Tag Archives: digital distribution

Google’s Growing Troubles With Google TV

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Google TV just can’t catch a break – and the repercussions could reach beyond the search giant.

The Web-meets-TV set-top box was meant to make it easy for users to find whatever video they were looking for on their television sets—both on the air and online. But the number of content providers who are blocking access from Google TV has grown steadily since the service’s launch. Hulu was first, but it wasn’t long before the networks were also preventing the service from streaming their video content.

Read more at CNBC.com

 

Interview: TimeGate’s Chaveleh Takes Control Of His Publishing Destiny

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[Gamasutra catches up with Timegate Studios (Section 8) head Adel Chaveleh as the veteran console game development house growss “tired” of the traditional publisher relationship and strikes out on its own.]

As production costs escalate and the market becomes tighter, independent developers are increasingly finding their options limited.

They can partner with large publishers on a per-game level – but if the publisher has an internally-built title competing in that genre, it often means their games receive a smaller marketing push. They can join the fold, agreeing to an acquisition. Or they can roll the dice and self-publish.

Read more at Gamasutra

Google TV suffers another setback

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First it was Hulu, then the major networks. Now, Viacom has blocked Google TV units from accessing its content, including all Comedy Central programming.

It’s the latest in a series of hindrances for the latest set-top box competitor and couldn’t come at a worse time. With the holiday season approaching and shoppers debating whether to splurge for the device, there is less and less programming to watch via Google TV.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Hulu Plus comes out of beta, gets price cut

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Hulu’s subscription service – taking the Web-based operation beyond the PC – has moved out of its beta period and is welcoming all who are interested. Hulu Plus officially launches today – and, even better, it’s getting cheaper.

The company has scaled back the $9.99 monthly fee it has charged since late June to $7.99 – and says it will issue refunds for the difference to early adopters who were in the beta. The price cut is a welcome one, but still higher than the $4.99 figure many people were expecting.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Video Game Prices Are Too High: THQ CEO

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It’s not uncommon to hear consumers grumble that the price of video games is too high, but that’s not something you expect to hear from the CEO of a game publishing company.

THQ’s Brian Farrell, however, is taking a stance that runs counter to some of his peers, with plans to launch the next installment of one of the company’s oldest franchises at just 2/3 of the going price for new software.

Read more at CNBC.com

 

Video Game Industry Looks for a Holiday Miracle

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Holiday cheer may be in short supply for the video game industry this year.

While there are bound to be some hot titles and big sellers, it will take a true Christmas miracle for the industry to see retail sales hit positive territory in 2010. Year to date, they’re down over 8 percent and analysts say it will be hard for any month in the fourth quarter to top 2009’s numbers.

Read more at CNBC.com

Steam digital distribution system hits a milestone

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Retail video game sales might be floundering in 2009, but Steam, the largest digital distributor of PC games, is have a banner year.

Valve Software, maker of the “Half-Life” franchise and the owner of Steam, say active accounts at the service have topped 30 million – with new growth of 178 percent in the past 12 months. At its peak, the number of simultaneous players has reached 3 million.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Analysis: Video Game Stocks – At A Tipping Point?

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[How might the latest industry decline in September’s NPD U.S. game retail results affect video game stocks? Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris, a financial journalism veteran, examines the plight of the major public-traded game firms in the wake of the disappointing U.S. retail numbers.]

I’m not a stock market analyst. And I’m not a psychic. So seeing as I’m writing this before the market opens on Friday, I’m obviously venturing out on a limb when I presume that video game stocks are getting hit.

It’s not a bad guess, though. Thursday’s NPD numbers were down yet again – and investors who were hoping for a little good news in what has been a gloomy year are likely to lash out. It’s not hard to see why.

Read more at Gamasutra

Has GameStop Gone Mad?

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Game publishers and game retailers have, at best, an uneasy relationship – so what happens when one becomes the other? It’s a growing question that should make for some interesting times in the years ahead.

Valve Software kicked off the hybrid developer/distributor model in 2003 with Steam, and it wasn’t long before Electronic Arts and Activision followed suit with their own online stores, giving them more control of (and higher margins from) the sale of their games and in-game content. Microsoft and Sony, meanwhile, straddle the fence with the storefronts that are built into the Xbox 360 and PS3.

Read more at Game Theory

Digital Downloads Encroach on Brick and Mortar Territory

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Digital distribution has been a hot topic in the video game industry for years – with developers, publishers and retailers trying to forecast when it will become a real threat to traditional brick and mortar stores.

New data, however, shows that time might be closer than many were expecting.

Read more at CNBC.