Avatar photoSteven Savage

Links of the Day, 11/12/08

by

Anime/Manga

Geneon, which closed its U.S. division earlier this year, has been sold to Universal Pictures Japan. Will this mean a revival of the label on this side of the Pacific? Stay tuned!

Video Games

Is the iPhone the next hot gaming console? Apple VP Greg Joswiak is promising that future iPhones and iPods will have better gaming software and more games.

A merger between Electronic Arts and Disney, which has been championed by the Wall Street Journal, would be a bad idea, according to Steven Mallas, a financial blogger for Blogging Stocks. He thinks it would open a can of worms ranging from difficulty in integrating the business to abandonment of Disney's own video game efforts (and the latter would definitely be a bad idea if it meant lost jobs!)

Technology

Video chat is a technology that is suddenly becoming a hot, competitive arena: Google is launching a Gmail video chat service to go head-to-head with industry segment leader Skype.

USB 3.0 is schedule to be formally unveiled next week. Rumor has it that Windows 7 may not be able to support this new technology natively, so anyone who can figure out how to fix that problem has a career boost on their hands!

Microsoft is said to be close to a search deal with Verizon Wireless for its mobile phones, edging out Google for the honors. The deal is said to be worth more than $500 million.

TypePad parent company Six Apart is laying off eight percent of its work force.Even the very service where this blog resides is subject to tough times nowadays, it seems, but we will carry on undaunted.

– Bonnie

Links of the Day, 11/10/08

by
Anime/Manga

Manga absolutely dominated October graphic novel sales, according to Bookscan. Viz Media alone had 12 of the top 20 selling titles, Del Rey Manga had three and Tokyopop had one (Volume 8 of Loveless)

Japanese anime maker Studio Gonzo has reduced its annual output by half for 2008. Less titles coming out of Japan means less available to come to the States, so there may be a residual effect on the American anime industry.

Video Games

Activision and Electronic Arts can't seem to stay out of the news. Activision is keeping it all in the family by acquiring Budcat Creations, which adapted its Guitar Hero games for Playstation 2. Meanwhile, EA Mobie has launched Console Boost, which allows players of the console version of Tiger Woods PGA Golf to connect with the new mobile phone edition to download stat points. We've seen connectivity between handhelds like the DS and consoles like the Wii before, but this the first cell phone connectivity – and we're sure it will be far from the last.

In the latest game industry soap opera, Sega A&R content head Darren Williams dissed the Wii's emphasis on casual gaming, saying it's on its way to being "the most expensive board game on Earth." Perhaps Williams should consider which platform resurrected Sonic the Hedgehog before making hasty judgements.

More trouble for Circuit City: One week after announcing it would be closing more than 150 stores, the electronics chain, which currently sells five to 10 percent of the video games in the U.S., has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Technology

When your business seems doomed by advancing technology, learn to adapt and carry on: Blockbuster has announced that it will have a set-top box that people can use to access movies on demand for the holiday season. The movies will come from the Movielink download service. However, they may get competition from YouTube, which will be offering full-length movies from the MGM library in an attempt to boost ad revenues.

Sony BMG may be offering DRM-free music download via iTunes in the near future. So far, EMI is the only music company participating in Apple's iTunes Plus service, which offers DRM-free music that's higher quality for a slightly higher price.

Links of the Day, 10/31/2008

by

Video Games

Electronic Arts has said it will lay off staff, with some reports putting the figure at five to six percent. The company's profits have been dropping, and the announcement comes one day before the release of its latest quarterly finance report.

Midway has given interim CEO Matt Booty, who has held the position since March, a nod for the permanent job. The company has had some struggles as of late, so apparently, they believe Booty is the man who can return them to their glory days.

Konami is expecting an 88% jump in profits for the six-month period closing Sept. 30, largely driven by the latest installment in the Metal Gear Solid franchise. A single hit title can carry an entire company in these tough economic times, it seems.

Nintendo's highly-anticipated DSI is said to be hitting the stores next summer, sooner than initial reports that placed its release in the 2009 holiday season. The dual-camera device will be released in Japan tomorrow.

Technology

Is the on-again, off-again Google-Yahoo search deal crumbling? A new report from the Wall Street Journal indicates that Google could walk away from it for good as early as next week. The deal has been mired in antitrust legislation up until this point, so its failure comes as no surprise.

If you're a designer of iPhone apps, your future seems assured – demand for app designers has risen by 500 percent over the last six months.

Publishing

More details have emerged about the cutbacks at Conde Nast. Men's Vogue, which was thought to be scuttled entirely in initial reports, is being cut back to a bi-annual instead - which means it may as well have been scuttled.