Blog Archives
Xbox One Gets Its First Price Cut
Given that it’s lagging behind in the console war by an estimated 1.7 million units after three months of sales, it was only a matter of time before Microsoft tried something to close the gap. I don’t think, however, that anyone expected them to try a price cut so soon.
To gain competitive ground with the PlayStation Four, Microsoft UK announced a £30 price cut to £399 for the Xbox One and that Titanfall Xbox One console bundles would be available at no extra charge above the base price.
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King Files for $500 Million IPO
Little things like trademark disputes, intellectual property law abuse and being a frontrunner for The Consumerist’s worst company in America poll doesn’t stop the progress train.
King Digital, the company behind Candy Crush Saga, filed an application with the SEC for an Initial Public Offering of shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
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Irrational Games is Shutting Down, Cutting Most Staff
The developer of such legendary games as System Shock 2, BioShock and BioShock Infinite will be all but shutting its doors after the release of the upcoming BioShock Infinite DLC, Burial At Sea: Part 2.
Irrational Games boss Ken Levine announced that the developer would be letting go all but about 15 staff members as it transitions from a big triple-A studio to smaller endeavor for Take-Two Interactive.
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GTA Online Earns Over $60 Million from Microtransactions in First Three Months
Well, we can criticize games with microtransactions all we want for being cash grabs but we can’t complain too much when they are very good games and very successful at grabbing cash.
Based on their recent third-quarter financial earnings report and an interview with MCV, it looks as though Grand Theft Auto Online’s microtransactions has brought in upwards of $66 million for publisher Rockstar Games and owners Take-Two Interactive.
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Nintendo Financial Results Reveal Troubling Information
We knew that Nintendo has been in rough shape since the launch of their current-gen Wii U console was a catastrophic flop. Between not having any killer apps on launch to an apparent massive marketing problem getting the message out that the Wii U is a new console and not a controller, the last year-and-a-half hasn’t been pretty for the granddaddy of game companies.
Yesterday’s quarterly earnings call showed how bad the situation is for Nintendo. The company announced a big loss for the fiscal year, noted poor Wii U sales for the first nine months of the fiscal year and lowered expectations for 3DS sales for the year.
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EB Games Canada is Quietly Raising Prices
The Canadian currency market is probably not something most gamers pay attention to but it might be something that will concern Canadian gamers if what EB Games is doing becomes an industry-wide trend.
The Canadian arm of GameStop has very quietly raised the prices of some much-anticipated upcoming games. Rather than being $60 as it was for new games in previous years, EB Games is charging up to $70 for new games that are available for pre-order.
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PlayStation Now is Gaming’s Next Disruptive Technology
When Nintendo announced the Wii, many cynics wrote off the console’s motion controls as a gimmick that wouldn’t add much anything to gameplay. After the console’s massive popularity and sales upon launch, both Microsoft and Sony followed Nintendo into the world of motion controls to gain back market share.
The Wii and its motion controls are a perfect example of a disruptive technology. The games industry was completely overtaken by the motion control fad as millions of dollars were spent to keep pace with Nintendo. They set a new direction for gaming and the other two console manufacturers followed.
PlayStation Now may not be out yet but Sony’s cloud gaming service is, if implemented correctly by Sony Computer Entertainment, destined to be one of the biggest and most disruptive technologies that the gaming industry has ever seen.
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China Lifts Ban on Games Consoles
Just in time for the start of a new console generation, the Chinese government has rescinded a 14-year-old ban on the sale of video game consoles in the country. The temporary ban will allow Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo to sell their consoles in China for the first time since 2000.
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The Economics of Steam Trading Cards and the Steam Wallet
It’s been six months since Steam introduced their Trading Cards. When they first launched, I was utterly confused as to why anyone would be interested in virtual trading cards that had no purpose and no value. It just seemed like a way for Valve to make some money that no one would buy into.
However, having just completed the Steam Holiday Sale, it’s readily apparent that Valve has hit a home run with the Trading Cards. It’s not just the transaction fees that are making Valve money. The spin-off effect from Trading Cards does just as much to make Steam even more profitable.
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EA Facing Two Investor Lawsuits Over Battlefield 4
I know that Battlefield 4 launched with more than its fair share of bugs and might earn EA yet another Worst Company in America award but I didn’t think that it would be this poorly received.
Two law firms are currently investigating whether a class-action lawsuit can be launched on the behalf of EA investors as a result of statements made by EA officers about the game, their knowledge of the state of the game and the impact that had on the company’s share price.
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