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Sega 'looking to improve Sonic strategy,' reducing supply of older Sonic games
There are stories emanating from the mysterious coalition known simply as "Europe" that Sega -- responsible for some of your dearest childhood memories and, maybe, your first heartbreak -- is busy "delisting" less-than-stellar Sonic the Hedgehog titles from European retailers. Jurgen Post, Sega SVP of EMEA (that's Europe, the Middle East and Africa), told MCV, "Any Sonic game with an average Metacritic has been de-listed," continuing, "We have to do this and increase the value of the brand. This will be very important when more big Sonic releases arrive in the future." While that certainly sounds ominous, we asked Alan Pritchard – newly instated veep of sales and marketing for Sega US and the man who held Mr. Post's spot until just a couple month's ago – to clarify what it means for Europe, for Sonic and (jingoism be damned!) for North America. "I think perhaps Jurgen's comments have somewhat been taken out of context," Pritchard told Joystiq. "It's not quite as drastic as what Disney do for example. They bring out Lion King and all of a sudden there's a cut-off date, and you can't buy Lion King for another six months. It's not quite as drastic as turning the tap off completely. We want consumers and retailers to defocus from the back catalog, the older titles and focus more on the new-release titles."
Blockbuster avoids bankruptcy for now, but not NYSE delisting
Things stateside haven't gone the way of Blockbuster Portugal (yet) but while the Blockbuster was able to make arrangements with creditors and avoid bankruptcy this week, it will be forced to delist from the New York Stock Exchange after a proposed reverse stock split fell through. Even the extension on debt payments it was able to negotiate hasn't satisfied analysts, with our old friend Michael Pachter telling Reuters "there's nothing on the horizon that makes it look like Blockbuster is going to be more profitable." Ouch. A substantial amount of debt has long been a problem for Blockbuster as it tries to adjust to a changing marketplace with Redbox and Netflix, and with shares trading at .18, has now made its existence more precarious than ever.
Majesco threatened with Nasdaq delisting, again
Majesco, publisher of Cooking Mama and ... other stuff, has received a delisting notice from the Nasdaq stock market. The company now has 180 calendar days to bring its stock above $1 per share, the minimum required to remain on the exchange. The trick, though, is it can't just pop its fiscally hurting head above a buck for a day and everything will go back to being right with the world again. The company needs to hold the price for "a minimum of 10 consecutive trading days prior to August 30, 2010." This is not the first time Majesco was threatened with being kicked from the exchange. The company came back from the brink of that potential delisting disaster early last year. If you're curious to see what happens after a company is delisted, here are two case studies: Midway and Atari.
Majesco cooks up compliance with Nasdaq
Majesco has regained compliance with the Nasdaq stock exchange after completing a stint of ten consecutive days with a stock price of over $1. When asked for comment, Cooking Mama exclaimed, "RONDERFUL!"The publisher is known for Cooking Mama and ... um. Anyway, last August, Majesco was informed it had 180 days to get its stock back in compliance with Nasdaq rules or face delisting. Optimistically, buying the stock now at its bargain price would be fantastic if Majesco can find another franchise (A Boy and his Blob?) worth its salt and pepper.[Via GoNintendo, GamerInvestments]
Midway kicked all the way out of NYSE
Midway's stock has succumbed to the Swamps of Sadness and been delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. MCV reports that the walking corpse of a company failed to bring its stock to over $1 per share for over 30 days during the last few months, thus prompting the NYSE regulatory commission to show the publisher the door.So, let's take just the last week of Midway drama into account: The company has alleged corrupt insider dealings going on and probably can't afford its ESA dues nor E3 ... oh yeah, it also likely couldn't afford to publish The Wheelman, so it made a deal with Ubisoft to do so. If Midway were a house, we'd imagine CEO Matt Booty with a gas can, getting ready to burn it down for the insurance money ... you know, if it actually had the money to pay for the insurance.
Midway receives delisting notice from NYSE
Industry folks have been joking that Midway is the new Atari; however, while Atari is finding redemption in rebirth, Midway continues to sink deeper into the Swamps of Sadness. The latest bit of bad news comes from the New York Stock Exchange, which has put the publisher on notice for potential delisting.NYSE states that Midway needs a closing price of at least $1 over 30 consecutive days -- the stock is currently trading at about 25¢. According to NYSE rules, the publisher has six months to save itself from delisting. At this time, the house of Booty has its financial future pinned on the performance of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe and Wheelman. Do you have the heart to tell Midway how this will end?
Majesco cooking up recipe for delisting
We hope you can smell what's cooking, Mama. 'Cause it ain't the sizzlin' aroma of seasoned ground beef. Nasdaq today gave notice to Majesco Entertainment, warning the publisher that its single share value had dipped below the minimum required for continued inclusion on the market. In other words, you're better off carrying a pocketful of pennies than owning a share of Majesco stock.The company is being given 180 days to gets its recipe in order or else the kitchen's closed.
Microsoft's Scott Austin talks XBLA delistings and delays
During an E3 appointment today, we confronted Scott Austin, Director of Digitally Distributed Games for Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade, about two controversial XBLA topics: delistings and delays.Austin was dodgy, unfortunately. When asked when games might start disappearing from the service, he stayed mum, only saying that Microsoft wanted to "keep evolving and improving [its] content." We also asked for comment on the unofficial list of games that met the criteria for delisting, and he agreed that the list is accurate according to the criteria.We also talked to Austin about the delays that Microsoft has made in releasing content, and he told us that Microsoft runs a very stringent QA process in addition to any processes the developers run for themselves. The largest part of these delays, he said, is "making sure the games we release are high quality" -- Microsoft runs every game through for bugs, and will then send back to the developers any game that has issues. When pressed for a percentage of games that are sent back for bugs, Austin told he us didn't have that information.
Sony mocks the 360 for its XBLA de-listing and UI
Getting in a few jabs heading into E3, Sony's PlayStation Network boss Eric Lempel decided to call out Microsoft on their Xbox Live Arcade de-listing antics and making fun of the Xbox 360 for its use of an inferior user interface."We definitely want to make sure that [the PlayStation Store] offers quality titles and games that our consumers are going to enjoy" Lempel told GamesIndustry.biz, saying that "depending on what type of UI you have you can accommodate a lot of titles." Then, Lempel throws in a verbal left hook, saying that "over at the competitors' UI they may have some issues just displaying content, and scrolling up and down lists isn't the easiest way to find things." Ouch. We'll be the first to acknowledge the 360's XBLM may not incorporate the best way to navigate content, but the PSN isn't all peaches and creme either. Maybe Sony is just feeling the need to blow off some steam because, as we all know, releasing a 2.4 update can cause a lot of unwanted stress.
It's too hard to find stuff on XBLA, says Microsoft
You know that sweet Ikea bookshelf you've been fawning over? It would go great in the family room, proudly displaying all of your favorite books and even that Precious Moments statue you pretend to like when your girlfriend stops by. It's functional, and makes things easy to find. But put a few thousand items on that same bookshelf and what you'd be left with is a colossal mess, something not unlike Microsoft's great, but equally cluttered Xbox Live Marketplace.Speaking to MTV Multiplayer, Aaron Greenberg, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Xbox Live product management director, owned up to the service's organization ills. "I think that we are not...happy with the ability to find and discover content," he said, adding that Microsoft "built Xbox Live Marketplace for a few hundred items and now we have 17,000 items." It's something the company is hoping to correct, at least in part with its controversial decision to shelve under-performing Xbox Live Arcade releases, but Greenberg admits that Microsoft is still looking for a solution to make content on Xbox Live easier to track down. We've contacted our Joystiq mentalists, who are at this very moment trying to project two simple words into the minds of XBL devs. Search. Bar.
Potentially delisted XBLA games revisted
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/xbox/Delisted_XBLA_games_Revisiting_those_on_the_chopping_block'; We know which Xbox Live Arcade games are potentially on the chopping block, but what makes them tick? Do they really deserve to be condemned to the XBLA graveyard? Joystiq took it upon themselves to play each and every game that has been on the service for more than six months and have a Metacritic average of less than 65%, two of the three criteria a title must meet to be considered for delisting (the third criterion, a conversion rate of less than 6%, isn't known outside the hallowed halls of Microsoft). Press the delete key above to check out the best and worst.
All of Xbox Live Arcade's potential delisters revisited
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/xbox/Delisted_XBLA_games_Revisiting_those_on_the_chopping_block'; Although Microsoft has yet to make a formal announcement about any games that fall into the company's new delisting policy for games on Xbox Live Arcade, we do know the criteria for titles in danger (six months old, 65 or less Metacritic score, less than 6% buy the game after trying the demo). There's no way of knowing what games have less than 6% adoption rate, but we do know what games are old and poorly reviewed. We've revisted every single XBLA title on the chopping block (the demos, at least) to give quick impressions on the rogue's gallery of titles. Find out which games were the best of the worst and, well, worst of the worst. Meet the games who may be evicted from XBLA by hitting that fancy button above. Or don't ... don't press the button!Vote: Your pick for best of the XBLA chopping block, and also the worst of the XBLA chopping block. (Update: The results are in.)
XBLA delistings will put focus on quality, argues Microsoft
Microsoft's controversial decision to bump certain games off its Xbox Live Arcade service has generated plenty of discussion, with most pundits wondering why a shelf with infinite space is suddenly in need of clearing. Speaking to MTV Multiplayer, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Xbox Live product management director, Aaron Greenberg, argued that the move -- which is beginning to sound like a threat aimed at more dubious developers -- would ultimately promote a greater number of quality titles. "What you're going to see [is that] Arcade, in general, is going to focus on quality over quantity," he said. "While you will see [some] titles get delisted, hopefully you won't see many games getting delisted. [You'll see a] higher quality of games that won't fall into that criteria."Greenberg also sees the cleansing, which "outweighed the cons of expanding the shelf," as a move that will improve the service's appearance to new customers. "They're going to turn on the Xbox and go into Arcade and [see] a much higher quality of selection. You want consumers to get that experience for the first time [and see that] every Arcade game is a high-quality game, so their first purchase is most likely going to be a great game."We suspect having a clearly marked "rubbish" bin could similarly point new users to the good stuff, but it seems Microsoft would prefer not to have a waste basket standing right in the foyer.
X3F Interview: Load Inc.'s Denis Bourdain
Coming soon from developer Load Inc. and publisher Southpeak is Things on Wheels, an RC racer for the Xbox Live Arcade that invokes memories of the classic, ReVolt. Hot off the heels of developing and releasing Mad Tracks for the Arcade, Load Inc. has been hard at work on their latest vision of fast-and-fun arcade racing.In an exclusive interview with business developer Denis Bourdain of Load Inc., we discuss the inspiration and process of creating a new racer for the XBLA, the recent delisting controversy and the problem with retail in international markets.Jump inside and fasten your seatbelt for the exclusive interview with Load Inc.'s Denis Bourdain.%Gallery-22522%
Load Inc: Delisting was 'news to us,' not a concern
In an exclusive interview with X3F since Microsoft announced XBLA delisting, Load Inc. business developer Denis Bourdain told us the Mad Tracks dev team heard about the new initiative the same way we all did -- through the press."It was news to us, but doesn't make a lot of difference," Bourdain told X3F as the team finishes their new Xbox Live Arcade title, Things on Wheels.Mad Tracks, an arcade party car title, received mixed reviews when it was released in May '07 netting it just under the 65% Metacritic rating minimum for delisting, putting its availability on the XBLA platform in jeopardy."Our conversion rate is much higher than 6%, but Microsoft remains the only one calling the shots." Bourdain said. "Prior to making XBLA games, we were making retail PC titles. You get taken down without notice after 6 months in most stores ... [after almost a year] We feel already privileged to have lasted this long."The full interview will be online later this afternoon.
Atari gets delisted by Nasdaq
As of today Atari has been delisted by the Nasdaq stock exchange, but the company states it will appeal. The company was first threatened with delisting last July after it failed to submitits year-end financials, then again in December because its market value was too low, and one final time in March for not fixing its issues from the previous year. The publisher will have its stock quoted on Pink Sheets and OTC Bulletin Board until the decision is reversed.The delisting of Atari won't stop the $11 million buyout by Infogrames or the master plan of CEO David Gardner, Directeur Général Délégué Phil Harrsion and rest of the new Atari/Infogrames crew. Bargain hunters looking for a good deal might want to see if Gardner would be willing to trade some Atari stock for a casserole or some landscaping work.
Atari may get the boot from Nasdaq
If Atari's financial woes weren't already a beacon that the legendary game company has fallen far, their notice of potential delisting from the Nasdaq stock exchange should pretty much seal the deal. Atari received the notice from Nasdaq because they did not file their financial report for their fiscal year ending March 31.Atari says they haven't filed yet because they're still trying to figure out what accounting entries they need to make. With any luck The Witcher and Alone in the Dark will help the company out this fiscal year. Heck, for all we know, My Horse & Me could be Atari's killer application which will help them ride into the land of fiscal fortitude.
Apple won't be delisted from the NASDAQ
There was a chance that Apple would be delisted from the NASDAQ, which is never good for a company's stock. The issue stemmed from the investigation of options irregularities which forced Apple to restate earnings. This, in turn, delayed the filing of some paperwork, a 10Q form to be exact, therefore leading to possible delisting.Luckily, the NASDAQ stated that they will not delist Apple as long as the company files their 10Q within 2 months. Peter Oppenheimer, Apple CFO, says that if Apple is unable to meet that deadline they will file for an extension.[via the Mac Observer]
