The News Review:
- Topics: Paris Hilton online games Britney Spears Missbimbo.com…
- New Research Forecasts the Online Games Market in China Will Exceed 3…
- Perfect World to launch open beta testing for `Hot Dance Party`
- Take-Two Rejects Electronic Arts’ $2 Billion Offer (Update6)
- In-game advertising has become more popular
- Is PC gaming dying? Or thriving?
Topics: Paris Hilton online games Britney Spears Missbimbo.com…
Red Herring – Mar 26, 2008
Online Regulator by mark selfe on 26 March 2008 16:57 Categories: Internet and Media – Hardware – International – Internet – Gaming Topics: Paris Hilton online games Britney Spears Missbimbo. com PhonePayPlus ParentKind Nicholas Jacquart. Phonepayplus (formerly Icstis) is looking into whether the beauty contest site has broken the rules when it comes to services directed specifically toward children. Miss Bimbo is initially free thus luring in teens to play but the financial catch is the text fees which are at £1.
New Research Forecasts the Online Games Market in China Will Exceed 3…
sys-con.com – Mar 26, 2008
researchandmarkets. researchandmarkets.
Perfect World to launch open beta testing for `Hot Dance Party`
Antara – Mar 26, 2008
(”PW Network” or “the Company”) a leading online game developer and operator in China today announced that it will officially launch open beta testing for “Hot Dance Party” the Company’s first 3D casual game on March 31 2008. With “Hot Dance Party” PW Network took its extensive experience in developing 3D massively multiplayer online role playing games (”MMORPGs”) and developed innovative features and adapted them into an all new casual game concept. The game has been gaining in popularity and drawing additional interest from female online game players since the launch of large-scale final closed beta testing on March 12 2008. During the closed beta testing the game’s well-received features include appearance personalization innovative play modes many choices of fashion and style and popular music titles. The open beta testing will include the fully open “Stamina Management Mode” which will allow online game players to obtain higher scores by releasing additional energy by pressing the Shift key while dancing according to special choreography. In addition the open beta testing will introduce “Tool Management System” advanced “Pet Raising System” advanced “Dance Club Operating System” and other upgrades of in-game items. “We are pleased to launch open beta testing of our first casual game on March 31 2008″ commented Mr Michael Chi Chief Executive Officer of PW Network “We have been working on fine-tuning a number of details according to the feedback we received from gamers during closed beta testing to enhance user experience.
Take-Two Rejects Electronic Arts’ $2 Billion Offer (Update6)
Bloomberg – Mar 26, 2008
The company may lose that ranking after Activision Inc. maker of “Guitar Hero'' and Vivendi SA's Blizzard video-gamedivision combine. Blizzard makes the online game “World ofWarcraft'' which has about 9 million subscribers. Take-Two has said it will return to a profit this quarter onsales from “Grand Theft Auto IV. '' The company forecast profitof $1 to $1. 10 a share excluding some costs on sales of $450million to $500 million. For the year it expects profit of $1.
In-game advertising has become more popular
Economic Times – Mar 26, 2008
They should offer a count of unique users which is likely to be provided byweb-based metrics similar to ABC Electronic?s unique-user measure forwebsite traffic. Demographic profiling of the game?s audiencewill also be essential for the advertiser to incorporate interactiveentertainment into a campaign. Decision-making on any media channel includingonline games must also be enhanced with the addition of lifestyle information. ?It remains to be seen how this type of information will be delivered butit could be provided by a global audience panel or by survey research?says Milsom. Impact on brandperceptions Researchers examined three in-game campaigns forNike 6. 0 Samsung Mobile and Sure for Men. ?We carried out pre- andpost-evaluation as we would on other platforms? says Griffiths.
Is PC gaming dying? Or thriving?
MSNBC – Mar 26, 2008
8 billion sales seen by the industry overall according to the NPD Group. There?s one missing piece of this equation and that?s ?World of Warcraft? ? the game PC advocates inevitably point to when console fans start bashing their platform. Blizzard?s massively multiplayer online role-playing game juggernaut counts 10 million active subscribers ? each paying 15 bucks a month. That?s a lot of gold. Last month prompted in part by the success of ?WoW” and games like it the NPD Group announced that it would start to track online game subscriptions. ?While we haven’t yet publicly released our first quarterly data I can tell you that non-retail sales related to PC games is bigger than what occurs at retail so the PC games market is clearly still thriving? NPD analyst Anita Frazier wrote in an e-mail. Blizzard president and co-founder Mike Morhaime agrees that PC gaming is alive and well but contends that his company isn?t the only one having success.