Month: March 2004

NPD Group: Online Console Games Exceeded US$1 Billion Sales in 2003

2003 saw a 182% increase in the number of online-capable console titles sold in the US, and we think this demonstrates that the market is finally taking off.

Predictably, the majority of the sales have been first person shooters (FPS) and sports games. Sports games, such as EA’s Hockey and Football offerings are immensely popular in North America, much more so than in Europe and the rest of the world, and so they claim 69% of the market. FPS games, with 22% of the online console game market, have long been popular online (or at least on corporate LANs) ever since the early days. This is because they are easy to pick up and play and appeal to the demographic who are buying most of the games – there is an easy shift for those brought up playing multiplayer Marathon and Doom on PCs and Macintoshes to picking up a console FPS.

Role-playing games (RPGs) take up only 4% of the online console market as they are more traditionally in the realm of the PC: requiring a hard drive, a huge commitment to learn the rules and world involved, and, of course, absolutely all of your spare time. Not many publishers have taken the risk of investing in online RPGs – Final Fantasy XI and Everquest Online Adventures being notable and popular exceptions.

Racing games are currently worth 15% of the market – but watch this change dramatically when an online version of Gran Turismo finally hits the shops.

Almost all console games currently on sale with online components can be played offline – it’s a brave publisher who will make a console game that cannot be played off line, and the aforementioned Everquest Online Adventures is the only exception we can think of. This will change as consumers get more used to the idea.

However, not all games with online functions are bought because of that feature: Richard Ow, senior industry analyst, The NPD Group comments: “It’s important to note that the increase in sales for online-capable games does not mean that the masses are moving to online gameplay, in some cases, consumers aren’t necessarily aware they’re buying games with online capabilities, but whether they’re aware or they aren’t, the onus falls in the laps of the software developers to provide games with multiple playability features.”

Now, Nintendo – why is it just about impossible for us to get the broadband adapter for the GameCube in the UK? Think we’re going to play Phantasy Star Online on a dial-up?

Online games at X Box Live

Sony Central Station

Warp Pipe – getting your GameCube online

Japan Agrees on Digital Terrestrial TV Standard… for Mobile Phones

Japan’s six major television networks have agreed a standard for broadcasting and receiving digital television for mobile phones.

Fuji TV, NHK, NTV, TBS, TV Asahi and TV Tokyo have all signed up for the standard. “I think this will raise awareness among viewers about digital broadcasting and we hope it acts as a spur,” TV Tokyo managing director Katsumi Ueda told a news conference.

Services are due to start in April 2005, and will be free – but as yet, no handset or network providers have signed up. Interestingly, NEC released a prototype mobile phone that was compatible with Japan’s existing digital TV standard, but it suffered from power problems. See our recent article on DVB-H, linked below.

NEC’s digital TV mobile

Record Fine for Microsoft

Did we get it right? No – we were way off, but then everyone else was caught out too, especially Microsoft. Last week we said “we predict that Microsoft will get hit up for a couple of hundred million euros”, but no-one expected a fine of this scale: €497 million (£330 million).

Microsoft will also be required to make changes to Windows: Microsoft must supply a version of its desktop operating system that does not include Media Player and it must make it easier for other server operating systems to interoperate with Windows desktop clients. Microsoft have already made progress on this later condition, and indeed their Services for Unix product recently won a Linux award.

Microsoft have said that they think that the size of the fine is inappropriate, given the size of their European operation and the fact that they are already being fined, or prosecuted, in other countries. “We believe it’s unprecedented and inappropriate for the Commission to impose a fine on a company’s U.S. operations when those operations are already regulated by the U.S. government and the conduct at issue has been permitted by both the Department of Justice and the U.S. courts,” said Microsoft’s counsel Horacio Gutierrez in a statement.

Reuters

Sony Launches Hard Drive for PlayStation2 in US

Sony have finally launched the PlayStation2 hard drive in the US, some might say a little late into the console’s life cycle. The drive is identical to the one that has been shipped with the Linux kit for the last 18 months – but then the drive in the Linux kit wasn’t compatible with game saves or downloading content.

So why now? The hard drive is needed to play Final Fantasy XI, the first online iteration of the baffling (hey, only if you don’t play it) role-playing game, and sales of the FF series more than justify marketing a $99 peripheral that was already in production. The drive comes with FFXI pre-installed, and players will be able to sample the game free for 30 days – but will have to cough up $12.95 a month as a subscription to keep going.

But that’s just one game – there will be a huge range of downloadable content and media available for subscribers: new levels, music, perhaps even full-length films. Given that the average game save is about 200kb and you could fit roughly 200,000 of those on the new disk. Sony obviously have a lot planned – and if the peripheral takes off, suddenly Sony has a potential installed base of more than 70 million broadband-enabled, game playing media hubs in living rooms and bedrooms around the world.

We’ve been quite looking forward to the hard drive, the endless fiddling about with memory cards is annoying: one card for RPGs, one card for all our EyeToy pictures, and Bahamut help me if I lost Sesame’s card with her Grand Theft Auto and Silent Hill saves on it.

Sony’s press release

“But your chocobo just squashed my level 76 Beastmaster!”

 

Two Way TV diversify to content from iTV

Two Way TV, well know producers of interactive TV content, have announced two content deals.

First up is an interesting and significant deal with long-standing UK commercial network ITV which moves them away from just iTV (interactive TV) content to using the interactivity to supply additional types of content. The exclusive ITV contract allows viewers to browse and buy content through their remote control, whilst watching ITV interactive content and have it delivered to mobile handsets.

Initially video clips, ring tones, logos, wallpaper and Java games, will be offered to ITV viewers through an interactive service behind ITV1 and ITV2 on Sky Satellite. It will also be available through ITV’s 24:7 interactive services menu.

The first service to launch will be based around ITV’s football programming. Football fans will be able to buy classic terrace tunes, download pictures of their favourite players and buy video clips of classic football moments. They will also be able to get football related Java games.

TwoWayTV will also be offering a pop-themed service to provide chart ring-tones, celebrity logos and Java games.

Jane Marshall, the controller if ITV Interactive, said about the deal: “Interactivity is all about providing extra value for viewers and giving them more of what they want. This is a great way for us to broaden our relationship with our viewers, as well as creating new revenue streams for us.”

The ITV mobile content service will launch during the second quarter of this year. Two Way TV will also launch similar services on NTL and Telewest in the walled garden under the Two Way TV brand. Viewers will be able to buy games and ring tones from these services.

Secondly, Two Way TV is renewing its partnership with the Israeli broadcaster Connect-TV and is licensing of a new set of games to the company. Connect-TV has been broadcasting Two Way TV’s games services on the MATAV and TEVEL cable networks in Israel for the last two years.

“Two Way TV’s games have proved very popular in Israel and we are delighted that they have agreed to renew our games licenses. Their innovative games have carved out a strong niche in the marketplace.” says Tammy Friedman, the chief operating officer of Connect-TV.

Two Way TV

CeBIT: Digital Camera Market Expanding Rapidly

The digital camera market has expanded rapidly in the last five years. In Europe alone, CAP Ventures estimate that sales will from from 14 million sold in 2003 to 26.3 million in 2008 – and by then the market will be worth some €20 billion. Digital photography has already changed the market – Kodak will stop making non-disposable film cameras and concentrate on fun film cameras and digital devices. It won’t be long before other manufacturers follow.

Kodak and Olympus used CeBIT to launch new additions to their digital ranges. Kodak is showing off the Easyshare LS743 and LS753, with 16mb x 4 megapixel and 32mb x 5 megapixel resolutions respectively. Olympus are demonstrating their ì410 camera – this new camera features TruePic turbo which they claim improves image clarity, contrast and colour.

The growth in digital cameras has created a demand for peripherals, services and consumables – photographic printers, inks, memory cards, online services, and special papers to name just a few.

Photobox

The ì410

Digital Photography Review on Kodak’s LS753

New Zealand Government Makes Transferring Music Files “Fair Use”

Long since regarded as progressive, New Zealand’s copyright laws are about to have a small revision: format shifting (transferring content from one media to another, or to another device) is to be defined as fair use. Record companies are howling that this will make everyone pirates – and is a good indicator, that secretly, they don’t want you moving media at all – they want consumers to buy a version for each device they want to play it on.

It’s already legal to sell or give away a piece of media you have a license for – so you could sell that music track you bought off iTunes without any trouble.

Under current legislation, all copying, even for personal listening is illegal – but the Economic Development Ministry want to make it legal to make a copy for personal use. The change will possibly be implemented in the middle of the year.

The recording industry claims that 10 million CDs are pirated every year in the country – quite a bold estimate given that the entire country only has 3.7 million inhabitants. We think they might be a little on the high side.

Slashdot debates

New Zealand Copyright Law

CeBIT: Unless Vendors Work Together, Push-to-Talk is Dead in the Water

Push to Talk Over Cellular (PoC) has exciting implications for phone and network providers: the technology allows subscribers to send a voice message to someone in their address book. The message travels over the network’s data service, so doesn’t require real-time processing and is obviously not interactive – it’s a bit like a walkie-talkie.

Network providers are already enthusiastic about the new services they will be able to create around this service – and the new revenue streams it will bring them. However, there is already some disagreement over what standards will be adopted and how network providers will exchange PoC messages between networks.

Herman Weiffenbach, vice president of Motorola highlights the problem in CeBIT News: “We now have eight launches in prospect, with 18 active trials under way, 12 of which are in Europe. We also expect a further 16 in the first half of the year. It is all looking very promising, but without standardisation, it won’t fly.”

One of the things that will kill PoC for sure if it’s not sorted out quickly is the current lack of cross-network service. For the time being, you can only use PoC services with recipients on your own network. Nokia, Sony, Ericsson, Motorola and Siemens signed an agreement to enable cross-vendor operability, but this seems to be all they’ve done – there’s been no progress since.

One of the great things about standards is that there’s just so many to choose from: Nokia is not taking part in trials with Ericsson, Motorola and Siemens – because they believe their solution is already the best. The three other companies probably have “En usko” to say to that.

Nokia Push to Talk at 3g

Siemens’ attempt to get into the lead

T-Mobile Introduce Mobile Jukebox, Unleashes New Music Format on Unsuspecting World

T-Mobile have partnered with Sony Music and Unversal Music to provide a somewhat unique entry to the mobile music market. Called “Mobile Jukebox”, the service allows subscribers to download music clips to their mobile phones.

So far, there are 200 tracks available to choose from – but the real killer is that those tracks are between only 90 and 120 seconds long.

We think this one might have launched a bit early – with only tiny number of tracks currently available, and even those are brutally short, this has an air of “So what?” about it. T-Mobile intend to offer more tracks later in the year, and full length ones too – but will that be enough?

Thomas Gewecke, Senior Vice President of Sony Music Digital Services explained: “Mobile Mix enables music fans to download a 90 to 120 second excerpt of a song in just a couple of minutes, allowing them to get a feel for the music almost instantaneously, and takes the mobile music entertainment experience to an entirely new level.”

Mobile phone users tend to be young and demanding, and require quite high standards form their entertainment, so surely they want considerably more than just to listen to a music clip? It maybe that T-Mobile have misjudged their market here, or were just keen to get some sort of music product out as soon as possible.

T-Mobile on Mobile Mix