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EE's 10 million 4G customers are great news for BT
EE was the first mobile network to offer 4G in the UK, and now, more than two and a half years later, it's still easily the most popular. The company has accumulated 10 million 4G customers, beating the numbers last reported by Three, O2 and Vodafone. It's a huge lead and one that will please BT, which is in the midst of buying EE's business. BT wants to strengthen its quad play offering and EE, provided the deal goes through, will give it a substantial network and subscriber base to work with. The company already offers mobile contracts -- using EE's network, unsurprisingly -- and Sky has confirmed it'll launch an O2-powered network in 2016. Three UK's owner, meanwhile, is acquiring O2 in order to leapfrog EE and become the UK's biggest carrier. While they sort out the details, BT has some time to fortify its position -- after all, EE's base of 4G subscribers will only continue to grow, benefitting the provider when its £12.5 billion buyout is finally approved.
Into the Dead, endless zombie shooter for mobile, hits 10 million
Mobile games may not all reach the same level of fame as retail or desktop counterparts, but the market is strong, producing games that sell millions more than some of our favorites and support entire teams of developers. Into the Dead from mobile publisher PikPok, for example, just passed 10 million downloads across iOS and Android devices, after five months on the market. Into the Dead is an endless runner combined with a shooter, all set in the zombie apocalypse. It's free on iOS and Android, but a no-ad version of the game is available for $2 as an in-app purchase. And now for a thought experiment: If only 10 percent of players purchase the ad-free game, that's $2,000,000. Not bad for a 5-month-old. If you want to bring Into the Dead to 10,000,001 downloads, head to the App Store or Google Play. Another PikPok game to pass 10 million downloads is Flick Kick Football. The Flick Kick series has clocked in more than 20 million downloads.
Minecraft Pocket Edition hits 10 million downloads
Mojang has announced that the Pocket Edition of its extremely popular sandbox game Minecraft has also reached 10 million downloads, a feat made even more impressive by the fact that the app is being sold for a premium price of $6.99. The original PC version of Minecraft hit 10 million sales back on April 4, but the Pocket Edition was released later, which means it's hit this milestone total much faster. The Pocket Edition started out as a slimmer version of Minecraft meant solely for mobile devices, but with a constant flow of updates, it's improved to the point where it almost matches the PC version feature for feature. And Mojang isn't done with it either. Producer Daniel Kaplan says the backend is being updated, to make future iterations even easier to deliver. That's a huge success story, not just on iOS, but even within the scope of this gigantic game in general. Given this growth, we'll have to see if Minecraft's mobile version might even overtake the PC original before all is said and done.
Minecraft clocks in 10 million PC purchases, dev hints at horses in 1.6
Minecraft (PC) has hit 10M! As promised, a subtle hint on the main 1.6 feature (thanks @ebbakier): imgur.com/qAuCLex :D - Jens Bergensten (@jeb_) April 4, 2013Minecraft has sold 10 million copies on PC, Mac and Linux. That puts the world-builder's total sales across PC, XBLA and mobile well over 24 million, and makes it the seventh best-selling PC game ever, says Mojang Customer Support Manager Marc Watson.To celebrate, developer Jens Bergensten teased a major update coming to version 1.6.(Spoilers: it's a horse.) Minecraft's Redstone Update, 1.5, hit on March 13, and now it seems Mojang has version 1.6 champing at the bit.
Battlestar Galactica Online inches toward 10M players, hands out swag for anniversary
Battlestar Galactica Online has quietly but surely expanded its reach across the cosmos, netting nearly 10 million registered players as the title hits its first anniversary. To celebrate the dual achievement, Bigpoint is dishing out goodies to all of its players over the next week. From today through May 6th, Bigpoint is handing out in-game gifts and bonuses to players. Players need to log in each day to grab these prizes, however. In addition to distributing freebies, BSGO is increasing the daily merit cap and offering special deals for its item shop. Bigpoint CEO Heiko Hubertz sees Battlestar Galactica Online's first year as both a success and the beginning of a great run: "We are thrilled with the tremendous growth of BSGO and how the game has performed over the past year. We're excited to move forward with this momentum, celebrate our achievements, and reward all of our players in the community who helped us get to this point." [Source: Bigpoint press release]
Adidas settlement avoids 'messi' THQ lawsuit over missing miCoach game
Adidas and THQ have decided to down swords and settle their differences out of court. The German sportswear company was lobbing $10 million worth of litigation at the software house after it failed to produce a tie-in game for the miCoach intelligent football boots soccer cleats. The game will now be finished off and published by another one of Adidas' partners after both parties were "properly compensated for their important contributions" (read: they split the bill). Hopefully we can expect the software to arrive soon as we're aching to find out how many meters we cover in our usual games of five-a-side.
Angry Birds Space hits 10 million mark in three days
In its opening weekend (give or take a day or two) Rovio's space-based reinvention has picked up more than 10 million downloads. Presumably assisted by its freebie status on Android devices, Rovio's self-congratulatory tweet didn't give a breakdown across platforms. While we're now assured that a Windows Phone version will join the intergalactic fight, Rovio doesn't appear to need the help.
Zenimax: Skyrim ships 10 million copies, outsells other PC titles three to one
Zenimax has announced 10 million copies of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim have been shipped out to retailers since launch, which represents $650 million in potential sales so far. Keep in mind that those copies are shipped, not sold. Sales for the RPG are doing well so far, and odds are quite a few more of those shipped copies will find their way into homes and stockings this holiday. Zenimax also reports that Skyrim has outsold all other PC games by a factor of three to one in the month since its debut, and currently holds the title for the fastest-selling game in Steam's history. Star Wars: The Old Republic is set to officially arrive next week, so it's hard to see Skyrim holding up that ratio on PC for much longer. In summary: infinity times ten million equals a hell of a lot of dragons.
Microsoft sells 10 million Kinects, 10 million Kinect games
First it was one, then two and a half, then eight, and now we're into double digits. Microsoft has announced that the company has sold its 10 millionth Kinect, surprising us all by making it the world's fastest selling consumer electronics device according to Guinness, finding buyers for somewhere north of 10 million games, too. Now, we know what you're thinking Mr. Cynical: "Each Kinect comes with a game and so of course M$ has sold 10 million titles!" Swallow that smug grin, because that's 10 million standalone games sold, and while a 1:1 tie ratio is hardly approaching PS2 territory it's certainly better than many had expected -- especially you, Mister C.
Samsung sells 9.3 million Galaxy S devices, within reaching distance of its lofty goal
10 million freaking smartphones. Who thought, when Samsung put that number forward as its 2010 Galaxy S sales goal two months ago, that it was actually going to happen? Well, with just over a week left in the calendar year, the Korean giant has racked up 9.3 million sales of its Android superphone globally and actually expects to sneak past the mythical 10 million mark just before the champagne glasses start clinking. The Galaxy S has also scored a win in its home market of South Korea, where its two million units sold so far leads the 1.8 million iPhones sold since the series debuted in November 2009. Hearty congratulations are due to the crew in Seoul, such success doesn't happen by chance, but let's keep working on those Froyo (and Gingerbread!) software updates as well, eh chaps? Update: This article has been updated to reflect Chosunibo's claim that 1.8 million iPhone series devices were sold -- not just iPhone 4 handsets.
Wizard101 announces 10 million registrations
Subscriptions, registered users, unique users, unique players, characters created, accounts created, boxes sold -- there really is no set standard to measure a MMO's popularity and success against these days. The only thing that's for sure is that the bigger the number, the better. Fortunately, Wizard101's claim to fame is more solid than most, as they recently announced their 10,000,000th registered wizard in Wizard City and are throwing a party in honor of the game's growth. Wizard101 has been a runaway success since its launch, pulling in players across several demographics, from family to tweens to seasoned MMO vets. The hybrid model, offering a selection of both subscription and free-to-play options, has also opened the game up to a larger playerbase. To celebrate the 10 million milestone, KingsIsle is throwing a party for wizard #10,000,001 at Ravenswood School of Magical Arts. All players are eligible to receive a nifty party pack that holds a decorative banner, balloons, a festive party hat and moist, delicious cake. To snag it, all wizards and witches are directed to head to www.wizard101.com/promo and enter the word PARTYPACK to enjoy the fruits of their play. Congrats to KingsIsle on this impressive achievement!
Netflix breaks the 10 million subscriber mark, keeps on truckin'
We can't say the economic crisis has been too kind to every industry, but it's been a best friend to Netflix. As consumers divert their out-on-the-town dollars to sit-on-my-arse-and-watch-Netflix dollars, the by-mail and streaming movie rental company is just breaking records left and right. After closing a stellar 2008 with 9.4 million customers, the company has today announced that the 10 million mark has been crossed. For those struggling with basic math, that means that it has added 600,000 net subscribers since January 1st. So, where does Netflix go from here? Into every nook and cranny it can, of course, so don't be shocked to see Watch Instantly creep onto your next HDTV, set-top-box, Blu-ray player or portable microwave. Seriously, it could happen.
World of Warcraft hits 11 million subscribers worldwide
Even in the middle of zombies, nerfs, and Death Knights, World of Warcraft has continued to grow. Blizzard announced today that World of Warcraft has achieved 11 million subscribers. To help with perspective, that's as many people as had been employed by the construction industry last year, or just slightly under the population of Greece. When WoW hit 10 million back in January, Blizzard acknowledged how big the holiday season had been for them. Now consider that we're going into a new holiday season with a brand new expansion on the way. Even if other games are looking to get a piece of the action, we should expect Blizzard to keep steamrolling with their great success. Word of mouth from the recent zombie event might be exciting older players to return, and programs like Recruit-a-Friend will keep growing their active base. We should expect to see the 12 million landmark sometime in 2009. WoW had hit 9 million subscribers back in July of 2007. Like we said, 10 million subscribers was reached in January of 2008. It took a little longer to grow from 10 to 11 than it did to get from 9 to 10, but if they keep up this rate, we should see the 12 million announcement around February or March.
Analyst: WoW to add a million players in a year
At least one person who claims to be in the know believes that WoW ain't done yet: Colin Sebastian, an analyst at Lazard Capital Markets, believes that by the end of 2009, World of Warcraft will have picked up at least another million players around the world, in addition to the 10.9 million he says are already in the game. The launch of Wrath of the Lich King and the surge in popularity of the game in China will bring the game up to as much as 12 million players before the end of 2009.There's no question that WoW's population has slowed down lately -- the last time we heard an official update from Blizzard was way back in January, and while this analyst claims there are more nowadays, there's no question that things have plateaued for the moment. But maybe there are some more folks out there who haven't played yet, and maybe Wrath of the Lich King will bring them into the fold.He also mentions Warhammer Online, as you might expect (isn't that pretty much a requirement anytime you talk about MMO populations these days?), but he's landed on the same conclusion both Blizzard, Mythic, and all of their players have already ended up at: WAR isn't really going to affect what WoW does, and vice versa. "Core WoW users," apparently, have "limited interest" in the other big MMO out there at the moment.
Call of Duty 4 sells 10 million units
Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4 has just reached that coveted eighth digit in unit sales. The developer told CNET yesterday that the shooter had sold over 10 million units across all platforms. While unable to provide a breakdown of the figures, Infinity Ward said it had sold the best on Xbox 360.According to the studio, it is one of "less than 10" games to reach the 10 million mark since 2000. Although we don't know for sure what those games are, our best guesses are The Sims, The Sims 2, World of Warcraft, a half dozen Nintendo DS games and Wii Play. As of January 2008, Halo 3 was at 8.1 million units sold worldwide. (It should be noted that the Call of Duty 4 has an advantage here by merit of the PC and PS3 versions.) As for Call of Duty 5, Activision has still not confirmed which franchise regular is developing the game, be it Treyarch or Infinity Ward. Rumors suggest the former, but given COD4's success, we really hope IW gets to latch onto the series and keep hold.Update: We just got word from Activision that the 10 million figure does not take into account the Mac and DS versions of the game.%Gallery-3922%
WoW and the PC gaming market
With over 10 million subscribers, World of Warcraft commands a pretty hefty chunk of the PC gaming market. Stopping by my local Best Buy, I asked their Geek Squad members to simply: "Show me the machines for WoW." One guy smiled, nodded, and took me to what he called "the WoW rack.""These are the machines," he promised me, "that'll get you through the game." According to my Geek Squad advisor, there's been more than a few memos in the store about which machines to recommend for World of Warcraft. "Corporate wants to be sure," Brian told me, "that you people can get Warcraft machines right out of the box."Best Buy isn't alone in this preparedness. AMD Game! is a branding label that, in theory, recommends the best-of-the-best, all according AMD. They prescribe a set of base, minimum requirements for a computer, and then run that box through a series of games to be sure the game plays the way it's supposed to play. If the system passes muster, then the system is allowed to stamp itself with the coveted AMD Game! label. And, yup: World of Warcraft is certainly on that list.And since the World of Warcraft XPS sports an nVidia card -- you can be pretty tootin' sure that gets tested as well. While the XPS still costs a little more than most might pay, it's branded, toyed-out the wazoo, and all about WoW. WoW: Im in ur PC market, designin' ur boxes.[Via Gamers Hell]
World of Warcraft hits 10 million players
Blizzard has announced that the little game that could has hit another big, round number: they are now claiming 10 million World of Warcraft players globally. Gamasutra is reporting that WoW has about 2 million subscribers in Europe, about 2.5 million in North America, and approximately 5.5 million in Asia. They've also taken the step of qualifying what they mean when they say 'subscriber', something critics have used as a knock against their impressive subscriber numbers in the past due to the way that accounts are used in Korea and China. A subscriber, according to Blizzard, is someone who has "paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access."That number notably doesn't count promo subscriptions, expired accounts, canceled subscriptions, or unused prepaid cards. They are counting 'PC Bang' players by considering an account active if it has been used within the last 30 days. Subscribers that connect to the game under licensees like The9 are counted under the same guidelines.It's a little staggering to consider the sheer number of people playing this game now. When I started playing these games 50,000 people in one world was a big deal; Lineage, EQ, and FFXI were big-time by being at or over 500,000 people. Now with titles like WoW, Gaia Online, MapleStory, and even Habbo Hotel demolishing the old concept of a Massive world, it's ... more than a little bit exciting. I also think it's time that people just stop comparing WoW to other US-developed MMOs. People keep talking about a "WoW Killer", but ... 10 MILLION people, people. World of Warcraft isn't a game, it's a city. It makes as much sense to compare WoW to Dungeons and Dragons Online as it does to compare Scrabble with Chicago. That's just my opinion ... what do you think? Will there be a "WoW Killer" someday?
Apple Store Sydney storefront leaked
The Sydney Morning Herald has been doing a little poking around the city council blueprints office, and they've come back with an artists' representation of what the new Apple Store will look like there-- a huge glass cube, basically, embedded in the building. A few people who sent it to us (thanks!) said there was supposed to be a huge Apple hanging in the window, but I don't see it. I believe it'll be there, though-- the New York store has a similar design, and the SMH article does mention that big white Apple logo.It also mentions that Apple is going to stick a huge crane in the street to set up all that glass, and that the store will have three full levels, with the top level going to the Genius Bar. Also nice to see that Apple is tight-lipped about mentioning the store to the newspaper, making them (I'm pretty sure) the only company ever to keep the lid shut on an upcoming retail location. I'm sure the folks from Wal-mart would love to chat with the media about one of their new stores.Still, it'll be nice for you Aussies to have somewhere to go and get your iPhones, MacBooks, and Cinema Displays-- the UK store has already hit 10 million visitors. Word is that the Sydney store will open sometime after mid-2008.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
DS Lite: Ten million strong ... and growing
Just today, we learned that the total DS sales in Japan had (probably) reached almost 17 million. It turns out there's another milestone nested inside that number! According to Famitsu, the DS Lite is responsible for 10 million on its own as of this month. It's not surprising that the DS Lite is responsible for the majority of Japanese sales. At this point, the only thing holding Lite sales back is production. Still, we'd be jaded if we didn't think 10 million sold in one year was awesome. And that's just Japan! Worldwide, it's over 22 million.
Nintendo DS Lite breaks 10 million in Japan
While the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii fight with machismo for who will be king of the consoles, the dainty Nintendo DS Lite is already the queen with 10 million units sold in Japan. Famitsu says that the latest Japanese hardware sales figures point to the DS breaking this milestone in 61 weeks. It took the PS2 131 weeks.Japan is hardly the only place where the DS reigns supreme. It's incredible to think how well the little system has sold in such a small amount of time. Yes, the DS sports solid games and goes after a diverse audience, but 61 weeks? One can argue that the PS2 doubled as a DVD player in many homes, so it makes sense why that, along with an amazing game library, would sell well. The DS Lite remains in short supply in Japan and 10 million is looking like a 5-minute pit stop to the system's final numbers.
