GameSpasm

Blizzard is tweaking the business model for its upcoming StarCraft 2 release in Korea. IGN reports that the RTS will be free for Korean subscribers to World of Warcraft there, as Blizzard reportedly wants to bolster the MMO's player base overseas. Other players will be able to buy the game outright for the US equivalent of about $54, or pick up $8 monthly or even $1.60 daily passes for the game, so Blizzard will still make a googoojillion dollars on the long-awaited sequel in Korea. No word on if these plans will make their way to North America, but we'd bet against it. WoW itself has had different pay models overseas for a while, but just the usual monthly price here in the US.

That money can also come from children as young as age 12 -- after the game was originally rated for adults only, an edited version of the game has brought the rating back down to a 12+ age rating. The edit changes Zerg and Terran blood to black from red, and removes all profanity and smoking from the game. Blizzard is reportedly still thinking about releasing the "mature" version in Korea separately, although it'll be after next month's worldwide release.

StarCraft 2 free for WoW players in Korea, loses 18+ rating originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In January, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot told investors that the company would “refocus”‘ its development efforts on Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2010, with particular emphasis on iterating its major franchises on the HD consoles. Today, as Ubisoft reported its earnings (actually, losses) for the fiscal year ending March 31, the company remained committed to the ongoing strategy outlined earlier this year.

“We will have more 360 [and] PS3 revenue this [fiscal] year than we had last year,” Guillemot said during an investor call today. “The big franchises — seven of the eight franchises — will be on 360; and six will be on PS3. And we will have around six or seven on the Wii.”

CFO Alain Martinez put last fiscal year’s combined sales from PS3 and Xbox 360 software at “about 45 percent” of revenue for the publisher, adding, “I wouldn’t be surprised if we are over 50 percent on these two platforms” at the end of the current fiscal year (April 2010 – March 2011). Martinez noted that Wii software sales accounted for “about 26 percent” of revenue in the last fiscal year and hopes sales to be close to that percentage again this fiscal year. In total, Ubisoft is looking to draw “about 77 percent” of its revenue from the three console platforms over the next four quarters.

Continue reading Ubisoft remains refocused on Xbox 360, PS3 in new year

Ubisoft remains refocused on Xbox 360, PS3 in new year originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 18 May 2010 18:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tags: business-models, business-strategy, DLC, financial, forecast, fy-2011, playstation-move, Project ten dollar, project-natal, Sales, Software, ubisoft

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Metro 2033 was released at the tail end of publisher THQ's last fiscal year, which ended March 31. With only two weeks of sales before the close of the fiscal fourth quarter, the 4A Games-developed title was not a huge factor in THQ's trumpeted turnaround. Still, THQ CEO Brain Farrell took a few moments during the company's earnings call today to highlight the game's sales to date, which contributed to fourth quarter sales growth for the publisher and could be a standout figure in its first quarter of the new fiscal year. "It's a very profitable title for us," Farrell said, without disclosing a number.

Farrell did reveal that Europe has accounted for roughly two-thirds of Metro 2033 sales, as forecast by the publisher, with North America buying up the remaining units sold. "A lot of the sales were done on PC," he added, "and a lot of the sales were also done through digital mechanisms that don't get captured by any service."

The CEO attributed profits to the game's low-cost development model, "so when we get to even pretty modest levels of sales, we're still making good money." (First-time, Eastern European studios make cheap games, apparently.) "And we like that model going forward," Farrell noted, when it produces a high-quality game.

After all, first-time, Eastern European studios can make good, cheap games, too. (Apparently.)

Metro 2033 has been 'very profitable' for THQ, CEO says originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 05 May 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments Tags: 4a-games, Brian-Farrell, business-models, Europe, metro-2033, North America, Sales, THQ

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If InstantAction.com's CEO Lou Castle is to be believed, we're apparently going to be playing games pretty much wherever we want in the not-so-distant future. He's just revealed plans (via IndustryGamers) to relaunch his site with a new business/distribution model and a partnership with game streaming service Gaikai. In addition to the already existing model of a quick download (a claimed 4 - 5 minutes) that still somewhat relies on your computer power to process the game's graphics, IA will now offer a streaming option for those who'd prefer a quicker, less hardware reliant gaming experience. "It's the perfect implementation of a thin client solution because when it's available it's brilliant and when it's not available it's ok ... you only have to wait a couple minutes."

The aforementioned streaming option (employing Gaikai) will also be embedabble on the web, as demonstrated with Assassin's Creed (not to mention to us earlier today) "Now if people are reading a review of a game, they don't have to go find it ... they can play it right then and there in the browser."

And that's just the beginning -- Castle clearly has an eye on digital distribution services when he talks about employing Facebook as "InstantAction's Xbox Live." IA's new distribution model essentially promises to developers/publishers the ability to release games with a variety of payment methods (pay as you go, free-to-play, one-time charge, etc.) while incorporating the aforementioned embed and streaming functionalities.

So far, the company has inked one deal for distribution (with LucasArts for The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition) and Castle claims to be pursuing others right now. And apparently it won't be too long before we get to check out the new system ourselves, as the revamped digital platform is said to be "launching soon."

Gaikai and InstantAction team up for streaming, embeddable games originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Tags: business-models, digital-distribution, facebook, free-to-play, gaikai, instantaction, lou-castle, Lucasarts, Microtransactions, streaming, The Secret Of Monkey Island, the-secret-of-monkey-island-special-edition

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In early 2009, Centerscore co-founder Oliver Miao was assigned an extremely daunting task. His studio had recently been acquired by EA Mobile, and his higher-ups had requested an iPhone version of the studio's successful teen-dating sim series, Surviving High School. The difficulty didn't come in developing the title, but rather, in monetizing it.

During his GDC panel titled "Surviving the iPhone: EA's Original Game Bet," Miao recounted the different business models Centerscore proposed to EA Mobile for SHS. The initial idea was to sell the game for 99 cents, and then hand out additional weekly "episodes" for free. While this would help build the brand, EA Mobile didn't anticipate enough return on the investment. It was denied, and Centerscore was sent back to the drawing board.

The second idea was to offer the current episode of the game for free, but charge 99 cents for bundled episodes from previous weeks. This idea was also shot down, and Centerscore's project was threatened with cancellation. Finally, the two parties came up with a solution that's proven to be fairly lucrative: give the current episode for free, charge for previous episodes, and offer the next episode in advance for an additional 99 cents -- quite an innovative business model.

Of course, Centerscore could have easily raked in the cash by simply charging $500 for one of its first mobile titles, Garfield Bowling. We can't think of a price we wouldn't pay for that gem.

GDC: Surviving High School creator talks clever, profitable microtransactions originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments Tags: business-models, business-strategy, centerscore, Ea, EA-Mobile, gdc, gdc-2010, Microtransactions, surviving-high-school

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Watch out, Madden consumer, 'cause Peter Moore is coming -- and he's gonna digitize you. In a speech at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference yesterday, the EA Sports prez said, "I think we need to move much quicker, in particular with Madden, through a digital world ... you're going to see more announcements there how we digitize our Madden consumer." He was likely referring to the currently "burning" business model that revolves around disc-based media, a topic Moore has remained outspoken about for some time now.

In his eyes, rather than focusing on moving more units which each year's release, EA Sports should instead be looking at "How do I get an extra $4 or $5 dollars?" from the already existing 6 million person-strong install base. He insisted that, in line with the company's "Project Ten Dollar" aspirations, digital content keeps gamers from trading in their titles. "It keeps the disc in the drive longer, it stalls trading the game in, it allows me to be able to take further advantage of that consumer over a longer period of time." We'd like to remind you that Moore was speaking to a group of financial analysts, so when he talked about being able to "further take advantage" of you, he meant it in the nicest way possible. Promise.

He finished up by promising that future EA Sports titles will have new business models that allow for a customer to trade in their annualized sports games while simultaneously granting EA the ability to earn money from that customer -- a "best of both worlds" take on the transition from retail to digital, if you will. We'll see what happens in the not-too-distant future, as Moore also promised "We're [EA] certainly going to do a lot of that this year."

EA Sports supports 'Project Ten Dollar,' out to 'digitize' Madden consumers originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA Canada's Jason DeLong told Game Informer that he expects to see games become cheaper in the future, at least per initial investment. "I think that we're going to start to see -- maybe not in the next year, but in the near future -- games go down the route of smaller up-front experiences and lower prices at the beginning," DeLong said, "and then the ability to extend the game through episodic material or future feature material. I think that's a direction we're probably heading in."

So that doesn't mean that games will be cheaper, in the long run -- it means that DeLong sees the potential total price of a game spread between a disc or initial download and follow-up expansions. It's sort of like what EA and BioWare are already doing with Dragon Age: Origins -- except Dragon Age sells for $60 to start. DeLong added that keeping people playing in the current economy is "going to be an interesting creative problem for us to solve." So then, problem solved?

EA producer predicts cheaper games ... more premium extras originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Tags: business-models, DLC, Ea, ea-canada, Episodic, expansion, jason-delong, Pricing, retail

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