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The death of Phones4u is still playing out
It's been nearly two and a half years since Phones4u folded, but the aftermath of the company's abrupt closure is still being felt. Thanks to a recent employment tribunal, 400 former staff have been awarded 12 weeks redundancy pay on the basis there was no consultation period ahead of the layoffs -- not unusual when a firm suddenly implodes. The government's Redundancy Payments Service is forking out £3,712 per person, equivalent to 8 weeks of statutory pay, while the invoice for the remaining 5 weeks is now on the desk of administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which did not dispute the claim.
Online video poised to outsell DVD purchases this year
Believe it or not, the surge in online streaming options from Amazon, HBO, Netflix, Hulu and others have yet to outsell DVDs. That'll change this year, though. In a new report from consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, money spent on video downloads and streaming subscriptions in the States will surpass DVD sales and rentals for the first time in 2015. In terms of hard numbers, online video is set to increase 13 percent and rake in $9.5 billion while physical DVD sales are expected to drop to $7.8 billion. What's more, in 2017, the online sales figures are projected to hit the $12 billion mark, which would surpass the US box office tally for theaters. DVDs are hanging tough thanks in part to services like Redbox and Netflix's disc option, but the format stands to meet the same fate as CDs: Music streaming outsold physical CDs last year, and is poised to overtake digital sales within three years.
Phones4u's old inventory is being auctioned off on the cheap
When Phones4u collapsed, it didn't take long for its administrators to sell off a large number of its high street stores. But what happened to the products stocked within those shops? Well, they also need to be shifted, and it just so happens that you might be able to grab yourself a nice pre-Christmas bargain. In a bid to find more cash to pay off the costs associated with Phones4u's insolvency, its administrator, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), has drafted in an auction house to put up all of the retailer's stock for sale.
Phones4u comes clean about iPhone 6 preorder refunds: there won't be any
Phones4u couldn't have folded at a worse time. The upcoming expiration of reseller contracts forced the company into administration earlier this month, three days after it opened up preorders for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. While hard-up employees are finding new homes and empty stores new owners, customers who were eager for Apple's newest aren't so lucky. Today, in an email to iPhone 6 preorderers (that's definitely a word) that laid down an upfront payment, Phones4u came clean about the refund process, or more accurately, the lack of one. You see, Phones4u previously stated it would refund any iPhone preorder payments it'd taken, which it probably wasn't in a position to say since, you know, it'd gone into administration by that point.
Game Australia to close all of its stores in the coming weeks
Retailer Game Australia will shut down all 31 of its remaining stores over the coming weeks, its administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers announced today. Game will close 16 Australian stores immediately and the remaining 15 within a few weeks.In May, Game Australia entered voluntary administration; it shuttered 60 stores, affecting 264 employees, and cut 17 head office positions. Before any closures, Game had an estimated 500 employees in Australia."This is a difficult time for employees, and closing the stores was not a decision we made easily," Warwick said of Game Australia's complete closure (and the ones in May). "Despite exploring available opportunities for continued trading, the ongoing trading performance and absence of viable offers for the purchase of the business has resulted in these closures."Game Australia is running discounts in a final closing-down sale online and in its remaining stores.
Exclusive interview with Linden Lab CEO Mark Kingdon
Mark Kingdon, Linden Lab's CEO, has been a bit of a mystery figure since his appointment about a year and a half ago. While he has not been uncommunicative, it's been hard to get a very good sense of the man at the helm of Linden Lab, his passions, interests and direction. We were very pleased, therefore, when he took the time to sit down with us and answer a whole grab-bag of questions, about himself, about Linden Lab, and – of course – about Second Life. Bear with us, because we've got a lot of ground to cover.
MMO market revenue to hit $14.4 billion in 2012
We hear news stories concerning the rising cost of food, gas and general living expenses almost daily, but curiously enough, the game industry is proving itself recession-proof. Not only does it seem safe from the downward spiral plaguing all other facets of the economy, but it's on the rise, and is predicted to continue its steep climb for awhile.According to a recent study by accounting and financial services giant PricewaterhouseCoopers, revenue from the MMO genre of PC gaming will increase to $14.4 billion in 2012 from $6.6 billion in 2007, with special thanks to Blizzard for pulling in over $1 billion on their own in 2007 with World of Warcraft. This is good news for the PC gaming market, as it is predicted that overall, PC gaming will see a revenue slip of 1.2 percent annually, from $3.8 billion in 2007 to $3.6 billion in 2012, thanks to the predicted rise in console popularity. Does this mean the MMO sector will be supporting the PC gaming market in a few years?
PwC study finds game sales will continue to rise
A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers has found that the video game industry will hit $68.3 billion in global sales by 2012, a "compound annual growth" of 10.3% from its current $41.9 billion. Reuters reports PwC's "Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2008-2012" also envisions that console gaming will remain the largest category, with a 6.9% annual increase to $34.7 billion, but that the two separate categories of online and "wireless" (mobile?) will grow the fastest, from around $6 billion to $14 billion. Meanwhile, the poor PC keeps taking a beating, with game sales expected to fall around 1.2% annually to 3.6 billion. The article doesn't really explain where the fiscally nebulous world of digital distribution exists in all of this.Games sales aren't the only thing to see tremendous growth, as the study also found that the "emerging" video game advertising sector will grow from its current $1 billion to $2.3 billion in the next five years. The PwC study imagines that the things leading the growth of the games industry is the sophistication of mobile phones, an acceleration of homes with broadband, and the increasing popularity of MMO games. If you're young and have disposable income, consider buying a couple shares in your favorite game company instead of one of its games -- it appears your investment will be rewarded.
Linden Lab lands Kingdon: new CEO
In the last couple of years, Linden Lab has grown from around 50 people to (we are told) around 250 people. It is a growth stage of companies that most do not survive, as usually they do something lethally boneheaded in the process. Another stage that many companies do not survive is their first change of CEO. It is a massive change for the company's table of organization, reporting chains and corporate culture. The first CEO change generally sees a large staff turnover. That's what usually happens, anyway. While we're not predicting sudden death for Linden Lab, they're getting their first new CEO today.
