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Monument Valley made $5.8 million, over 80 percent on iOS
Monument Valley developer Ustwo earned $5,858,625 from sales for the game as of this past Monday, as highlighted in a fancy infographic breaking down the puzzle game's earnings. Of that revenue, 81.7 percent was earned on iOS, compared to 13.9 percent on Android (where it was released about a month later) and 4.3 percent on Amazon. Ustwo says Monument Valley was installed on over 10 million unique devices, though its profits come from 2,440,076 official sales. The original game took $852,000 to develop while its eight-level Forgotten Shores update cost the developer $549,000. It first arrived on iOS in April 2014 and recouped its development costed in its first week; Ustwo has now clarified that its launch day on the App Store amounted to $145,530 in revenue. [Image: Ustwo]
Sony will not renew its FIFA sponsorship
Sony will reportedly not renew its FIFA sponsorship and will instead spend its money on structural reforms, according to Nikkei. The electronics giant began sponsoring the global soccer organization in 2005, signing an eight-year, 33 billion yen ($277 million using current rates) contract, which is set to expire this year. According to Nikkei, Sony participated in sales and marketing for over 40 soccer tournaments during that time, including the 2010 and 2014 World Cup matches. Sony reported a 85.6 billion yen operating loss ($766 million) in October, at which point it noted a thriving Games and Network division led by 13.5 million PS4 shipments. The company upped its loss forecast to 230 billion yen ($2.15 billion) in September after it downgraded its mobile and smartphone business by 180 billion yen ($1.68 billion). It restructured its TV division and sold off its Vaio PC brand in February as well, which resulted in the loss of 5,000 jobs. [Image: Sony]
Apple is probably worth more than your state (or country)
Today's big news on the Apple front is that the company topped a market capitalization of US$700 billion. That's a whole lot of cheddar -- or clams, bucks, greenbacks, simoleons, whatever you feel like calling them -- but when numbers get that big it's hard to understand what it means. To help put it into perspective, here's a list of things less valuable than the entirety of Apple's stock. The GSP (gross state product) of every U.S. state with the exception of California, Texas, New York, and Florida. The GDP of Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Austria, and Belgium. In fact, if Apple were a country it would rank 20th out of 196 countries. The market cap of Microsoft, Sony, Samsung, LG, and HP, combined. 4 International Space Stations 280 Mars Science Laboratory rovers 1,270 U.S. Air Force long-range stealth bombers 1,060 Boeing 747-400 jet airliners 2,800 Hope Diamonds 2.3 billion pairs of Beats Studio headphones
Majesco doubting 'ability to continue' following layoffs
Majesco has fallen on hard times, as the Cooking Mama publisher "implemented a reduction of our workforce to reduce our fixed costs," according to recent SEC filings. The company's layoffs came at the very end of October, just after its independent label Midnight City launched Costume Quest 2 on PS3 and PS4. The publisher reported a net loss of $2.7 million in September for the quarter ending July 31 as well as a net revenue of $2.9 million, a 27.2 percent drop year-over year. When pointing to the earnings report in a November 6 filing, Majesco said it "suffered losses that raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern." Likewise, Majesco is "currently not developing any significant new games for release in fiscal 2015," a period that ends on October 31, 2015. The three games slated to launch during that time are Hello Kitty and Sanrio Friends 3D Racing for 3DS, Gone Home's console port courtesy of Midnight City and Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms for PC, which is currently available in early access form on Steam. [Image: Majesco]
A tiny percentage of app users account for over half of gaming revenue
If you're like me, you often see the revenue figures that free-to-play game companies boast about and wonder who in their right mind is shelling out so much cash. I could probably tally the number of times I've made purchases in free-to-play games on both hands, but there is clearly some segment of the smartphone-owning populous that is doing it far more frequently. According to a new report from analytics and consulting firm EEDAR, it's not a whole bunch of people shelling out moderate amounts of cash -- it's actually a very small percentage of users who are paying in vast sums of money for their gaming habits. By breaking down the numbers and classifying app users as either "non-payers," "moderate payers," or "heavy payers," EEDAR was able to show exactly where the revenue is coming from. The research shows that less than 6% of all the people who use free-to-play apps make up 51% of the app's revenue. That's an astronomical figure, and has to make you wonder whether -- as many, including South Park, recently suggested -- the addictive nature of the games is preying upon those who are naturally predisposed to wasting money they can't afford. via GamesIndustry.biz
EA's quarterly net revenue is up, apparently in spite of SWTOR
Electronics Arts had a bit to say about Star Wars: The Old Republic in its November 4th quarterly report -- and none of it good. The publisher named the sci-fi MMO as one of the properties that had decreased in revenue over the period. While EA's net revenue is up $295 million across the board, "this increase was partially offset by a $181 million decrease in revenue primarily from the SimCity, Crysis and Dead Space franchises, and Star Wars: The Old Republic." It remains to be seen whether next month's Shadow of Revan expansion will give the MMO a healthy bump in revenue when it is released.
Activision Blizzard earnings bolstered by Destiny and World of Warcraft
Another financial quarter is fading into memory, and that means it's time for another earnings call for Activision. The financials tell a fairly bright story for this particular quarter, with the continued sales of Destiny, overall success of Hearthstone, and the subscriber bump for World of Warcraft pushing the company up in revenue compared to the same quarter last year. Destiny, Activision says, has now racked up 9.5 million registered users. As a result of these figures, the company has increased its overall earnings forecast by two percent, with the upcoming phone releases for Hearthstone, a new Call of Duty title, and the Warlords of Draenor release accounting for the increased profits. You can read the whole thing yourself if you want to take a closer look at the company's financial workings.
Activision rakes in $753 million in revenue for Q3 [Update]
Activision reported $753 million in net revenue for the third quarter (ending September 30), a nine percent increase over the publisher's $691 million in revenue recorded for the same period last year. A record 67 percent of the company's revenue came from digital channels, according to Activision's Q3 2014 financial report. The company also reported a $23 million net loss, a sizable drop from its $56 million in income reported in the same quarter last year. Looking ahead, Activision raised its full-year projections by 2 percent thanks to the positive Q3 results. It now expects to earn $4.325 billion in net revenue in 2014, $1.492 billion of which is expected in the next quarter. Besides the continued sales of its hit MMO-meets-shooter, Destiny, Activision will report sales in Q4 for another FPS that just arrived this week, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. The publisher's popular mobile CCG Hearthstone will land on iPhone and Android phones early next year and Android tablets by the end of this year, having already reached 20 million downloads in September. Update: Activision also noted that Destiny reached 9.5 million registered players in its report. The publisher clarified to Engadget that "registered users" "refers to unique PlayStation Network / Xbox Live accounts, while multiple characters per account are not factored in." [Image: Activision]
PS4 sales up to 13.5 million consoles
Sony reported 309.5 billion yen in sales ($2.77 billion) for its Game and Network Services division for the second quarter, ending September 30. It represents an 83.2 percent improvement year-over-year thanks to the continued success of the company's latest home console, PlayStation 4. Shipments for the PS4 have now reached 13.5 million, as the company moved 3.3 million units during the quarter. The Games and Network Services division also posted an operating income of 21.8 billion yen ($195 million), a massive increase compared to the 4.8 billion yen ($43 million) reported in the last quarter and the 4.2 billion yen loss ($37.6 million) year-over-year. While the gaming division thrives, Sony itself is in the red, reporting an 85.6 billion yen operating loss ($766 million). The company increased its loss forecast in September due to its struggling smartphone sales. [Image: Sony]
Ubisoft beats Q2 projections, reports digital revenue surge
Ubisoft revealed today that it earned 124.1 million euros (approximately $156.6 million) in revenue during the second fiscal quarter of 2014 ending September 30, marking a decrease of nearly 43 percent compared to the €217.7 million ($274.8 million) earned in the same quarter last year. The report beats projected quarterly revenue of €85.0 million, however, and represents a sharp rise in sales for the first half of 2014-15. Ubisoft earned a total of €484.2 million in revenue during the first half of 2014-15, putting it far ahead of the €293.3 million reported during first-half 2013-14. The company attributes its gains to continued sales of Watch Dogs and other flagship releases. "The very strong momentum we saw at the beginning of the fiscal year carried on into the second quarter and enabled us to once again exceed our performance expectations," Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said. "Ubisoft continued to capitalize on the popularity of new consoles, the successful launch of Watch Dogs, the quality of its back catalog and the considerable growth of the digital segment. Consequently, our operating income and cash flows improved significantly during the period." Ubisoft additionally reports a 90.4% increase in digital revenue for the first half of 2014-15, compared to last year's results. The company earned €113.7 million during the period from back-catalog sales, and reports €134.7 million in total digital revenue for first-half 2014-15.Reported sales by platform indicate that Ubisoft earned 21 percent of its quarterly revenue on the PlayStation 4, while Xbox One sales account for 9 percent. PlayStation 3 platform sales pulled in 19 percent, PC revenue clocks in at 17 percent, and Xbox 360 game sales earned 16 percent of Ubisoft's Q2 revenue. [Image: Ubisoft]
Take-Two reports slight bump in revenue for Q2
Take-Two reported $126.3 million in revenue for the second quarter (ending September 30), a slight increase compared to the $125.4 million in revenue the publisher reported last quarter. It also represents a 15.1 percent decline compared to the same quarter last year, a period that itself didn't benefit from the launch of GTA 5, but rather The Bureau: XCOM Declassified and Borderlands 2 GOTY. By comparison, Take-Two didn't have many releases in the past quarter, save for three mobile games: Civilization Revolution 2, BioShock and WWE SuperCard. The company also reported a net loss of $41.4 million for the quarter, representing a 66.7 percent improvement year-over-year, yet a 16.9 percent decline from its net losses for the last quarter ($35.4 million). With games like NBA 2K15, WWE 2K15, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and Civilization: Beyond Earth arriving during the following quarter, Take-Two increased its non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) net revenue projections from $745 million to $760 million for Q3 2015. [Image: Take-Two]
EA reports 18% drop in revenue, increased projections
Electronic Arts reported $990 million in net revenue for the three-month period ending September 30, the publisher revealed in its second quarter of fiscal 2015 financial results. That represents an 18.5 percent decline from the $1.21 billion in revenue reported in the last quarter, though it's also a 42.4 percent increase year-over-year. EA also posted a net income of $3 million, a massive improvement compared to its $273 million loss reported at the same time last year. While EA's digital revenue slipped 5.2 percent from $536 million to $508 million in the past quarter, it still represents a 12.9 percent increase year-over-year. EA stated back in August that it hopes to earn $1 billion from add-on content this year, and its Ultimate Team sales in the NHL, FIFA and Madden series may continue to help with that. EA reported a 96 percent increase in revenue on a non-GAAP basis (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) from those three series' Ultimate Team modes over the past year. The publisher also adjusted its expectations for the fiscal year (ending March 31, 2015), adding $75 million to its projections to total $4.375 billion. As for the next quarter, EA expects an increase in net revenue during the holiday season to $1.1 billion. EA also revealed the release date for its popular military shooter in the financial report: Battlefield Hardline will launch on March 17, 2015. [Image: EA]
Take-Two revenue drops 12% in Q1 2015
Take-Two reported $125.4 million in net revenue for the fiscal first quarter of 2015, a three-month period of time that ended on June 30. That represents a 12 percent decline compared to the same quarter last year ($142.7 million), and a 35.8 percent drop from the previous quarter. The publisher also reported a net loss of $35.4 million, a 14.9 percent jump from its $30.8 million losses reported last quarter. That also compares favorably to the same quarter one year ago, as Take-Two's reported losses are a 42.8 percent decrease from the $61.9 million losses for fiscal Q1 2014. The publisher also announced a delay for one of its major upcoming releases, Turtle Rock Studios' Evolve, which will now launch on February 10, 2015. [Image: Take-Two Interactive]
Microsoft's Xbox revenue up 14% thanks to console sales
Microsoft reported an increase in revenue for the Xbox platform to the tune of $104 million, or 14 percent, in its fourth quarter results (ending June 30). Xbox One and Xbox 360 sales teamed with the company's Surface sales to boost its Computing and Gaming Hardware category by 23 percent for the quarter to $1.44 billion (an increase of $274 million). In total, Microsoft reported a 17.7 percent leap in revenue, from $19.9 billion to $23.4 billion in the past quarter. Microsoft says it shipped 1.1 million consoles during the quarter, which compares to one million in the same period of time one year ago. Just last week, the company said sales of its Kinect-less packages doubled Xbox One sales in June. As of April, Microsoft shipped 5 million Xbox One systems to date. Meanwhile, NPD reported a substantial lift in video game hardware sales across the board last week, an increase of 106 percent in June compared to the previous month. [Image: Microsoft]
EA's revenue climbs to $1.21 billion in Q1 2015
Electronic Arts reported a net revenue of $1.21 billion for the first quarter of the fiscal 2015 year (a three-month period that ended on June 30). That represents just over an eight percent increase compared to the company's revenue in the previous quarter ($1.12 billion) and a 27.9 percent increase year-over-year. It boosted its digital revenue by just over nine percent in the last quarter as well, from $491 million to $536 million. EA saw a decrease in its net income by 8.7 percent in the last quarter, from $367 million in Q4 of fiscal 2014 to $335 million. The company's reported net income for the quarter still represents a 50.9 percent increase when compared to the same quarter last year ($222 million). As for its expectations for the second quarter of the financial year (ending September 30), EA anticipates a drop in net revenue to $965 million. The publisher also announced the delay of two games today: Dragon Age Inquisition will now arrive in November, whereas Battlefield Hardline was pushed back to 2015. [Image: Electronic Arts]
World of Warcraft earns over $1 billion a year
According to statistics from SuperData Research, World of Warcraft still dominates the MMO market with 36% market share. The game raked in just over a billion dollars in revenue in 2013, putting it well ahead of its nearest competition -- $253 million for NCSoft's 1998 title Lineage. The ranking of top subscription titles suggests that MMOs need staying power -- WoW is nearly 10 years old and Lineage is 16 -- and a strong Asian presence -- the top 3 are all big titles in Asia -- to sustain them over the long haul. However, even though WoW continues to pull in strong subscription numbers, the industry has seen the subscription model declining sharply while microtransaction revenue has been on an upswing. With both a healthy subscriber base and its own microtransaction strategy, WoW seems prepared to succeed no matter which direction the industry goes. However, the overall subscription trend begs the question: will we ever see a free-to-play version of WoW? Blizzard has said no, and with subscription stats like this we can see why.
Nintendo planning YouTube revenue-splitting affiliate program
Nintendo is planning a revenue-sharing affiliate program for those using gameplay footage of its games on YouTube. Video bloggers and "Let's Play" creators alike will need permission from the publisher to broadcast their gameplay clips, according to two tweets from the publisher (as translated by Gamasutra). Just over one year ago, Nintendo issued Content ID Match copyright claims on YouTube videos that featured gameplay clips from its suite of published titles. After the backlash that followed the House of Mario attempting to obtain the whole pie from YouTubers, it's now settling for a slice of it: The new affiliate program would see ad revenue from videos split among Nintendo, Google and the video creators themselves. Nintendo is apparently getting a head start, as it has already tagged recent gameplay videos, placing their advertisements on them. It's still unknown whether YouTube's Content ID Match system would affect livestreaming platform Twitch, providing the reports that YouTube is in talks to acquire Twitch for $1 billion go through. [Image: Nintendo]
Ubisoft's digital sales jump 32% in fiscal 2014
Ubisoft reported digital sales of 195 million euros ($266.6 million) for the financial year ending March 31, 2014. That represents a 32 percent increase over last year's 148 million euros ($202.3 million) in sales for the segment, which includes digitally-distributed games as well as downloadable add-ons and items. Ubisoft specifically called out South Park: The Stick of Truth in its report, which showed "higher-than-expected digital distribution levels." The publisher said the digital segment was a "substantial contributor to our business," and accounted for 19 percent of the company's total sales for the year. Sales for 2014 were down 17 percent year-over-year to 1 billion euros ($1.4 billion). Ubisoft projects "strong digital growth" for fiscal 2015, expecting the digital segment to amount to 25 percent of the group's total revenues, including its free-to-play efforts for the year, according to the publisher's earnings presentation. [Image: Ubisoft]
Take-Two makes it rain $1 billion more in fiscal 2014
Take-Two reported net revenue of $2.35 billion for fiscal 2014 (the year ending March 31, 2014), a 94 percent growth from its reported revenue of $1.21 billion in 2013. It also reported a net income of $361.7 million, which compares rather favorably to the net loss of $31.2 million it suffered last year. As of the end of fiscal 2014, Take-Two had "cash and cash equivalents of $935.4 million," plenty to make it rain a few times. As for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, Take-Two's net revenue was $195.2 million, a 34.8 percent decrease compared to the same quarter last year ($299.5 million). It also reported a net loss of $30.8 million for the quarter, which compares to the net gain of $21.2 million reported in Q4 2013. The publisher's digitally-delivered revenue increased 65 percent year-over-year to $435.1 million on a non-GAAP basis (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). In its earnings call, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick noted that Grand Theft Auto Online was the "single largest contributor" to the company's digital revenue growth. Take-Two also reported that it has shipped 33 million copies of GTA 5 to date. Looking ahead to the next fiscal year (ending March 31, 2015), Take-Two projects its non-GAAP net revenue to fall between $1.35 billion and $1.45 billion, and anticipates its net revenue between $120 million and $135 million for the next quarter, also on a non-GAAP basis.
Capcom sales up 8.6% thanks to Dead Rising, Monster Hunter
Capcom reported net sales of 102,200 million yen ($1 billion) for the fiscal year that ended March 31, an 8.6 percent increase over the previous year's sales. The publisher also announced a net income of 3,444 million yen ($33.8 million), which amounts to a 15.9 percent increase year-over-year. Capcom attributed some of its increased profits to its Monster Hunter 4 sales in Japan as well as that of Dead Rising 3 for Xbox One. It shipped over four million copies of Monster Hunter 4 as of December, as well as one million copies of Dead Rising 3 by the end of 2013. The publisher also reported a 1.5 percent increase year-over-year in operating income to 10,299 million yen ($101 million) as well as an ordinary income of 10,946 million yen ($107 million) for the year. For the next fiscal year, ending March 31, 2015, Capcom projects net sales of 80,000 million yen ($786 million) and an operating income of 10,500 million yen ($103 million). [Image: Capcom]
