Folks aren't buying video games the way they used to -- and that's a problem for the industry. But if the big players are willing to consider some outrageous strategies, they can buy themselves some bonus lives.
Let's go over some items that will help shape the week ahead for Wall Street: The Hunger Games will give theaters a much needed boost; FuelBand may do the same for Nike; video game sellers hunger for hits; and Tiffany and Oracle will give us clues about the recovery.
Zynga is the undisputed king of social gaming for Facebook and smartphones, and its stock price gives it a market cap nearly as big as video game leader Activision Blizzard. But at less than 5 years old, has the bulldog already jumped the shark?
The latest news on the video game front isn't pretty. Media tracker NPD Group's data reveals that industry sales plunged 21% last month. It's clear that the industry is undergoing a radical shift, but for investors, the more important issue is why.
Suddenly, Majesco Entertainment isn't living up to its COOL ticker symbol. Shares of the video game developer and publisher got crushed on Tuesday after it surprised the markets by following its previous three blowout quarters with a loss for Q4.
If you're not familiar with Zynga, the undisputed champ of social gaming, odds are that you're not a fixture on Facebook or into smartphone app gaming. This month, it rolls the dice on a big public offering. Are you game?
At a time when the music industry is Auto-Tuning its own eulogy and Hollywood has all but given up on DVDs, 1.5 million people lined up at midnight events to score copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, proving that even in an era when more of us want our entertainment for free, some things are still considered worth their price.
It's going to be an interesting week on Wall Street, especially with new tablets and old banks in play. Let's go over some of the items you'll want to watch -- assuming you can tear yourself away from the new "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare," which will start printing money for Activision Blizzard at midnight Tuesday.
Activision Blizzard's shares fell after the video-game maker forecast that 2011 sales would fall short of analysts' estimates and announced that it would cease creating Guitar Hero games because of lackluster sales.
Activision Blizzard has added video-game competitor Electronic Arts to its $400 million countersuit against two former executives of "Call of Duty" creator Infinity Ward, claiming that EA tried to lure the executives away while they were still under contract with Activision.
At least 5.2 million copies of Activision Blizzard's Call of Duty: Black Ops were illegally downloaded between its Nov. 9 release and the end of 2010. All told, more than 19 million people illegally downloaded five of the top-selling games of 2010. As broadband spreads, so does the piracy.
Videogame publisher Activision Blizzard said its "Call of Duty: Black Ops" has had the most successful entertainment debut ever, generating more than $650 million in global sales in five days.
Videogame publisher Activision Blizzard said its "Call of Duty: Black Ops" set a new first-day videogame sales record, generating about $360 million in U.S. and U.K. sales within the first 24 hours of its release Tuesday. The company already has sold 5.6 million copies.
World of Warcraft players chomped at the bit waiting for WoW servers to come back online after a 24-hour maintenance cycle left them hanging. And for game operator Activision Blizzard, time is money when it comes to the hugely successful subscription-based online role-playing game.
