Xbox Live Adds AAA TV Content

MARCH 27, 2012 ● Xbox Live Gold members now have access to three new major content providers: HBO’s GO on demand service that can deliver the cable channel’s entire catalog, MLB.TV (Major League Baseball), and Comcast’s Xfinity on-demand content service. Impact: In the new DFC Intelligence report Consoles as Entertainment Hubs, we noted that in March 2012 Microsoft announced .....

World of Warcraft Subscribers Decline

FEBRUARY 9, 2012 • Activision Blizzard reported that World of Warcraft subscribers declined 100,000 during the quarter ending Dec. 31. The loss was less than the 700,000 experienced during the previous quarter. The losses left the MMO with 10.2 million subscribers worldwide moving into 2012. Blizzard Ent. announced on Feb. 29 that it was cutting 600 jobs worldwide. Impact: DFC Intelligence has.....

Mass Effect 3 Origin Exclusive

JAN. 13, 2012 • BioWare has announced to its large player community that an account with EA’s Origin digital distribution service will be required to play any PC version of Mass Effect 3 – retail and digital copies. In addition, Mass Effect 3 will not be available via Steam. After registration via Origin, a constant online connection will not be required to play the single player portion of Mass Effect 3. .....

Gods and Heroes MMO Goes Free-to-Play

JAN. 12, 2012 • Heatwave Interactive has announced it was taking its Roman themed Gods and Heroes MMO free-to-play later this year. While the transition process is undertaken, the publisher has eliminated all fees previously required to play the game, and opened up all content for free access. Impact: Gods & Heroes goes way back and was originally scheduled to launch way back in 2005.  In.....

Free-to-Play EverQuest II Draws Crowd

JAN. 11, 2012 • Since becoming an F2P game back in December, EverQuest II has seen the number of new players jump by 300%, a 40% increase in daily logins, and 200% growth of in-game virtual item sales. Impact: When something of value is offered for free that consumers used to have to pay for you can expect user numbers to soar.  The reported increase in EverQuest II numbers is actually relati.....

Star Wars: The Old Republic Draws 1 Million Players

DEC. 26, 2011 • During it first week in release, Star Wars: The Old Republic attracted more than 1 million players worldwide. Electronic Arts, the MMO’s publisher, needs the game to be highly successful to recoup its investment. The Old Republic is oft accused of being the most expensive computer game ever made. If true, BioWare developed title would have cost more to produce than Grand Theft Auto IV, which had a budget of $100 million. .....

Aion Goes Free-to-Play

DEC. 14, 2011 • NCsoft’s Aion MMO will become a free-to-play service in Europe during the first quarter of 2012. GameForge partnered with the Korean-based publisher in overseeing the adaptation and manage Aion in Europe moving forward. The shift away from a subscription mode.....

Apple Allows iPad Streaming

NOV. 23, 2011 • For the first time Apple allowed a game publisher to stream its titles on the iPad on a subscription basis… that is until Apple pulled the subscription app the very same week out from under Big Fish Games. The publisher said it had worked with Apple for months to offer users .....