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virtual worlds
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virtual worlds
activision
This applies to everyone but Nintendo. Elsewhere Kotick thinks that EA - Take Two merger could be a "challenge." He says, "When you think about one company in control of the sports category, with no competition from anybody else, that could be a challenge."
Sees Shit Economy Bringing Console Price Cuts
Good news! The US economy is going in the toilet, and we may get cheaper game consoles because of it!! Says Activision CEO Bobby "Robert" Kotick:
With the rising costs of fuel and food and housing, it is more difficult to go out and buy a $399 console, and I think it's going to put pressure on the console manufacturers to reduce their prices.
This applies to everyone but Nintendo. Elsewhere Kotick thinks that EA - Take Two merger could be a "challenge." He says, "When you think about one company in control of the sports category, with no competition from anybody else, that could be a challenge."
Kotick is a regular ol' quote machine! Opinions? He's got 'em.
Game Console Prices May Be Cut [Reuters]
gamestop
Is GameStop Recession-Proof?
Let's face it, the U.S. economy is in the crapper and it looks like it's only going to get worse for everyone that isn't working in Hollywood—or GameStop. It's one of the few retailers that's not seeing slowing sales, partially from all that second hand game selling they love to do, but mostly from the fact that the video game industry is making serious bank. While CEO Richard Fontaine won't go on record as saying the retailer laughs in the face of recession, he's got a few analysts that are mostly sure that GameStop will weather the storm.
Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter says the strip mall swap meet is "as recession-resistant as anyone in retail can be", with NPD analyst Anita Frazier theorizing that folks will "hunker down" at home with a good, slightly scratched game to save money. Fret not, GameStop employees, you'll probably be employed by the end of the year.
GameStop's growth puts it in recession-resistant spot [Dallas News]
analyst
Software Sales To Top $10 Billion In '08
2007 saw a huge leap in video games sales over the previous year, with software sales alone jumping 34% to $8.64 billion, and Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian sees no signs of the growth trend stopping. Despite the U.S. economy being on the brink of (or waist-deep in, depending on who you ask) a recession, Sebastian predicts that the software market will see sales topping $10 billion by the end of this year.
"We note that over the 1990-91 and 2001-02 recessionary periods, new consoles launched successfully and became significant drivers of growth for several years. As such, we believe it is unlikely that decreasing consumer confidence and economic growth would meaningfully impact video game sales in 2008."In other words, gamers give a damn about what the economists say. Recession, reshmession - we need our games.
Analyst: US Game Sales to Top $10 Billion in 2008 [Next Generation]
cha-ching
Second Life Transactions Equate to $1.3 Million Daily
According to Lindan Lab CEO Philip Rosedale, all Second Life transactions, from trading to buying/selling, total the equivalent of $1.3 million in US currency exchanged daily—or an average of $6.50 per user per day. To scale this even more with the Kotakulator: if WoW implemented a cash-based economy at the same spending average, their transactions would total $58.5 million per day. Second Life money might not be real money, but a lot of users have bought into it.
And all I can say is, that's a lot of cash to spend on pixel penises.
Second Life merchants estimated to rake-in over $1.3 million total every day [videogamesblogger]
china
Along with animation and cartoon assets, the Chinese government is trying to give the game industry a boost by launching asset trading on the Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange (SUAEE) (in partnership with China's National Center for Animation, Cartoon and Game Industry). Things kicked off on Thursday, 28 June with thirty items were listed, mostly animated and folklore properties (perhaps some of the classic cartoon versions of 西遊記 Journey to the West?)
More »
China Starts New Exchange for Game Industry and Others
Along with animation and cartoon assets, the Chinese government is trying to give the game industry a boost by launching asset trading on the Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange (SUAEE) (in partnership with China's National Center for Animation, Cartoon and Game Industry). Things kicked off on Thursday, 28 June with thirty items were listed, mostly animated and folklore properties (perhaps some of the classic cartoon versions of 西遊記 Journey to the West?)
More »
space monies
EVE Online Hires Full-Time Economist
Countless economists all over the world right now are looking out their little economist windows, dreaming of balancing figures and charting trends in some other, more wondrous land than the one we live in. Now Dr. Eyolfur Guomundsson is living that dream, as EVE Online creators CCP hire him on to be the in-world lead economist for the game. Over the years countless third parties and individuals have took it upon themselves to track the financial development of MMO world's, but this marks the first time a gaming company has actually appointed someone dedicated to the task themselves. More »
ds
Nintendo today just bumped up their consolidated financial projections for net sales by
66 billion. That's with a really big B. Now Nintendo expects to make
966 billion in net sales.
More »
Nintendo Expecting Billions More Than Projected
Nintendo today just bumped up their consolidated financial projections for net sales by
66 billion. That's with a really big B. Now Nintendo expects to make
966 billion in net sales.
More »
soe
$1.8 Million Passed Through Station Exchange
Sony Online Entertainment launched the Station Exchange back in 2005 as an officially sanctioned player auction site meant to
virtual economy
Virtual Cash Buys Computer Hardware
Cathode Tan directs readers to an MTV piece where a man from Second Life is selling computer hardware for Linden dollars. This is totally assbackwards and I love it. Now, people who've found virtual wealth in Second Life are able to convert that wealth from a video game into the real world acquisition of items. I can already hear the gnashing of IRS' employees' teeth. More »
culture
Trust and the Digital Dollar
Mark Wallace looks at the economies of MMOs and the inherent level of trust forward-thinking economies like the one in EVE Online demand in this week's edition of The Escapist. Beginning by looking at Second Life, Wallace eventually gets back to (as he usually does) EVE online, where he discusses the trust that must develop between player-operated corporations and alliances in deep space. In EVE, there is no real protection from scamming and the developers even suggest such in the game's FAQ. As I've written here before, it's pretty progressive and Wallace's piece in The Escapist reaffirms that. More »
mmog
The Next Gen of Gambling: MMORPGs
Before I started to read this paper on MMO gambling, I balked a little at the article title "Internet Gambling and the MMORPG." I remember the joke-y bingo game some clever WoW players created, but thought little of it. Mark Methenitis, however, didn't. He authored the aforementioned paper and in addition to gambling, Melethenis takes a long look at the rise of virtual economies and their penetration into very real world wallets. It's a looooooong read, but one of the best I've come across. More »
mmog
NPR Looks Hard at MMO Economics
An NPR piece takes a look at how MMO economies are threatened by power leveling, gold buying and account purchasing. The writer infuses a little of his own situation when he asks if the time it's going to take him to make 90g for his level 40 mount is worth more or less than the amount of real life money he could spend to purchase the gold for the mount. However, the headline is a little misleading as you can't really "win" MMOs, you can clear what they have to offer, but there is always something to do, some obstacle implemented - and if not, one is probably coming a future patch. More »
culture
Screw Real Life, I'm Selling Virtual Real Estate Now
Remember Deathifier? This was the guy who bought an island in Project Entropia last year. The BBC caught up with Deathifier and the e-entrepreneur had made his money back in less than a year. Project Entropia had a consumer spend $100k on a space station earlier this year. The BBC News article points out that while real estate sales (the real life kind) are flat, the sales of real estate in virtual spaces is rapidly rising. I spend as much time in virtual spaces as anyone, but I am still horribly confused by the prospect of owning land in a virtual space. I don't need my own little patch of Orgrimmar. More »
psp
PSP Loved By Rich, Old Koreans
While the Nintendo may be cleaning up in Japan, Sony's PSP is the must-have portable in Korea. Since May, approx. 200,000 units have been sold, and the portable's software dominates sales. According to The Korea Times, PSP owners buy more games than other console users, including the PS2 and the computer. (People don't really "buy" computer games in Korea, but snag them via the Internet for free.) Baek Seung-dong, a manager of a major South Korean game distributor, said the PSP accounts for roughly 55 percent of total game sales each month. More »
mmog
The Secret Lives of Gold Farmers
Game Guides Online has a piece looking at the lives of farmers in and out of game. There's a lengthy segment on farmers making money and trying to hide the gold from their bosses, storing it on the characters of in-game friends and then asking them to sell it and paypal the farmer the proceeds. The Black Black Market. More »
otaku
The Otaku Financial Power Up
The Japanese economy is being powered by dorks. The Nomura Research Institute estimate that the total otaku market is worth $4.11 billion US. The group broke down the subculture in each individual bracket and estimated their value. The institute defined "otaku" as someone that spends the majority of their money and time on their hobby. More »
tgs
