Japan chart: 3DS sales spike thanks to new Kingdom Hearts

April 4th, 2012, 23:54 Posted By: wraggster

3DS sales saw a significant jump in Japan last week thanks largely to the release of a new entry in Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts action RPG series.Nintendo's portable sold 121,921 units, compared to 94,011 last week.It continues to totally dominate the Japanese hardware market - its nearest rival was PlayStation 3 with 23,771 sales. The Vita continues to slum it, but saw a small bump to 12,105, up from 10,302.Here's the full chart, as seen on Andriasang:

1. 3DS: 121,921 (Last week: 94,011)
2. PlayStation 3: 23,771 (25,750)
3. PSP: 18,356 (19,875)
4. Vita: 12,105 (10,302)
5. Wii: 9292 (9270)
6. PlayStation 2: 1374 (1333)
7. Xbox 360: 1317 (1084)
8. DSi XL: 941 (1058)
9. DSi: 771 (778)

The aforementioned Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance was the best-selling game of the week, moving 213,579 copies. Square will no doubt be happy to take the top spot, but first week sales were well down on 2010 PSP title Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, which managed 445,962 in the same timeframe.Elsewhere on the chart, Konami's Pro Baseball Spirits 2012 debuted in second on PS3 and third on PSP. The Vita version entered at 11.Silent Hill HD Collection doesn't seem to have been met with much enthusiasm - it stumbled in at 15, selling just 7971 copies. Maybe it was those missing fog textures?The Vita follow-up to well-reviewed Wii action RTS Little King's Story fared even worse. It debuted at 19, with 7141 sales.The full top 20 lined up as follows:

1. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (Square Enix, 3DS): 213,579 - NEW
2. Pro Baseball Spirits 2012 (Konami, PS3): 90,433 - NEW
3. Pro Baseball Spirits 2012 (Konami, PSP): 60,141 - NEW
4. Kid Icarus Uprising (Nintendo, 3DS): 47,179 (Life to date: 179,705)
5. Pokémon + Nobunaga's Ambition (The Pokémon Company, DS): 30,535 (267,608)
6. Yakuza: Black Panther 2 (Sega, PSP): 26,655 (131,592)
7. Super Mario 3D Land (Nintendo, 3DS): 24,936 (1,464,696)
8. Monster Hunter 3G (Capcom, 3DS): 21,288 (1,358,410)
9. Mario Kart 7 (Nintendo, 3DS): 19,653 (1,621,631)
10. Idolmaster Anime & G4U! Pack Vol.6 (Namco Bandai, PSP): 17,759 - NEW
11. Pro Baseball Spirits 2012 (Konami, Vita): 17,264 - NEW
12. Mario & Sonic at the London Olympics (Nintendo, 3DS): 12,947 (112,603)
13. Devil May Cry HD Collection (Capcom, PS3): 11,926 (55,717)
14. Hatsune Miku and Future Stars: Project Mirai (Sega, 3DS): 8267 (124,618)
15. Silent Hill HD Edition (Konami, PS3): 7971 - NEW
16. One Piece Pirate Musou (Namco Bandai, PS3): 7851 (804,601)
17. Harvest Moon: Land of Origin (Marvelous AQL, 3DS): 7657 (154,764)
18. Shining Blade (Sega, PSP): 7535 (148,824)
19. New Little King's Story (Konami, Vita): 7141 - NEW
20. Wii Sports Resort Wiimote Plus Pack (Nintendo, Wii): 6596 (905,638)

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Mad Catz outfits Future Soldiers with Ghost Recon peripherals

April 4th, 2012, 23:52 Posted By: wraggster

Wearing a sheet with eyeholes is a great way to look like a ghost, but isn't terribly advantageous for gaming. Luckily, Mad Catz is providing a more sensible way to outfit yourself like a Ghost while you play Ghost Recon: Future Soldier.

This May, the accessory company will launch a Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Pro GamePad and an official 7.1 Surround Sound Headset for both PS3 and Xbox. Both accessories have cool skull logos on them, and both of them light up. That would look really spooky under a sheet.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/04/ma...n-peripherals/

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Teenagers more into social/mobile gaming than console gaming

April 4th, 2012, 23:43 Posted By: wraggster

Piper Jaffray study finds that younger gamers are gravitating more and more towards mobile
A new study from analyst firm Piper Jaffray, looking into high school gaming behaviors, provides some insight into what could possibly be driving the gaming world towards social and mobile enterprise. Polling 5,600 teenagers, the study found that kids simply want to feel connected while playing games, notably with friends. Adding to the rise of the social gaming platform, many teenagers stated that traditional games lacked any sort of social feature to keep them engaged.
In fact, 65.9 percent polled stated that they were losing interest in playing traditional video games, up from 63.5 percent last year. While that might look bad for the console gaming world, these same teenagers said they were open to gaming on mobile devices; a staggering 66.2 percent polled in the affirmative, up from 34.4 percent this time last year.
"While a console refresh in 2013 or 2014 will breathe new life into the industry, the new systems will face unprecedented competition from tablets, smartphones, and connected TVs. We expect growing middle classes and rising Internet penetration rates in emerging markets, particularly Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Asia-Pacific to partially offset competition from tablets and smartphones," reads the report.
That unprecedented competition is also going to come from social gaming sites, such as Facebook. Polls indicated that 25.3 percent of teenagers are actively playing on such sites. While the total is down from 25.9 percent last year, it is still an increase from fall 2011's recorded number. Surprisingly, 92.8 percent of teens said they would not partake in any purchasing of virtual goods, an increase from 80.5 percent in fall 2011.
Online services and downloading seem to be on the rise, even for traditional consoles. Of those polled, over 53 percent said they would be fine with downloading a full game to their console, while 36.1 percent said they would be interested in a service such as OnLive. Both questions saw a major rise from last year, increasing 27.1 percent and 15.2 percent in 18 months, respectively.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...es-finds-study

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EA defends itself against thousands of anti-gay letters

April 4th, 2012, 23:39 Posted By: wraggster

EA is standing up for same sex relationships in games despite outrage from some
[h=3]Electronic Arts[/h]www.ea.com

EA has been inundated in recent weeks with whatGamesIndustry International understands to be "several thousand" letters and emails protesting the inclusion of same sex or LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) content in its video games, most notably Mass Effect 3 and Star Wars: The Old Republic. When asked, EA confirmed that this has indeed been occurring, and unsurprisingly, EA has no plans to censor any of its games.
"Every one of EA's games includes ESRB content descriptors so it's hard to believe anyone is surprised by the content. This isn't about protecting children, it's about political harassment," Jeff Brown, VP of corporate communications told us.
The letters have been directed to EA's executive team, creative heads, its board of directors and just about anyone at a high level. Many of them threaten to boycott EA's titles if the publisher refuses to remove same-sex relationship content.

The letters also infer that EA was pressured by LGBT groups to include homosexual content in its games, and that this content is somehow forced upon children, exposing them to LGBT themes. Of course, those of you reading this already know how ludicrous this is. The games are not for children, nor do they force LGBT content on a player - it's merely an option for gamers who wish to replicate their real-life sexual orientation.
Some of the letters also complain that EA is deliberately deleting posts against LGBT issues on its official forum, which is true when the comments happen to violate discussion rules on hate speech.
"Trying to rally the Americans around messages rooted in hate is a losing proposition"
Matt Kane, GLAAD

"EA has not been pressured by any groups to include LGBT characters in our games. However, we have met with LBGT groups and sponsored industry forums to discuss content and harassment of players in online forums. In short, we do put options for same-sex relationships in our games; we don't tolerate hate speech on our forums," Brown added.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ti-gay-letters

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ANALYSIS: UK Games Market's Top 5 Brands

April 4th, 2012, 23:38 Posted By: wraggster

In this new regular segment with insight from leading stat-trackers, Chart-Track director Dorian Bloch reveals the Top Five best-selling video games brands in the UK...
Chart-Track is proud to announce the development of Brand Analysis as part of our CUBE data warehouse solution.
We’ve looked at all games sold from 1996 to the present day to work out the Top 30 brands. This week, we’re starting with the all-time Top Five.
FIFA is the overall winner both for units and revenue. It is also the only brand within the Top Five from outside the games industry.
The brand’s Title Count includes two PC compilations – therefore the total number of actual FIFA games (including management titles) is 34, ever since the first to launch in the UK (FIFA International Soccer on Mega Drive, December 1993).
The first FIFA game to count from launch sales was FIFA Soccer ’96, which is the third in the series. The top seller is the latest release , FIFA 12 which took £96m in sales.
Mario is No.2 in units and No.3 by revenue. The huge title count of 70 includes every Mario game all the way back to Super Mario Bros on the NES in May 1987. The top seller is 2008’s Mario Kart Wii with 3.65m units – it recently overtook Dr Kawashima on DS as the biggest selling single format title in the UK.

Call of Duty is No.3 in unit sales and No.2 by revenue – pretty impressive when you consider it first appeared on PC in November 2003. There have been eight major instalments but Game of the Year editions, expansions, and handheld titles bring this up to 17. The top seller in the UK is 2010’s Black Ops (£155m). The PS3 and 360 games account for 85 per cent of retail sales for the entire series.
The Sims – No.4 in units, No.5 by revenue – first appeared for PC in 2000, then on console in 2003. The lengthy Title Count is of course due to the many expansions.
Five of the all-time Top 10 PC best-sellers in the UK are Sims-related. The Sims 2 is the current best-seller and the only boxed PC game in the UK to shift over 1m units. Only 61 per cent of series’ sales revenues generated by PC/Mac.
Grand Theft Auto first appeared in December 1997. The 18 iterations counted includes Double and Triple Packs, and two versions of GTA IV. But it is still 2004’s GTA: San Andreas on PS2 that is the best-selling entry and ranks as the third biggest individual product ever in the UK by revenue (£86m)– rising to £96m when adding in the Xbox and PC versions.
BRAND ANALYSIS
Title Count shows the number of iterations of each game all the way back to the late ‘80s. Only sales since 1996 are included.
This analysis is up to and including week ending February 11th, 2012. Some brands will already have added to their Title Count (e.g FIFA Street, Uncharted, UFC, Syndicate).
Brands can be companies, characters, a series and so on. FIFA and Mario are both brands, despite one being licensed and a company and the other an original IP.
A MARKET OF TWO HALVES
How many titles account for 50 per cent of all UK entertainment software units and revenue in each month?
This is an example of some powerful analysis that can be done via Chart-Track’s online data manipulation tool and listing major new releases for each month is easily done.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/brand...-market/093891

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GameStop sees UK digital success

April 4th, 2012, 23:33 Posted By: wraggster

Specialist retail giant GameStop says the UK has already helped grow its worldwide digital empire.
The company launched GameStop.co.uk in July, which included a games download service. The site quickly won over consumers with aggressive price cuts and temporary deals.
GameStop is keen to build on the success it has seen in the UK market, which helped the retailer generate $70.6m in Europe during its last quarter.
“The UK is a new component of our global digital strategy,” a GameStop spokesperson told MCV.
“Its unique offerings contributed to an increase in online transactions
across our global e-commerce network.”
Last week, GameStop International’s executive VP Mike Mauler stated in an investors’ briefing that the firm is “focused entirely on competing digitally in the UK”, having closed all UK and Ireland stores in the last nine months.
However, reports suggest the firm is still interested in GAME Group.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/games...success/093896

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EA shrugs off 'worst company in America' gong

April 4th, 2012, 23:12 Posted By: wraggster

250,000 voters choose EA for 2012 'golden poo' award

EA have been voted 'worst company in America' in a bracket-style competition run by consumer affairs site Consumerist.
250,000 voted in the competition, which saw finalists EA and Bank of America square off for the 2012 'golden poo' award.

"Consumerist readers ultimately decided that the type of greed exhibited by EA, which is supposed to be making the world a more fun place, is worse than Bank of America's avarice, which some would argue is the entire point of operating a bank," said the site on its blog.
But EA don't take the 'award' too seriously.
"We're sure that bank presidents, oil, tobacco, and weapons companies are all relieved they weren't on the list this year," EA's Corporate Communications senior director John Reseburg told Gamasutra.

http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...n-America-gong

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UK teachers union calls for legislation against violent games

April 4th, 2012, 02:17 Posted By: wraggster

Leading UK educators have called for new legislation to limit children's access to violent video games.As reported by The Guardian, a motion at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers annual conference asked ministers to introduce "stringent legislation" to counter the "negative effects some computer games are having on the very young".The teachers complained that over-use of games is making children anti-social and stunting development of communication skills. Pupils are apparently coming to school exhausted from late nights spent in front of the TV, hampering their ability to learn.Not only that, but they also cited medical reports that insisted gamers are more likely to develop tendonitis and suffer seizures."Obesity, social exclusion, loneliness, physical fitness, sedentary solitary lives - these are all descriptions of children who are already hooked to games," argued primary school teacher Alison Sherratt."Sadly there is a notable correlation between the children who admit to playing games and those who come to school really tired."The ATL's general secretary Mary Bousted suggested that parents are routinely ignoring age ratings on video games intended for an older audience."The watershed tends to work quite well, but with online TV and video children and young people are probably watching inappropriate content over a range of media," she said."It's about reminding parents and carers that they have a very real responsibility for their children and that schools can't do it alone."A number of contradictory reports in recent years have argued that games can in fact aid children's development."Well-designed digital games show significant potential to promote children's growth and healthy development. They can foster skills and knowledge that help children with academic learning, as well as habits which contribute to better health," concluded a Joan Ganz Cooney Center study in 2009.A 2008 BBC report claimed that games can help develop social skills and "can be a powerful, engaging and interactive alternative to more passive media."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...-violent-games

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China sees majority of 180m gamers paying for games every month

April 4th, 2012, 01:48 Posted By: wraggster

Niko Partners finds 64 percent of Chinese gaming population pays to play every month
A recent study from Niko Partners has found that gamers in China are becoming more willing to spend money on games, with over 64 percent of the estimated 180 million gaming population coughing up cash every month. A survey of 500 players, targeting both casual and hardcore gamers, found that China is rapidly outpacing other countries in terms of money spent on games each month.
Overall, casual games seem to be a growing phenomenon in China, as the number of gamers aged 40 and up is on the rise. Niko reports that over 10 percent of survey takers fell into that age bracket. Hardcore gamers, or those who played 22+ hours a week of games, were also seeing a decline, opting instead to play a wider variety of smaller games.
"In examining the rapidly evolving Chinese games market, we see that casual, social, and mobile games have all captured the hearts of hardcore and occasional gamers alike," said Lisa Cosmas Hanson, managing partner of Niko Partners. "Online games revenues are now more distributed among various platforms and genres than they have been in past years, when MMORPGs compiled the vast majority of domestic revenue."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...nth-says-study

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The Nuclear Option on Used Games

April 4th, 2012, 01:44 Posted By: wraggster

If console makers actually cut out pre-owned what would the impact be?
Used games have been a a whipping boy for the industry for a number of years now. I'm not quite sure exactly when it became the oft-cited subject it is today, but I believe it started during this current console cycle, when the price of AAA titles geometrically increased again over the previous generation while the number of top-flight developers and publishers noticeably shrank. With the pre-owned boom coinciding with a significant global economic downturn, it's no wonder that people in the industry are looking at ways revenue is being denied them and lashing out.
I find it ironic on a certain level since the industry has had something of a love/hate relationship with GameStop. While it's the top dedicated video game retailer in the US, and often supported with exclusive pre-order bonuses for games both large and small, it is also the main cog in the used game sale machine. It's hard not to talk about used games and GameStop in the same sentence since their size and logistical advantages mean they generate $1.2 billion in revenue from used games.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-on-used-games

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"Next generation of freemium games will be indistinguishable from AAA"

April 4th, 2012, 01:41 Posted By: wraggster

ngmoco's Ben Cousins describes the breadth and depth of the free-to-play future
[h=3]ngmoco[/h]www.ngmoco.com

Ben Cousins has had a busy month. As a veteran of free-to-play projects at Sony, EA and DICE, and now head of ngmoco's AAA mobile studio in Sweden, Cousins is well placed to comment on emerging platforms and business models, and in the last four weeks that's precisely what he has done.
He delivered one of the more rousing sessions at this year's GDC, arguing thatconsole hardware is already on an inexorable path towards obsolescence. If you're trying to stir up the debate it's not a bad way to start, but, faced with another speaking engagement at London's inaugural Free-2-Play Summit, Cousins resisted the temptation to simply retread old ground.
"When you've had 140,000 views on SlideShare you think, 'maybe I need to back away from that subject,'" he says, but Cousins' new line of argument is every bit as provocative.
In an hour-long keynote address, Cousins dissected the origins of the free-to-play business model in the cafe-culture of South Korea and China, its explosion throughout the world following the rise of mobile and social gaming, and its future as the pricing strategy for games of all types, on all platforms. It is laden with the sort of bold statements that help journalists pay the bills, but every sound-bite is backed by data and detail.
Team Fortress 2 went free-to-play, it didn't upset anyone, and now Valve is making loads of money from it. I mean, everyone follows Valve

"If you look at [the growth of free-to-play in Asia] with the non-racist view of these people aren't special, they're not weird - they're just ahead, or they have a different infrastructure to us, and when we get that infrastructure we'll behave the same way - then it feels inevitable," he says. "And if you talk to an economist, he'll say it's obviously going to win."
Throughout his talk, and during the course of our conversation immediately after, it becomes clear that, to some extent, Cousins regards free-to-play as an economic imperative. As soon as one competitor in a specific field drops the price to zero, he argues, it becomes very difficult for others to continue charging. It happened to mobile games in the space of a few years, and the touch-paper that will spark the same transition in PC and, ultimately, console gaming has already been lit.
"I'm a massive fan of Valve's games, and when Valve went free-to-play with Team Fortress, for me that was like, 'Okay, that's the vindication,'" he says. "Valve doesn't do something unless it feels it can be tremendously successful. That was a big deal for me. It wasn't social games taking off or anything like that - if you're engaging a more casual audience, if it's free it's going to be more popular. But Team Fortress 2 went free-to-play, it didn't upset anyone, and now Valve is making loads of money from it. I mean, everyone follows Valve."
The focus here is the spread of free-to-play to core games. The idea that social networks, smartphones and MMOs will be dominated by free-to-play is now widely accepted, but the notion that AAA console and PC titles will also succumb is still met with resistance. During is talk, Cousins predicted that there would be an epic, lavish single-player RPG in the vein of Skyrim that implements the freemium model within a few years.
Such statements are impossible to substantiate, and so are open to criticism, but when questioned on the subject Cousins remains confident. Indeed, he believes that forthcoming games like CCP's Dust 514, Crytek's Warface and Blizzard's DoTA will prove that the sort of production values expected from pay-to-play console and PC games can be successful in freemium products.

"In every other platform - whether arcades, consoles or PCs - there's been a gradual increase in production values as everyone tries to get the next big hit," he says. "If you look at Zynga's games, FarmVille is very basic compared to something like CastleVille, so we're already seeing that transition over a couple of years.
"When you get companies making hundreds of millions of dollars from their games, they're going to invest that in their sequels. They need to maintain that position. Just look at Angry Birds Space; that cost a lot more money than Angry Birds - I'd bet five times as much - and that's because they had the money and they wanted to maintain that positions. That's how you end up in an arms race.
"I think it's inevitable. If that's where the money is then there will be intense competition from very big companies willing to make very big bets... The next generation of freemium PC games will be indistinguishable from AAA games."
Cousins readily admits that the transition to free-to-play will be more difficult on consoles, but the forces he described in his GDC talk are the very same ones that will force Sony and Microsoft to embrace new models. Regardless of how popular the next generation of consoles become, their manufacturers cannot ignore the reach of the more open platforms that have emerged in the last five years.
In addition, consumers are moving away from "specialised electronic equipment" and towards "more general purpose devices." In that context, the true value of a console platform is not a box full of processors and wires, but the service the consumer receives when they turn it on. As free-to-play spreads from mobile and social to PC, from casual to core, and from multiplayer to single-player, gamers will increasingly expect a service like Xbox Live to offer the same. And Microsoft needs to build that into its next console from day one; retro-fitting such a bold strategy would be too difficult.
I think it's inevitable. If freemium is where the money is then there will be intense competition from very big companies willing to make very big bets

"What's the true value of an Xbox?" Cousins asks. "If you said to somebody, 'I'm going to throw your Xbox in the bin or I'm going to delete your Xbox Live account and all of your gamer points,' I think they'd be more upset about losing the service than the hardware. And I really hope that Microsoft understands that power and is able to execute on that idea."
But Cousins has no desire to frighten core gamers, not least because his roots are in that very culture. The shock of the new causes the core to recoil from these ideas, but he believes that free-to-play need not alter the sort of experiences available to them. When he looks to the future and sees a game like Skyrim waiting, with no money required to gain access, it should be a reassurance that the free-to-play future won't be a rolling landscape of asynchronous farms.
You will be able to shoot your arrows, cast your spells and slay your dragons. And if you don't care too much for smithing and alchemy, well, you'll be able to leave them on the shelf.
"I was a big arcade gamer, and I was aware that the console business and the console userbase was much bigger, because not everybody could get to an arcade," he recalls. "So I was a core gamer playing on the arcades and I moved my core gaming onto console and PC, but I was still the same consumer. I was probably spending £5 to £10 a week on arcade games, and that became a new game every month.
"Core consumers will continue to spend about the same amount and play for about the same number of hours - they'll just move from platform to platform. This is the important thing that core gamers need to understand when I say something like, 'mobile is going to kill consoles' - I just mean the companies and the platforms.
"But the gamers? There's too much money in these amazingly engaged, passionate young people for them not to be served by something."




http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...from-aaa-games

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Australia to restrict sale of MA15+ games to adults

April 4th, 2012, 01:05 Posted By: wraggster

Move to offer parents 'greater certainty about the appropriateness of games for children', says Attorney-General

South Australia is looking to restrict the sale of MA15+ titles to customers under the age of 18, the Attorney-General has said.
Speaking to GamespotAU, a spokesperson for John Rau said a new 18 and over classification is likely to be introduced to State Parliament in May, but that this could also directly affect the sale of games rated 15, effectively eliminating the difference between the two.

"Complementary South Australian legislation [on R18+ for games] is likely to be introduced in State Parliament in May," said the spokesperson.
"However, my long-stated position has been to protect children by creating a clearer distinction between games that may be suitable for children and those that are suitable only for adults."
"Therefore, my intention is that the South Australian legislation will prevent the sale of MA15+ games to minors. This move will give parents greater certainty about the appropriateness of games for their children."

http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...ames-to-adults

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FIFA Street tops UK chart for third week

April 2nd, 2012, 23:51 Posted By: wraggster

FIFA Street is the UK all-formats number one for a third successive week.
EA's five-a-side football game retains top spot despite sales falling 44 per cent, ahead of Mass Effect 3, which rises one place to number two. Another EA title, the newly released Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13, debuts in third.
EA's golf game is just about the lone bright spot in a busy week for new releases, most of which performed poorly. Namco Bandai will be happy enough with a sixth place debut for Naruto Shippuden: Ninja Storm Generations, but less so with Ridge Racer Unbounded; Bugbear's excellent arcade racer enters the chart in a lowly 21st place.
Silent Hill: HD Collection debuts at number 12, with the latest in Konami's revered survival horror series, Downpour, in at number 15. It was, admittedly, a rather disrupted week for UK videogame sales, with Game Group, the UK's largest specialist retailer, slipping into administration - though the company was saved over the weekend by private equity firm OpCapita.
01. FIFA Street (EA)
02. Mass Effect 3 (EA)
03. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 (EA)
04. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (Capcom)
05. FIFA 12 (EA)
06. Naruto Shippuden: Ninja Storm Generations (Namco Bandai)
07. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Activision)
08. Battlefield 3 (EA)
09. Mario & Sonic At The London 2012 Olympic Games (Sega)
10. SSX (EA)
http://www.edge-online.com/news/fifa...art-third-week

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Nyko: "Most first parties see us as a threat to their business"

April 2nd, 2012, 22:47 Posted By: wraggster

The peripheral manufacturer shares some thoughts on succeeding in a changing market
[h=3]NYKO Technologies[/h]www.nyko.com

The market for video game accessories is dominated by the console manufacturers, as they are usually best able to market additional controllers and other useful bits to their installed base. Third-party game accessories have been a factor in the market for a long time, as they can provide features not present in accessories from the console manufacturers, or often a better value.
One of the leading peripheral manufacturers is Nyko Technologies, headquartered in Los Angeles, California. They've been manufacturing video game peripherals since their founding in 1996 for many different devices. According to the NPD Group, Nyko was the #1 branded third-party manufacturer of console accessories in 2011 with 3.6 million units sold. Nyko's sales in 2011 totaled over $72.5 million, with their best sales coming from their line of Xbox 360 peripherals.
One of Nyko's innovations in peripherals is the Zoom for Kinect, which lets players use the Kinect in a 40% smaller space. The Zoom for Kinect was just awarded US Patent #8,123,622 granting Nyko sole authority to produce "a lens accessory for a video game sensor device and method of adjusting a sensing distance of a video game sensor device."
The video game accessory business in the US dropped 11% in total sales last year, according to the NPD Group figures, compared to an overall drop of 8% for the entire video game hardware and software business. Nyko's founder and CEO, Herschel Naghi, answered some questions from GamesIndustry International regarding the business of selling peripherals and where that business is going.
Q: Does Nyko have plans to move beyond gaming accessories to accessories for smartphones or tablets? Perhaps gaming-related accessories for those devices?
Herschel Naghi: Absolutely. We will consider developing products for non-console platforms if there is consumer demand for a particular accessory and we feel we can provide a solution. For example, we are already working on accessories for the Kindle Fire like our Power Case and Go Audio Pro for Kindle Fire that we unveiled at CES and will soon be bringing to market.
Many markets are crowded by multiple companies who make the same accessory across every platform or device. While choices are always good for the consumer, we know that true success comes from genuine technological innovation. With each new device, Nyko goes through a rigorous process of testing and brainstorming in order to find a unique accessory designed to complement the strengths and shortcomings of the new device. Then we make sure that this idea provides value to the consumer. As we explore peripherals for mobile phones, tablets and other devices, we will keep our focus on gaming-related accessories.
Q: Making unlicensed accessories has led at times to disputes with console manufacturers. What are the pros and cons of licensing versus not licensing, and why have you chosen to avoid licensing?
Herschel Naghi: The pros to licensing include the ability to say your product is officially licensed, put a stamp or seal of approval on the box, and ideally receive support and cooperation during development, marketing and distribution from the first-party licensor. Frankly, the only con is the cost. It can be very expensive to obtain a first-party license, and in some cases the costs outweigh the benefits.
In general Nyko has always been open to producing products licensed by console manufacturers, and in some cases such as our licensed Memory Card for PlayStation 2 we have maintained successful licensing arrangements. In an ideal world all of our products would carry the first-party license, but in reality there can be exorbitant commitments that would impinge on the viability of our business. When need be, we will create hardware without the blessing of the license. In most cases our unlicensed approach is more successful for us and allows us to provide a superior product to the consumer at a lower cost than would have been possible with the license. Plus, we can get them on store shelves sooner.
Most first parties see Nyko as a threat to their business; after all, we fix flaws in designs that represent a great deal of labor and testing. As a result, first parties can be reluctant to license Nyko. But despite these setbacks, we have continued to work hard and include new and advanced features such as our Transport Technology in the Wand. We have made a very successful business by capitalizing on opportunities that first parties have neglected. At its core, our goal is to solve problems no matter the cause so that players have the best possible gaming experience.


http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...their-business

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Spector: new consoles aren't the answer

April 2nd, 2012, 22:32 Posted By: wraggster

Warren Spector, creator of Deus Ex and the upcoming Epic Mickey 2: The Power Of Two, says that a new round of consoles won't help solve the most common videogame problems.
Spector is a late arrival to the current generation of HD consoles, with the sequel to Wii exclusive Epic Mickey to be his first game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. In an interview, he tells us he's far from salivating at the prospect of new hardware from Microsoft and Sony.
"If it comes, it comes; when it comes, it comes," he tells us. "I'm not a tech guy, particularly. I'm a design, story, character guy. I think most of the problems we have to solve are creative ones, not technical ones.
"Obviously we make software, so there's always a technical element to what we do, but I will make games that do whatever I want them to do at the end of the day, and I will use whatever technology [is] available."
It's an interesting take on the need for a new generation of hardware. While Spector is on the same side of the fence as David Jaffe, he's there for different reasons; Jaffe told us last month he had simply been around the block so many times that the prospect of greater graphical horsepower was no longer a thrill.
Whether devs want it or not, of course, the next generation looms on the horizon. While Microsoft has distanced itself from claims it is to unveil an Xbox 360 successor at E3 this year - insisting "2012 is all about Xbox 360" - rumours continue to circulate about its next-gen plans.
Recently, attention has been focused on Sony. Latest reports claim that the PS3 successor is codenamed Orbis, which will launch in 2013 and prevent second-hand games from being played - something Microsoft is also rumoured to be exploring in development of its next Xbox.
Spector's latest project, Epic Mickey 2: The Power Of Two, was announced last month and is in development at his Junction Point studio. A musical with two-player co-op, it's due this autumn for Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3.

http://www.edge-online.com/news/spec...s-arent-answer

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Add-on turns a smartphone camera into a joystick

April 1st, 2012, 23:20 Posted By: wraggster

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Tesco declares itself "The Home of Gaming"

April 1st, 2012, 23:03 Posted By: wraggster

In a new no-holds-bar advertising campaign, supermarket Tesco has declared itself “The Home of Gaming”.
The ad, carried by CVG, features a picture of a PS3 controller and carries the following claims:
“The largest number of gaming stores in the UK”
“393 stores open at midnight for new game releases”
“Over 10,000 games available online”
“Free UK delivery or Click & Collect instore”
“Pre-order to get your game on the day of release and get our pre-order price promise”
Whatever you think of the ad, it's clear that someone at Tesco has been doing their homework – it paints the picture of a compelling offer.
Earlier this week Sainsbury's positioned itself as a serious option for gamers while Blockbuster has also beenstepping up its gaming activity.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/tesco...-gaming/093663

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OFFICIAL: GAME UK exits administration

April 1st, 2012, 22:58 Posted By: wraggster

Retailer GAME has announced its exit from administration following a successful bid by Comet owners OpCapita.
Private investment firm OpCapita has secured a sale of GAME's UK assets to Baker Acquisitions Limited.
Under the terms of the deal Baker has bought the UK arm of GAME Group out of administration and will provide it with the required capital to resume trading on a normalised basis. There are no plans for future store closures.
Baker, which is based in London, was founded in November 2011.
More importantly, the agreement safeguard the remaining 333 UK stores and secures the jobs of nearly 3,200 GAME employees. All of these staff are now employed by Baker.
Crucially, this will also mean Baker is not responsible for those who lost their jobs with The GAME Group – bad news for those currently trying to fight for their unpaid notice and redundancy pay.
It's also bad news for investors. With the UK assets now owned by Baker, GAME Group remains suspended on the stock exchange. Investors' only hope now is that enough money can be raised from the sale of the international business for them to recoup their investment.
“We are pleased to have reached agreement with the Administrator,” OpCapita managing partner Henry Jackson stated. “We strongly believe there is a place on the high street for a video gaming specialist and GAME is the leading brand in a £2.8bn market in the UK.
“We have assembled a strong team of experienced industry operators to implement the programme of operational change that is needed. There is a huge amount to do but we look forward to the challenge of restoring GAME’s fortunes in partnership with its employees and suppliers.”
PwC administrator Mike Jervis added: "We are delighted to be able to secure this business sale and provide some much needed stability for customers, suppliers and employees alike in these uncertain times. The support of these stakeholders has been crucial over the last week and I would like to thank them for their support throughout this difficult period.
"This means that the GAME brand will not be another one of the retail names disappearing from the high street in the current difficult climate."
GAME Group's non-UK operations remain up for sale,http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/offic...tration/093722

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After Megaupload, MPAA Targets Other File Sharing Services

April 1st, 2012, 21:47 Posted By: wraggster

It is no secret that the MPAA was a main facilitator of the criminal investigation against Megaupload. While the movie studios have praised the actions of the U.S. Government, they are not satisfied yet. Paramount Pictures' vice president for worldwide content protection identified Fileserve, MediaFire, Wupload, Putlocker and Depositfiles as prime targets that should be shuttered next."

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/04/...aring-services

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Play something! Mobile gaming to pull in $7.5bn by 2015

April 1st, 2012, 19:52 Posted By: wraggster

That's triple what it's worth today.
A survey released by digital goods researching group SuperData reckons the current smartphone-inspired boom in gaming is set to accelerate.
It says the market will triple in value, with Asia projected to hit $3.2 billion by 2015 - for 40 per cent of the market.
Breaking down the earnings, it says freemium will account for 55 per cent, and ads for five per cent. It claims between 35 per cent and ten per cent of freemium players end up paying something to play.
Most games spend between $8 and $15 per month.
“The mobile gaming market is key to building a successful strategy,” Janelle Benjamin, SuperData’s VP of Research. “Only by capitalising on the early momentum can game companies establish a sustainable footprint for the long term.”

http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/read/...by-2015/017595

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