GameStop will no longer stock or sell the Zune, citing weak sales and a poor fit with its "product mix". Despite recent the positive sales and only weeks short of Microsoft's launch of games for Zune, Microsoft's player will no longer be found at the gaming retail giant. The decision came about a month ago, and sales will continue at Gamestop.com until stock is depleted.

Adam Sohn, director of Zune marketing, confirmed the announcement: "We have a set of great retail partnerships that give Zune a strong presence at retail including Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and others. We will continue to invest in deep retail partnerships, and have seen good momentum online and at retail over the last few months including a great response to our recent Spring Update. We're looking forward to a continued strong presence at retail with our partners."

The move is unlikely to affect GameStop, whose sales come almost completely from video games but it puts up another hurdle in Microsoft's attempt to grow Zune sales.

GameStop has hundreds of stores across the country and losing that distribution channel could hurt Zune sales. Many of GameStop's customers are avid users of Microsoft's Xbox 360 console and could have presented a cross-selling opportunity for Microsoft. GameStop first offered Zunes to its customers for pre-orders in Oct 2006.

Microsoft has sold about 2 million Zunes since the device's release in Nov. 2006. Zune is estimated to have about 4% of the overall market share for digital media players currently.

The decision to stop selling Zunes took a toll on the company's margins in the first quarter. Gross margins for the quarter were 26.1%, down from 27.2% the same quarter year before.

Shares of GameStop were down $3.15, or 6.2%, to $47.72 following in-line guidance for the current quarter and fiscal year.

Reference:

http://www.gamestop.com/

http://news.yahoo.com

Posted by Maka Asatiani at 12:15 AM | 0 comments  

Labels: Game Sharing, Microsoft, Zune

Dominate, sales, incredible demand, breaking records, these key terms are invariably showing up in headlines, and becoming synonymous with PSP. This hardware is continually dominating sales in Japan. Weekly Japanese hardware sales fell across the board once more, but PSP retained its place at the top of the chart by some distance.

Having outsold its nearest competitor, Nintendo's Wii, by 22,500 units the week prior, PSP sales came in at nearly 30,000 greater than those of the home console during the week ended May 18. Sales were likely boosted again by the success of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, which blue shelled Mario Kart Wii to reclaim the top spot in the latest Japanese software chart and pass the two million sales mark. While DS software is selling extremely well in Japan, taking 15 of the top 30 chart places during the week in question, sales of the handheld fell 16,000 units week-over-week, although the system was only 6,500 units short of the Wii's total.

PS3 sales were only 700 units greater than those of its predecessor, but should pick up in the coming weeks as new bundle offerings appear closer to Metal Gear Solid 4's June 12 release. Xbox 360 sold around 200 units more than it managed during the week ended May 11, but its total was still shy of 1,500.

- PSP: 70,536

19,348 (21.53%)

- Wii: 41,572

25,736 (38.24%)

- DS Lite: 34,905

16,323 (31.86%)

- PS3: 7,701

353 (4.38%)

- PS2: 7,022

422 (5.92%)

- Xbox 360: 1,47

196 (13.56%)

Reference:

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/25/japanese-hardware-sales-may-12-may-18-deja-vu-edition/

Posted by Maka Asatiani at 10:02 AM | 0 comments  

Labels: Games, Hardware, Nintendo, PSP, Wii, XBox

Greenpeace has released the results of its investigation into hazardous materials in next-generation video game consoles. The study reveals that the Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3 Elite and Microsoft Xbox 360 have all tested positive for hazardous chemicals. The analysis of the toxic materials shows that all three manufacturers failed the green-electronics test established by Greenpeace.

Dr. Kevin Brigden of the Greenpeace Science Unit says: "Whether game consoles are classified as toys or not, they can still contain hazardous chemicals and materials that could harm humans. The technology is available for the manufacturers to design out toxins and produce greener game consoles now."

The report reveals that both the Xbox 360 and PS3 contained very high levels of phthalates that are not permitted in components of toys or childcare products sold in the European Union. One of the phthalates, DEHP, is known to interfere with sexual development in mammals - including humans, and especially males. The other phthalate, DINP, found only in the Xbox 360, is prohibited from use in toys and childcare products in the European Union if children can place them in their mouths.

The game-consoles market is one of the fastest-growing in consumer electronics, with more than 60 million sold and 14 percent growth last year, according to Datamonitor. They not only contain hazardous chemicals, but also contribute to the fastest-growing type of waste - e-waste, according to Greenpeace. Discarded game consoles are often dumped and end up in unsafe and dirty recycling yards in developing countries, harming the environment and the health of workers.

Reference:

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/game-consoles-no-consolation200508

Posted by Maka Asatiani at 9:33 AM | 0 comments  

Labels: Nintendo, PlayStation, XBox

As games are amazingly popular all around the world game developers work a lot to satisfy the needs of their consumers, who have different requests and abilities. So their mission is not really an easy one.

Three graduates from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Class of 2008 have created a game to foster independence among disabled individuals.

Graduating seniors Jennifer Ash, Zach Barth, and Peter Mueller have led an interdisciplinary student team. In the frame of the CapAbility Games Research Project, the students worked in collaboration with the Adult Services Division of the Center for Disability Services in Albany to develop a game that specifically addresses the needs of the center’s consumers.

The game, called “Capable Shopper,” simulates a shopping trip at a local Price Chopper. Players walk around the virtual grocery store - which is based on actual blueprints obtained from an area Price Chopper where the center’s consumers often shop - using a specially designed joystick or a head mouse, depending on their individual mobility.

A computer monitor set up directly in front of the user simulates the layout of the store, and a second monitor to the left displays a virtual shopping list. Users start the game by selecting a meal they’d like to make.

The new game also helps people to find their way easily around the supermarket and to identify the right aisles in which to find items on their shopping list, and selecting specific items off of shelves.

P.S. So here is a new game to gain independence. Let’s see how it will work.

Reference:

http://news.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=2444&setappvar=page(1)

Posted by Lika Todadze at 8:38 AM | 0 comments  

Labels: Game Development

A while ago I bought a stereo Bluetooth headset Jabra BT3030 for using with my Nokia E90 Communicator. Today, I was playing the final levels of Resistance: Fall of Man (oh by the way, there is a teaser of FOM 2 available on PlayStation store... Hale's back) and as it was quite late, I did not want to bother people around me with the noise. So I tought, what if I used this headset with PlayStation 3? So, I gave it a try.

The good news is that within a minute I had the headset paired with PlayStation. The bad news is that PlayStation cannot direct the main audio output to a headset. Thus, it is only used for chatting and communication purposes. The Jabra headset has a built in microphone, so it makes a really perfect combination with PlayStation.

The quality of sound and microphone was excellent.

Posted by George S. at 11:27 PM | 0 comments  

Labels: Accessories, PlayStation

While Grand Theft Auto IV is racking up sales records, console makers are vying for bragging rights of their own, and Microsoft seems to be the victor.

GTA IV was released April 29 and global sales totaled more than $500 million in the first week alone. The first day the latest addition to the hit Rockstar Games series hit retail store shelves, sales were $310 million. More than six million copies have been sold.

The only question is, which console is the game being played on? GTA IV was developed by Rockstar North on two platforms -- the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360. Both manufacturers are reporting higher console sales as a result.

According to news reports that claim to have the inside scoop on Microsoft's sales data, Redmond is the big winner. Reportedly Xbox 360 console sales jumped 54 percent. Other reports estimate more than 60 percent of GTA IV games went to Xboxers, leaving less than 40 percent for PlayStation 3 gamers.

References:

http://www.gamerankings.com/

http://www.biline.ca/xbox_list.htm#g

Posted by Maka Asatiani at 8:40 AM | 0 comments  

Labels: Game Development, Game Reviews, Game Sharing, Microsoft, PlayStation, XBox

Gamers who play the new Grand Theft Auto IV are able to buy downloads of the music they hear through Amazon.com. It’s an interesting twist on music marketing.

When playing Grand Theft Auto IV, players can listen to over 200 songs across 16 in-game radio stations. A new GTA IV feature called ZIT lets customers 'tag' the songs they like. When a player hears a song that interests them, they can dial ZIT-555-0100 on their in-game cell phone, and a text message appears on the phone with the song title and artist. The ZIT number is recorded on the phone for easy one-key lookups of future songs.

After playing, gamers can log on to the new online Rockstar Games Social Club community site at https://socialclub.rockstargames.com/, where they can see their stats from their game play and the full list of songs they've tagged. The site will offer a link to a customized playlist of these songs on Amazon MP3, where they can preview, purchase and download the songs as 256 kbps MP3 files.

References:

http://rockstargames.com/IV/

http://xbox360.ign.com/objects/827/827005.html

Posted by Maka Asatiani at 9:32 AM | 0 comments  

Labels: Game Development, Game Sharing, Games