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HD programming to reach 44 million homes worldwide by year's end
Just in case you haven't been schooled enough by HD research articles of late, here comes another to toss around inside that skull of yours. Based on a forecast by Informa Telecoms & Media, around 4-percent of worldwide households (read: not just homes with HDTVs) will "actively watch HD programming" before 2009 dawns. Just to put that into perspective, only 2-percent of homes globally were tuning into HDTV at the end of 2007. According to Simon Murray, principal media analyst at the company, a "major contributing factor is that set and set-top box prices have fallen substantially in the last two years," and it should come as no surprise that HD adoption has been highest in North America. Per usual, an HD study couldn't conclude without some reference to 2012, and sure enough, Informa is expecting around 179 million worldwide abodes (16-percent, give or take) to have HD programming in less than four years.[Image courtesy of AT&T]
New research looks at Blu-ray awareness across the globe
It's something we've all been wondering about, and now we've got the numbers to satisfy our curiosity. Interpret has surveyed groups from a variety of regions around the globe in order to see how high (or low) Blu-ray awareness is now that it stands alone as the sole next-generation HDM format. Unsurprisingly, the UK and US were tops in knowing what's what at 56- and 60-percent, respectively, while Japan checked in at 45-percent; both France and Germany notched percentages that were slightly lower at 49-percent and 30-percent. Also of note, data from the UK and Japan showed that consumers that already own HDM players were still purchasing standard-definition DVDs at a higher rate than HD DVDs / Blu-ray Discs, but the opposite was (just barely) true for the US. Nothing too earth-shattering here, but check out the read link if you're lusting after some fun figures to toss around at the water-cooler.[Via Audioholics, image courtesy of TheDigitalBits]
Format war's end to propel Blu-ray into 29 million homes this year
There's no doubt that many movie lovers were waiting until the format war came to some sort of conclusion before choosing a side, and now that Blu-ray has emerged victorious, it seems as if some analysts are fairly bullish on adoption rates. According to new research from Strategy Analytics, the end of the war will "propel [BD] into 29.4 million homes worldwide by the end of 2008." Also of note, it reckons that Sony's PS3 will "drive the Blu-ray market until 2009, after which standalone players will become the dominant segment." Of course, a study couldn't come out without some mention of 2012, so you can reportedly look forward to seeing 132 million BD-equipped homes in just four years. Now, the only question is when will BD players overtake DVD?
Where in the world is Image of Archmage Vargoth?
This might take a little bit of effort, but if you're as big an Archmage Vargoth fan as I am, you'll appreciate it. Groovy on the forums links to a Tripod page (sorry) with a blaring midi file (sorry again-- mute before clicking), that shows some low resolution screenshots of Archmage Vargoth everywhere in the world! I tried to mirror the .gif on our site here so you wouldn't have to brave your way through the midi, but unfortunately, animated .gifs don't play well with our system.It amuses me, anyway-- when I first posted about Archmage Vargoth, I imagined exactly this happening. It's too bad it's such low quality-- hopefully someone out there will take the idea and run with it, so we can have a "where the hell is Matt," Archmage Vargoth style. And considering he emotes as well, maybe something even more complicated can be done with him.
Dell taking Linux-equipped machines international
Nary a month after Mark Shuttleworth proclaimed that we'd all be seeing a few more Linux-based Dells in the not-too-distant future, Dell has officially announced plans to offer certain pre-fabricated desktops and laptops to those in Europe and China. Initially, the Inspiron 6400n lappie and Inspiron 530n desktop will be available to customers in the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, and it was also stated that "Dell and Novell intend to offer SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 factory-installed on select consumer [machines] in China." The expansion of Linux-equipped machines into international markets came after the outfit reportedly "received many requests from customers all over the world to offer Linux" in their neck of the woods, and while the Chinese will still be waiting a bit to get their orders in, those in Europe can snag an Ubuntu-packed 6400n for around £329 ($665) or 530n for £399 ($806) right now.[Via Direct2Dell]
Boingo to drop roaming charges on hotspot network
Ah, Boingo just keeps getting sweeter. After showing off its mobile service and partnering with FON, now the WiFi operator is making it even cheaper to hop online via its worldwide hotspot network. The company has announced that it will be hitting us up with a flat-rate service for $39 per month, which will enable users to utilize "more than 100,000 WiFi hotspots" across the globe sans roaming charges. Of course, this won't impact those Boingo users who manage to stay within the confines of the US of A, but globetrotters will certainly appreciate the end of per-minute roaming charges when surfing abroad. [Warning: read link requires subscription]
Does Microsoft need Japan to succeed?
It's been generally known for a while that Microsoft has had trouble selling game systems in Japan, first with the Xbox and now with even slower sales of the Xbox 360. Analyst Robert Ehrenberg harps on this fact in a repetitive analysis claiming that the Xbox brand in a "bomb" that is dragging down the company.We don't buy it. While it's true that Japan still holds the spiritual center of the industry for many gamers, we don't necessarily agree with Ehrenberg's conclusion that "success in the Japanese market is a key determinant of success in the worldwide market." The Japanese market for home systems has actually been sizably smaller than the European and American markets for at least the past two generations. And while the best-selling systems in Japan tend to also do well elsewhere, success in Japan does not necessarily lead to success in the rest of the world -- see the tepid worldwide reaction to the hot-in-Japan Saturn and Dreamcast as evidence. But Ehrenberg's logic really fails when he claims that a weak Japanese start means that key developers will be unwilling to support the system. Healthy 360 support from the likes of Capcom, Namco, Sega and Sakaguchi's MistWalker studio shows that Japanese companies are considering the 360's global footprint in their worldwide distribution plans. Maybe Japanese game buyers aren't important as long as Japanese companies and the rest of the world are on board.Ehrenberg also asserts that Microsoft should dump the Xbox because it has so far failed to make them money. This neglects the long term value of the branding and cachet that Microsoft is slowly but surely building as a major part of the gaming universe. That kind of branding is invaluable. Just look at Star Wars -- three crappy prequels weren't enough to truly dilute the value of the hot property.
A million Wii units for launch in North America
We know that Nintendo has promised us four million units worldwide before the end of year, but our hearts yearn for clarification as a vampire yearns for blood. And lo! The hemoglobin feast is upon us. Shrewdly hidden in an interview with Ron Bertram, Nintendo of Canada's vice president and general manager, the number is set: "We're looking at a million [units] for North America at launch," said Bertram. "When Sony came out with their PS3 announcement, they said [400,000]." One million. This figure might be the magic number, the allocation so that gamers can obtain one within reasonable difficulty, and yet still be in enough short supply to ensure the image of "must-have" hot holiday item. Our fangs hearts tingle in anticipation.[Thanks, John K!]
Nintendo DS worldwide software sales [Update 1]
Coming off the staggering news that the Nintendo DS is the fastest selling system of all time in Japan, we've got another doozy for you. Here are the current estimated numbers for worldwide sales for Nintendo DS software: Nintendogs - 7.37 million Animal Crossing: Wild World - 4.66 million Mario Kart DS - 4.64 million New Super Mario Bros - 3.84 million Super Mario 64 DS - 3.76 million Brain Training - 3.69 million Brain Training 2 - 3.11 million Wario Ware Touched - 1.97 million Brain Flex - 1.58 million Tamogotchi Connection: Corner Shop - 1.27 million Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time - 1.22 million Tetris DS - 1.19 million English Training - 1.14 million Utterly astonishing are the figures for Nintendogs, selling over seven million copies since its release in mid-2005. The best-selling game on Gamecube, Super Smash Bros: Melee, has been around since 2001 and has only managed to sell 6.05 million by comparison. Nintendo is indeed reaching a new audience, and that new audience seems to really like throwing frisbees with a stylus.[Update 1: Apparently, many people missed the "estimated" at the top of the post. Though compiled by an individual, the numbers appear to be at least decently accurate after cross-referencing several other sources. Take the numbers with a grain of salt, and enjoy the picture of the cute puppy.]
