Category Archives: Gamasutra

Opinion: Rovio $1.2B Valuation Push Ruffles Some Feathers

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[Is Rovio’s Angry Birds really more valuable than Grand Theft Auto? Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris argues that Rovio’s recent push for a $1.2 billion valuation is “somewhat ridiculous.”]

The absurdities of today’s venture capital market – and of investors hoping to ride those coattails to wealth – are multiplying at a staggering rate.

And the reported recent push by Angry Birds developer Rovio to seek funds that would value the company at $1.2 billion could indicate the bubble that has been building for some time in the tech space is reaching a dangerous size.

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Analysis: THQ Needs To Pick A Focus And Stick With It

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Following news of a reorganization at THQ, Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris discusses what the company should now consider doing to “right the ship,” such as focusing solely on quality core and Facebook titles.

A few years ago, I came up with an analogy that envisioned the video game world as a high school. EA was the jock. Take-Two was the guy in the leather jacket who blatantly smoked at his locker. And THQ was the guy you wanted your sister to date.

These days, though, THQ’s role in that little drama has changed. Lately, the company has more closely resembled the kid whose attention deficit disorder is so paralyzing that he’s forced to enter special ed.

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Analysis: Take-Two Misses A Free Pass In Light Of NBA Lockout

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[In light of an NBA lockout, Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris calls Take-Two’s optimistic outlook for NBA 2K12 “baffling,” arguing that the publisher missed a “free pass to lower expectations in a way investors would understand.”]

There was plenty of bad news in Take-Two’s earnings call Monday.

The company missed expectations – and managed to do so on a day where investors were already in panic mode. Duke Nukem Forever, the company said, was profitable, but the overwhelmingly negative reviews put a ceiling on that title’s earnings potential. And because of that stumble from the flat-topped king of the one liner, the company was forced to cut its forecast.

But the bad news was almost overshadowed by Take-Two’s baffling decision to maintain a downright optimistic outlook for this year’s NBA 2Ktitle, despite the dark clouds hovering over the real-world NBA.

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Analysis: The Upside To Releasing Vita In 2012

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[Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris looks at Sony’s recent decision not to release its Vita portable in the U.S. and Europe this year, seeing potential benefits to the company’s cautious approach.]

Given the early adopter mentality of the core gaming world, the disappointment over news that Sony’s PlayStation Vita wouldn’t hit U.S. or European stores until 2012 was hardly a surprise. As a group, we generally like to be the first to get our grubby mitts on the latest and greatest tech toys.

I won’t pretend to know the reasons for Sony’s decision to wait until next year – but whether the “delay” (which, of course, it wasn’t – since the company hadn’t actually confirmed a release date prior to Thursday) was intentional or due to circumstance, it’s hardly the disaster Wall Street is making it out to be. (The company’s stock was down 5 percent in midday trading.)

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Opinion: Why The Diablo III Backlash Got Overheated

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[Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris examines the backlash from this week’s controversial Diablo III news, stating Blizzard “doesn’t make decisions rashly” and those vowing boycotts “are blowing smoke.”]

Amid all the wailing and gnashing of teeth over Monday’s Diablo III announcement, I have to admit I saw things a bit differently.

Between the kerfuffle over the always-connected DRM, the decision to disallow modding and the real money auctions, players didn’t even blink when the company all but announced that the game wouldn’t be out this year. Those same people were the ones who just a week ago were seriously jonesing for the chance to get repetitive stress injuries from the non-stop clicking.

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Opinion: Nintendo Slashes 3DS Price, But Did It Do Enough?

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Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris questions whether today’s major Nintendo 3DS price drop is enough to “resuscitate” long-term hardware sales in a world of smartphones and Angry Birds.

Welcome to the post-iPhone world, Nintendo. We were wondering when you’d take those blinders off.

Thursday’s announcement that the game giant would be slicing the price of the 3DS by nearly one-third after just four months was significant on a number of levels. But as the mobile gaming world continues to evolve at a breathtaking pace, it may not be enough to secure the system’s long-term future.

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THQ’s Newfound Porn Obsession

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Gamasutra Editor-at-large Chris Morris takes a look at THQ’s use of adult entertainment stars in the promotion and voice talent for its Saints Row games, seeing risks for the franchise in the publicity stunt.

I know my way around the world of pornography.

One of the perks of being an editor-at-large at several publications is you often pick up some interesting assignments. Among the ones I’ve been handed were a series of stories about the business side of the adult entertainment industry. It’s actually an industry that reminded me a lot of the video game field – one that’s very easy to judge on the surface, but one that’s a lot more complex once you peek behind the curtain.

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Interview: Ubisoft’s Guillemot Talks Early Adoption Of Wii U

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Ubisoft’s chairman and CEO Yves Guillemot talks to Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris about his company’s early adoption of the upcoming Nintendo Wii U, and about how the new transition means that Sony and Microsoft need “new machines soon.”

When it comes to early adoption, gamers don’t have anything on Yves Guillemot.

The chairman and CEO of Ubisoft has long taken the approach that as a new gaming system approaches, his company wants to be one of the flag bearers for the launch lineup. It did it with the Xbox 360. It did it with the 3DS. And it’s planning to do it once again when Nintendo’s Wii U hits store shelves next year.

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Microsoft’s Durkin: Entertainment ‘Driving Platform Momentum’ On Xbox 360

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[Dennis Durkin, COO of Microsoft’s IEB, tells Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris, “Not only has gaming usage gone up [on Xbox 360], but non-gaming has as well,” as the company evolves the console into a do-it-all entertainment box.]

When Elijah Wood first showed the world the Xbox 360 on MTV in 2005, the system was laser focused on games. But as the industry has evolved since then, so has the 360.

These days, while games are still at the core of the system, other entertainment options have elbowed their way into the spotlight – and, with the addition of live television to the offerings planned by the end of this year, games will have even more competition for people’s attentions.

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Analysis: Putting Zynga’s IPO In Perspective

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If we’ve learned one thing from today’s long-awaited Zynga IPO filing, it’s this: Damn, would it be nice to be Mark Pincus.

The founder and CEO of the social games juggernaut stands to make an insane amount of money when trading of the company begins on Wall St. (likely 3-4 months from now). He’s already bucks up from selling 7.8 million shares back to the company in March for $100 million – and he’s still holding another 105 million shares in his portfolio. It’s nothing short of a massive payoff for his four-year old company.

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