Gamer Investments - Video Game Industry and Stock Market News

Tiga today backed the Government’s plans to introduce regulatory budgets as a way of reducing the regulatory burden on UK businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the video games sector. However, Tiga urged the Government to remember that UK businesses such as games developers compete in a global market. Regulatory budgets should be framed to help ensure that the UK creates the most conducive regulatory environment in which to operate a business. Tiga made the comments in response to the Government’s policy paper, Regulatory Budgets: a consultation document.

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World’s Number One Football Game Hits Nokia Mobile Gaming Platform, Delivering Most Intuitive Mobile Football Experience to Date

LONDON, Nov 20, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — EA Mobile(TM), a division of Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ:ERTS), today announced the availability of EA SPORTSTMFIFA 09 for Nokia N-Gage. EA SPORTSFIFA 09 is the most accessible and immersive football experience ever brought to mobile, with smoother, simplified gameplay and a host of options for sharing and comparing team performance with other players through Nokia’s N-Gage Arena.

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College basketball’s premier pre-season tournament to help tip-off the 2008-09 season

New York, NY - November 18, 2008 - 2K Sports, the sports publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), announced today the top 21 high school basketball players selected for the pre-season 2008 2K Sports New York State High School All-Star Team. Nominated by a panel of respected scouts and basketball writers, each of the players selected, along with their respective coaches, will be honored in a live presentation at halftime during the 2K Sports Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer championship game at Madison Square Garden on November 21, 2008.

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-Justin

Casual mobile game is scientifically proven to stimulate the brain!

SAN JOSE, Calif.,-November 17, 2008-Namco Networks, a leading publisher and developer of mobile games and entertainment for mass-market casual gamers, today announced the availability of Brain Exercise across US national carriers. This game is scientifically proven to stimulate the brain and challenges players with a seemingly endless supply of fun and addictive puzzlers.

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Speaking at the BMO Interactive Entertainment conference, Zelnick [Take-Two Boss] outlined the company’s plan to ride out the economic crisis, emphasising the importance of not seeing any entertainment business as immune to current environment.

“No matter what people think, entertainment in general, interactive entertainment specifically, isn’t immune to economic cycles,” he explained. “…that said we can have some resistance to the cyclicality if we have really high quality products. ”

“In the last couple of weeks specifically we’re beginning to see some softness in retail, it’s pretty broad and it’s beginning to have an impact on the industry and by that I don’t mean a good impact.”

I don’t think that the video game industry is immune to economic cycles, but I do think the industry in general will fair better than most during downturns.

Read the full article here.

-Justin

Endrant Studios Ltd, the independent software developer, has joined Tiga. Founded in April 2008 and based in Sevenoaks, Kent, Endrant Studios is a multiplatform developer, currently developing the multiplayer portion of id and Activision’s new Wolfenstein game.

Neil Postlethwaite, managing director & co-owner of Endrant Studios, said:
“Endrant Studios is delighted to join Tiga. I have been greatly encouraged by Tiga’s increased levels of activity over the last 9 months, particularly by its determination to fly the flag for developers in political circles and by its willingness to speak out on issues that matter to the industry.

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A survey by market-research firm NPD Group Inc. released after the market close Thursday showed U.S. videogame sales up 35% year-over-year in October and hardware sales up 10%.

“Never underestimate the obsession of the American gamer,” Cowen & Co. analyst Doug Creutz said. He said NPD’s data “should help allay concerns that holiday game sales will suffer due to economic weakness.”

But some analysts cut their profit views for videogame makers following the NPD report, including UBS AG’s Benjamin Schachter, who said there are signs of emerging weakness in the industry.

Schachter said that, while blockbuster releases are likely to continue selling well, sales of second-tier and catalog games were weak. He also pointed out signs of weakness in the music-game genre, estimating that sales for Activision’s Guitar Hero franchise declined 37% year-over-year last month.

I still think that the video game indusrty will do better than some have spectulated this holiday season.  Time will tell.

Read the full article here.

-Justin

EA Sports Active for the Wii will build on the success of Nintendo’s (OTC BB: NTDOY.PK) proprietary Wii Fit. Sure, the Wii version of EA’s Madden football games took advantage of the console’s motion-based controller to introduce a little physical skill into the game, but this is EA’s first shot at providing a more conventional fitness title.

“Targeted toward women as a low-cost alternative to joining sports club or gym, the game features an interactive computer trainer, and crafts running, boxing and other heart-pumping exercises to the user’s desires,” explains PC Magazine.

Really, EA? The interactive computer trainer, running simulator, and cardiovascular workouts are already part of Wii Fit. Boxing is part of the Wii Sports game that comes bundled with every Nintendo Wii console.

EA likely won’t take the same cartoonish approach as Nintendo has, but the game will certainly have to bring a lot more to the table than what Nintendo is already providing.

Read the full article here.

-Justin

The secondary market is a huge issue in the United States. Our primary retailer makes the majority of its money off of secondary sales, and so you’re starting to see games taking proactive steps toward that by… if you buy the retail version you get the unlock code. I’ve talked to some developers who are saying ‘If you want to fight the final boss you go online and pay USD 20, but if you bought the retail version you got it for free’. We don’t make any money when someone rents it, and we don’t make any money when someone buys it used - way more than twice as many people played Gears than bought it. - Epic Games’ President Mike Capps

Ok, first off the thought of making people with used copies of games pay money to fight the final boss is just wrong on so many levels.  Plus I have to point out a few of problems with his logic. 

• First, off they may not get any money when someone rents a game, but they do get money when the rental company buys the game.
• Second, this whole argument is assuming the people who are either renting or buying used copies would be willing to buy a new copy if there was no other choice.  I don’t think that is a safe thing to assume, especially with some of the crap titles that are floating around out there.
• Third, the video game industry is far from being the only industry that doesn’t get money from secondary sales.  Relistate, used cars, garage sales, etc.  The list goes on and on.  There are very few items in this world that don’t get resold at some point.

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-Justin