Kids will be kids, even those of vid game executives
Bobby Kotick — CEO of Activision, “Moneyball” actor -- stopped by the Reuters Global Media Summit on Monday to give us his take on Black Friday (Anecdotally: a success, though Saturday not so much) and to throw some cold water on rival EA’s upcoming release of “Star Wars.”
But it was what his 9-year-old daughter dressed up as for Halloween that really caught our attention. (Hint: Not Brad Pitt)
If you are betting person, you would likely throw some dough that she donned a costume involving one of Activision’s popular games. Perhaps a character from Skylanders? The game aimed at 6-to-10 year olds involving toy monsters.
Nope. Kotick let slip that she dressed up as an Angry Bird. A Rovio executive must be smiling somewhere.
EA cuts out middleman, launches video game download service
It might be a few days before a stampede of people will storm into the LA convention center to catch the video game industry’s latest wares but EA wasted no time in getting out the word about its new digital download service, dubbed “Origin.”
“Origin”, which EA announced on Friday, lets consumers buy and download PC games directly from the publisher online, as well as track all of their games across different platforms.
Publishers like digital delivery of games to consumers because they offer higher margins than games sold in brick and mortar stores like GameStop. EA has been pushing its digital strategy hard to investors and its digital business is now growing faster than the company’s overall business.
Sales of online games, including digital downloads, Facebook games, online subscriptions and other forms, is expected to grow to $18 billion by the end of this year, according to DFC Intelligence, while regular sales of games sold in stores is expected to slip.
Users can find games on Origin the same time they come out in stores.
While there are other ways to download PC titles on services such as Steam, EA is offering exclusive titles on the new service. It will be the only place to find a digital version of “Star Wars: The Old Republic,” the highly-anticipated massive multiplayer game that will come out later this year.
from Summit Notebook:
More or less fun in a recession? It’s a tough call
Still unsure whether economic recession is good or bad for video-games sales, more than a year in? If so, you're in good company -- neither does the world's biggest games publisher. Electronic Arts' head of European publishing says the company still hasn't figured out whether people cut spending on big items like housing and cars first, or whether those kinds of decisions are just too hard.
"We really wonder, hmm, in economically difficult times would people in order to have SOME fun actually play more games or less games, and then, would they spend more or less? It's really, it's impossible to say," Jens-Uwe Intat told the Reuters Global Technology Summit in Paris.
In the early days of the downturn, the industry was widely thought to be recession-proof as people chose cheap stay-at-home entertainment over pricey nights out. That assumption was later turned on its head.
EA, whose franchises include Need for Speed and The Sims, was flummoxed last year when it was hit with a 10 percent drop in the market for packaged games, instead of the 7 percent increase it had been expecting, Intat said. It has since become shy of making forecasts.
Saints over Colts, says EA’s “Madden”
If Electronic Arts’ recent track record on Super Bowl predictions is any guide, it looks like New Orleans may well bring home the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday.
EA ran a simulation of the Super Bowl XLIV matchup through its popular “Madden NFL 10” game on the Xbox 360, and the Saints edged the Indianapolis Colts 35-31.
A little taste of play-by-play from the world of make-believe sports:
“With the game hanging in the balance, Drew Brees hits David Thomas for an 11-yard touchdown and the game winning score. Drew Brees takes home MVP honors as the Saints earn their first Super Bowl Championship title in the franchise’s 46 year history.”
EA’s prediction is nothing to be scoffed at. Last year, the game publisher predicted Pittsburgh would top Arizona 28-24 – eerily close to the game’s actual results, which the Steelers won 27-23.
EA used “Madden” to predict the results for both the AFC and NFC championship games within a margin of three points. And the company said it has correctly predicted the Super Bowl winner in five of the last six years, since it began running the simulation in 2004.
MySpace Music seeking CEO and funding?
The long-expected launch of MySpace Music is happening in drips and drabs. On Sunday MySpace and major music label partners in the joint venture said MySpace Music will launch with four big name advertisers: McDonald’s, State Farm, Toyota and Sony Pictures.
But MySpace still did not confirm when it would launch — though that’s widely expected this week.
In the meantime, several blogs, led by TechCrunch, report that the partners are seeking third party funding of up to $100 million for MySpace Music, valuing the company at around $2 billion. Reuters has not been able to confirm this through our sources yet.
Also, LA Times reports that Facebook’s former chief operating officer Owen Van Natta and ex-Universal Music exec Andy Schuon are said to be in the running to be chief executive of MySpace Music, an appointment that MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe had hoped would be confirmed by now.
Keep an eye on:
- Best Buy agrees to buy Napster for $121 million (Reuters)
- Electronic Arts ends merger talks with Take Two (Reuters)
- AT&T will ‘temporarily reduce’ broadband speeds (Ars Technica)
(Reuters photo of Chris DeWolfe)
Take-Two to EA: Check us out in private
Video games company Electronic Arts has just updated Wall Street on the latest stage in its drawn-out $2 billion bid for Take-Two Interactive Software with news that it will allow its tender offer to expire at midnight New York time.
But Take-Two, maker of the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, said it is now willing to provide a management presentation to EA containing non-public information in connection with the bid such as its three-year product release schedule and financial projections.
EA and Take-Two’s chief executives exchanged letters over the weekend and had a phone conversation on Friday.
Here’s an excerpt from Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick’s letter to EA Chief Executive John Riccitiello dated Aug 17:
The Company has made significant strides since EA first expressed interest in the Company….I believe our presentation will enable you to understand better the value of our Company to EA.
Here’s an excerpt from Riccitiello’s Aug 18 response:
Doesn’t matter what the FCC says Wii love you: Comcast
It’s been a rough few weeks for cable operator Comcast Corp. U.S. regulator FCC is on the verge of punishing it for allegedly fiddling with subscribers’ use of peer-to-peer services like BitTorrent while New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is threatening to sue if Comcast doesn’t agree to join other Internet service providers to block access to child pornography.
But the largest U.S. cable operator is hoping to win over its customers by offering a free Nintendo Wii to new subscribers to its Triple Play package of video, Internet and phone.
The national free Wii offer runs from Monday till August 17th for new subscribers who have to agree to sign up for two years to one of Comcast’s premium Triple Play packages: Preferred Plus (at $129 a month) and Premier Triple Play ($159 a month).
Comcast seems to be adopting the tactics of a major rival. Earlier on Monday we posted about Verizon’s drop-off in FiOS TV subscriber growth last quarter after it stopped giving away flatscreen high-def TVs. The expensive marketing push certainly helped Verizon establish the FiOS TV brand in the minds of consumers in areas where it markets such as New York.
Maybe the Wii, which still can’t be found on some store shelves, will help Comcast regain some of that customer love. Or perhaps that’s money better spent on improving customer service .
(Photo: Reuters)
I just signed up for this promotion, and I had no hassle. I talked to one operator, was put on hold for maybe two minutes (while they ran my credit I assume), and set up for installation the day after tomorrow. I’ve read quite a bit about this promotion, and none of it has been too positive. But so far, my personal experience has been great. I mean, I want cable, high speed internet, eh the phone is ok, but why not get a Wii for my son’s Christmas and pay for something I’d pay anyway!
Finally, a little more on Spore
Electronic Arts provided a glimpse at “Spore,” a much-hyped game where players begin with their own basic microbe and customize their creature to weather environmental conditions and population changes on Earth. Reuters video game reporter Jennifer Martinez gives us the story from the news conference.
During the company’s E3 press conference, EA showed a brief trailer of the game and set a release date, Sept. 7, for the latest title from legendary game creator Will Wright, known for creating “SimCity” and “The Sims.”
EA has invested $80 million, according to one analyst, into making ”Spore,” which was inspired by Wright’s love of science and his favorite toy as a child, a chemistry set.
“Science and creativity are an amazingly fertile intersection,” said Wright at the news conference. “Science was something you could make stuff out of.”
The storyline of Spore takes its cue from Charles Darwin, as the game is essentially a virtual action game based on the scientist’s evolution theory. For example, if players want their creature to have 360-degree vision, they are able to add extra eyes to the character’s body.
The “survival of the fittest” game has already gained large following of fans through EA’s web launch of its “Creature Creator,” where users can log onto the site and create their own Spore character.
Within the first 22 hours of the Creature Creator’s launch, over 100,000 Spore creatures were created by users. Over a million creatures were created by the end of the week, according to EA.
