Wal-Mart Stores is rapidly downsizing shelf space for music CDs while increasing availability of Blu-ray and consumer electronics in select locations, according to a new report.
The Bentonville, Ark.-based retail behemoth, citing a 23% drop in CD sales during the first four weeks of the fourth quarter, continues to scale back inventories of music packaged media; supplanting it with electronics and movies.
“We believe Wal-Mart is increasing its exposure to consumer electronics, video games and Blu-ray, and reducing floor space devoted to CDs and standard DVDs,” said Richard Greenfield, analyst with Pali Capital, in a note.
Greenfield said the chain’s floor space devoted to DVD, including Blu- ray, ranged from up modestly to down slightly.
Pali reported that an accelerated rate of sales decline for CDs combined with the slowing of digital unit sales had resulted in Q4 total unit sales declining 11.6%, compared to a 11.3% de... More »
Sales of the PSP-3000 model in Japan have cooled considerably since it launched in the region, but Sony's portable sells far more than enough to retain the top spot on the Media Create hardware charts.
The PSP's hardware peers all took a hit this week; the Nintendo DS drops to third, with the Xbox 360 holding steady with the week's lowest decline.
The bad news continues for Sony's PlayStation 3, which suffers its worst week ever, selling just half of what its HD competition did, shedding nearly 17% of its sales week-to-week. Those LittleBigPlanet bundles can't come soon enough.
PSP - 60,467
Wii - 24,292
Nintendo DS - 22,965
Xbox 360 - 7,844
PlayStation 2 - 6,962
PlayStation 3 - 3,931
GameDaily has posted its review of SOCOM Confrontation, and it certainly doesn't make for pretty reading. Their primary negative factor rests around its online problems and glitches, which they state make it a 'confrontation worth avoiding'. Harsh, but not as bad as the rating - a mere 5/10 (BAD in their terms).
To quote: It's sad that these problems occur, because the rest of SOCOM Confrontation is superb. The visuals are surprisingly crisp, with a steady frame rate (even with 32 players at once), gorgeous map designs, smooth character models and realistic lighting effects. It all unfolds at 1280 X 720 resolution, so you've always got a clear view of what's ahead.
Sound quality is also unparalleled. Weapons go off in all directions and bullets whiz past. If you fork over the extra $20 for the bundle, you'll also get the excellent Bluetooth headset. This device works magnificently, not only delivering crystal-clear sound but also blocking out unnecessary back... More »
Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime has again warned that they may struggle to meet the huge demand for the Nintendo Wii this holiday.
To quote: Fils-Aime was cautious on whether the company would be able to meet demand again this holiday.
“I don’t know if we’ll be able to, but were we to get in a car right now and go to 100 retail locations in the San Francisco area, we would not be able to find a Wii in at least 60 of those stores,” he says. “Our hope is that by next week, the Friday after Thanksgiving, and on Dec. 23, you’ll be able to find a Wii.”
Analysts anticipate strong sales for the Wii despite predictions of a broad decline in spending on consumer electronics. “It will sell well,” said Lazard Capital equity research analyst Colin Sebastian in an e-mail. “The console remain in high demand, and I expect retailers will be using Wii’s to attract store traffic throughout the shopping period.”... More »
SCEA's director of hardware marketing, John Koller, has repsonded to an article that said third-party PSP software support has been on a steady decline since 2006.
"I think going into next year we’re going to see significant growth. We’re counseling retail to be ready for it. We have a number of very strong franchise games on the docket that will be launching next year. We haven’t gone public with those, and many third-parties have not yet either because they’re concentrating on holiday, but we have a number of very strong titles coming."
To quote: Koller also stated that publishers were not familiar with how demographics were shifting on the PSP, leading to improperly targeted games that did not meet sales expectations.
“When we launched the PSP it launched at a 28-year old, heavily male, New York subway [demographic], and that slowly trended... More »
According to issa3032: Install the optional Firmware 2.43 update, and the system actually seems more resposive. Anyway, I booted up Gran Turismo 5 and was browsing around the options when I noticed something interesting: When you uncheck the "Disable Advanced Downloading" it asks you to "accept" or "decline".
In the past you used to get a warning message saying this feature would be enabled in a future firmware update. Well this message no longer pops up. I guess now we know what the firmware update did in addition to speeding up the XMB.
Note to others: "Unlike previous updates, firmware v2.43 is specific to the Japan region, and only PS3 users there will be required to install the update."
Alex St John, CEO of WildTangent, has said that Sony and Microsoft will continue to close internal studios as both companies strive to become profitable.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, St John commented that Microsoft was "ramping down" it's investment in the Xbox 360 and was entering a "recovery phase". He said that console makers were keen to become profitable and would no longer take on the risk of developing their own titles.
"You will clearly see Sony and Microsoft ramping down their investment in those platforms... What's interesting to note is that Microsoft [Game] Studios: the number of titles they're producing is in decline. So they're investing a lot less in the Xbox, and Sony is doing the same, because they're in a cost recovery phase," he said.
The comments came as Microsoft revealed plans to close Ensemble Studios, as soon as the developer has finished work on Halo Wars. In a leaked email, Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft Gam... More »
Yesterday's session featured some strange exchanging of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) shares, just one day before the company is set to release earnings.
There was no news released, though Barron's later said that the price decline was due to rumors about Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS) walking away from merger talks. ERTS had an executive speak at a conference right around noon.
Below is a graph of TTWO's trades between about 11:15 and 12:05, when shares declined sharply, rebounded sharply, and then settled roughly 5% lower than where they opened.
As the stock crossed $24 about eight minutes into the graph, the first pickup in volume can be seen, possibly by stop-limit orders being triggered. The price continued to slide on light volume until shares broke through $23, when volume accelerated to over 50,000 shares per minute.
As the shares dropped below $22, volume topped 150,000 shares per minute, which is impressive, consid... More »
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