Blowing away terrorists, apparently, never gets old.
The new videogame Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, set to hit stores Tuesday, is a sequel spawned by sequels. But rather than following the frequent pattern of franchises fading as they age, Modern Warfare 2 is the most highly anticipated game of the season.
Activision Blizzard’s “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2,” a first-person-shooter videogame, is coming out Nov. 10, and anticipation is mounting.
Specialty retailer GameStop has been taking pre-orders since last April, much earlier than most games.
GameStop shares are showing impressive resiliency in the face of the fifth straight month of declining sales of video game hardware and software.
As I noted yesterday, July data from research firm NPD Group showed a 37 percent drop in video game hardware sales, and a 26 percent drop in console and handheld hardware sales. The report comes just days ahead of GameStop’s earnings report for its fiscal second quarter ended July, which is due before the open on Thursday, August 20.
The threat from Best Buy and other retailers to GameStop’s video game sales is no joke, writes Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter in a note this morning in which he lowered estimates for GameStop.
GameStop is lending new copies of videogames to their retail store employees and later selling them as new, unused copies, the gamer blog Kotaku asserts. The post contends the practice may be a violation of federal trade laws.
GameStop shares are getting clobbered today on news that Amazon.com is getting into the business of buying and selling used videogames–and so is Toys ’R Us.
Credit Suisse analyst Gary Balter explained in a research note today that one reason he has maintained an Outperform rating on GME shares is that the company has dominated the used videogame business; he notes that used games generate 44 percent of the retailer’s gross profits, nearly twice the segment’s sales contribution to the company.
It has become popular to say that the gaming industry has become recession-proof, simply because the overall sales for 2008 are up year over year…but those numbers only tell part of the story. Other sources are starting to report some troubling trends in gaming sales; not the least of which is the plummeting price of used games. These trends could lead to some troubling times for gaming in 2009.
Shares of video game retailer GameStop (GME) are coming under pressure after the company reported sales and profit this morning for the fiscal second quarter ending in July that were well clear of estimates and at the high end of its forecast; it raised its forecast, but nevertheless, may not be seeing the profit upside some expected.
This is a section of the All Things Digital Web site featuring posts from around the Web, from other Dow Jones properties and also original pieces we solicit. The section is now explicitly labeled that it comes "from other Web sites."
We are fully aware of the controversies around how linking and aggregating is done on the Web and we, in no way, are attempting to "scrape" original content created by others. Instead, regarding third-party posts, we are trying to point readers of this site to other posts from around the Web that we admire and are trying to do so in the quickest manner possible.
The Internet is full of terrific content that is not ours and we want to help our readers find it by making editorial suggestions--Look, Mom, no algorithm!--of posts we think are worth their time.
That is why we have made even more changes to Voices to ensure we do this in the most transparent and timely way. While we don't expect that everyone will agree with our policies, we have made changes that reflect our intent in pointing to content outside our site.
So here is exactly what we do:
Because the site is wholly owned by Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, we aim to adhere to the journalistic standards of the best of the mainstream media. But, because it is run autonomously as a small online startup, we aim to exhibit the fresh thinking and nimbleness of the best of the new media. We want to be first, and sassy, but also well sourced and accurate. We will offer lots of opinion and analysis, but plenty of fact as well.
D is unlike any other executive conference. Since its debut in 2003, D has brought to life the energy and excitement of the digital revolution in an unscripted, upfront and unparalleled way. Read more »
Don't miss a post! Sign up for our Daily Email and get AllThingsD.com delivered each day.
Get columns, blogs and video from D and All Things Digital on your iPhone. Download now »
