Video Game Industry Segments: Games as a Service versus Traditional Games
The recent DFC report The Business of Video Games breaks the game industry into multiple segments. At a high level the biggest distinction is between traditional pay-to-play games and games as a service. These are almost two entirely separate businesses and it will be interesting to see how many companies can play in both segments.
Overview
Pay-to-play is what most people think of as the traditional console .....
Analysis: AAA Video Games for Late 2018
Last week we looked at the strong video game lineup for the first half of 2018. Of course, most of the big sales occur in the second half, and more specifically the fourth quarter. With strong hardware sales and an impressive holiday lineup, DFC Intelligence recently raised its forecast for both 2018 and 2019. .....
Assessment of the Top Selling Video Games of the First Half of 2018
The first half of 2018 is in the record books and it is time to assess where we are at. We can say right off the bat it was a fairly strong first half. Of course, most industry sales are done in the second half of the year, so it is hard to say whether that will translate into a solid second half. This article is our examination of the top video games of the first half of 2018. Our next article will provide our predictions for the second half of the year.
Of course, when talkin.....
E3 2018 Roundup Part 2: Looking to the Future, New Consoles and the Netflix of Video Games
This our E3 2018 Roundup Part 2. In part one we looked at:
The strength of AAA games in a world of free-to-play products
The controversial issue of loot boxes
The top games for the second half of 2018 and early 2019
This second part of our E3 2018 Roundup will focus on:
A look at each of the major game publishers
Highlights from the major console manufacturers inc.....
At E3 2018 Microsoft Looks to the Future
News
For several years, the major console manufacturers have nicely staggered their big press conferences. Traditionally, Microsoft goes first on the Sunday before the show starts. So Sunday June 10 the Microsoft press conference launched the start of E3 2018 (assuming one does not consider Saturday’s EA Play event an official part of E3). Going into E3 2018 Microsoft faced a difficult task. The company has very few exclusives for 2018 and sales have not been strong for the.....
Will Nintendo Switch Make Money for Third-Party Developers?
The successful launch of the Nintendo Switch in March 2017 took many in the game industry by surprise. Of course, the same reaction happened over a decade before with the launch of the Nintendo Wii. The latest DFC Intelligence brief on the Switch, forecasts continued success for the system. However, these forecast come with warnings that the Switch is still a fairly modest player in the overall video.....
