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Activision-Blizzard reveals that it's sitting on a big pile of money
This year, Activision and Blizzard merged under French media group Vivendi (Blizzard's parent company) to become the biggest, baddest game publisher in the known universe. To make sure investors know just how awesome that event was, Vivendi sent out a press release describing its generally excellent financial condition.Earnings for Vivendi as a whole were reported to be up 10.2% for the first six months of this year. While game division earnings are still actually down compared to this time last year, that should be no cause for alarm. It can be attributed to the lack of a World of Warcraft expansion. By this time last year, The Burning Crusade had reached store shelves.Vivendi assured investors that it still plans to release Wrath of the Lich King by the end of this year, so that bump is still coming. But will Wrath be as big as The Burning Crusade? By definition it can't be any bigger, because you have to have played the TBC content to reach the point where you can enjoy most of what Wrath has to offer, right? Apparently we'll see soon. One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs!
Nintendo makes ridiculous amounts of money in Q1
Nintendo has to be a short step away from building an evil fortress in a volcano, because now they have super villain money. Like, the kind of money Dr. Doom could use to take over the entire world. Good thing Nintendo isn't evil and just wants us to play games.During Q1 of this year, Nintendo earned nearly 1 billion dollars (107.2 billion yen). We can only imagine how many Deathstars that could build. Hardware sales showed the DS at 6.94 million units (which was down from 6.98 million year-over-year), bringing lifetime DS sales to 77.54 million units. As for DS software, sales were up, increasing by 2.33 million units to 36.59 million. With this slight dip in DS hardware sales, some analysts are showing concern.Hiroshi Kamide, an analyst at KBC Securities Japan, commented to the AFP in Tokyo that "for the first time, we've actually seen DS hardware sales fall year-on-year. The DS has hit a bit of a high-water mark." If the opinions of gaming bloggers count for anything, we're going to go on the record and state that we aren't worried in the least. With a Grand Theft Auto game coming to the DS, along with the DS just being awesome overall, we think the handheld still has a fighting chance.
Nintendo stocks rise, execs get jewel-encrusted unicorn bonuses
Or, in the case of the fellow to the right, the Tony Montana bathtub.For those of you who've been keeping track of the business situation with Nintendo, then you've already got your party hat on and have made several copies of your butt with the Xerox machine. Nintendo's stocks are on the rise. In fact, they're at a five-month high.What's behind this rise? Well, The Telegraph is reporting that it's due to those of us here in the United States, because we've been buying up Wiis and Nintendo products like it's going out of style. So, if you've bought a Wii or Nintendo game recently, pat yourself on the back. You're helping Nintendo prosper.[Via GamesIndustry.biz]
Financial analysis looks at PC vs. console costs
Even the most diehard PC gamer has to admit that their console gaming brethren get the better end of the deal as far as costs are concerned. But exactly how much does a console gamer save over the system'ss lifespan? A poster over at TechConsumer crunched the numbers and found that, when everything is added up, the savings aren't necessarily that great.When all is said and done, the full Xbox 360 gaming setup (including TV, accessories and Xbox Live subscription) costs $3,152 over six years, about $350 less than a basic gaming PC for the same period. Of course that cost includes a 42" 1080p TV, while the comparable PC uses a relatively paltry 22 inch display. When a comparable screen is used on the PC, the savings on the console side balloon to near $1,200.The real killer for the PC, of course, is the upgrades (estimated in this study at $250 every other year) and recommended full-on replacements (every three years) that come much more frequently than the console equivalents (one replacement every six years). So, PC gamers, is it worth the extra money?
500,000 have signed up for Age of Conan
Funcom and Eidos spun Age of Conan's high level of anticipation in the community by announcing that more than half a million people have signed up for either the game's beta test or its fan club.That's a fairly impressive number, although it doesn't necessarily predict sales. After all, beta testing is free; who knows how many people will actually drop $50 (or €40, or £30, or whatever other currency) for the box and then 15 bucks a month thereafter?Hopes must be high at Funcom, though, given the financial pressure the game's development has put on the company. Next Generation reported that Funcom's Q4 2007 losses were over three times those of Q4 2006 ($3.1 million vs. $1 million respectively) due in part to the cost of AoC's development. Don't let that add to your fears about the development status, though; the company still has $52.4 million to spare.
AMD admits it overpaid for ATI, will take unspecified charge
Although you may not have been paying close attention to the actual breakdown, $3.2 billion of the staggering $5.6 billion AMD coughed up in order to acquire ATI last year was simply an estimated goodwill value. Unfortunately for the world's number two chip maker, that estimate wasn't exactly accurate. Reportedly, AMD admitted that it did indeed overpay for ATI, and to make matters worse, it noted that it would be forced to "write down the value of the goodwill estimate it attached to ATI" in a recent SEC filing. If you're curious about the exact amount, however, you'll be staying on pins and needles for the time being, as even AMD isn't sure how large the charge will be. Granted, things could certainly be worse, but we'd bet AMD would argue otherwise.
The MMO scorecard
Ancient Gaming Noob has a scorecard up-- after all the hype about the next big MMO after World of Warcraft, he's listed out eight criteria an up-and-coming MMO needs to meet to really be as big as Blizzard's epic game is.And I tend to agree with everything. A great MMO needs to be both a brand of its own and a strong IP, and that right there is enough to get rid of most of the contenders. Tabula Rasa is a good idea, but what makes it unique to any of the other "sci fi legends" settings throughout the rest of history? System spec compatibility, quality and polish, and solo play are Blizzard standbys, and they had the genius and the knowhow to put them into an MMO. Not many game companies can do these three things effectively, although I'd put Bioware on that list (what they miss out in system specs they make up for in quality), and their upcoming MMO will be something to see for sure.PvP and Sandbox play are two things that can turn a good game into a really great game, and again, there are only a few companies so far that can really get it right. Mythic is an old veteran of PvP, but the big question with Warhammer Online will be whether it can appeal to a casual audience in the way that WoW does-- remember, you have to meet all eight of these criteria to really have a chance at beating WoW. And finally, AGN lists financial stability as a must, and that's a no brainer-- it's why Gods and Heroes didn't make it.It's a good list-- I'd say that if he's missing anything, it's that you need to make 100% sure your game is socially accessible. WoW does that with a strong guild system, an easy to navigate realm system, Horde and Alliance factions (you're more likely to make ties when you know an opponent is hunting for you), lots of emotes and waves, and pop culture references that even new players can "get" and see as familiar. Even a terrific game won't reach WoW heights if nongamers log in and don't understand what they see.
New non-game to ignore: Doing My Best Family Finance Diary
The non-game avalanche continues in merry old Japan, this time with a digital check register for the DS called Ganbaru Watshi no Kakei Diary, or "Doing My Best Family Finance Diary". The app lets you input all your expenses (food, bills, gambling debts to the mafia) and helps track your spending with several different types of graphs. After a month's worth of spending, cute fuzzy animals help you reach your spending goals. If that doesn't get your accounting cells are getting all hot and bothered, we're not sure what will.[Via Infendo]
Cha-Ching 1.0.3 released with better performance, searching and download support
Cha-Ching, the streamlined money manager that aims to put the fun back finances, has made a minor update to v1.0.3 with some truly useful new features and fixes. At the top of the list is a database migration to Mac OS X's built-in SQLite to boost performance, as well as search enhancements for using multiple tags and searching both To and From fields, but that's not all. Included in the update are: OFX and QFX support added Can now sort transactions in Print Panel Printing now uses already filtered list of transactions Source pane can now be expanded much more The update can be had either by running Cha-Ching (chose Check for Updates from the app menu if it doesn't check automatically), or by heading over to the Midnight Apps site.
Fujitsu subsidiary dinged for booking fictitious sales
While you may assume that three's company, it looks like Fujitsu Kansai Systems has little choice but to join the dubious trio in yet another round of bookkeeping scandals. Aside from questioning the quality of accounting curriculums in Japan, parent company Fujitsu is being faced with news that one of its subsidiaries allegedly "booked fictitious sales," and while we're sure it wishes the slight dip in stock prices were the only consequence, we're also hearing that "other companies may be involved with the bogus accounting at the software-consulting and sales unit." Of course, spokespersons for the company simply reiterate that investigations are ongoing, but at least one instance of circular sales involving NAJ has reportedly been divulged. So, who's next? [Warning: Read link requires subscription]
APPL moves up
Yesterday AAPL continued its upward growth. The stock gained 36 cents to $100.76 according to Forbes. Apple was one of several Internet stocks trading higher yesterday including Real Networks and Amazon.com. So will investors continue to hold onto their AAPL stock or will they cash out for profit? TUAW remains completely agnostic on the matter so we turn this over to you. What are your thoughts, stock-investing readers?
Iwata reminds Nintendo of America who's boss
(Hint: it's Iwata. Iwata is boss.) Nintendo just released their financial results briefing, which contains a transcript of a question-and-answer session with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. Ever wondered what it would be like to work for Iwata? This quote should replace that wonder with terror: "When I received a report from the U.S. that they sold 1 million Pokémon Diamond & Pearl already, I asked them, 'why did you sell only 10,000 Brain Age last week, when Europe sold through 30,000?' This is a typical example of how I communicate with our people in the U.S."Why would Iwata be so mean in the face of ostensibly great news? Because he's a huge jerk? Probably not. For one thing, Pokémon selling a million copies doesn't mean that anyone at Nintendo of America did anything particularly well. All they had to do was release it, making sure that the word "Pokémon" was clearly visible on the box.But more importantly, Iwata isn't looking just to sell a bunch of games. He wants to expand the gaming market in the US like the DS has in Japan, and for that, Brain Age needs to get into non-gamers' hands. Then Nintendo can sell a bunch of games to them as well as to Nintendo fans. As Iwata notes in the report, 500,000 DS systems were sold in the US in March, which is a large number, but not as large as the 600,000 to 700,000 sold in Japan each month.[Via NeoGAF]
Cha-Ching update brings fixes, 1.0 by April
Cha-Ching, Midnight Apps' handy Quicken-killer that takes the pain out of managing your money, has received a minor update to v0.5.2. While the notable changes like UI improvements, bug fixes and confirmation dialogs when deleting items aren't much to write home about, the third change from the emailed press release is what has me excited: "upgraded database in preparation for version 1.0." I spoke with Juan Alvarez, lead developer of Cha-Ching, about an ETA for 1.0, and it's apparently slated to land before the end of April with some rocking new features and changes. Cha-Ching itself has received a major overhaul in preparation for the big 1.0, so stay tuned for more details and some pre-release screenshots as soon as we can publish them.
Cha-Ching presentation at the Apple Store
Juan Alvarez, developer and CEO at Midnight Apps, gave a CocoaHeads presentation at the Apple Store Thursday night of the new 0.5 version of Cha-Ching, his slick money app that brings financial management out of the stone ages with the beauty of Mac OS X and Cocoa. While Cha-Ching is still in a half-1.0 beta status, it's a pretty impressive app powered by some slick innovation. Read on for some sexy screenshots and feature highlights of this latest version.
How much will Macworld really cost me?
No. I'm not traveling to Macworld. But I was mentioning to the husband that I was probably going to buy an iTV after it gets announced and/or introduced at Macworld. "Right," he replied. "And how much is that going to end up costing us?" So I sat down and started to figure out exactly how much that $299 gadget (assuming free shipping) would make a dent in our finances. Here's how it works out. If you give a girl an iTV, she's probably going to want to be able to hook the iTV up to the TV with some good quality cables. So figure another $50 for those cables... And if you give a girl an iTV and cables to hook it up to a TV, she's probably going to start thinking about replacing that old 27-inch unit with a shiny new high def widescreen plasma or LCD system that would run, oh say, maybe $1500 on a good sale... And if you give a girl an iTV, with a cable to hook it to a shiny new HDTV, and you really think about it, she's probably going to want need to get a rockin' sound system for another two grand or so, right? And if you give a girl an iTV, with cables, HTDV and a rockin' sound system, she's going to totally need at least a new $2500 Mac Pro with tons of disk space and 802.11n to connect to that iTV and a year's worth of (high def?) iTunes movies and TV shows, at say $500-ish? And if that girl is rockin' out with her iTV, cables, HDTV, sound system, Mac Pro, and iTunes goodies, she's totally going to need a new, more comfortable couch. So let's say about $500, give or take. So at just 300 smackeroos, that iTV is quite the bargain in comparison, isn't it? And that doesn't even begin to cover the $49 for the iLife 07 upgrade. And the iWork 07 upgrade, and... So anyway, how much is Macworld going to cost all of you?
Moneydance 2006 - cross-platform finance management
Moneydance 2006 (awkward name and all) is a well-rounded personal finance app with a nice selection of features including: online banking and bill payment, budget management, recurring transactions, investment tracking, report generation, Quicken/Money import, database encryption and a whole lot more. It might be missing a few features when compared to big dogs like Quicken 2006, but it's priced accordingly: a license is $30 no matter what OS(es) you need it for, and when I say cross-platform, I mean it: Moneydance 2006 works on Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, Solaris, OS/2, and Unix.A fully functioning demo is available that allows for entering up to 100 transactions - so what are you waiting for? Go grab a copy and stop making excuses for ending up budget-less and broke every month.
