Home
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Video Game Sales Slump Again in November Stuck
09:19 PM - December 10, 2009. Written by MMChrisS
It appears the news just can't turn positive for video games.

As with most every other sector in the economy, consumer spending is a lot tighter than most predicted. Video game sales were down a total of 8% (including software and hardware) while software sales dipped 3%.

The software sales were given a big boost by Modern Warfare 2's launch. The data without Modern Warfare 2, while not available, probably can't look too good. Video game stocks were largely down today, with THQ closing at 4.28 (down 3.6%), and Take Two closing at 7.71 (down .8%). Electronic Arts was a lone bright spot, as it closed positive at 16.44 (up .45%).

It will be interesting to see how companies manage to continue to tighten their belts while taking measured risks going forward in what promises to be a rocky 2010.
Blog: MMChrisS
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
2009 Sports Gaming Awards voting open now! Stuck
09:11 PM - December 7, 2009. Written by MMChrisS
Just want to leave a quick note that the 2009 Sports Gaming Awards voting has now officially been opened! Be sure to get your vote in ASAP! Voting will close on December 22!

Vote Now!
Blog: MMChrisS
UFC 2010 Undisputed: Sweet music to my eyes Stuck
03:48 PM - December 7, 2009. Written by MMChrisS
I liked UFC 2009 Undisputed. While it wasn't my favorite sports game of last year, I cannot deny it was a very pleasant surprise. There was just enough wrong with the game to keep it from being great and a lot of people have speculated that a sequel is just what the game needed.

And today we finally got official word that we are going to get to have a first look at UFC 2010 Undisputed.

Welcome to the land of the annual releases UFC.

With some refinements to the combat, a bigger rosters and an expanded career mode, UFC 2010 Undisputed could be on the early watch list to be included among the elite of the sports gaming universe.

THQ did a great thing here, and I'm very happy to see UFC 2010 Undisputed is a reality.

Now that we are six months since 2009's release, what is your final verdict on UFC 2009 Undisputed? What needs to change for 2010?
Blog: MMChrisS
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Just like last year, we will hand out Staff and Readers Choice awards for each category listed below. To get some excitement brewing (and maybe some speculation) here are the categories for this year's yearly awards:

Sports Game of the Year
Sports Game Publisher/Developer of the Year
Best Team Sports Game of the Year
Best Individual-Based Sports Game of the Year
Racing Game of the Year
Text-Sim of the Year
Downloadable Game of the Year
Best Online Experience of the Year
Wireless/Handheld Game of the Year
Most Innovative Feature
Best Dynasty Mode
Best Player/Career Mode
Most Realistic Gameplay
Best Presentation

Who do you think is going to take home the crown in each category? It looks to be pretty competitive across the board. Winners will be announced the last week of 2009.
Blog: MMChrisS
Friday, December 4, 2009
Take Two's Stock Plummets 
09:44 PM - December 4, 2009. Written by MMChrisS
Just wanted to post a quick note to mention Take Two's stock plummeted nearly 30% today after news the Publisher wasn't going to meet revenue expectations. At the closing bell on Friday, Take Two's stock was valued at 7.76, down from it's high of nearly $28.

Even more interesting is the Take Two stock chart. You can clearly see where the EA buyout rumors hit in 2008 and now you can see the stock is worth just 25% of what it was before the market tanked last year.

Basically, we are seeing confidence in Take Two wane as of right now among investors due to a lack of quality titles across the board. I highly doubt we see another MLB Front Office Manager (or any other riskier title) anytime soon:

Blog: MMChrisS
Take Two to MLB 2K9: You ruined our quarter! Stuck
11:19 AM - December 4, 2009. Written by MMChrisS
I read the Take Two quarterly earnings release this morning and I couldn't help but scratch my head.

Apparently a game which had been received tepidly by the market and a game which was approaching the offseason of it's sport was the cause of a bad quarter. I'm wondering aloud if maybe MLB 2K9 is acting as a scapegoat for what pretty much amounts to just a bad quarter overall by Take Two?

Let's just look at the available evidence. First, we know MLB 2K9 wasn't exactly selling like hotcakes, gathered either from the Take Two release or from other sources which attempt to track industry sales. Second, MLB 2K9 was released a full two quarters before this quarter's report. Thirdly, it is a highly annualized/seasonal title which basically means sales tend to wane when the sport it represents begins to wind down and go into it's offseason.

Basically, either Take Two has the worst financial projection market in history or they are using MLB 2K9 as a scapegoat to hide what it calls, "lower than expected initial performance of several of its key holiday releases."

I'm not sure which it is, but the math just doesn't add up. I highly doubt MLB 2K9 had enough of a projected sales volume to ruin this last quarter for Take Two. Here's to hoping this is a wake up call to the folks developing MLB 2K10 though.
Blog: MMChrisS
Thursday, December 3, 2009
OSers not sure what to think of Backbreaker.... Stuck
04:02 PM - December 3, 2009. Written by MMChrisS
Check out this poll.

The results (before we get a bunch of people trying to prove this blog wrong by loading up on one option or another) are amazingly even. I honestly cannot remember a poll with such even results.

It certainly looks that while a lot of OSers think Backbreaker might be a 2010 Game of the Year type of game right now, many more expect the game to completely bomb. If nothing else, Backbreaker will be one of the most talked about games out there for awhile.

So be sure to vote in that poll, but we've got a new one up on OS asking about the EA Sports/Tiger Woods relationship. Be sure to vote in that one too. I also wrote a blog on that one this morning if you want to check out my thoughts.
Blog: MMChrisS
EA Sports standing by Tiger a good thing 
10:42 AM - December 3, 2009. Written by MMChrisS
You can't replace a well built brand overnight.

That seems to be EA's mantra with the Tiger Wood's series since they have decided to stand by Tiger. I'm not surprised, shocked, or even remotely puzzled by this move because it was simply the right move to make.

Tiger Woods is still the greatest golfer on the planet: past, present, and at least near future. You want your Golf themed video game branded around something like that.

And while I don't typically mix my personal beliefs into discussions like this, Tiger never claimed to be perfect. Tiger released a well timed statement, he apologized and he said he's working it out with his family. In this instance, there is nothing we can do and he sounds like he's doing what he can to patch things up. There's no reason not to forgive him -- not that there wouldn't be otherwise. I think most of his business partners are going to end up feeling the same way.

If you feel hurt by Tiger or if you have or will by any other professional athlete just know this: they're all human. Don't build them up to be bigger than they are, they are just as prone to setbacks and failures and you and me.

I believe EA made the right call here.

With that said, what do you think? Did EA make the right move by keeping Tiger on board?
Blog: MMChrisS
Thursday Other Stuff (12-3-09) Stuck
04:42 AM - December 3, 2009. Written by Steve_OS
QOTD: What's your top 3 sports video games of the year?

Happy Birthday to the following OS'ers!

supdog (33), Latrell (25), nightcreeper (21), supermati (20)
Blog: Steve_OS
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
So is it really the industry John? Stuck
07:14 PM - December 2, 2009. Written by MMChrisS
I love it when I can catch a corporation in double talk. Check out what John Riccitiello said about Madden and it's disappointing sales back in September:

“It is discouraging that one of our highest-rated and best-marketed ‘Madden’ titles in years is facing strong headwinds,” Chief Executive Officer John Riccitiello told employees in an e-mail released today. Industry trends “present a challenge,” he said.

Yet, just yesterday, EA touted 'record setting' sales of FIFA 10:

"Based on internal sales projections, FIFA 10 has sold through more than 4.5 million units worldwide since launch, a 26 percent increase over the same period a year ago (eight weeks in Europe and five weeks in North America). FIFA 10 also became the fastest-selling sports videogame in the world with 1.7 million units sold through at European retail in its first week after its launch on October 1, and it’s the top selling game overall in Europe in 2009."

My only question is...is it a depressed economy or perhaps something else leading to Madden's lower sales? You can't have it both ways.

Personally, I liked Madden but I love FIFA. And while FIFA does have a much more global reach, it's also breaking it's own records whle Madden isn't. In fact, Madden sales are actually lower this year.

What do you think is the cause of our little conundrum here?
Blog: MMChrisS