Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Rhythm games grow industry by 32% in '08http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/18/rhythm-games-grow-industry-by-32-in-08/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/18/rhythm-games-grow-industry-by-32-in-08/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/18/rhythm-games-grow-industry-by-32-in-08/#commentsFiled under:


Rhythm games have certainly been keeping the tempo up for financial growth in the industry. GameDaily notes UBS analyst Ben Schachter's report, showing "music-themed games" have made up 15% of software sales year-to-date and 32% year-over-year growth so far.

The Guitar Hero franchise is already up 82% this year, with Guitar Hero: On Tour taking in $15 million in July alone. Meanwhile, Rock Band, across all platforms, took in $47 million in July ... and that doesn't even count any DLC sales. Unless the rhythm game bubble bursts in the next few months, GH: World Tour and Rock Band 2 sales -- along with their respective DLC sales -- could make up a significant portion of another record-breaking year for the industry.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>analystben-schachterguitar-heroguitar-hero-3guitar-hero-aerosmithguitar-hero-iiiguitar-hero-on-tourguitar-hero-world-tourrock-bandrock-band-2rock-revolutionubsAlexander Sliwinski2008-08-18T16:15:00+00:00Analyst: Best of E3 winners see strong domestic saleshttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/07/analyst-best-of-e3-winners-see-strong-domestic-sales/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/07/analyst-best-of-e3-winners-see-strong-domestic-sales/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/07/analyst-best-of-e3-winners-see-strong-domestic-sales/#commentsFiled under:


This year's Game Critics Awards for E3 honored Fallout 3 with "Best of Show," but will that translate into sales when the game actually releases? Well, chances are, sales of the game will probably have very little to do with the title receiving the E3 award; however, according to analyst Ben Schachter of UBS, the "Best of Show" does typically go on to see an average of 2.42 million units in sales within the US.

Schachter notes that every software winner over nine years has gone on to see over a million units sold (except for 2000's Jet Grind Radio). He also points out that each of the winners was either a first-party game or a console exclusive*.

*Don't get nitpicky, we're way ahead of those nerdsploding and furiously typing that MGS came to the GameCube six years later.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>analystben-schachterbest-of-showgame-criticsgame-critics-awardsubsAlexander Sliwinski2008-08-07T06:00:00+00:00Analyst: Timing of EA CFO departure is 'unnerving'http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/24/analyst-timing-of-ea-cfo-departure-is-unnerving/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/24/analyst-timing-of-ea-cfo-departure-is-unnerving/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/24/analyst-timing-of-ea-cfo-departure-is-unnerving/#commentsFiled under:


UBS analyst Ben Schachter wishes the sudden departure of EA CFO Warren Jenson had been a more "smooth, well-telegraphed transition." GameDaily reports on Schachter's note to investors where he believes the news wasn't a "complete surprise" and Jenson's exit from the company was a "mutual decision;" however, given EA's financials of late it may raise some eyebrows.

EA already has a new CFO in the pipe after Jenson closes the books this fiscal year and Schachter maintains a "Neutral" rating for EA's stock. A far cry from Deutsche Bank's Jeetil Patel, who has a "Sell" rating for the company and believes EA has lost its luster.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>eajensonpatelschachtertake-twoubsAlexander Sliwinski2008-03-24T13:45:00+00:00Wii production exceeding expectationshttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/10/05/wii-production-exceeding-expectations/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/10/05/wii-production-exceeding-expectations/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/10/05/wii-production-exceeding-expectations/#commentsFiled under: ,

Briefing.com reports (subscription only) that, according to UBS, 2 million Wii consoles were completed in Q3 (July-September) to support Nintendo's upcoming Q406 global console launch, beginning November 19th in North America. In addition, "at least 7 mln and potentially as high as 9 mln more units are in the build plan for 4Q06." The report continues, "this production ramp handily exeeds [sic] a publicly announced tgt for 6 mln units to ship by yearend"; however, Nintendo had previously announced plans to ship 6 million units by the end of their fiscal year (ending March 31, 2007) and only 4 million by the end of the calendar year. The language appears to indicate the possibility of building, if not shipping, as many as 11 million Wii consoles by the end of the calendar year!

With production exceeding expectations, why release the console so much later than many anticipated, and right on top of the PlayStation 3's November 17th launch? It all comes down to software. While Nintendo may have warehouses full of Wiis, they need a launch lineup and reliable system software to go along with all that stockpiled hardware. But Zelda has to be done ... we would have been happy with just that, promise.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>LaunchProductionUBSChristopher Grant2006-10-05T11:45:00+00:00