market
Latest
Best Buy exec: Flat panel price drops are A-OK
As research reports and analysts continue to predict a sharp case of oversupply that will lead the plasma and LCD HDTV markets to drop sharply in price as manufacturers battle, Best Buy apparently doesn't see that as a problem (as consumers waiting to buy cheap flat-panels neither do we). Citing the much higher average price of the new TVs versus the screens they have been selling for the last several years, as well as their expectation that sales will accelerate as prices drop, the only problem Best Buy seems to have is getting enough in stock to sell. Apparently the World Cup created an American shortage as manufacturers shifted panels to eager European buyers.Enough talk about the coming flat-panel price crash, wake me when it happens. I've got a 42-inch widescreen spot on the wall just gathering dust. If prices don't drop soon I'll just have to...buy one at the current prices. In the face of that sort of threat, it is impossible to see how the industry can continue to hold out.
Industry CEO Says WoW Too Strong to Compete With
With over six million gamers playing World of Warcraft, you wouldn't think there would be too awful many gamers left over to play anything else....and the gaming industry apparently thinks so, too.As reported over on Gamespot today, at a recent breakfast event for investors, game developer THQ's president & CEO Brian Farrell was asked why none of the major publishers are trying to crack the stranglehold Blizzard has on the online gaming market. Farrell's response was, basically, that there simply may not be enough room on the block for another contender. In his words:"I think what you will not [Farrell's emphasis] see THQ do is come out with another fantasy-type game. The other thing we're thinking is these things tend to have a window. Right now that product is World of Warcraft, so the idea would be to time something for when that product is going to be on its downward slope. To come out with something competitive now I think would be misguided for anyone, including THQ."So, basically, the big strategy now is for the other game companies to just take their ball & go home? Wait until Blizzard is laying bloody on the battlefield? I can see what they're thinking from a numbers standpoint, but have a little faith in your own industry, people. There are untold scores of great online game ideas, just ripe for the developing (do I even have to mention my lifelong dream of a western MMO again?). Fantasy has been done; stop looking to the past & sideways at the competition and innovate, dammit! The next big MMO idea is out there somewhere....
Girls 'n' Games event: this news is so old
While E3's keynotes were kicking off last week, several academics, developers and advocates of women in gaming gathered at UCLA to discuss girls, games and everything relating to the two. However, from Gamasutra's account of the event, nothing new was really discussed. Some of the key points brought up: Girls play games. (Well, duh.) Developers shouldn't try to focus on "girl game design" -- stereotyping game design by gender leads to missteps. Player-generated content is popular amongst girls, as is social gameplay. "Cuteness" in games, like anime and manga culture in Japan, encourages girls to get involved in gameplay. Women gamers and girl gamers are different; women and teenage girls have different demands on their time. Girls and women shouldn't just be gamers, but developers too.
Study shows more support for in-game ads
According to oddly-capitalised research agency comScore Networks, gamers are a ripe target for marketers. With almost 50% of all Internet users apparently reading game sites, reaching out to these 76 million consumers is big business.The survey also looked at attitudes to in-game advertising amongst heavy and light gamers. Heavy gamers are more familiar with the concept of in-game ads, and are also more likely to buy products advertised in-game. The conclusion across all types of gamers leans towards the inevitable -- in-game ads will be a feature of the future.With only 800 gamers surveyed, a larger segment may produce vastly different results, but these statistics are encouraging for firms like Microsoft's Massive who are working within this market.[Via Gamasutra]
China Predicting 61 Million MMO Gamers by 2010
And you thought Blizzard had population problems? According to this report at Playfuls.com, citing reports from Instat, China, already one of the largest bastions of online gaming in the world, will see more than 60 million of its citizens hop on board the MMO train by 2010, with a market value estimated at 2.1 billion dollars. That's a lot of microwave burritos & Mountain Dew...Then again, they probably won't have the same problems that Blizzard has with their customer base; those communists tend to keep things running pretty smoothly....as long as you don't petition a GM; that could be considered treason.
Game developers react to Boot Camp
Inside Mac Games has a nice roundup of reactions from various Mac OS X game developers on the news of Boot Camp. Reactions on the whole are positive concerning the opportunities that Boot Camp offers, and speculation from the likes of Aspyr, MacSoft, Freeverse and Ambrosia are hopeful that this will help boost the Mac gaming platform even faster.Check out the roundup, as there are some great comments from individuals at these companies that touch on where they think the market is headed, and what we can expect in the not-too-distant future of Mac gaming.
Napster points finger at Microsoft for iTunes market share
Napster's CEO, Chris Gorog, has pointed a finger at Microsoft for the dominance of the iTunes iPod combination in the digital music market. The frustrated CEO is upset with Microsoft's DRM technology and its relationship with hardware manufacturers, commenting on what many feel is the root of iPod competitors' problem: “It’s a lot more complex to get organized properly than it is to build one device and one service as Apple has done." While the debate surrounding whether Apple should license their iTunes DRM or open iPod hardware platform has many layers, there is certainly something to be said with how solid Apple is able to build this platform simply because they manage it from start to finish.Check out the rest of the Reuters article for interviews from both Napster and Real on the state of the digital music market, as well as a humorous prediction from Gorog: "Ultimately, the consumer electronics giants ... are all going to come to this Windows Media party," he said. "This is really going to be the ubiquitous format."[via iLounge]
Apple now worth more than Dell
MacDailyNews is reporting that, just yesterday, Apple's market worth (price of shares multiplied by number of shares outstanding) has hit $72,132,428,843, surpassing Dell's $71,970,702,760. This sounds like quite the feat for a computer company that has only ~6% of the market. Nice work Jobs, Ive and company. Just don't let it go to your heads. The day you start cranking out $300 Macs with underpowered power supplies and a whole bunch of "sign up now!" spyware pre-installed is the day you'll have a revolt on your hands.
Macs aren't going anywhere
There are a number of articles cropping up lately proposing that, due to the success of the iPod, Apple will move away from producing Macs in '06 and either release OS X truly into the wild or simply shelve it to collect dust through the ages.First off, I refuse to link to any of these preposterous articles, as there is no way I am directly contributing to their ad impressions. Second, it's the holidays, so I'm going to try and be nice: I couldn't think of a more ridiculous, unfounded or illogical thing to say about Apple at a time like this (yea, that's me being *nice*). Yes the iPod is wildly successful. Woohoo. While Macs don't make nearly as big news as iPods, nor do they look half as cool dangling from someone's neck, the Mac's market share in the US is up to 6.6% - almost double what I heard it was a couple of years ago. Sure, 6.6% is pocket change to the rest of the industry, but that has to be big, big bucks in Apple's pockets. Further, with Apple promising a full transition to Intel-based Macs over the next two years, there's even less of a possibility that any of this "Macs are disappearing" silliness could make a shred of sense.So please, rational TUAW readers: don't fire up your Google searches for "Macs are disappearing," and don't click on those RSS headlines. Sit back, relax over the holidays, and relish in the fact that our favorite computer maker is finally enjoying some much-deserved success.
Mp3 market experiences 200% sales increase
The Mp3 market has experience an almost 200% increase in sales over 2003, according to research firm In-Stat. 27.8 million MP3 players were sold in 2004, and In-Stat projects that 104 million units will be selling annually by 2009. That's a lot of Mp3 players, and Apple leads the market with the iPod holding on to a 30.2% share of the worldwide market. I can remember when the iPod was first launched, my reaction was something like, "It's an Mp3 player. Big deal." That shows what I know. Staying on top takes effort, and I'm itching for new Apple hardware, which leads me to the question: What do I want in the next generation of the iPod? Well, a "podcast" menu item would be nice, and seems to make sense considering the podcast feature that will be a part of the next release of iTunes. Greater storage capacity is always a good idea, and a color screen across the board would be nice as well. Of course, I still want to see the option to jump directly to an album from shuffle mode that I've discussed before. What would you like to see?
