Author Archives: Chris Morris

Holiday Gaming Stinkers: The Must-Not-Haves

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It’s easy to be tempted by low prices, especially during the holidays. Often times, deals are so good that you grab an item without thinking it through just so you can check someone off your shopping list.

The problem? Your friend or loved one winds up with a gift that sounds great in theory, but ends up having a shelf life shorter than a piece of bread. It might be good for a day or so, but you’re not going to be real happy with it after that.

With that in mind, we’ve put together a cautionary list of gaming choices that might sound tempting to bargain-hunting shoppers, but may not be the wisest use of your money this year.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Zynga’s IPO: What Went Wrong?

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After its first day on the NASDAQ, Zynga’s performance has been less-than-impressive, and Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris takes a moment to figure out exactly what went awry.

Shares in Zynga’s Wall Street debut may have started strong today, but minutes after they began trading, the stock’s pricing chart looked like something that even the most extreme skier would have avoided.

By the time all was said and done, the company was down 5 percent, closing at $9.50 per share (and was down as much as 10 percent at one point during the day), bucking the trend of the year’s other hot internet stocks, like LinkedIn and Groupon — despite the fact that Zynga is profitable, while those companies are not. What went wrong?

Read more at Gamasutra

Zynga hits Wall Street – then stumbles

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Social game maker Zynga’s much anticipated debut on Wall St. didn’t go quite as well as planned Friday.

The company finished the trading day at 9.50, 5 percent below its offering price – as investors, fearful of a new tech bubble, steered clear and analysts ripped the company on growth concerns.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

‘Modern Warfare 3′ tops Redbox rentals

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Chalk up another bragging right for Modern Warfare 3.

Fresh off becoming the fastest game to reach $1 billion, the latest installment in the Call of Duty franchise has been named the year’s top video game rental by film and game rental service Redbox, beating out dancers, zombies and Pixar.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Zynga prices its IPO

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As expected, social game maker Zynga will begin trading shares on Wall Street Friday, marking one of the video game industry’s biggest public offerings in years.

The company has priced shares at $10 each, the high end of its expected range and will offer 100 million shares to investors. That puts the company valuation at about $7 billion.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

The Best Things To Happen To Games In 2011 (According To Analysts)

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[Looking back at 2011, several analysts discuss the game industry’s best highlights last year with Gamasutra, from the mainstream’s acceptance of mobile gaming to subscription service risks paying off.]

Ask a gamer about the best thing to happen in the video game industry in 2011 and you’re likely to get a title as the answer. That’s natural, since players are generally more concerned about the final product than industry trends.

Ask a Wall Street analyst, though, and that’s not necessarily the first thing that springs to mind. So once again this year, we polled some of the highest profile and most respected industry analysts to get their thoughts about the most exuberant and disappointing events to happen in gaming this year.

Read more at Gamasutra

Angry Birds hit the playground

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A word of warning to pig farmers in Finland: Keep away from playgrounds.

After invading the worlds of apparel, stuffed animals and board games, Angry Birds are now adding playground equipment to their repertoire. Two Finnish towns — Rovaniemi and Espoo — will get the first products next year, with worldwide distribution planned at a later date.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Xbox adds iHeartRadio, Verizon FiOS

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Microsoft continues to roll out new entertainment offerings for the Xbox 360.

The second wave of content providers for the recent user interface revamp of Xbox Live has hit the console, bringing some familiar names. Starting today, U.S. users will be able to access content from ClearChannel’s streaming radio service iHeartRadio and Verizon FiOS customers will be able to access a limited selection of live channels.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog