AT&T Broadband said it would offer TiVo digital video recorders (DVRs) and service for sale to customers in certain markets beginning Nov. 15. Device is to cost $299 and subscription to service $9.95 per month or $249 for product lifetime service contract, AT&T said. DVRs and service will be available to customers in New England region, Denver, and Cupertino, Los Altos, Mountain View, San Jose, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale, Cal., company said.
Researchers from 16 British universities and institutes will attend next week’s Comdex in Las Vegas to present their latest projects to technology companies and investors attending show -- www.ukacomdex.com.
Mon. will be kickoff to get license to manufacture DVD Multi products, we have learned. First announced in June 2000 at PC Expo in N.Y.C., DVD Multi drives will be able to play or record discs for DVD Forum’s DVD-RAM and DVD-RW standards -- but not from DVD+RW format espoused by Philips and others.
Sponsors of upcoming D.I.C.E. summit Feb. 28-March 1 at Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas include Electronic Arts, Insomniac Games, Infogrames, Nintendo, Sony. Summit, run by Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS), now is home of Interactive Achievement Awards show.
Sales and mktg. business development company Sales in Action (SiA) has been started by former Codemasters N. American Sales Vp Howard Horowitz. SiA said its goal was “to assist consumer electronic and game publishing companies in the North American market” sell and market their products to retailers. Horowitz said: “Given the predicted and past growth of the North American interactive entertainment market -- probably somewhere around $18 billion by 2004 for combined console and PC software sales -- foreign publishers, developers and distributors could add 40% to their gross revenue by getting in this market.” SiA said it could “reduce costs by outsourcing and shortening the time it takes to put together an effective sales, marketing and logistics plan and team,” adding that “outsourcing these functions allows companies to focus on their core competencies -- product development.” New company said it was composed of “entertainment industry veterans with over 15 years’ experience.”
Take-Two Interactive’s game Grand Theft Auto 3 for PS2 was top-rented videogame in week ended Nov. 4, Video Software Dealers Assn. (VSDA) said Thurs. Title generated $870,000 in week for cumulative total of $1.48 million, VSDA said. Meanwhile, entering top 5 at #2 was Activision’s Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 for PS2, which took in $620,000 in its first week. Only top 5 title in week not for PS2 was Activision’s Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 for Nintendo 64 at #4 with weekly earnings of $250,000 for $2.97 million total to date. Rounding out top 5 were Capcom’s Devil May Cry at #3 ($350,000 for week, $1.09 million total) and Midway’s Spy Hunter at #5 ($220,000, $1.38 million). Only game to drop out of top 5 from week ago was Madden NFL 2002 for PS2 from Electronic Arts.
THQ started shipping game Tetris Worlds, developed by Blue Planet Software, for PC. Version of title for GBA already started shipping, Calabasas Hills, Cal., game maker said, adding PS2 version will follow this holiday season, followed by GameCube version “in early 2002.”
Ronald Unkefer relinquishes Good Guys CEO post to Pres. Kenneth Weller but will remain chmn… Ron Richie, Pixtech board member, named interim CEO, replacing Dieter Metzger, who died earlier this year of heart attack… Appointed at Palm’s new Solutions Group: Glenn Cross, ex-Sun Microsystems, joins as vp- sales and enterprise business development; Steve Manser, ex- Propel Software, joins as vp-worldwide product engineering.
Transition to next-generation videogame console systems will be completed this holiday season, and outlook for next 3 years is robust. However, “execution is key” to fast adoption of GameCube and Xbox and continuing growth of PlayStation 2 (PS2), as “product slippage or the release of poor quality games can be extremely costly at this stage” of industry’s development.