Joystiq

WSJ: PlayStation 4 will launch this year

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 10:00:00 EST

If your heart hadn't already made up its mind regarding the subject of last night's PlayStation tease, the Wall Street Journal flat-out said this morning the PlayStation successor is launching this year.

The financial publication cites sources familiar with the matter who say the event on February 20 will debut the new console. Sony will reportedly incorporate more social gaming aspects into the device and was driven in its design by how people interact with the unit, rather than by hardware upgrades.

The WSJ also mentions that Sony had considered removing the optical disk drive to make the device download only. However, and this is merely speculation on our part, this idea was dropped when company execs were visited by the ghost of the PSP Go.

So, there you go, next PlayStation being announced February 20.

WSJ: PlayStation 4 will launch this year originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 01 Feb 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wall Street Journal, Ford, Gol Stadium apps added to Xbox Live

Jordan Mallory — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 22:00:00 EST

The Wall Street Journal has launched "WSJ Live," a news streaming app for Xbox Live Gold subscribers, Major Nelson announced today. The app, which provides unlimited access to the Journal's complete library of video material, also streams four hours of live tech/business/misc news programming per day.

Additionally, ad fiends can watch their favorite Ford-based commercials on the new Ford app described by Major Nelson as "a new advertising app." We love ads!

Meanwhile, "Gol Stadium" was also launched for Xbox Live Gold members in Spain. The futball-focused Gol Televisión app streams live sportsball events (among other content) to XBL Gold subscribers who happen to also be Gol Televisión subscribers.

Wall Street Journal, Ford, Gol Stadium apps added to Xbox Live originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 31 Oct 2012 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Newscorp app adds Fox, IGN, the Wall Street Journal and Fox News to Xbox 360 in 2012

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:42:00 EST

Microsoft's Craig Davison had some surprise news during the company's CES 2012 keynote this evening, bringing out word that Rupert Murdoch's Newscorp is developing an application for the Xbox 360. Several Newscorp content providers will be pushing out news and commentary via the free application, including the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and IGN. Beyond "2012," Davison didn't allow any more specific a date to slip out.

Newscorp app adds Fox, IGN, the Wall Street Journal and Fox News to Xbox 360 in 2012 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony Japan denies any earthquake-related NGP delays

Mike Schramm — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 20:00:00 EST

Sony's Japanese arm has told the Wall Street Journal that earlier reports suggesting Japan's recent earthquake would delay the release of the NGP in some territories -- including comments made by SCEA president Jack Tretton -- were outright "wrong."

Company rep Satoshi Fukuoka said it expects "no impact from the quake on our launch plan," and that while that plan still calls for the device to arrive later this year, Sony has never said it would launch simultaneously in Asia, North America and Europe.

Sony will, however, continue to monitor the situation in the earthquake- and tsunami-ravaged region and alter its plans if necessary.

Sony Japan denies any earthquake-related NGP delays originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WSJ: GameCrazy officially shuttered in US alongside Hollywood Video

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 03 May 2010 15:30:00 EST

GameCrazy's parent company Movie Gallery Inc. is said to be shuttering the approximately 250 remaining GC stores across the United States, alongside 2,165 Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video outlets. Roughly 19,000 people are estimated to be out of work due to the closures, according to a Wall Street Journal report, and the company is said to be filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

People "familiar with the matter" told the WSJ that the chain considered "reorganizing around smaller core stores" before filing for bankruptcy, but the idea "never got any traction." It also appears that the 184 or so Canadian outlets will remain unaffected, but we've heard nothing official yet. Reportedly, the US stores will begin liquidation "over the next couple of months" until inventories run dry, mirroring the murmurs we heard this past weekend.

While the reality that GameCrazy is suffering this fate certainly appears likely (our tips box seems to corroborate the information), we should note that Movie Gallery Inc. has yet to issue any formal statement regarding the allegations. Our calls to GameCrazy corporate have similarly gone unanswered. If you are a GameCrazy, Hollywood Video, or Movie Gallery employee with any form of official documentation on this subject, we'd love to hear from you.

[Via GameSpot]

WSJ: GameCrazy officially shuttered in US alongside Hollywood Video originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 03 May 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Why you shouldn't get your video game news from The Wall Street Journal

Justin McElroy — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:00:00 EST

When you want the very latest on old guys, money and old guys' money, you turn to The Wall Street Journal. When you want news about video games, you could probably do better, as evidenced by this quote from a Dow Jones Newswire piece the publication ran today about that THQ takeover speculation:

"Take-Two has a number of strong franchises and a number of wholly owned Internet Protocols. Wholly owned IPs not only carry higher profitability, but also are more valuable to media companies because they could be adapted into movies, TV serials and online destinations."

We'd make a joke here, but there's literally nothing we could say that would be funnier than that quote.

[Thanks Leigh!]

Why you shouldn't get your video game news from The Wall Street Journal originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Best Buy CFO sees 'opportunity' in used games market [update]

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:30:00 EST

Speculation among industry analysts has amplified surrounding the possible purchase of meganormous video game retailer GameStop by big box electronics/media retailer Best Buy. The Dow Jones Newswire (via the Wall Street Journal) followed up with Best Buy CFO Ryan Robinson recently, who, unsurprisingly, wouldn't directly comment.

He responds, however, by saying that his company hasn't been taking advantage of the used game market in the way some competitors are. "We've not developed the capability to the extent that other participants have," Robinson says, calling the used game business a "very margin-rich portion" of the game sales market, and adding, "there's opportunity in that business." Opportunity that Best Buy clearly saw fit enough to enterprise on with a foray into used games in 2005 and another this year -- heck, they even price match new game prices with used game ones every now and then.

Still, Best Buy outright purchasing GameStop would be a real stretch, says BloggingStocks.com. "There's no overlooking the roughly $4.2 billion it would cost to buy up Gamestop, and Best Buy doesn't have that much cash," the piece claims, saying Best Buy wouldn't see a return on the investment "any time soon." We've reached out to Best Buy for comment and have yet to hear back as of publication.

Update: A Best Buy representative got back to us with the stock, "We don't comment on rumors or speculation."

[Via Kotaku]

Best Buy CFO sees 'opportunity' in used games market [update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon stock drops citing 'an industry slowdown in video games and consoles'

Ben Gilbert — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 13:30:00 EST

The global economic recession is finally hitting home, folks. That's right -- the Internet. Major online retailer Amazon.com is citing, "video games and consoles" as one of the primary culprits causing the company's financial hardship. According to the Wall Street Journal, though the company posted 14% increased profit margins in its last financial quarter, sales of "media" in the US (books, movies, video games) have nearly stopped.

While we can't speak for the other two forms of "media," we'd like to point out to Amazon that, comparatively with spring of 2008, sales of video games in spring of 2009 have been predicted to decrease for some time now. It probably doesn't help that, you know, it's summer. Still, with the flood of great games coming out later this year, we're betting the lean times (in terms of video game sales, at least) won't last for long.

Amazon stock drops citing 'an industry slowdown in video games and consoles' originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 26 Jul 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Konami publishing Metalocalypse: Dethgame on PSN, XBLA

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:45:00 EST

Confirming our suspicions of a forthcoming game based on Cartoon Network show Metalocalypse, Konami is this week announcing its intentions to publish Metalocalypse: Dethgame for Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. The show's creator, Brendon Small, confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that he's been working with Konami to produce the upcoming downloadable title from developer Frozen Codebase.

Rather than playing as Metalocalypse's lead characters, Small says you'll be controlling a "band of roadies" fighting in honor of the show's fictional band, Dethklok. Konami will allegedly be announcing the game later this week at the San Diego Comic Con.

Konami publishing Metalocalypse: Dethgame on PSN, XBLA originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WSJ explores claims of racism in Resident Evil 5

Ben Gilbert — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:45:00 EST

The Wall Street Journal's Jamin Brophy-Warren has a piece today exploring the racial connotations some are seeing in Capcom's latest effort, Resident Evil 5. The game's producer Jun Takeuchi recently said, "There is no racial element to it at all," and Capcom's Chris Kramer expands on that point, stating to the WSJ that the game adopts an "anti-colonialist" stance. Mr. Kramer is referring to white protagonist Chris Redfield, shooting his way through RE5's African non-zombies, and the imagery it represents with regards to traditional Western colonialism on the continent.

The theme of the piece is one of exploring whether or not the game is racist, rather than starting with a condemnation and then going forward like we've seen so many times in mainstream video game coverage. He speaks to a variety of major game developers (from Fallout 3's Todd Howard to Dead Space's Glen Schofield) and even broaches the topic of racism in American society being perpetuated by a largely caucasian game industry. Surprisingly, no sweeping claims are made and no aspersions cast. Bravo, we say!

WSJ explores claims of racism in Resident Evil 5 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Book covers creation of PS3's Cell processor, how Microsoft cribbed it for Xbox

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Business

Written by two designers of the Cell processor, The Race for a New Game Machine, is a new book covering the creation of Sony's ambitious PlayStation 3 chip, and how Microsoft got a hold of its architecture for the Xbox 360. The Wall Street Journal, which gave a rather gloomy forecast for the PS3 earlier this week, has an extensive preview.

According to the book, Sony, Toshiba and IBM started working on the Cell in 2001 and planned to spend $400 million over five years. If everything went according to plan, the PlayStation 3 would be out by Christmas 2005. In 2002, Microsoft approached IBM about making a chip for what would later be known as the Xbox 360. IBM ended up making a new chip "built around the core" of the Cell it was currently creating for Sony. In the end, Xbox made the 2005 launch (with a time bomb under the hood) and Sony came out a year later.

As the WSJ points out, for all the power and money behind Microsoft and Sony's consoles, Nintendo has outsold both using a "sound strategic vision" with the less-powerful Wii.

Book covers creation of PS3's Cell processor, how Microsoft cribbed it for Xbox originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mainstream jumps on Xbox 360 price cut bandwagon

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Business

The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and we expect a few other mainstream news outlets, are finding it in vogue to report the $50 price drop for the Xbox 360 Pro is imminent. As evidenced by our gallery below, we're fairly certain that the new $299 price for the Pro console will be in effect by this Sunday.

Microsoft still has not confirmed the Pro price drop, which is making us wonder. We're slowly gathering evidence, and it's still too early to say for sure, but there's a niggling suspicion that Microsoft is pulling a repeat of Sony's great PS3 clearance sale switcharoo from 2007, but that's just a rumor for now.

Source -- WSJ (Subscription required)
Source -- Reuters

Gallery: Xbox 360 $299 price drop

Mainstream jumps on Xbox 360 price cut bandwagon originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wall St. Journal talks about Monster Hunter and PSP

Alan Tsang — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:45:00 EST

Filed under: News, Monster Hunter

If you ever needed a summary of proof that Monster Hunter is huge in Japan, this Wall Street Journal article would be it. The international financial newspaper credits the incredible success of the PSP in Japan over the past year to Monster Hunter. It outlines the appeal of the series, summarizing the mechanics of the game which allow a group of friends play together in co-op mode to battle monsters and gather materials for weapons and armor.

Writer Yukari Iwatani Kane asserts that the Japanese are "uncomfortable with the idea of playing video games with strangers over the Internet," and Capcom "overcame that hurdle" by incorporating the Ad Hoc mode on the PSP into Monster Hunter. This brought in unconventional fans such as a 37-year-old Tokyo architect who held a "weekend retreat" with his 14 friends, which included a doctor and corporate executives, to play Monster Hunter together. Members of fan-sites such as Oyaji Hunters (Old Geezer Hunters in Japanese) "participate in regularly scheduled face-to-face get-togethers."

Statistics obtained by the WSJ from Enterbrain Inc. shows that as of June 8th, 9.3 million PSPs were sold in Japan, compared with 4.75 million units in February of 2007 before the release of the first PSP Monster Hunter game. The combined sales of the two games have reached almost 4 million, and they are the only PSP games that have sold more than one million copies in Japan -- Kane attributes these sales partly to the fact that each player needs one copy of the game to play together. The article finally ends with some negative observations, stating that "Capcom hasn't made a serious effort to market the games in the U.S." and noting that the next Monster Hunter game will be on the Wii, rather than the PS3.

Though the article makes some legitimate points, it is hard to trust someone that ~~contradicts herself ("uncomfortable with the idea of playing video games with strangers" vs. "participate in regularly scheduled face-to-face get-togethers")~~ lists "Evil May Cry" as a popular Capcom series.

Wall St. Journal talks about Monster Hunter and PSP originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guitar Hero: World Tour on stage debut

Xav de Matos — Thu, 29 May 2008 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: News, Videos

At Wall Street Journal's D6 All Things Digital event yesterday, Activision CEO Robert Kotick took the opprotunity to showoff Guitar Hero: World Tour. In the midst of introducing the upcoming game Kotick started to describe World Tour as, "the first time you'll have multiple instruments," before D6 co-host Kara Swisher quickly shot back "it's called Rock Band I think," which sent the crowd into a frenzy of laughter.

Whether Kotick meant it was the first time Guitar Hero would have the peripherals or if he was trying to pull a fast one on an audience he expected to have limited gaming knowledge is unknown. What we do know is the people playing the game for the demo, including skateboarder Tony Hawk, could not look more bored.

Come on people. You're rocking out! A little passion please.

Guitar Hero: World Tour on stage debut originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 29 May 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rockstar's Houser talks EA takeover

Alexander Sliwinski — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:55:00 EST

Filed under: Business

In a recent piece about Rockstar Games' head honcho, Sam Houser, The Wall Street Journal probes the mind of the "secretive, demanding workaholic" about numerous topics, including EA's hostile takeover of its parent-company Take-Two. Houser says he sees some appeal in being under EA and that his company would be a "much smaller fish in a much bigger pond."

Houser, who was turned down for a job at EA in the '90s, says it's unlikely he'll seek EA's approval on game content. A major point in the Activision/Vivendi merger was that Blizzard remained as untouchable as it was under Vivendi. Whether Rockstar will have that luxury in a hostile takeover remains to be seen.

Rockstar's Houser talks EA takeover originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 12 May 2008 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wall Street Journal says Sony stock is a 'bargain'

Andrew Yoon — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:25:00 EST

Filed under: Business

Sony's stock has dropped 26% in the past year, for a number of reasons. Undoubtedly, the high costs of PS3 manufacturing and its sluggish performance hasn't helped Sony's corporate image.

However, the Wall Street Journal is suggesting that this is actually a good thing for investors. Sony's stock has always been "undervalued" according to their analysis. However, in recent time the stock has "become even more attractive."

The video game unit's quarterly profit and increasing demand for the PS3 is making Sony a much more desirable company to invest in. Analysts have been quick to call Sony the ultimate "winner" of this generation of consoles, and the recent victory of Blu-ray in the format war is a huge help for the company. After such troubled performance, it's only a matter of time before Sony's stock goes back on the rise. Perhaps now is the time to invest.

[Via Joystiq]

Wall Street Journal says Sony stock is a 'bargain' originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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