amazon announced that it will be the exclusive carrier of the Android version of Angry Birds Rio, meaning that the movie tie-in title will not be available on the Android Market at launch, but will instead be downloadable through the Amazon Appstore.
What? "Amazon Appstore?" The retailer is launching its own digital marketplace for Android "very soon," and you would do well to familiarize yourself with it, because it'll also be home to "exclusive" debuts for ad-free Angry Birds and Angry Birds Seasons.
And how effective has backlash been against any ISP cap?
So far public outcry is preventing the CRTC from allowing Bell/Rogers to force a cap on the ISPs that piggyback on them. Then again I think that was a 25GB cap and the decision has only been postponed.
There is a marked difference between how Canada does things and how it's done in the US.
A retailer exclusivity agreement has been announced for a promotional game, potentially limiting its ability to reach users and promote the movie, but also increasing the promotion for the retailer. Amazon announced that it will be the exclusive carrier of the Android version of Angry Birds Rio, meaning that the movie tie-in title will not be available on the Android Market at launch, but will instead be downloadable through the Amazon Appstore.
What? "Amazon Appstore?" The retailer is launching its own digital marketplace for Android "very soon," and you would do well to familiarize yourself with it, because it'll also be home to "exclusive" debuts for ad-free Angry Birds and Angry Birds Seasons.
They're launching their own app store? That seems like an interesting decision. What are the odds that the official android market is a ghost town once that starts?
PolloDiablo on
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MorninglordI'm tired of being Batman,so today I'll be Owl.Registered Userregular
A retailer exclusivity agreement has been announced for a promotional game, potentially limiting its ability to reach users and promote the movie, but also increasing the promotion for the retailer. Amazon announced that it will be the exclusive carrier of the Android version of Angry Birds Rio, meaning that the movie tie-in title will not be available on the Android Market at launch, but will instead be downloadable through the Amazon Appstore.
What? "Amazon Appstore?" The retailer is launching its own digital marketplace for Android "very soon," and you would do well to familiarize yourself with it, because it'll also be home to "exclusive" debuts for ad-free Angry Birds and Angry Birds Seasons.
They're launching their own app store? That seems like an interesting decision. What are the odds that the official android market is a ghost town once that starts?
It won't make it a ghost town, not a chance. The Amazon store would have to somehow provide some sort of ease-of-use that the Android marketplace doesn't have. And since I don't own an Android, I can't provide further commentary. But basically: why use a 3rd party when the 1st party is right here?
US' monthly sales tracker is 'misleading and potentially irrelevant' says CNN Money report
Major US publishers are on the verge of revolt against NPD, according to a CNN report.
The likes of EA and Activision see the group's monthly retail sales bulletins as 'misleading and potentially irrelevant'.
That's because the reports don't factor in Xbox Live, PSN or iTunes data,.
"Using NPD data for video game sales is like measuring music sales and ignoring something called iTunes," the report quotes EA corporate communications executive Tiffany Steckler as saying.
"We see NPD's data as a misrepresentation of the entire industry."
Last week, NPD's report said that retail sales fell eight per cent in the US.
In the meantime, publishers continue to grow into digital content streams to supplement and sometimes expand further than sales of boxed games.
Activision has seen huge success through Call of Duty map packs - while EA itself is forecasting that it will make $750m in digital sales revenues for the year ending March 31st, a rise of 39 per cent.
Plus, rising stars like Zynga, generates its revenues purely from online transactions within Facebook. It's been valued as over $8bn previously.
But NPD has tried to calm the grumbles, saying the report blows 'out of proportion' the situation.
Divisive analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan also defends NPD, calling it a "gross overstatement" to write its reports off: "EA saying physical game sales don't matter is like Best Buy saying television sales don't matter."
They are kidding themselves if they compare the current state of downloadable gaming to iTunes. Retail still makes up the largest bulk of sales for both EA and Activision with most of their online crap being connected to retail games. The Call of Duty map packs are the most obvious examples.
Didn't EA just put out a press release saying that their DD sales were experiencing a significant uptick not even a week ago?
Disney Interactive Media Group has reportedly let go of 80 employees in a series of "targeted" layoffs aimed at reorienting the company in the wake of last summer's purchase of social game maker Playdom.
The move followed a review of current staffers by DIMG co-president Jim Pitaro, according to a PaidContent report. In a statement provided to PaidContent, the company said the "targeted" layoffs were "part of setting a strategic direction for future success in digital media."
The loss represents just over two percent of the roughly 3,800 employees at the company after a reported 200 employees were laid off in January. Disney has described those layoffs as "fairly minimal" and "part of a larger restructuring at Disney Interactive Studios," in a statement.
It's unclear what positions have been affected by the reported layoffs at DIMG, which is dominated by the game-focused Disney Interactive Studios but also includes other web-facing content producers. PaidContent's source reports that this should be the last major staff reduction in the wake of the October appointment of Pitaro and fellow co-president John Pleasants.
Early this year, Disney Interactive shut down its Propaganda Studios subsidiary following the completion of the Tron: Evolution game project.
DIMG is also currently advertising for 20 game development positions, including postings for iPhone and Flash developers.
In other words, $300 more expensive than the most expensive off-contract iPhone.
For fuck's sake, Sony.
Wait, so, the most expensive iPhone, off-contract, which I believe has processing and memory capacity comparable to, and slower than some, of the highest end smartphones....is $700?
Holy fuck.
$600, actually. And that's without a contract. A lot of smartphones get in that range when you buy them off-contract.
A retailer exclusivity agreement has been announced for a promotional game, potentially limiting its ability to reach users and promote the movie, but also increasing the promotion for the retailer. Amazon announced that it will be the exclusive carrier of the Android version of Angry Birds Rio, meaning that the movie tie-in title will not be available on the Android Market at launch, but will instead be downloadable through the Amazon Appstore.
What? "Amazon Appstore?" The retailer is launching its own digital marketplace for Android "very soon," and you would do well to familiarize yourself with it, because it'll also be home to "exclusive" debuts for ad-free Angry Birds and Angry Birds Seasons.
They're launching their own app store? That seems like an interesting decision. What are the odds that the official android market is a ghost town once that starts?
It won't make it a ghost town, not a chance. The Amazon store would have to somehow provide some sort of ease-of-use that the Android marketplace doesn't have. And since I don't own an Android, I can't provide further commentary. But basically: why use a 3rd party when the 1st party is right here?
I think it might bring an ease-of-use that isn't present yet. Amazon is a big enough name that they might be able to unify and organize the app stuff, since right now it's a gigantic free-for-all clusterfuck on the official market.
Wait, wasn't the first Prey about a native American with portal tech on a funky spaceship?
And didn't it sell like 17 copies?
It was considered a commercial success and sold about a million copies for the 360 and PC. It was released in that awkward summer after the launch of the 360. I eventually bought it for five dollars at Circuit City.
edit: I'd say backwards compat for 360 and Wii is very likely, while PS3-PS4 backward compatibility is incredibly unlikely.
After the shitstorm the backward compatibility issues on the PS3 caused, Sony would be outright insane to not have it for their next gen. What makes you say that will be the case though?
The Geohot thing. The PS3 got cracked open. If they allow the PS4 to play PS3 games they'd either have to a) make sure it only plays PS3 games signed with a new key and thus cut out every piece of PS3 software before the new key was put into play or b) Allows all PS3 games and thus allow pirated crap too.
Right?
Except they've already changed the key and created a white list of old games that will work. The current firmware is, at the moment, secure.
So nudity is almost always gross giggling sexual stuff, except when it's tastefully and maturely done, but if a game company does it tastefully you know that they're still secretly doing it for non-tasteful purposes, or somehow it's not actually tasteful at all because the fact that they're using nudity means they're not mature after all, or something?
Seems awfully meta. I'd rather take it at face value. Movies and games are equally capable of showing nude bodies in a tasteful, respectful way, and I don't think it matters who does it if the end result treats the subject with care.
Completely agree with you Sporky. If it is in fact being done tastefully then yeah, it is mature. It doesn't matter what the f'n logo is on the box.
Hell, most people here don't seem to know that Rockstar aren't even developing LA Noire.
They are kidding themselves if they compare the current state of downloadable gaming to iTunes. Retail still makes up the largest bulk of sales for both EA and Activision with most of their online crap being connected to retail games. The Call of Duty map packs are the most obvious examples.
I find it funny that Activision are saying this, considering how little digital content they really produce. There's DLC and... WoW subscriptions I guess? But it's not like we don't know that they earn billions off those.
EA on the other hand, releases games across the board. PSN, XBLA, iOS, Facebook, etc. I think they even said in their last quarterly report than something like 30% of their revenue came from digital sales.
I agree with him - with the success of dirt cheap games on the smartphones and elsewhere, $50-$60 price points are going to look less and less attractive to consumers as time goes on. I don't think they're going to be extinct soon, but in 10-20 years, it's quite possible that $20 could be considered expensive for a game and $60 is unheard of.
Heck, I've heard some people prophesy that even $1 a game will be considered too expensive and in the distant future, everything will be free-to-play-plus-paid-DLC or paid streaming services or ad-supported games.
I wonder if this dynamic could change if the economy significantly picks up. I can imagine a scenario where "Angry Birds is $1, why should I pay $60 for Call of Duty: Shootin' Guys Edition?" becomes a dominant consumer mindset. But "I like playing videogames" and "I have money to spend" could work too, I think it really depends on whether "cheap casual" games replace "hardcore" games (quotes because I'm using stereotypical descriptions, not ascribing virtues or criticisms to either) or if the casual games are finding a new audience that wouldn't have paid $60 for a game regardless (meaning there's little market crossover and, therefore, little competition between the two avenues of gaming).
If we imagine that there are a million gamers out there who will buy Final Fantasy XXXIVIVIV or Gears of War 8 or whatever, what kind of impact does a game like Farmville have on those consumers? Does anyone who enjoys $50+ games look at games like Angry Birds as a replacement for their hobby, or merely a new avenue to enjoy it? If you find a consumer who didn't like videogames, and now likes videogames, can you convince them that a $60 game is as valid as a $1 game?
Right now big titles are making enough money and casual titles are doing well enough that I can't imagine any system "dying" soon, unless "dying" means "not doing as well as someone else."
I think expectations for a $60 game are signifincately different than those for a $1 game. If I bought BLOPS, I'd expect to be able to play it online for a very long time. For a $1 game, if it keeps me occupied for 45 mins or so during my morning commute, generally I'd be happy with it. The problem is with stuff like Uncharted that tries to push an 8 hour game at the $60 price point.
CygnusZ on
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Ninja Snarl PMy helmet is my burden.Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered Userregular
So nudity is almost always gross giggling sexual stuff, except when it's tastefully and maturely done, but if a game company does it tastefully you know that they're still secretly doing it for non-tasteful purposes, or somehow it's not actually tasteful at all because the fact that they're using nudity means they're not mature after all, or something?
Seems awfully meta. I'd rather take it at face value. Movies and games are equally capable of showing nude bodies in a tasteful, respectful way, and I don't think it matters who does it if the end result treats the subject with care.
Completely agree with you Sporky. If it is in fact being done tastefully then yeah, it is mature. It doesn't matter what the f'n logo is on the box.
Hell, most people here don't seem to know that Rockstar aren't even developing LA Noire.
I hate when devs toss nudity in a game because it seems like not a damn one of can resist doing it in some way which is utterly meaningless and puerile.
Red Dead Redemption has a warning about nudity and where does that come from? One stupid, useless 5-second bit with some guy banging a chick on a table and then we get a dose of full-frontal as she walks off-camera. What the hell was even the point? We already knew the guy in question is a cheating piece of scum, so who in the world thought that the game just needed to have that particularly bit?
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"Hi Bill, can you help me program my Zune oh wait I have an ipod like the rest of the world."
I actually had to explain this joke to my cousins visiting from Taiwan when it aired, since they were barely aware of what an iPod or a Zune was.
Thanks a lot, Samsung. Why don't you have your own version of an old guy in a turtleneck already?
Early reports I've seen seemed to indicate that the market for WP7 games is even smaller than the market for XBLIG, but of course, it just came out. It could be a very different situation in a year or a two.
Steam ID : rwb36, Twitter : Werezompire,
Just like how the target of all commercial OS is to be more popular than Windows. Anything less is abject failure.
Those guys at Peachtree Apple are all living in denial. Denial.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/11/windows-phone-7-marketplace-hits-10-000-apps-wp7-updates-still/
Obviously that isn't a complete correlation with how it's selling, but it's still something.
Meanwhile, The Xperia Play doesn't just look like the PSP Go, it's priced like the PSP Go:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/11/sony-xperia-play-hits-the-uk-on-march-31st-thumbsticks-coming-n/
In other words, $300 more expensive than the most expensive off-contract iPhone.
For fuck's sake, Sony.
Edit - As in more people have them, they're less special, they're easier to buy / understand what they are for, so more consumers exist.
Do not engage the Watermelons.
I better get local calls to Mars and Venus with it.
Huh. Damn. I like my Zune.
Wait, so, the most expensive iPhone, off-contract, which I believe has processing and memory capacity comparable to, and slower than some, of the highest end smartphones....is $700?
Holy fuck.
This won't stop you from using it, I would assume. Back in 2008, the Zune turned a pretty big profit.
But, I don't know how much money was spent in development for this "turd".
I thought it was 'bait n' switch'?
They're launching their own app store? That seems like an interesting decision. What are the odds that the official android market is a ghost town once that starts?
"It's a Sony!"
I made it up. They all clubbin some hackers and throwing carrots at others.
It won't make it a ghost town, not a chance. The Amazon store would have to somehow provide some sort of ease-of-use that the Android marketplace doesn't have. And since I don't own an Android, I can't provide further commentary. But basically: why use a 3rd party when the 1st party is right here?
$600, actually. And that's without a contract. A lot of smartphones get in that range when you buy them off-contract.
Yep. Plus more from whichever companies feel like putting an app market on Android.
So it's either the arbitrary gestapo of iOS or the clusterfuck of Android.
I think it might bring an ease-of-use that isn't present yet. Amazon is a big enough name that they might be able to unify and organize the app stuff, since right now it's a gigantic free-for-all clusterfuck on the official market.
Just saying Generic toughguy was around long before...
And didn't it sell like 17 copies?
Prey 2.
If there is no Alan Wake 2, there is no god.
Do not engage the Watermelons.
It was considered a commercial success and sold about a million copies for the 360 and PC. It was released in that awkward summer after the launch of the 360. I eventually bought it for five dollars at Circuit City.
Except they've already changed the key and created a white list of old games that will work. The current firmware is, at the moment, secure.
Completely agree with you Sporky. If it is in fact being done tastefully then yeah, it is mature. It doesn't matter what the f'n logo is on the box.
Hell, most people here don't seem to know that Rockstar aren't even developing LA Noire.
I find it funny that Activision are saying this, considering how little digital content they really produce. There's DLC and... WoW subscriptions I guess? But it's not like we don't know that they earn billions off those.
EA on the other hand, releases games across the board. PSN, XBLA, iOS, Facebook, etc. I think they even said in their last quarterly report than something like 30% of their revenue came from digital sales.
Bethesda actually. Built using id Tech 5. Open world. I am intrigued.
Too bad Prey 2 looks like it has nothing to do with Prey.
US History Lesson: Cherokee lived in the east and were forcibly moved into the desert.
That's just how forceful the move was
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I think expectations for a $60 game are signifincately different than those for a $1 game. If I bought BLOPS, I'd expect to be able to play it online for a very long time. For a $1 game, if it keeps me occupied for 45 mins or so during my morning commute, generally I'd be happy with it. The problem is with stuff like Uncharted that tries to push an 8 hour game at the $60 price point.
I hate when devs toss nudity in a game because it seems like not a damn one of can resist doing it in some way which is utterly meaningless and puerile.
Red Dead Redemption has a warning about nudity and where does that come from? One stupid, useless 5-second bit with some guy banging a chick on a table and then we get a dose of full-frontal as she walks off-camera. What the hell was even the point? We already knew the guy in question is a cheating piece of scum, so who in the world thought that the game just needed to have that particularly bit?