- Mail get in a froth about a video game again. If this was a book or a film they wouldn’t bother, but because they totally misunderstand interactive media they write this stuff which is mainly a diatribe of their prejudices. How about this: ‘Even worse, it could end up in the hands of a fanatical young Muslim and incite him to consider some form of retaliation or retribution. He could use it to get worked up and want to really “finish the game”.
- Three out of the top five iPhone Apps are games. No surprise there. And number one is Tap Tap Revenge with 32% of users downloading it, which is nearly 5 million downloads. Another fact for industry professionals to put on their shaving/makeup mirror as a daily reminder of what is really happening in this business.
- Wii is the least used current generation console with the Sony Playstation PS3 the second least used and the Microsoft Xbox 360 used most. Makes total sense with the Wii being mainly a casual use toy. Then of the two core HD consoles the 360 has more and better games as well as a vastly superior online service in Live, so it is bound to be used more.
- Wii manufacturing costs down 45% since launch. And with it recently being outsold by the Playstation PS3 in Japan a price drop could be on the cards there. This is less likely in America due to the drop in the value of the dollar. In effect the Americans have already had a price reduction in Yen terms. In the UK our currency, Sterling, has collapsed due to totally inept mismanagement of the economy by our Labour government. So we have had a far bigger Wii price reduction in Yen terms so are even less likely to see a drop in the Sterling price for one.
- Goodbye Blockbuster? It is easier to steal a CD or film online than it is to rent it. And games are moving to online distribution at speed because of the secondhand problem, amongst other issues. So the whole rationale for the existence of a company like Blockbusters is rapidly disappearing.
- Swedish anti piracy law reduces internet traffic by a third. It is amazing that the number one use for the internet is stealing. I bet Tim Berners Lee didn’t predict that.
- Netbook sales doubling year on year and could soon overtake notebooks. It is the only sector of the PC industry that is booming in the recession. And the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor will soon be competing with the Intel Atom to further drive the market.
- Sony PSP 2 to be unveiled at E3? More specification revealed. Looks like iPhone+ and could be more of Sony starting to get their act together.
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Hi Bruce,
Speaking of anti-piracy laws, you might want to have a look at the French “hadopi” law. Lots of controversy there, but little reading to be found in English.
http://www.france24.com/en/20090310-france-internet-piracy-hadopi-bill-parliament-debate