New Pres and PS3 Shipment Figures for Sony
November 30, 2006
Ken Kutaragi led the team that created PlayStation but the recent issues surrounding the introduction of PlayStation 3 seems to have taken their toll in the boardroom; Kaz Harai is Sony Computer Entertainment’s new president. Hirai has led the firm’s US business since 2003 and assumes the new Tokyo-based role today.
A Sony statement explained, “Kutaragi will continue to oversee the entire SCE group as chief executive officer, and will fully exercise his power to reinforce and further accelerate the development of the PlayStation business.”
Jack Tretton, currently head of Sony’s US gaming business, will replace Hirai as boss of Sony America. David Reeves has also now been appointed vice president at Sony Computer Entertainment. All moves are effective Friday.
Sony will ship just 500,000 to 800,000 PlayStation 3 consoles in North America by the year’s end, significantly less than its initial forecast of 1 million, EA CEO Larry Probst has told Reuters.
According to Probst, EA had set a lower bar for initial PS3 shipments, but “where they ended up was a bit of a surprise. We think they’ll get into that range,” he told Reuters, pointing out that console and software sales were typically sluggish to begin with because of low supply. Probst also made the intriguing claim that 20,000 of the 200,000 shipped launch PS3s were sold on eBay.
A report from prestigious British economic publication Financial Times shows how Sony’s hardware strategy for the PlayStation 3 is not exactly straightforward. According to an analyst quoted in the article, if Sony wants to break even on hardware costs (assuming that the company receives a $10 royalty on every PS3 game sold) will need to sell roughly 30 games for every PS3 console sold.
Nintendo Pres On Launch Leaders, Coming Titles, and Online play
November 29, 2006
Nintendo of America’s president Reggie Fils-Aime recently discussed the top launch titles, plans for Wii launch, and the longer-term software line-up for Nintendo’s console with MTV.
Following the company’s recent announcement that 600,000 Wii consoles and 454,000 copies of Zelda: Twilight Princess were sold in the first 8 days in North America, Fils-Aime also commented that Red Steel, Rayman Raving Rabbids, Trauma Center: Second Opinion were top Wii sellers. He also noted that Super Mario Galaxy will debut between March and Christmas, 2007.
Defending Nintendo’s upcoming first-party Wii line-up in North America, which has WarioWare: Smooth Moves, Wii Play and Mario Party 8 debuting by March 2007, Fils-Aime commented to MTV of any perceived post-launch drop-off: “I wasn’t here for the GameCube launch, but there was a time period when there were no titles. There wasn’t even titles you could or could not sink your teeth into. Wii Play and WarioWare are going to be hugely fun titles.”
Regarding online play, Fils-Aime was explicit: “For the consumer who is saying, ‘Gosh, when is Nintendo going to get on board with online play?’ The answer is very early in 2007.”
About his plans for the Wii’s game line-up into the future, Fils-Aime said, “The piece that I am more and more involved in is really looking longer-term and making sure the full range of games are being brought to the Americas. Making sure we have core gamer games like Metroid, like Galaxy. Making sure we have our types of market-extension games not only for Wii but for DS.”
Microsoft Cuts Off Dummy Accounts; 360 Price Cuts?
November 28, 2006
Microsoft officials in Europe have moved to block downloads of content from the U.S. version of Xbox Live Marketplace to so-called dummy accounts, which are Xbox Live accounts set up non-U.S. residents to appear as if they are based in the U.S. Very sneaky.
Dummy accounts are created to take advantage of downloads that are available earlier or exclusively to North America (such instances have been rare), but with the new availability of TV shows, movies, and other video footage on the American service, Microsoft has apparently moved to stop the practice.
The dummy accounts are not being banned, but exclusive content downloads are being blocked to European users. According to a statement from Microsoft’s Chris Paladino, “Details aren’t all in yet, but I do know for a fact that we are not banning the accounts. We are blocking downloads in cases where gold accounts are being used to gain U.S. content in foreign marketplaces.”
Any Xbox Live account being accessed from an IP address not corresponding to the indicated country for a given account is in danger of having content downloads restrictions.
“Microsoft is not a charity…”
Microsoft’s Robbie Bach said that manufacturing costs of the Xbox 360 have come down significantly, making a price cut for the console a viable option. “Notwithstanding Robbie’s comments to the contrary, Microsoft is not a charity, and they won’t cut price just because they can,” said video game analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities. “Rather, I think Microsoft is a price taker, and they will cut only when Sony does.”
And when will that be, Michael? “And I don’t think we will see a cut from Sony in the conventional sense during 2007. Instead, I think that they may add wi-fi to the 20GB model and keep it at $499. Microsoft might then cut, but probably not below $349.”
When it launched, each Xbox 360 cost Microsoft $525 to produce, but the premium console costs only $323 to create today, leaving potential margin for a price cut.
Xbox 360’s Jacked; Wii May Get You Jacked
November 27, 2006
It seems that the interactive, get-your-ass-up-off-that-couch magic of the new Nintendo Wii console is wearing some gamers down, leading to soreness and muscle fatigue. No, I’m not joking. “If people are finding themselves sore, they may need to exercise more,” says Nintendo.
After three hours playing Wii Sports (pictured) with his wife, Jeremy Scherer commented, “I was using muscles I hadn’t used in a while.” Scherer describes himself as “not very active” - no real surprise there - and is now committing to nightly “Wii workouts” to get in better shape. In a separate instance, a 12-year-old American girl told the Wall Street Journal, “It’s harder than playing basketball.” Customs broker Ryan Mercer, who does work out with weights, is also finding it heavy going, “I was soaking wet with sweat, head to toe — I had to go take a shower.” The next morning he had trouble putting his shirt on, he said.
Nintendo’s Perrin Kaplan, in response, shows no real sympathy for gamers’ new-found fatigue, saying, “It was not meant to be a Jenny Craig supplement. If people are finding themselves sore, they may need to exercise more.” Ya think?
Across the pond, two separate incidents in the UK have seen over £1 million ($1.93m) worth of Xbox 360 consoles stolen in what appears to be specific targeting of the console by thieves. The first incident occurred last Monday when a truck was stopped on the A38 in Staffordshire, in the English West Midlands; the driver was threatened and dragged from his cab. The truck was found empty on the same road with the loss of around £750,000 ($1.45m) worth of consoles.
The second incident occurred at a Staffordshire depot three days later when a £40,000 ($77,000) trailer was stolen containing £260,000 ($500,000) worth of consoles. Although it is unclear how many of the consoles were Core or Premium bundles, the value of the consoles suggests around 3,500 units in total were stolen during the two hijackings. Staffordshire Police spokesman Peter Stevens commented, “We are appealing for information from anyone offered them in suspicious circumstances, such as in a pub, at a car boot sale or off the back of a lorry, to help us track down those responsible.”
Baja Mania and Baja Destruction Race to Wii
November 24, 2006
Developers Broadsword Interactive, makers of Dakar Racing, will release both of their new off-road racers, Baja Mania and Baja Destruction, on Wii. The video game titles have been previously in development for PS2, as well. Both games are based on Baja racing, which takes place in the desert.
Baja Mania is the realistic game of the two, with a selection of dune buggies and trucks to thrash in Career and Arcade modes on various off-road terrains. Baja Destruction is a less serious, more chaotic take on the sport, with weapons including rockets to blow up opponents and crazy low-gravity races on the moon. The cars in both games are upgradeable as you progress through the Career modes, and each game apparently stretches over 400 square meters of virtual land.
The Wii version is expected to receive graphical tweaks over the PS2, including bump-mapping (makes flat surfaces appear to be bumpy surfaces) and better lighting. As you’d expect, both games will also use the Wii Remote’s tilting functionality to steer the cars. First screens are expected before Christmas, and the games are scheduled to be released in early 2007.
Xbox Live Expands
November 22, 2006
Happy Birthday Xbox 360! Today, Microsoft has broadened its Xbox Live offerings with a full selection of TV and movie rental titles to be rented and purchased, with newly revealed pricing ranging from around $2 - 6. Microsoft says that the launch of the video marketplace initiative makes the 360 “the first gaming console in history to provide high-definition TV shows and movies directly to gamers in their living rooms.” The new video marketplace is fully covered by the Xbox 360’s Family Settings feature, giving parents the ability to limit the video content available to the console.
A partial list of the TV programs offering either select episodes or entire seasons available for download includes the CSI series, Star Trek, Chappelle’s Show, Drawn Together, South Park, Punk’d, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sealab 2021, Space Ghost, and Wonder Showzen. TV shows are offered as to-own downloads with no expiration date, and the ability to re-download a user’s purchases should they be deleted. The pricing is 160 points for a standard definition episode and 240 points for a high definition program, an equivalent of $2 and $3 respectively.
An initial selection of 48 movies has been added to the service; notable titles include V for Vendetta, A Rebel Without a Cause, Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown, The Shining, Superfly, and Natural Born Killers.
Full movie downloads are provided on a rental basis, utilizing Xbox Live’s new digital rights features, which stipulate that the downloads will expire 14 days after the date of purchase, or 24 hours past the point when a user has first played them. The pricing scale for movies ranges from 480 points ($6) for newly-released high definition titles, to 320 points ($4) for standard resolution versions of the same. Classic titles are offered for rental at 360 points ($4.50) and 240 points ($3) for high and standard definition versions. Microsoft also notes that once a user has purchased a high definition version of either movie or TV program, the standard definition version is then available for free.
Wii’s Latest
November 21, 2006
Harry Potter Coming to Next-Gen Consoles
Electronic Arts announced today the development of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which is based on the upcoming July, 2007 movie. The latest Harry adventure will feature across a number of platforms, including Xbox 360, PlayStation3, and Wii. “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the first in the franchise that we have developed for the next generation consoles,” said Harvey Elliott, Executive Producer at EA UK. “Together with current generation versions, we are creating an immersive and, above all, faithful Harry Potter experience that will both accurately reflect the world showcased in the film and also delight fans of all ages.” Jason Hall, Senior Vice President of Warner Bros, says, “Working with EA, we look forward to offering fans the most authentic Harry Potter game to date, one which captures the compelling story of the fiction and high visual quality of the movie.”
The Deadly WiiConnect 24
Across the pond, some U.S. Wii gamers have reported an online update fed to their console through the WiiConnect 24 service has killed their new console! IGN reports that faulty consoles affected by the update display an error code indicating the nature of problem, with the most fatal codes being 110213 and 32002. Users who experience problems can either contact Nintendo to get a replacement console sent to them or, if their Wii already contains data they wish to keep, they have to send their console to Nintendo for repair. Unfortunately, it could be almost two weeks before a working unit is returned to them.
Wii pre-Orders Sell Out at UK Amazon
It took just seven minutes after opening pre-orders for the UK’s Amazon to sell out its Wii cahe. The British website of the successful American online retailer announced that it would begin taking pre-order sales of the Wii, at a price of £179.99 ($342), from November 21, the company elected to wait until it was provided full details of its stock allocation before allowing pre-orders. “We expected a high number of people to visit the site today but the response was phenomenal. It is the fastest selling pre-order item we have ever encountered – even eclipsing Harry Potter and Coldplay,” said Amazon UK’s console and video games manager, James Schall. “It is very rare that we sell out of any item, let alone in only seven minutes.”
It took just seven minutes after opening pre-orders for the UK’s Amazon to sell out its Wii cahe. The British website of the successful American online retailer announced that it would begin taking pre-order sales of the Wii, at a price of £179.99 ($342), from November 21, the company elected to wait until it was provided full details of its stock allocation before allowing pre-orders. “We expected a high number of people to visit the site today but the response was phenomenal. It is the fastest selling pre-order item we have ever encountered – even eclipsing Harry Potter and Coldplay,” said Amazon UK’s console and video games manager, James Schall. “It is very rare that we sell out of any item, let alone in only seven minutes.”
No indication was given of how many consoles Amazon UK had available for pre-order, but the company has indicated that it expects to receive more stock when the console goes on general release in the UK and Europe on December 8th. “There are a limited number of these consoles available and had we taken pre-orders before knowing our initial stock, we would have run the risk of not being able to fulfill the orders when the release date arrived,” said James Schall. “We would not want to let down our customers in that way - everyone who pre-ordered the item at Amazon.co.uk today will receive their Wii the moment that it is available.”
Wii Is Off To A Strong Start
November 20, 2006
Following the North American launch of the Wii console on Sunday in North America, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime stated that he expects the company will have sold 1 million units in the Americas by early December and 2 million by the second week in January. Fils-Aime also told Reuters that a projected Wii lifespan of 4-6 was “just about right.” While confirming that the console would be profitable from launch, Fils-Aime also stated, “Our focus truly is on growing the industry - getting more women to play, getting older consumers to play. To do that we needed to have the remote be easy, and second, we needed to have the games.”
According to one gaming website, which may or may not be accurate, Wii (as of last night) has sold an impressive 607,004 consoles; PS3 has sold 255,172 units. Despite these sell-out starts, the PS3 and Wii have a long way to go if they want to catch up with Xbox 360, which has sold over 7 million units to date. Speaking of kick-ass next-gen video game consoles…
Video game analyst Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets has said that despite a sold out weekend for both Sony and Nintendo, the real next-gen battle won’t begin until 2007. Nearly all retailers nationwide have pretty much sold out of both Sony’s PS 3 and Nintendo’s Wii, though some retailers have said they expect Wii replenishment as early as later this week. Sebastian has also found that Resistance: Fall of Man and The Legend of Zelda (pictured) have been the two top-seller titles for each respective system.
“We believe sales at video game retailers have improved in early November over October,” said Sebastian, “however, the biggest holiday sales weekends are still ahead. We continue to anticipate that both the PS3 and Wii will sell out at retail through the holiday period, and that the real battle for next-generation leadership will be fought in 2007.” Sebastian also expects that Xbox 360 will get see a bump this holiday season from shortages of the PS3, with retailers “likely to encourage consumers unable to find PS3 or Wii consoles to consider purchasing an Xbox 360,” as well as Epic/Microsoft’s recent blockbuster Gears of War, which he notes has seen strong sell-through according to his retailer checks.
PS3Mania
November 17, 2006
The Sony PlayStation 3 video game console has touched down in North America. After days of camping out, some lucky gamers finally have their hands on the coveted PS3. Most, however, went home empty-handed, and some went to the hospital:
- In Connecticut, one person was shot, according to police, by gunmen who got wise to the PS3’s high price and tried to rob a line of people waiting outside a Putnam Wal-Mart store at 3 a.m.
- Michael Penkala, 21, of Webster, MA, was shot in the shoulder after confronting two robbers, police said. - In Lexington, KY, four people, one of whom was a reporter covering the PS3 craze, waiting outside a Best Buy were hit by BB pellets. No one was seriously injured.
- Police were called to Copley Place Mall in Boston at about 5 a.m. after the security staff was unable to control a large crowd that rushed in to buy the new gaming system from a Sony Style store that opened early.
With Sony promising only 400,000 systems for the nationwide launch, the chance of disappointment was high, and retailers tried to keep expectations low. Nonetheless, lines snaked around the block at many stores. Some customers were buying PS3 machines for themselves or as gifts, but many were hoping to resell them at
a profit. Units were fetching several thousand dollars early Friday at the eBay Inc. auction site. “I’m gonna sell mine,” Houston’s James Salterio said, figuring he could make anywhere between $1,500 and $4,000. His 21-year-old brother, a gamer, wanted company in line, so Salterio decided to make a profit in the process. “It’s capitalism at work,” he said.
Enthusiasm for the PlayStation 3 wasn’t dampened by its high price tag: $500 for the basic model with a 20GB hard drive, and $600 for the 60GB version, which also has built-in wireless. By contrast, Nintendo’s Wii, which goes on sale Sunday in the U.S., retails for $250. Microsoft’s Xbox 360, which had a year’s head start over rivals, sells for $300 to $400.
Nintendo Wii U.S. Launch List Conformed
November 16, 2006
The Wii will hit stores in America this Sunday, along with 20 titles for gamers to get stuck into. Here they are…
• Avatar: The Last Airbender
• Call of Duty 3
• Cars
• Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2
• EXCITE TRUCK
• GT Pro Series
• Happy Feet
• Madden NFL ‘07
• Marvel Ultimate Alliance
• Monster 4X4 World Circuit
• Rampage: Total Destruction
• Rayman Raving Rabbids
• Red Steel
• SpongeBob SquarePants: The Creature from the Krusty Krab
• Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz
• The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy
• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
• Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam
• Trauma Center: Second Opinion
• Wii Sports (Packaged with every Wii)
The games listed below will be available in the U.S. in the five weeks following this weekend’s launch:
• Barnyard
• Chicken Little: Ace in Action
• Elebits
• Far Cry: Vengeance
• Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
• Konami; The Ant Bully
• Metal Slug Anthology
• Need for Speed: Carbon
• Open Season
• Rapala Tournament Fishing
• Super Swing Golf
• Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Double Agent
• World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions
Nintendo will also make a total of 30 retro games available for download though Wii’s Virtual Console feature.
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