Home Media Magazine - November 25-December 1, 2007 - (Page 8)

NEWS www.homemediamagazine.com October Game Sales Jump 73% Industry is on pace to reach a record $19 billion in sales this year By John Gaudiosi GAMES Total game, hardware and accessories sales were up 73% in October, according to The NPD Group. Sales during the month topped $1.1 billion, versus October 2006’s $643.3 million, putting the U.S. game industry on pace to top $19 billion by Jan. 1, 2008. The increase in sales is due in large part to the continued success of Nintendo Wii, which owns 26% of the gaming market share, and Nintendo DS, as well as the sales of Activision’s Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock across all platforms. Nintendo’s Wii regained the top spot after a one-month reprieve in September when Halo 3 helped Microsoft Xbox 360 reach the top spot for the first time since last November. Nintendo sold 519,000 Wiis in October, followed by 458,000 Nintendo DS portables. Microsoft sold 366,000 Xbox 360 consoles. Before the price cut, Sony sold only 121,000 PlayStation 3s in October, leaving it far behind in the console battle. Sony’s other platforms, the PlayStation Portable and PS2, sold 286,000 and 184,000 units, respectively. The $469.7 million in hardware sales for October more than doubled from last year’s $207.1 million. “We expect a ramp in sellthrough to be reflected in next month’s NPD data given Sony’s bullish comments about the impact of the November price cut,” said Ben Schachter, video game analyst for UBS. “We also expect the release of Call of Duty 4 and more importantly, PS3 exclusives GAMESTOP POSTS RECORD Q3 ON STRONG GAME BIZ By John Latchem TOP H A R D WA R E O C TO B E R 2007 PLATFORM UNITS SOLD 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wii Nintendo DS Xbox 360 PlayStation Portable PlayStation 2 PlayStation 3 519K 458K 366K 286K 184K 121K Source: The NPD Group Halo 3 TOP 10 GAMES O C TO B E R 2007 LABEL PLATFORM TITLE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Halo 3 * Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (w/guitar) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (w/guitar) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (w/guitar) Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass Wii Play (w/Wii remote) Half Life 2: Episode 2 — The Orange Box Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock FIFA Soccer 08 Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes *Includes Collector’s & Legendary Editions Microsoft Activision Activision Activision Nintendo Nintendo Electronic Arts Activision Electronic Arts Nintendo 360 360 Wii PS2 NDS Wii 360 PS2 PS2 NDS Source: The NPD Group Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction and Drake’s Fortune, to help move PS3 hardware.” While an AP story quoted Sony CEO Howard Stringer saying that PS3 sales were 100,000 for the week ended Nov. 11, immediately follow- ing the price cuts, Sony backed away from that number and said 100,000 referred to total sales of PS3, PS2 and PSP. Sony didn’t specify PS3 sales figures, but did say that PS3 sales were up 192% since the price drop. Console hardware in October rose 195% to $349.6 million, and portable hardware was up 36% to $120.1 million. October video game software sales grew 39% to $513.9 million, from $369.3 million. Halo 3 continued to dominate console sales with another 433,800 units sold in October. It remains the No. 1 game of the year. Activision’s Guitar Hero III sold more than 1.4 million units in six days on Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation 2 combined, including 383,200 on Xbox 360 alone. A solid 36% of GH III sales were on the venerable PS2 platform, which launched the franchise three years ago. “Guitar Hero has certainly established itself among the elite video games properties,” said Anita Frazier, video game analyst for The NPD Group. Year-to-date total video game sales are up 49% from the same time last year, totaling $10.5 billion. GameStop executives in a financial call indicated the company is benefiting from a game industry firing on all cylinders. Vice chairman and COO Daniel DeMatteo anticipates record hardware sales in Q4, which should translate to record software sales in 2008. He cited the continued popularity of the Nintendo Wii and DS, and price drops for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable bundles. In particular, he noted PS3 sales doubled after the recent price cut and expects that trend to continue in Q4. DeMatteo said the third quarter (ended Nov. 3) was the best-ever Q3 for the video game retailer. Net Q3 earnings were $52 million, compared to $13.6 million in 2006, a 283% increase. Total sales increased 59.3% to $1.6 billion, compared to $1 billion during the same period last year. Comp-store sales grew 46.3%, and operating earnings increased by 116%. New video game software sales rose 59%, and hardware sales jumped 149%. Because of the higher-than-expected Q3 results, GameStop projects Q4 compstore sales growth of 7% to 9%, up from 4% to 5%. During the quarter, Gamestop opened 181 new stores worldwide (12 closed, for a net gain of 169), bringing the total of new stores for the year to 417 and the franchise total to more than 5,000. GameStop anticipates surpassing its goal of 500 to 550 new stores in all of 2007. Chairman and CEO R. Richard Fontaine said GameStop, with its unique selection of new and used product, is well positioned to take advantage of emerging industry trends such as more first-time gamers, more female gamers and more gift-givers. GAMES Viz Media ‘Naruto’ Movie Wolfe Cleans Up at AFM Promoted at Trans World By Chris Tribbey MARKETING Anime distributor Viz Media has hooked up with Trans World Entertainment Corp. for a special holiday retail campaign for the three-disc deluxe edition of Naruto The Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow. Nearly 800 F.Y.E. stores in the nation will feature in-store signage and 30-second commercial spots for the release. A “text-to-win” contest will be held in stores and via commercials, in which fans can enter to win a plasma TV and “Naruto” merchandise. Also, as part of the promotion, Maile Flanagan, the voice of Naruto in the TV series, has recorded a promotional message for F.Y.E. and Suncoast Backstage Pass members. The deluxe edition of the movie features a “Naruto” short film, interviews with the Japanese cast, a message from the series creator, trailers, a behindthe-scenes featurette, a soundtrack for the film and a collector’s tin. By Chris Tribbey SUPPLIER Wolfe Video picked up a handful of titles at this year’s American Film Market event, held earlier this month in Santa Monica, Calif. “With the advent of many new gay films premiering in mainstream festivals, we are especially encouraged about the prospects of these films finding a wider audience in the marketplace,” said Wolfe Video president Maria Lynn. The films Wolfe has acquired, with DVD street dates yet to be announced, include: I Spider Lilies, a “Teddy Award” winner at the Berlin Film Festival, tells the tale of a Webcam exhibitionist and the reluctant tattoo artist who gives her some special ink. I Love My Life, a Japanese lesbian student love story where coming out to the family has unexpected consequences. I Surveillance 24/7, in which a gay teacher has an under-theradar affair with a member of the British royal family. I You Belong to Me, a mystery where a potential stalker finds his obsession could leave him dead. Spider Lilies Surveillance 24/7 8 Home Media Magazine November 25–December 1, 2007 http://www.homemediamagazine.com

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Home Media Magazine - November 25-December 1, 2007

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