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Apple taking it easy on flash memory order this year
CNET is reporting that iSuppli announced Apple is "cutting" their flash memory order this year, and in this case "cutting" doesn't mean "cutting" the way you or I would use it (as in, "The doctor said I had to cut my sugar intake, so I'll only have one doughnut instead of six."). No, it means "cutting" as in they're only raising their orders for flash memory by 16% instead of the expected 32% (which is like saying "I'll only eat three more doughnuts instead of six").Still, it's enough to send a few folks into a tizzy -- as CNET's Tom Krazit says so perfectly: "If Apple coughs, the flash memory market gets sick." I don't know that there's too much to read into this, except maybe that we probably won't see a brand new iPod this year. With the iPod touch and all the iPod iterations out right now, Apple pretty much has the market covered on mp3 players. That doesn't mean they won't drop lots of new products (I hear that they used to make computers of some kind), but it probably does mean that in terms of the current iPod brand, growth has peaked. Until they bring out that gaming device, flash memory isn't their biggest need.
Verizon adding 335 jobs to handle rapid FiOS growth
It's no surprise that Verizon is adding FiOS customers at a mind-numbing rate, but apparently, signing on some 80,000 new subscribers per month is going to require a few more employees. More specifically, the carrier will reportedly be hiring some 335 more workers over the next few years to "staff a FiOS call center in suburban Syracuse, NY." We aren't told if any other job openings will surface as a part of FiOS' rapid expansion, but here's to hoping it branches out to more locales in the not-too-distant future, regardless.
NY Times examines changes in the gamer market
The New York Times has taken a look at the NPD's list of top ten selling games in 2007, which shows mass-market games mixed in with games designed for the "young-male audience." As the industry matures and becomes more popular, the "hard-core gamers" and "old-school critics" are becoming just one small part of a very large $18 billion pie.The NY Times makes its case by observing the absence of critically hailed single-player experiences (like BioShock or Mass Effect) from the top ten, now filled with accessible multiplayer games like Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4. In fact, nine out of the top ten games actually have a multiplayer component (Assassin's Creed is the black sheep). The NYT concludes that people want "human contact in their entertainment" and gaming's mass acceptance comes from being able to have others join in the fun.A reasonable conclusion, albeit one that oversimplifies matters. While the social elements of most of these games certainly form part of the appeal, the top-selling games also offered compelling solo components. Why choose between single and social gaming when you can have both?[Thanks, Farseer]
Vivendi makes $1.5 billion in 2007, BC pushes Blizz up 58% from 2006
A few days ago we tried to estimate how much Blizzard was making from those 10 million accounts, but now we know for sure: it's actually around $1.2 billion (which is up 58% from 2006). Now, you can probably see that that's only $500 million short of the estimate that we were trying to prove was wrong, but don't forget that the $1.2 billion isn't just subscription fees-- it includes all those sales of Burning Crusade last year at full release price. What Blizzard earns from subscription fees is just part of that total.Still, a $1.5 billion year for Vivendi (especially when their other games divisions actually dropped by almost 30%) is good news for them. Of course, the question they (and more specifically, Activision Blizzard) have to be wondering about is if the success can continue. If Blizzard can release a new expansion this year and hold off the coming threats in the MMO industry, they'll be looking at even bigger numbers in 2008. But that's a lot to ask-- there's no question Vivendi (and Activision) will come up with huge amounts of profit this year, but growth of this magnitude will be a tough hill to climb.
Trade group: Game industry growth to slow in '08
Game industry business stories in 2007 were a pretty one note affair -- record-breaking this, unprecedented sales that, blah blah blah. But the boom times might be ending soon, as the Consumer Entertainment Association is predicting that games industry growth will begin to slow in 2008.To be clear, this doesn't mean the industry is going to get smaller, by any means. The CEA is still predicting that the industry will grow 13 percent, to $17.9 billion, in the coming year. What's getting smaller is the rate of growth, which was a ridiculously high 22 percent from 2006 to 2007. This isn't all that distressing, considering economic analysts are pointing to recession across the economic board. In fact, plenty of industries would be positively giddy with 13 percent growth these days. Then again, declining growth is the first step to actual industry shrinkage, which is the first step to the total evaporation of the industry. Then again again, given that we're entering the middle of the current console generation, this is probably just a sign that the chronically cyclical game industry is going through yet another one of its regular cycles. Amid all the uncertainty, one thing is for sure ... economic analysis makes our heads hurt.
DFC predicts bright future for games, dim one for Xbox 360
Another day, another extremely long-range analysis of the video game market's future. This time the prediction comes from DFC Intelligence through a press release stating the total worldwide market for video games could grow to a staggering $47 billion by 2009 (from $33 billion in 2006). DFC foresees the strongest growth coming from the PC market (driven by online game revenue) and the portable market (driven by the Nintendo DS, which "could eventually become the best selling game system ever in five years" according to DFC's David Cole).That's nice about the industry growth and all, but the real red meat for the fanboys comes later in the release, when DFC reveals they've lowered their forecast for the performance of the Xbox 360. The currently-hot system "will need to build a strong base outside North America to avoid being in a fairly distant third," Cole said in a statement sure to rile up the Microsoft Defense Forces. As for the battle for first, Cole thinks the Wii will dominate through 2008 with the PS3 coming on strong in 2009, possibly leading to an odd long-term situation where Nintendo has sold more hardware but Sony generates more software revenue.We at Joystiq think this all this prognosticating is a bit shortsighted. After all, it doesn't take into account how the surging interest in the Dreamcast will lead to Sega's triumphant return to the hardware market and eventual domination of the same by 2023. Hey, if analysts can make wild, long-term predictions, then so can we!
Ubisoft's Guillemot: Industry will expand 50% in next four years
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot tells Reuters he expects the industry to grow by 50% in the next four years. Saying that it's a "very exciting time for all developers and publishers," he echoes the sentiments of EA's German Managing Director, Thomas Zeitner, who says there are "150 million gamers worldwide, but 2 billion people are ready to play."Ubisoft has found great profit in developing for the Wii. Wii game development costs half as much as PS3 and Xbox 360 development, and with an install base about to break 10 million, it means more money can be had for less investment on the Wii. This strategy has not gone unnoticed by other publishers. Ubisoft expects 20% of their revenue this year to come from casual games.[Via GameDaily BIZ]
Mac shipments in US up 30% from last year
There's a movement afoot, and it arrives in nice white boxes. Gartner Research is reporting that preliminary data on Apple's 2007 first quarter shows a 30% year-over-year increase in computer shipments. Interestingly, the last quarter of 2006 showed the same increase. With the most recent data, Apple's estimated US market share rises a full point to 5%.This growth in sales (against industry-wide unit growth of 2.6%) is the best indication of the escape-velocity pace of the Mac market's expansion. Woo hoo![via Fake Steve/Mac 2.0/MacDailyNews]
Blizzard on WoW's success
Greg over at the Guardian Gamesblog has been chatting with Itzik Ben Bassat, VP of Business Development for Blizzard, about WoW's success in Europe and worldwide. He hints at possible console versions:Consoles will become increasingly important to the online world and obviously as a leading company in the online world we would like to use the great tools that the 360 and PS3 offer to bring Blizzard quality to console owners. There is nothing confirmed yet though.Also, more hints on future development:At the moment we are not announcing anything but we have several projects concerning the three worlds (Starcraft, Diablo and Warcraft) that we will announce when we feel comfortable that they match the quality of our previous games.Intriguing stuff.[Fanart by Ralf van der Hoeven of Holland.]
