Tag Archives: CNBC

Video Game Sales: ‘Halo’ to the Rescue?

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If all goes according to plan, the video game industry could see its first positive sales growth since March in September—but in a year that has been filled with disappointing results, game publishers and developers know any plan is tentative at best.

Analysts expect software sales to be up slightly in September, largely on the strength of Microsoft’s “Halo: Reach,” which took in $200 million in its first 24 hours. No one is expecting a blowout month, though. Wedbush Securities is forecasting a rise of just 2.4 percent compared to last year’s $649 million.

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Will EA’s Medal of Honor Score Big Again?

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When Electronic Arts announced its reboot of its “Medal of Honor” franchise would be set in modern-day Afghanistan, it probably didn’t expect to come under this much fire.

Game industry detractors have skewered the company for its initial decision to make the Taliban playable in the game’s multiplayer portion. And analysts (along with investors) worried that the game’s release date put it squarely between two of the year’s biggest titles, which could have a dramatically negative impact on sales. Now, the game’s fate is in the hands of gamers.

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Can Panasonic Survive the Video Game ‘Jungle’?

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Seventeen years ago, Panasonic tried to break into the video game industry, lasting only three years before it was forced out. Now it’s ready to try again.

The company has unveiled the Jungle, a new handheld gaming system that will target players of online games. It’s a niche other companies have left wide open, but analysts—to put it kindly—are extremely skeptical about the company’s odds of success.

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EA Reverses Course; Taliban No Longer Playable in ‘Medal of Honor’

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Bowing to pressure from consumers, the military and retailers, Electronic Arts has made a last minute change to its upcoming “Medal of Honor” video game and will no longer allow players to play as the Taliban in the game’s multiplayer mode.

Citing feedback from friends and family of fallen soldiers, the company on Friday announced in a blog post that the enemy in the multiplayer component of the game would be renamed “Opposing Force” to mute the controversy.

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Nintendo to Roll Out 3D Gaming System Next Year

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Nintendo’s jump into the 3D gaming world won’t happen until 2011.

The video game company on Wednesday announced that its 3DS portable system, which lets owners play games in stereoscopic 3D without the need for special glasses, will go on sale in Japan next February — and will hit U.S. and European stores in March.

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Electronic Arts Fires Back at Critics Over ‘Medal of Honor’

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“Medal of Honor,” the revival of one of Electronic Arts biggest franchises, has been taking a lot of fire lately. But now the publisher is ready to go on the offensive.

For the past month, several parties have targeted the title after it was disclosed that gamers could play as the Taliban in the game’s multiplayer mode.

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Is Motion Control Still the Future of Video Games?

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While Nintendo kicked off the motion control revolution four years ago and quickly dominated the field, Microsoft and Sony are betting there’s a lot of life — and money — left in the category.

Last Sunday, Sony’s new PlayStation Move controller went on sale and in November Microsoft will launch Kinect, it’s motion-tracking camera that essentially transforms players’ bodies into the controller. Both products are gambles — and, to some degree, risks — for the companies, who are hoping to keep the current generation of video game systems relevant for several years.

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Can Nintendo get its mojo back?

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Four years ago, Nintendo could do no wrong in the video game world. The Wii was beginning a triumphant run at retail, and the handheld DS unit had been flying off of store shelves for the past 24 months.

Publishers courted the company and competitors quickly learned their initial scoffing over the Wii’s less-than-eye-popping graphics and lack of a traditional controller was wildly off-base.

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Is GameStop Under Pressure This Holiday Season?

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When a 2009 holiday price war erupted between two of the largest online retailers, GameStop found itself caught in the middle.

Amazon and Wal-Mart kicked off last December by slashing prices on 25 of the year’s most popular video games—with the average discount ranging from 15 percent to 20 percent. That caught GameStop by surprise—and ultimately contributed to the company reporting flat earnings for the nine-week period.

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Microsoft Braces for a Blockbuster With Halo Reach

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When “Halo: Reach” goes on sale at 12:01 am Tuesday morning, it won’t just be the biggest gaming event of the year to date. It will likely be the entertainment industry’s biggest moment of the year.

Microsoft is betting big on the latest installment of its flagship franchise, and it has every reason to do so. Life to date, the company has sold more than 34 million ‘Halo’ games – and each major new release has shattered any Day One sales records set by the film, music or gaming industries.

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