Microsoft Hardware Revenue Has Major Decline

Microsoft Hardware Revenue Has Major Decline

For its third fiscal quarter ending 3/31/23, Microsoft reported that Xbox Hardware revenue was down 30% year over year.  Xbox content and services were up 3%.  Overall game revenue was down 4% to $3.6 billion. Analysis The big news this week has been the U.K. blocking Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.  The recently released financia.....
PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series: Is This the Last Generation of Video Game Console Systems?

PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series: Is This the Last Generation of Video Game Console Systems?

As a new generation of game consoles launches many observers are again wondering if this will be the end of the console era. In other words, as games go online, will game hardware, like many consumer electronics products, become a commodity? This question has been asked for years, but now takes on new importance given the strategy of companies like Microsoft that increasingly view game offerings as part of a hardware agnostic service. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X will be in sh.....
Assessment of the Top Selling Video Games of the First Half of 2018

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.....
How Fortnite Drives the Battle Royale Genre to New Heights

How Fortnite Drives the Battle Royale Genre to New Heights

One of the biggest stories in video games over the past year has been the rise of the battle royale genre. In 2017, we saw the unprecedented rise of two major games in this genre, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) and Fortnite. In the wild world of early access PC games, both products had millions of users before they officially released. With PUBG, the game had already peaked by the time it was formally launched in December 2017. Fortnite Battle Royale, which had a surprise.....
PlayStation 4 Comes out Strong in Video Game Consumer Survey

PlayStation 4 Comes out Strong in Video Game Consumer Survey

2017 was an incredible year for the video game industry.  As discussed in the latest DFC Intelligence Worldwide Video Game Forecasts reports, game software sales soared past the $100 billion mark, a year before originally predicted.  Much of this was because of greater than expected growth in mobile games and Asian markets.  However, the core PC and console markets also showed healthy sales.  The.....