Diplomatic Nintendo DS

JUNE 26, 2008 • Foreign Ministers attending the G8 summit in Kyoto were presented with special gifts, including a specially lacquered Nintendo DS, including their own Mii avatar. Impact: Nintendo is getting very savvy with its marketing. With media from throu.....

The Australian Game Market

MAY 17, 2008 • In school, children learn about the seven continents. When it comes to Australia, the discussion often turns to what exactly is that land mass: the world’s largest island or the smallest continent. This highlights the unique nature of Australia, how exactly is this country/island/ continent classified? Until the 1.....

Singapore Begins Rating Games

APRIL 28, 2008 • Singapore put into place a new video game rating system. Retail boxes will now have to carry either Age Advisory or M18 stickers if they meet certain requirements. Games with moderate amounts of violence and/or sex will receive the Age Advisory rating intended for those age 16 and above. Titles containing strong.....

Nvidia’s Roy Taylor On PC Gaming

APRIL 23, 2008 • What’s next for the PC as a gaming platform? That question is on the mind of many executives, especially when a publisher the size of Electronic Arts decides to cancel the PC version of Madden NFL 2009 – EA Sports primary franchise. So DFC turned to industry veteran Roy Taylor for his perspective. Taylor has been a long-time advocate of the PC as the “fourth console system” and he is a fou.....

Nintendo Conquers Europe

APRIL 22, 2008 • Over the next few months DFC Intelligence will be releasing its forecast for the game industry.  2007 was a record year for the industry and it has resulted in some significant adjustments to our overall forecasts.  The two most notable international growth trends highlighted in 2007 were 1) the continued strength of on.....

360 Sales Double in Europe

APRIL 17, 2008 • Since its March 14 Xbox 360 price reductions in Europe, Microsoft Entertainment reports that sales of the console have doubled in that market. Unfortunately, Microsoft did not release actual sales data to support the claim. Impact: DFC has forecasted that among this generation of systems, the Xbox 360 will come in third place when all is said and done.  Microsoft has been very silent so far on its European performance and with good .....

Wii Fit Hits North America

APRIL 16, 2008 • Wii Fit will release in North America on May 19 for $89.99. The price includes the Wii Balance Board input device. Nintendo of America promises that at least 10 games that can use the Balance Board are in development. From Dec. 1 through the end of March, Enterbrain claims more than 1.7 million copies of Wii Fit had been sold in Japan. Impact: Wii Fit is the product that will get the mainstream media buzzing this year and it would n.....

Vivendi Gets Anti-Trust Nod

APRIL 16, 2008 • Europe’s top anti-trust watchdog determined that Vivendi’s proposed purchase of Activision Inc. would not threaten competition. “The Commissions examination of the proposed transaction showed that the horizontal overlaps between the activities of Vivendi a.....