Do We Really Need Credits On A Game Box?

Well, do we? The question's come up a bit recently, prompted by comments from guys like EA boss John Riccitellio and David Jaffe. While exploring the idea, MTV have posted a few pics of what they think game boxes could look like with developer credits on them. The results are...crude, which they admit, but also a little off the mark. The idea of putting credits on a game box obviously stems from movies, where DVDs have credits. Thing is, DVD credits are on the back of the box, where they don't clutter up the cover art. Shift those credits to the back of a game box - you can remove bullshit bullet points to make room - and we might just be on the right track!

If Video Game Boxes Gave Credit, They’d Look Like This… [MTV]

Not So Fast Gaming, DVD Still Pwns You

As Luke pointed out early this morning, the report that U.S. games sales had surpassed DVD sales was bound to be misconstrued. And it was. In fact it's just plain wrong.

The folks over at Entertainment Merchants Association wrote to let us know that the $18 billion for "game sales" includes software, hardware and even accessories. While the DVD sales include, you got it, only the DVDs. The actual apples-to-apples comparison has DVD sales at $16 billion and video game sales clocking in at a meekly $8.64 billion. Even if you add that $503 million in sales the industry is no where near toppling DVD sales from its mighty high roost.

One day video games will be bigger business than music and hollywood, mark my words, but that day hasn't come yet.

Infogrames-Controlled Atari Gets 49 Percent Of Publishing Revenues From DBZ

For fiscal 2008, Atari reported net revenues of $80.1 million, as compared with $122.3 million for the year previous, the company's annual report revealed. This represents a steady year-over-year decline for the publisher since fiscal 2005, when its revenues were $343.8 million.

"We rely on borrowings to meet our operating needs," said Atari, now that it has no more substantially-valued IP to sell. Atari's majority shareholder, Infogrames SA, will preserve Atari through an acquisition and a $20 million loan, while BlueBay High Yield Investments has also loaned Atari $14 million.

Atari also relies heavily on publishing revenues from a single franchise - Dragon Ball Z, which it says generated 49.1 percent of its net publishing revenues in fiscal 2008. Godzilla accounts for 9.2 percent.

Atari now primarily acts as a North American publisher-distributor for Infogrames-licensed titles. In kind, Atari has licensed its Test Driver and Test Driver Unlimited properties for seven years to Infogrames, and the language in the annual report suggests a tense relationship:

Sony's Stringer Foresees Profitability This Year

At Sony's recently-concluded mid-term corporate strategy meeting, company chairman and CEO Howard Stringer told investors that Sony would restore profitability to its games segment this year, on the strength of its three platforms' install bases.

"With 50 million users of networked-enabled PSPs and PS3s worldwide, we have an enormous global install base upon which we can build networked services. With the inclusion of our Blu-ray player, Wi-Fi and hard drive, every PS3... I am confident that the PS3 is the networked home entertainment server of the future - but it is available today."

Though PS2 sales had recently shown a decline in the console's ninth year on the market, Stringer also made a point of praising its continuing performance, dropping more juicy numbers on its total install base:

Difference Between Game Consoles and Pixar Tech? "Vast."

Current gen video games look pretty darn good! Almost like movies. But there is a difference. Ask ask Ralph Eggleston, production designer behind Pixar’s upcoming movie, Wall-E (pictured). He'll tell you!

How much of a gap exists today between current-gen consoles and the tech you use?

A vast, vast difference. If the player is involved in the narrative they can render it only so fast, really, though it will get faster. But when you’re in control of a narrative, as we are as filmmakers, the level of detail has to be much greater and we have the opportunity to create that because we have full control – our worlds are finite as opposed to video games, which are not entirely infinite but a lot more infinite than what we do... I think it will get better and better. But for me, the big thing lacking in video games, and I haven’t seen one that has done this for me, is how you involve a strong narrative story. Not just a set-up that you jump in to, but a narrative story in which the player is an active participant. I’ve had this conversation with friends now for almost a decade on how you could actually do that with a videogame. Unfortunately, although I think there would be a market for that, I don’t think the market would be large enough.

M'kay. If it's good, Ralph, people will buy it. Don't underestimate your fellow human!

Pixar Interview [Next-Gen]

Electronic Arts Veteran Neil Young Quits

According to an internal email forwarded to Newsweek's Level Up, long time Electronic Arts fixture Neil Young—pictured contemplating something—has left the company. Young had been at EA for over a decade, heading up EA's Los Angeles studio and, prior to leaving, the EA Blueprint division. The EA Blueprint endeavor was an attempt by the mega-publisher to create lower cost content with smaller teams based on original intellectual property.

Young was responsible for overseeing titles like Majestic, The Sims 2 and Boom Blox in his various roles at EA.

In announcing the departure to EA employees, Frank Gibeau, President of the EA Games Label, wrote that Young had "decided to leave EA to manage his own company" but did not mention what or where that might be. Westwood vet Louis Castle has been handed EA Blueprint reins and will oversee development of the next Steven Spielberg title, code-named "LMNO."

Longtime Electronic Arts Creator Neil Young Leaves Company [Level Up]

Sony Worldwide Grows Two New Heads

Sony Worldwide Studios continues to shuffle people about in the wake of Phil Harrison's departure, announcing not one but two new vice presidents, one for each side of the Atlantic. Heading up things over in Europe will be Sony Computer Entertainment Europe VP Michael Denny, who joined Sony in 1995 as the head of business affairs at Psygnosis, having served in various positions since then.

Over in the U.S. Sony San Diego Studios senior director Scott Rohde has been promoted to vice president of Sony Worldwide Studios America. Rohde was a co-founder of Page 44 studios, and has also worked in sports roles for Radical Entertainment and Sega of America.

Both new VPs will be responsible for the overall operations of Sony in their respective areas, reporting to Sony's replacement Harrison, Shuhei Yoshida. Welcome to the party gentlemen!

Sony Appoints New Europe, America Studio Heads [Gamasutra]

In a move that could very well be just a bit late, games industry veterans David Warhol of Realtime Associates and Vincent Bitetti, formerly of the Take Two-purchased TDK Mediactive, have announced Music Video Games (MvG), a company focused on delivering casual interactive experiences to gamers and music fans alike.

“MvG has been created with the goal of bringing fun and easily accessible music games to an audience that has largely remained unnoticed to this point,” said Vincent Bitetti, CEO of MvG. “The music video game market and the online casual games market both continue to grow exponentially. MvG will provide games that will appeal to both demographics.”

Five years ago this would have been perfect. Now I'm not so sure we need more music games, casual or otherwise. Still, maybe MvG will find their niche. They've certainly got a dynamic name going for them, and a kick-ass logo. Go get 'em, plucky little upstart!

Nintendo: Wii Gamers Are Hardcore Gamers

The average Wii gamer is a hardcore gamer, Nintendo of America's Cammie Dunaway told the Electronic Gaming Summit today.

Seventy-nine percent of Wii gamers are male, most older than 18 with an income of $50,000 or more and more than half game for five or more hours a week, Dunaway said.

While the people who buy Wii tend to be pretty typical for gaming, the other household members who play Wii aren't, she said.

About 45 percent of the other household members who play Wii are female, with 38 percent 25 or older. Sixty-five of these gamers play at least two hours a week, while only 32 percent play five or more a week.

"The real break-through, the real magic of the Wii console is that it brought new consumers into the game," she said. "We in the industry have a choice to make, do we want to appeal to the few or to the masses? Do we want to sell to more people or sell more and more and more to less people? Do we want to be inclusive or do we want to be expansive? At Nintendo we definitely believe in the power of the expanded audience.

"We hope everyone will join us in showing everyone just how much fun video games can be."

Nintendo: Wii Has Highest Software Sales for First 18 Months

More games were purchased in the first 18 months of the Wii's life than any other console's first year and a half, Nintendo said today.

About 50 million games were sold for the Wii in its first 18 months, compared to about 42 million games in the first 18 months of the Playstation 2's life. The Xbox 360 came in at 30 million or so, the Xbox at roughly 28 million and finally the Playstation 3 at about 20 million.

Speaking to a gathering at the Electronic Gaming Summit, Cammie Dunaway, executive video president of sales and marketing for Nintendo of America, Dunaway used the numbers to launch into a talk about Nintendo's strategy for expanding the market.

Dunaway also showed a chart plotting out the first 18 months of each console's life. According to the chart, about 9.5 million Wii were sold in the first 18 months, 8.5 million PS2, 5.4 million Xbox 360, 5.2 million Xbox and 4.2 Playstation 3.

"While we appreciate the impact the Playstation 2 had on sales and the industry, perhaps we are even more impactful," Dunaway said, adding that there wasn't a single month in the Wii's first year and a half when Nintendo could meet demand.

Update: I just clarified with Nintendo: Those software sales numbers only include boxed games sold at retail and not virtual console or Wii Sports.

EA Plans to Reup NFL License When it Expires

Electronic Arts plans to reup their licensing deal with the National Football League in 2013 when their current deal expires, EA Sports president Peter Moore told attendee's of Ziif Davis' annual Electronic Gaming Summit.

Moore was quick to point out that it wasn't Electronic Arts that asked for the exclusive deal, but rather the NFL which was seeking a single licensee. He said that EA feels that licensing remains an important part of adding realism to their sports titles and that he can't imagine a time when they wouldn't seek them.

Peter Moore Shows Off How Alpha Moms Will Play Wii's New Madden

Electronic Arts' ability to build simulation and authenticity into their sports titles isn't just their greatest strength, EA Sports president Peter Moore told attendees at the Electronic Gaming Summit yesterday, it's also their greatest weakness.

Specifically, the weakness that EA faces when trying to deliver the same experience to the flood of new gamers brought into the fold by Nintendo's casual-centric Wii.

Moore said after speaking with focus groups who called their Wii sports titles a "joke" or the outcome of "spoiling a good game", they realized their approach to the Wii had to change.

"We weren't delivering the experience," he said. "We have to make it a little more approachable to allow them to get in early and quickly.

"We can't port content down to the Wii, we need to start building for the Wii from the ground up, that's what we are doing this year."

Specifically, they are doing that with their new All-Play brand which will bring Tiger Woods, NCAA, FIFA, NBA and Madden all to the Wii in versions built specifically for the console. Instead of trying to describe how that will be different, Moore booted up a Wii debug unit to show off how the alpha version of All-Play Madden will look and feel.

Pachter: Console Price Drops This Holiday

Analyst Michael Pachter expects a $50 price drop will be hitting both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 this holiday, but that it will still be hard for the industry to match last year's extraordinary holiday sales.

Speaking at the Electronic Gaming Summit this afternoon, Pachter said that he expects an overall slowdown in video game sales over the next three years.

Pachter expects the industry to see 19 percent growth in the U.S. and 20 percent in Europe this year, with his predicted price drop this holiday. Next year, Pachter expects growth to dip to 16 and 18 percent, unless the consoles drop another $100, which would add another five percent to growth. In 2010 growth will slow to 10 percent and seven percent, unless consoles drop in price by $150, Pachter said.

By the year 2011 Pachter predicts that the industry will flatline unless a new console is introduced.

Wait. That means that game sales will flatten out after six years unless we get a new console. There goes Microsoft's hopes for a seven year console and Sony's plans for a ten year one.

Xbox 360 Looking for the Twister of the 21st Century

Microsoft hasn't forgotten that despite their successes they are still the "challenger brand" in the video game industry, Jeff Bell, Microsoft's corporate vice president of global marketing for Interactive Entertainment Business, told members of the Electronic Gaming Summit today.

After walking the audience through his personal gaming history, which started with Pong in his early teens, Bell talked about gaming generations and how Microsoft works to extend their reach in the industry, reminding the audience that the Xbox is still the new guy in the console wars.

"We are the challenger brand in this category, this is our seventh year really," he said. "We're coming into our eighth holiday, from that stand point we are still the newbie."

Ziff Davis Wraps Up Restructuring, Cuts Debt

Back in March 1Up promised that all of that nasty business with parent company Ziff Davis' bankruptcy would soon be behind them and that they would be a stronger publication for it.

Today, speaking at the 11th Annual Electronic Gaming Summit, Ziff Davis Media CEO Jason Young told the gathered summit members that the restructuring process will be wrapped up in June. More importantly, he noted that their $400 million debt will be reduced to a paltry $57 million, leaving them with the cash flow to invest back in their products, which includes 1Up, EGM and GameVideos.

Sounds like Simon Cox, , Vice President of Content for the 1UP network, hit the nail on the head when he said they would be bigger, better, faster, stronger when they came out of the restructuring.

Stay tuned later today for reports on talks given to this small group by Microsoft's Jeff Bell;, analyst Michael Pachter; Tanya Giles, of MTV; and the always energetic Peter Moore.

UK Hopes To Follow Georgia On Tax Credits

Tiga, the trade association for game developers in the UK, has urged its government to take action in the wake of recently-announced tax breaks for game developers in the state of Georgia. Tiga has for quite some time advocated publicly for similar tax relief to support the game industry in the UK, expressing concern that lack of government support means the UK will lose out in the competitive environment.

"Georgia's introduction of games development tax breaks illustrates once again that other state and national governments are competing to create the most hospitable environment for games production. If the UK Government wants to see a thriving video games industry in this country, then it must create a more favorable taxation system, keep the regulatory burden on business relatively light and work to increase the supply of suitably qualified graduates," said Tiga CEO Richard Wilson.

EA Confirms Take-Two Offer Extension

Electronic Arts announced this morning that it has extended its bid to buy Take-Two. The prior bid expired on Friday, May 16th, and this latest extension, the third since EA announced its bid, gives the publisher until June 16th to negotiate a deal.

According to the latest SEC filing, EA has not raised its bid, as some analysts had speculated it would. The offer remains at $25.74 per share, and as of the time the filing was made, the company reported that only 6,210,261 shares had been tendered to EA - to acquire a majority stake, EA needs more than five times that many.

"Extending our offer will allow the FTC review process to continue," said EA VP of corporate development Owen Mahoney. "EA's offer price remains unchanged at $25.74 per share and our offer is still subject to conditions that include regulatory approval. As stated earlier, we retain the right to terminate the offer if the conditions are not satisfied."

Following EA's extension announcement, Take-Two executives also issued statements:

Ubisoft Leads Casual Games To The Slaughter

What better time to appoint a new head to your company's casual gaming division than casual Friday? Ubisoft reiterates their dedication to the casual gaming space by creating the position of group brand manager for the casual gaming division and filling it with cool, refreshing, former Coca-Cola marketeer Mark Slaughter, not to be confused with the lead singer of heavy metal band Slaughter. Mark will be controlling things from the UK, reporting directly to Ubi's marketing director John Rosenblatt.

Mark will be in charge of all things casual and Ubisoft, from the My Coach line of games to the Petz series. Not sure how comfortable I feel having a man named Slaughter in charge of Petz, but any executive move that has me pondering the headline "Ubisoft Slaughters Petz" can't be all that bad.

Ubisoft appoints new head of casual [Casual Game News]