Report: U.S. Video Game Sales Down 14% in May

By
Mawuse Ziegbe
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0

Port Washington, N.Y. – U.S. game sales slid in May to $743.1 million, down 14% from $866.8 million last year, according to a report from market research company NPD Group.  This past May was the lowest sales month since October 2006.

Video games hardware slid 5% from $241.6 million to $228.9 million, however, NPD Group analyst Anita Frazier noted, “Overall, the Xbox 360 platform has contributed 34% of year-to-date revenues (across hardware, content and accessories) generated by new physical retail sales, gaining 7 share points over last year.”

Sales of video games software plummeted 19% from $466.3 million to $375.8 million. Frazier attributes the precipitous drop to “a light new release schedule as compared to last year. There were 42 new SKU’s introduced in May as compared to 58 last May, and 72 in 2009.  This is reflected in the share of dollars contributed by May releases, which was 28% in 2011 as compared to 41% last year.”

An uptick in digital purchasing may have also affected the numbers. “Keep in mind that purchases of content are increasingly occurring in digital format, and May saw a notable digital release in the second map pack for ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops’ which was titled ‘Escalation,’ ” Frazier notes. “Undoubtedly, this shifted some dollars that might have been spent on new physical content at retail.”

Take-Two Interactive’s “L.A. Noire” was the best-selling game of May, followed by Bethesda Softworks’ “Brink” and Disney Interactive Studios’ “Lego Pirates of the Caribbean.” Electronic Arts’ “Portal 2” and Warner Bros. Interactive’s “Mortal Kombat 2011” rounded out the top five.

Related Links:

http://www.npd.com

Facebook's IPO Valuation Expected to Reach $100 Billion

By
Lindsey Compton
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0

Palo Alto, Calif. – Facebook is expected to go public in the first quarter of 2012, at a valuation that could top $100 billion, CNBC reported.

The popular social-networking site’s move to file is more than likely triggered by a section of the 1934 Securities Exchange Act, which requires companies to release quarterly financial information when
they reach more than 500 investors, CNBC reported Monday.

Although a Facebook spokesman declined to comment on the timing with CNBC, the news outlet noted that chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said a Facebook IPO was “inevitable” at a conference late
last spring, describing the IPO as “the next thing that happens.”

Related Links:

http://tinyurl.com/3ed542l (CNBC)

Apple Now Offers Unlocked iPhone 4, Priced at $649-$749

By
Lindsey Compton
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0

Cupertino, Calif. — Apple has officially started selling an unlocked iPhone 4, CNET reported Tuesday.

The multi-billion dollar company has listed both a 16GB and 32GB unlocked version of the smartphone on their online store, retailing at $649 for 16GB and $749 for 32GB.

Apple’s decision to start selling unlocked versions of the phone stemmed from users who “prefer to use a local carrier when traveling abroad,” or for those who prefer not to have a multi-year service contract, the company wrote on its device’s product page.

“It arrives without a micro-SIM card, so you’ll need an active micro-SIM card from any supported GSM carrier worldwide,” Apple said.

The unlocked phone will only be available to iPhone 4 owners on AT&T and T-Mobile in the U.S., and via GSM carriers worldwide.

Related Links:

http://tinyurl.com/3mtq6dr (CNET)

http://tinyurl.com/3njpxg8 (Apple Store: unlocked iPhone 4)

Comcast and Skype Team to Develop HD Television Calling

By
Lindsey Compton
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0

Philadelphia — Comcast and Skype on Tuesday announced an agreement to develop an HD video calling service that will enable family members and friends to communicate on a widescreen TV via Skype video calls.

Customers in the future will be able to make and receive Skype video and audio calls, instant message via Skype on a television while watching their favorite TV shows, and import friends to their Skype
address book from Facebook, Outlook, Gmail and smartphone contact lists.

“We are pleased to announce this partnership with Comcast,” said Skype CEO Tony Bates. “By combining Comcast’s broad living room reach with Skype’s innovative communications platform and worldwide community of users, we can bring video calling into the heart of the home allowing
people to share life’s experiences both big and small.”

The service will be available through a high-quality camera, adapter box and a special remote control that is designed for Comcast customers to text on Skype through their televisions.

Customer trials of the service are expected to commence in coming months.

Related Links:

http://tinyurl.com/3oj65ar

Report: HP in Talks on Launching Its Own Cloud Media Service

By
Lindsey Compton
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0

New York — Hewlett-Packard is once again discussing the possibility of building a cloud service that would offer music, TV shows and movies.

Precentral.net reported a few months ago that the Palo Alto, Calif. –based technology and computer company has plans to showcase a marketing presentation July 1 for HP’s Touchpad that will include HP
stores and movies.

“The Touchpad will come with a music-synching solution built in that utilizes cloud servers to synch and remotely store your music,” Precentral reported.

According to Billboard, HP has been studying the music industry for nearly a decade — looking at ways their company can find a role in the market.

“In their talks with the majors, they’re trying to narrow down what their service will look like,” a source told Billboard of HP’s RFP (request for proposal) three years ago when looking for a digital music partner to help build a music service.

Although HP hasn’t officially decided to take their product idea to market, sources told Billboard that the major labels are still placing most of their attention on negotiations with Apple, Amazon and Google.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/6d3bomf (Billboard)

http://tinyurl.com/44mow6m (Precentral.net)

 

New York — Hewlett-Packard is once again discussing the possibility of building a cloud service that would offer music, TV shows and movies.

 

Precentral.net reported a few months ago that the Palo Alto, Calif. –based technology and computer company has plans to showcase a marketing presentation July 1 for HP’s Touchpad that will include HP stores and movies.

 

“The TouchPad will come with a music-synching solution built in that utilizes cloud servers to synch and remotely store your music,” Billboard reported Precentral’s story said.

 

According to Billboard, HP has been studying the music industry for nearly a decade — looking at ways their company can find a role in the market.

 

“In their talks with the majors, they’re trying to narrow down what their service will look like,” a source told Billboard of HP’s RFP (request for proposal) three years ago when looking for a digital music partner to help build a music service.

 

Although HP hasn’t officially decided to take their product idea to market, sources told Billboard that HP is still placing most of their attention on negotiations with Apple, Amazon and Google.

 

Related Links:

http://tinyurl.com/6d3bomf (Billboard)

4chan Founder's Canvas Scores $3 Million

By
Mawuse Ziegbe
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0

New York – Christopher Poole’s latest venture, Canvas, a site where users can kick off discussions and post pictures, has raised $3 million in a round of funding helmed by Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, according to TechCrunch.

The injection of funding follows $625,000 raised in seed financing. Angel investors Andreessen Horowitz, Founder Collective, Joshua Schachter, Lerer Ventures and SV Angel returned for the latest round of funding.

According to its website, Canvas “is a place to share and play with images.” Users can vote for favorite pictures, view content generated by other users and “remix” images via a browser editor. Canvas users create accounts, have the option to be anonymous and content can be archived. The site remains invite-only after a January beta launch, and Poole reportedly has had to restrict access due to outsize demand.

“We want to re-imagine what the modern message board would look like,” Poole recently told TechCrunch, explaining why he decided to develop a user community separate from the popular 4chan.”It’s less about the product and more about the community.”

Related Links:

http://tinyurl.com/6xqyrv3 (TechCrunch)

http://canv.as/

Sports Video Link Index Rojadirecta Fights U.S. Domain Seizure

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

New York – The owner of a number of website domains seized by the U.S. government on copyright infringement allegations has filed a lawsuit against the government, demanding the return of its domains, Techdirt reports.

Puerto 80 Projects, the owner of Spain-based televised sports video streaming site Rojadirecta.com, has filed suit in federal court in New York over the seizure of its domains by the Justice Department and Dept. of Homeland Security’s Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The U.S. government’s “Operation in Our Sites” initiative has so far seized dozens of domains of sites believed to be offering unauthorized copyrighted or counterfeit goods.

Rojadirecta offers an index of links to streams of sports videos hosted on third-party sites; while many are unauthorized streams, the company notes in its lawsuit that among them are non-infringing links to authorized streams offered by Yahoo and others.

The company argues that it is not guilty of copyright infringement because it does not host any content itself; that the domain seizures violated First Amendment rights; and that the government was unresponsive to its attempts to remedy the matter via negotiations.

Rojadirecta also claims it does not receive any revenue derived from content hosted on third-party sites to which it links.

The company said that, since the seizure of its Rojadirecta.com and Rojadirecta.org domains, traffic is down 30% to its service, which is still available at Rojadirecta.es.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/6lfahbe (Techdirt)

http://tinyurl.com/4yyd4dq (TorrentFreak)

http://www.rojadirecta.es

Nokia Wins Patent Dispute With Apple; Will Receive Royalties

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

Espoo, Finland – Nokia announced on Tuesday that it has entered into a patent license agreement with Apple, which will result in the settlement of all outstanding patent litigation between the two companies, including complaints lobbed by Apple and Nokia against one another at the U.S. International Trade Commission.

The agreement includes a one-time payment by Apple, in additional to ongoing royalty payments for the term of the agreement.

“We are very pleased to have Apple join the growing number of Nokia licensees,” said Nokia president and CEO Stephen Elop.

“This settlement demonstrates Nokia’s industry leading patent portfolio and enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities in the mobile communications market.”

The patent dispute between Apple and Nokia has been argued in courts since 2009, with the companies accusing one another of infringing on patents related to mobile phone technologies including touchscreens, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.

The outcome is a victory for Nokia, which said the agreement “is expected to have a positive financial impact on [the company’s] recently revised outlook for the second quarter of 2011.”

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/63wyby8

Chinese Video Site Xunlei Preps $200 Million IPO; Murdoch Invests

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

Los Angeles – News Corp. chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch and his wife Wendi Deng Murdoch invested $29.4 million in Chinese video site Xunlei, which is prepping for a $200 million initial public offering (IPO), PaidContent reports.

“Wendi and I recently made a personal investment in the Chinese video and music internet company Xunlei Limited, through RW Investments,” Rupert Murdoch told PaidContent.

“We believe in the talented entrepreneurs who launched this company and we are confident they can build a successful entertainment offering that respects the rights of copyright holders and artists. They have committed to us that they will do so.”

Other investors in Xunlei have included Google, which pumped $5 million into the company back in 2007 and holds a 2.8% stake.

Launched in 2004, Xunlei reported profits of $25.7 million in 2010, mostly generated from advertising.

The video site will use funds raised in the offering for additional data centers, content acquisition, game licenses, technology development, working capital and potential acquisitions.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/3nzfaeb (PaidContent)

http://www.xunlei.com

Roblox Lands $4 Million for Gaming Site for Kids

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

San Francisco – Roblox, a gaming site for kids, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $4 million in a second round of venture capital financing, led by previous backers ALTOS Ventures and First Round Capital.

Founded in 2006, San Francisco-based Roblox offers a massively multiplayer online game environment and virtual economy designed for kids aged seven to 16 years.

The company counts 5.7 million unique monthly visitors, 650 million monthly page views, and said kids are spending 19 million hours per month on Roblox.

The company will use the funds to boost its hiring budget.

 

Related Links:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110614005770/en

http://www.roblox.com

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