Nuwave Technologies expanded distribution for its Video Game Enhancer (VGE) via deal with Petra Industries. Latter is national wholesale distributor, manufacturer and importer of CE accessories that markets its products mainly to independent retailers and chains through its 500-page catalogs distributed twice annually to more than 80,000 U.S. dealers. Nuwave National Sales Mgr. Leonard Langsner said agreement with Petra “complements and widens our channels of distribution by bridging the gap between independent retailers and retail chains.” VGE is now available at more than 2,900 retail outlets in U.S. and U.K., including Electronics Boutique, Gamestop/Babbage’s, J&R Music World and Toysrus.com, Nuwave said. VGE is Nuwave’s proprietary videogame console hardware accessory that company says improves graphics of games for all major systems.
EchoStar executive said Congress members had “been quite positive actually” about company’s proposed merger with DirecTV. David Goodfriend, EchoStar dir.-legal and business affairs, said elected officials “get it” and understand merger would create efficiencies allowing DBS to compete more effectively with cable. Comments came at Schwab conference in Washington Tues. Goodfriend said “there aren’t really plans” for merged company to become programmer, so he expressed interest in FCC’s extending its rules that prohibit exclusive contracts between cable companies and affiliated programmers.
Acclaim Max Sports division of Acclaim Entertainment expanded its Extreme line with addition of Chris Edwards Aggressive Inline for next-generation hardware platforms. Title is under development with Z-Axis, same team as made Glen Cove, N.Y.-based Acclaim’s Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX. Acclaim said game “will be the first-ever aggressive inline skating game when it launches in the summer of 2002.” Separately, Acclaim said it would have 20 titles available across hardware platforms this holiday season. CEO Gregory Fischbach said his company was “well positioned to capitalize on this rapidly expanding marketplace.” Slate includes 9 games for PS2, 5 for GameCube, 2 each for Game Boy Advance and PlayStation One, one each for Xbox (Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX2) and Game Boy Color (Mary-Kate and Ashley Crush Course). Company said it was backing each of its key holiday releases with integrated marketing campaigns, including Internet, print, PR, TV.
Infogrames CEO Bruno Bonnell echoed recent comments by executives of competing videogame makers when he said after our Tues. deadline that “we remain bullish about the potential success” of his company’s lineup of software titles this holiday season despite economic uncertainty: “The gaming sector has typically prevailed in tough economic times, and so far this season appears to be bearing that out. The sector remains vibrant, customer demand is strong and the upcoming launches of new consoles can only create more interest and drive more traffic to retail outlets… We expect that this will be the first of several consecutive profitable quarters for us.”
Phoenix Gold swung to $31,000 4th quarter loss from $185,000 profit year earlier, blaming “slowing” U.S. market that increased competition for retail shelf space. Revenue slipped to $8.6 million from $8.9 million. While sales of AudioSource products increased, revenue from Phoenix Gold and Carver gear declined. Inventories swelled to $7.9 million from $5.7 million as accounts receivable rose to $5.3 million from $4.1 million. Phoenix Gold said it had cut 38 jobs, reducing work force to 152. It acquired AudioSource year ago and has focused Carver brand on professional audio market since acquiring it in 1995.
Economic considerations won’t dampen holiday spending on CE products, and DVD players lead list of items people want to give or receive. Those were findings of 2 separate polls by online retailer eBay released Wed. E-tailer said poll of purchasing plans conducted Sept. 6-9 -- before Sept. 11 terrorist attacks - - found 70% of adults polled said they would spend same or more on holiday shopping as last year while rest said they would spend less. Poll Oct. 18-21 among equivalent representative group and asking same questions found 71% would spend same or more, with rest cutting back. In separate wish-list poll, eBay said 31% of respondents chose DVD player as item they would “love to give or receive.” Next choice was digital camera (27%) followed by flat- screen TV (25%). Videogame consoles ranked 7th (12%) on list, with Sony’s PlayStation 2 “most wanted” followed by Microsoft’s Xbox and Nintendo’s Gamecube. E-tailer cautioned that those console preferences might change when Xbox and Gamecube made debut in next 10 days.
Blockbuster consumers who buy 52-week DVD rental card on Thanksgiving Day qualify for free Philips DVD player, Blockbuster announced Wed. Hardware giveaway is among aggressive 4th-quarter promotions planned to reach goal of having DVDs account for 30% of U.S. rental revenue by year-end. Other offers: (1) Customers who buy $150 Philips DVD player through Jan. 7, 2002, qualify for free 10-week DVD rental card. (2) Free 5-day DVD rental will be available Dec. 1-Jan. 31 to customers who bring in proof of purchase of any DVD player from any retailer.
Loudspeakers generate sound by moving air, but the latest brainstorms from 2 audio companies would have customers sucking wind to build the speaker itself. British company Ellula Sounds (www.ellula.com) licensed NXT’s flat-panel driver technology to make small, inflatable speakers. When filled with air, speakers resemble brightly colored beach balls and are meant for use with portable stereos and PCs with low-powered amplifiers. NXT flat panel produces sound that makes entire inflatable resonate. Blowups cost about $45 per pair.
FCC should require cable operators to stop blocking fully functional navigation devices for DTV, CEA said in semiannual report on cable-DTV compatibility. Nov. 6 report, following report by National Cable & Telecom Assn. (NCTA) that was filed by Oct. 31 deadline (CED Nov 1 p5), drew heated response from NCTA. CEA said lack of agreement on DTV-cable compatibility “not only suffocates the market” for DTV cable set-tops, but “also stalls the crucial transitional market for DTV receivers.”
EchoStar is confident merger with DirecTV will pass regulatory muster, CEO Charles Ergen told reporters Wed., and he expects Commission and Dept. of Justice (DoJ), which will handle antitrust review, to analyze facts thoroughly before making decision (CED Oct 30 p1). He praised action by FCC Chmn. Powell to set up committee to examine regulatory issues: “The Commission is doing the right thing to look at the deal and give it a lot of scrutiny. There is a difference” between facts and “the spin people who lost out on this deal are putting on this deal.”