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| Announcement: New DS to be unveiled at E3? |
| Posted: SyMBoLiCDeath @ Fri Apr 11, 2008 11:13 pm |
Source: A story on the Bloomberg Japan financial news service.
What we heard: Three and a half years ago, Nintendo launched its DS handheld in North America. Just over two years ago, Nintendo released a streamlined version of the handheld, the DS Lite. Combined, both models of the handheld have sold over 18 million units in the US alone, according to the latest figures from the NPD Group. According to Enterbrain, the publisher of Famitsu magazine, the handheld has sold a whopping 27 million units in Japan.
The handheld has also spawned yet another order in the cult of Nintendo hardware fetishists. True DS fanatics will often own multiple handhelds, either to color-coordinate their portables with their daily wardrobe or hoard unopened collector's editions so they can later sell them for nearly $300.
Given the DS's widespread and rabid fan base, it's unsurprising that news of a new model would be gobbled up like a rump roast tossed into a tank of piranhas. And that's exactly what happened today when Bloomberg Japan ran a story bearing the headline, "New version of Nintendo DS a possibly at US trade fair - Enterbrain president."
The piece covered a Tokyo press conference given by Enterbrain president Hirokazu Hamamura, who did indeed say "I think there is the possibility" of a new DS being unveiled at Nintendo's press conference at the E3 Media & Business Summit. Traditionally, Nintendo holds its conference the morning before the start of the expo, which runs from July 15 this year.
Unfortunately, that's about all Hamamura said, other than lamenting how a new model wouldn't solve an ongoing DS shortage in the US and Europe. The Japanese game-industry consigliere didn't declare that he felt a new DS was a lock for E3 or that it was even likely to be at the event--just that it might be.
The official story: Nintendo Japan told Bloomberg they "had nothing to announce," and Nintendo of America reps were unavailable for comment.
Bogus or not bogus?: Nintendo loves tinkering with and repeatedly reissuing its hardware, as evidenced by the three versions of the DS's predecessor: the Game Boy Advance (2001), the Game Boy Advance SP (2003), and the ill-conceived Game Boy Micro (2005). So it's 100 percent not bogus that eventually there will be a redesign of the DS--a redesign that's apparently already been completed.
Will it be unveiled at E3 '08? That's unclear. However, given the two-year lapse between the DS and the DS Lite, the time will definitely be ripe.
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| Announcement: Hitman devs go solo with Reto-Moto |
| Posted: SyMBoLiCDeath @ Fri Apr 11, 2008 11:12 pm |
Denmark-based studio that begat IO Interactive reforms to focus on "innovative online entertainment software."
Denmark-based game developer Reto-Moto is more than a decade old, but the studio has yet to produce a single game. That's because the company's first order of business was to form IO Interactive as a joint venture with Nordisk Film. Reto-Moto was back-burnered as IO took off on the strength of games like Hitman and Freedom Fighters, and it was eventually acquired by Eidos.
Now Reto-Moto is reforming, its founders having left their positions in IO Interactive and returning to their original project. Hitman: Blood Money executive producer Neil Donnell will oversee operations as the CEO of Reto-Moto, while Hitman 2 lead designer Jacob Andersen is also on board.
"The entertainment industry has evolved significantly in the last 10 years and this new company is designed and constructed to take advantage of the opportunities in the current and future marketplace," the group said on its Web site.
Reto-Moto has yet to announce its first project, though the studio described itself as "an entertainment software and technology company specializing in the creation of innovative online entertainment software."
According to the site, Reto-Moto has no job vacancies at the moment, but will be looking to bring on more employees shortly.
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| Announcement: Enterbrain: Japanese gaming to peak this year |
| Posted: SyMBoLiCDeath @ Fri Apr 11, 2008 11:10 pm |
Famitsu publisher believes island nation's industry will reverse gains by 2010 thanks to sated demand for Wii, PS3.
Earlier this month, Famitsu publisher and industry sales tracker Enterbrain unleashed its full stat dump for Japan's 2007 fiscal year, which ran from March 26, 2007 through March 30, 2008. In a fact that is surprising to no one who follows the gaming industry, Nintendo dominated both Japanese hardware and software charts.
With Nintendo leading the charge, Enterbrain reported that the Japanese gaming industry on the whole grew by 3.8 percent for the year. Although significant, the growth rate was a far cry from the US gaming industry's expansion, which rocketed moonward in 2007 to a 43 percent increase year over year.
It now appears that Japan's modest gains in 2007 are indicative of diminishing future growth in the sector. According to Japan Today, Enterbrain said that it expects the country's hardware and software sales to top out at ¥710.4 billion (about $7 billion) in 2008, and then decline to ¥671.1 billion (about $6.6 billion) by 2010. Enterbrain believes that hardware saturation will be the primary cause of the decline, and that demand for Nintendo's and Sony's wares will have been sated by the turn of the decade.
Console sales are expected to contract, but Enterbrain believes that online gaming will continue to expand, growing to ¥320.5 billion (about $3.1 billion) by 2010. Japan Today's report cited no reasons for the gains.
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