Friday, June 13, 2008

Shane Kim: Japan’s A ‘Long-Term’, ‘Challenging’ Market

9:00PM Luke Plunkett | It’s hard to tell whether these quotes – from a recent interview Shane Kim had with GI.biz – are genuinely new, or just pulled from a stock template Microsoft’s had ready since 2002. Because when asked about how Microsoft are doing in Japan, their thoughts, etc etc, he says “We’ve been very realistic about our near-to-mid term opportunities in Japan, specifically with respect to the current console generation. Obviously it’s a challenging market with well entrenched competitors”. He goes on to say how great it is to see Japanese developers making 360 games, how he hopes their fortunes there will “turn around”, and “I think that’s a longer-term effort, to be frank”. You know what I love? Not whether he’s right or wrong, but the sheer perseverance Microsoft are displaying. We could be seeing the same quotes in 2012. Actually, we probably will. Shane Kim: Japan is a “longer-term effort” [GI.biz] More »

ESA Spent $US 700,000 Last Quarter, And They Did It All For You

8:00PM Luke Plunkett | Whenever we mention the letters “ESA” around here, I see most people whining on about how E3 isn’t what it used to be. Great, it’s not. We’re all upset. But organising E3 isn’t the only thing the ESA do. Most of the time, they’re lobbying politicians. Meeting, greeting, contributing financially, that kind of thing. And they do a lot of it. For example, CNN have found that for the first quarter of 2008, the ESA spent $US 714,000 lobbying Washington, on issues like piracy, IP protection, fighting anti-gaming legislation, that kind of thing. If you’ve ever wondered where all that money publishers pay to be a part of the group goes, that’s where it goes. Whether it does anything or not, well, that’s another matter for another day. Video game makers spent $US 714,000 to lobby in 1Q [CNN, via Ars Technica] [Pic] More »

How Do Capcom Know When To Revive A Franchise?

6:30PM Luke Plunkett | Broad answer: they “evaluate the fanbase and see if there’s a market for it”. More specific answer: “Sometimes we see games on eBay, and that’s how you see what games people are willing to spend $AU 85.14 on”. That’s Capcom’s John Diamonon. Course, he’s quick to stress that’s not the only way they check, and it’s probably not even near the top three mthods they employ. But it sure is an interesting one. Probably more effective than the blood-stained letters I’ve been sending them for the last ten years, threatening/pleading for a new Captain Commando game. Capcom Checking eBay To See Which Games To Port [MTV] More »

Dragon Ball Gives Hardware Sales A Boost In Japan

3:30PM Michael McWhertor | Hardware sales in Japan were down a bit for every console that didn’t get its own version of Namco Bandai’s Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit. PSP sales continue to cool as Monster Hunter drops further down the software charts. We’ll know next week how much of a helping hand Metal Gear Solid 4 gives the PlayStation 3. For now, Media Create sales charts for the week of June 2 to June 8. More »