Home Media Magazine - July 29-August 4, 2007 - (Page 6)

NEWS www.homemediamagazine.com PS3 Gets a Sales Boost By John Gaudiosi G A M E S The PS3 price cut seems to be working. PS3 sales have increased by more than 135% at Sony’s top five retailers since the new $500 price was announced July 9, according to Sony. During this same two-week period, total PlayStation hardware sales have increased 161%, software by 15% and peripherals by 60%. “The new price on the 60GB PS3, coupled with our very strong software showing from E3, is certainly paying dividends,” said Jack Tretton, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America. Even before the price cut, Sony products were gathering steam. PS3 sales, at 98,500, were up 21% in June compared to May’s figures, according to data from The NPD Group. Despite PS3’s increase, Wii was again the top next-gen console in June, selling 381,800 units, even through Nintendo has been battling continued production problems. Xbox 360 moved 198,400 units. Through June, U.S. cumulative hardware sales for Xbox 360 were 5.8 million units, Wii 3.2 million units and PS3 1.5 million units. The U.S. hardware installed base stands at 30 million next-generation consoles (including handhelds) as of the end of February (up from 21 million at year-end 2006). To date, Microsoft has sold 160,000 Xbox 360 HD DVD drives in the United States. Total console hardware sales for June were $268 million, which was Mario Party 8 N E X T- G E N HAR DWAR E U N IT SALE S June 2007 PLATFORM UNITS SOLD* DS Wii PSP Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 561.9 381.8 290.1 198.4 98.5 TOP 10 GAMES VIDEO GAMES SELLERS June 2007 PLATPUBLISHER FORM Nintendo of America Wii Nintendo of America Wii Nintendo of America NDS Nintendo of America NDS Microsoft 360 Activision PS2 Activision 360 Nintendo of America Wii Capcom USA Wii Take 2 Interactive 360 UNITS SOLD* 426.2 293.2 288.4 214.7 197.40 197.35 177.6 157.9 N/A N/A * In thousands Source: The NPD Group 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 TITLE Mario Party 8 Wii Play (w/Wii remote) Pokémon Diamond Version Pokémon Pearl Version Forza Motorsport 2 Guitar Hero 2 (w/guitar) Guitar Hero 2 (w/guitar) Pokémon Battle Revolution Resident Evil 4 The Darkness * In thousands Source: The NPD Group up 69% over last June’s total. For the first half of 2007, console sales increased a whopping 98%, to $1.7 billion. The video game industry has continued its record pace through June and throughout the first half of 2007, according to NPD data. June sales of game hardware, software and accessories accounted for more than $1.1 billion, which is 31% higher than last June’s sales. For the first six months of 2007, total game sales are already at $6.1 billion, up 43% over the same period last year. “The industry should realize revenue north of $15 billion in the United States once total sales are in for the year,” said Anita Frazier, video game analyst for The NPD Group. Software sales were up 22% in June, totaling $543 million. For the first half of 2007, game sales were up 24%, to $2.9 billion. June console games were up 28%, to $393.9 million, and portable software grew 10%, to $149.1 million. Through the first six months of 2007, portable games sales were up 35% to $802.8 million, compared to console soft- ware’s 21% growth on sales of $2.1 billion. “It’s somewhat akin to a perfect storm in the industry this year,” Frazier said. “Audience expansion does seem to be a significant factor, as we have seen more non-traditional content realizing sales success. The console transition is now in full swing, and the higher retail prices associated with newer hardware are contributing to dollar sales growth for the industry.” Ben Schachter, video game analyst for UBS, said the strength of firstparty software continues to be the key take-away from the June NPD data. Nintendo and Microsoft titles continue to command an increasing percentage of software sales. “Among third-party publishers in our coverage universe, Activision continues to be the stand-out performer, with 15.2% of total software sales,” Schachter said. “Activision’s sales were led by Guitar Hero 2, which was a top 10 title on both the PS2 (197,000 units) and Xbox 360 (177,000 units).” Warner Raffles ‘300’-Themed Xbox 360s By Billy Gil arner Bros. Home Entertainment Group and Xbox Live are touting the July 31 home video release of 300 at ComicCon 2007 by giving away 10 free 300themed Xbox 360 Elite consoles at a special event. Attendees at the 300 screening, held July 27 at Petco Park in San Diego, will be entered to win one of the limited-edition consoles. Additionally, Comic-Con, which takes place July 26-29 at the San Diego Convention Center, will feature connectivity to the Xbox Live network. Warner’s Comic-Con content, including game trailers, show panels, movie and TV trailers, sneak peeks, celebrity interviews, show exclusives and customization themes for Xbox Live, such as 300 and DC Comics, will be available from July 26 to Aug. 7 on Xbox Live and Xbox.com/comiccon. W Amazon: No Comment on Unbox By Erik Gruenwedel R E TA I L Amazon.com executives declined comment about the impact of the electronic retailer’s Unbox download service, although its media sales jumped by 26% in the second quarter (ended June 30), compared to the same quarter the year before. “It is too early for us to discuss any of the traction we are seeing with the service,” Tom Szkutak, SVP and CFO of Amazon, said in a call with analysts. Media sales, which totalled $923 million for the quarter, included all packaged media (DVDs, VHS, music CDs and tapes), books, posters, magazines, newspapers, video games, software and textbooks. Launched last September, Unbox features movie content from Lionsgate, MGM, Paramount, Sony Pic- tures, 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. TV programming on the service includes content from A&E, Adult Swim, Animal Planet, The Biography Channel, Cartoon Network, CBS, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel, E! Entertainment Television, Fox, FX, The History Channel, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, PBS, TV Land and VH-1. North American revenue increased 38% to $1.6 billion, compared to $1.1 billion during the same period last year. Overall sales increased 35% to almost $2.9 billion, from $2.1 billion last year. “It was our highest North American growth rate in six-and-a-half years,” Szkutak said. The Seattle-based electronic retailer posted profit of $78 million, compared to income of $22 million last National Lampoon Launches Home Video Division By Thomas K. Arnold S U P P L I E R Newly launched National Lampoon Home Entertainment is revving up for business, with a series of direct partnerships with key retailers such as Blockbuster Inc., Movie Gallery, Netflix and FYE, as well as distributors Ingram, VPD and Baker & Taylor. The new division gives National Lampoon direct control of the development, acquisition and distribution of all its home entertainment properties for the first time in the company’s history. National Lampoon plans to distribute 12 feature films a year, four of them original National Lampoon productions and the rest acquisitions. Some films will be released theatrically through National Lampoon Releasing, while others will be released directly to DVD through National Lampoon Home Entertainment. The home entertainment division’s first release will be the original production National Lampoon’s Bag Boy, a comedy with Dennis Farina and Paul Campbell that was helmed by Mort Nathan and is slated to hit theaters shortly. Also in the pipeline are the acquisitions National Lampoon Presents Electric Apricot: The Quest for Festeroo, a mockumentary on the jam band scene that marks the directorial debut of musician Les Claypool, best known for his work with alternative rock band Primus; National Lampoon’s Homo Erectus, starring Adam Rifkin, who also wrote and directed the film; and National Lampoon Presents Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell. Tom Daniels, president of worldwide distribution at National Lampoon, announced that the entertainment division has tapped for its marketing team Victoria Sarro and Brandon Wong of M Media Group. “It’s an exciting step in National Lampoon’s growth to be taking direct control of our home entertainment properties,” Daniels said. Home Media Magazine July 29–August 4, 2007 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://Xbox.com/comiccon http://Amazon.com

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Home Media Magazine - July 29-August 4, 2007

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