TVs that can receive images from digital broadcasts and the Internet will be developed jointly by the Japanese govt. and private industry. The new Internet Protocol TV will enable users to view DTV broadcasts via high-speed broadband connections, without the need for a PC, the participants said. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry will pony up ?100 million ($909,000) in development costs for the project. Preliminary work should be completed by March, followed by the development of copy protection and customer billing for the service, with final implementation scheduled for 2010. Companies involved in the effort include NEC, NTT, Sun Microsystems Japan and the Tokyo Bcstg. System.
Some states continued to move ahead while incumbent telcos, CLECs and their attorneys attempted to straighten out the legal tangle over whether a federal appeals court in N.Y. had the legal authority to issue its temporary stay of the FCC Triennial Review Order (TRO) presumption that unbundled switching wasn’t necessary for effective local competition in the enterprise market.
Latest developer to be acquired by publisher Electronic Arts (EA) is Liverpool-based Studio 33, best known for console racing titles including Destruction Derby Arenas, Formula One, Newman- Haas Racing. But EA said those particular games, developed for other publishers, were “not part of the transaction” for which financial terms weren’t disclosed.
PS2 platform and Electronic Arts (EA) again were big winners in VSDA’s top 10 videogame rental chart for week ended Oct. 12. VSDA said preliminary data for week showed that 4 EA games were in top 10, led by PS2 version of Madden NFL 2004 at #1 again, which earned additional $320,000 in week for total of $2.73 million to date. EA’s other titles in top 10 were PS2 version of NCAA Football 2004 at #2 again ($170,000 in week and $2.92 million to date), PS2 version of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 at #3 (up one step from last week, $150,000 and $310,000), Xbox version of Madden NFL 2004 at #10 (up 4, $90,000 and $910,000). Only other non-PS2 games in top 10 were Atari’s Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes for Xbox at #7 (up from #12, $90,000 and $220,000) and GameCube version of Soul Calibur II at #9 (down 2, $90,000 and $650,000). PS2 version of latter game dropped one to #4, earning $140,000 in week for $1.32 million to date. PS2 games rounding out top 10 were Take-Two Interactive’s Midnight Club II at #5 again ($130,000 and $7.02 million), Atari’s Enter the Matrix at #6 again ($120,000 and $9.25 million), Sega’s ESPN NFL Football 2K4 at #8 (up 2, $90,000 and $510,000).
There was a slight shakeup in the top 10 videogame rental chart for the week ended Nov. 9 as Activision showed more strength than rival Electronic Arts (EA). The PS2 version of Activision’s Tony Hawk’s Underground held onto the top spot, Rentrak said its preliminary Home Video Essentials data showed. The PS2 version earned $483,204 in rentals for the week, raising its total earnings to $766,182, Rentrak said. The Xbox version of the title, meanwhile, jumped to #7 from #13, earning an additional $186,770 in the week for a total of $294,062. Activision’s True Crime: Streets of L.A. for PS2 was the 6th- most rented game in its first full week with $249,859. In comparison, only one EA game made the top 10 this time -- the PS2 version of Madden NFL 2004, which dropped to #5 from #3, earning an additional $250,405 in the week for a total $3.70 million. Two other Xbox games made the top 10: Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield at #4 (up from #15, earning an additional $273,957 in the week for total $374,256) and Take-Two Interactive’s Grand Theft Auto double pack at #10 ($176,978 in its first week). Sony Computer Entertainment America, THQ, Atari and Konami each had one PS2 game in the top 10 as well: Respectively, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs II at #2 in its first week ($330,164), WWE Smackdown! Here Comes the Pain at #3 (additional $321,747 in the week for $534,711 to date), Enter the Matrix at #8 (additional $184,162 for $9.83 million to date), Castlevania: Lament of Innocence at #9 (additional $178,127 for $398,429 to date). No GameCube titles made the top 10.
In its first full week of availability, Paramount’s The Italian Job was #1-rented DVD in U.S., VSDA said preliminary data for week ended Oct. 12 showed. Title earned $6.40 million in rentals during week for total of $6.55 million to date. Three other new DVDs made top 10 in week: Columbia TriStar’s Hollywood Homicide at #4 ($3.46 million in week and $3.56 million to date), Warner’s The In-Laws at #7 ($2.92 million and $2.99 million), Fox’s Down With Love ($1.78 million and $1.82 million). Last week’s #1-rented title -- Universal’s 2 Fast 2 Furious -- dropped to #2 ($3.66 million and $9.68 million), VSDA said.
New Video and Computer Games: Midway Games said SpyHunter 2 went gold and would ship Nov. 24 for PS2 and Xbox Dec. 3 at $49.99. The publisher said late last month that it had reduced its 4th-quarter earnings forecast as a result of weak 3rd-quarter results and because of its decision to not ship SpyHunter 2 and Midway Arcade Treasures for GameCube in the 4th quarter, as originally expected (CED Oct 31 p5)… TDK Mediactive (TDKM) shipped Tonka Rescue Patrol for GameCube at $19.99. The title was developed for it by Lucky Chicken Games. Hasbro’s Tonka brand is sublicensed to TDKM by Atari as part of a 3-year worldwide deal. TDKM Exec. Vp-Sales & Mktg. Michael Devine said Fri. that “more than 5.5 million PC units” of Tonka games had been sold to date… Online publisher GarageGames said Fri. it had signed an exclusive online licensing deal with Cleveland- based developer Max Gaming for the title Dark Horizons: Lore, terms not announced. GarageGames said the title would built with its Torque Game Engine… Fonix said that the 2 Xbox videogames that now features voice command technology -- Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six 3 and Vivendi Universal Games’ SWAT: Global Strike Team -- had received “rave reviews.” Brian Schmidt predicted voice command “will become market drivers for voice in the games industry”… In conjunction with the release of Mario Kart: Double Dash for GameCube at $49.99 today (Nov. 17), Nintendo of America (NOA) said it would be hosting a promotional real kart race at Universal Studios in Orlando. NOA said the winner of a preliminary competitive event on the new game Nov. 7 in Denver and the winner of a preliminary competition in Orlando would be facing race car driver Michael Andretti and actress Melissa Joan Hart in the real kart race today… Activision Value Publishing shipped Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts for PS2 and Xbox at $29.99.
In its first full week of availability, Disney’s Finding Nemo was the #1-rented DVD in the U.S., Rentrak said its preliminary Home Video Essentials data for the week ended Nov. 9 showed. Rentrak said the title earned $6.41 million in DVD rentals for the week and a total of $6.52 million to date. Combined total rental earnings for the title on DVD and VHS were $10.94 million, Rentrak said. Two other titles also made the top 10 in their first full week of availability: MGM’s Legally Blonde 2 at #2 and Columbia TriStar’s Adam Sandler’s Eight Crazy Nights at #8. Rentrak said the DVD of Legally Blonde 2 earned $5.48 million in rentals for the week and $5.53 million to date, while combined DVD and VHS earnings were $8.61 million. It said the DVD of Eight Crazy Nights earned $2.48 million in rentals for the week and $2.53 million to date, while combined DVD and VHS earnings to date were $3.71 million. Last week’s #1 DVD -- Universal’s Hulk -- dropped to #3, earning $4 million for the week and $9.62 million after 2 weeks, while combined DVD and VHS earnings to date were $14.41 million.
PS2 videogames again dominated top 10 DVD rental chart in U.S. for week ended Oct. 5, preliminary data from VSDA showed. Seven games in week’s top 10 were for Sony Computer Entertainment’s console vs. one for Nintendo’s GameCube and 2 for Microsoft’s Xbox. VSDA said PS2 version of Madden NFL 2004 from Electronic Arts (EA) again was top-rented videogame, earning additional $250,000 in rentals in week for total of $2.41 million to date. Sole GameCube title in top 10 was Soul Calibur II from Namco at #7 (additional $90,000 and $560,000). Game was #12 week ago, VSDA said. Two Xbox games that made list were Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic at #8 -- up 2 steps ($90,000 and $1.53 million) -- and Soul Calibur II at #9 -- down one ($80,000 and $610,000). PS2 games that rounded out top 10 were: EA’s NCAA Football 2004 at #2 ($150,000 and $2.75 million), Soul Calibur II at #3 ($140,000 and $1.18 million), EA’s Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 at #4 in its first full week of availability ($130,000 and $170,000), Take-Two Interactive’s Midnight Club II again at #5 ($120,000 and $6.89 million), Atari’s Enter the Matrix at #6 ($100,000 and $9.13 million), Sega’s ESPN NFL Football at #10 ($80,000 and $420,000).
In its first full week of availability, 2 Fast 2 Furious from Universal was top-rented DVD in U.S., according to preliminary data provided by VSDA for week ended Oct. 5. VSDA said title earned $5.91 million in rentals in week and $6.01 million to date. Four other new DVDs were in top 10: Warner’s Dreamcatcher at #4 ($4.17 million in week and $4.25 million to date), Artisan/Fox Video’s Boat Trip at #5 ($2.37 million and $2.42 million), Fox’s Bend It Like Beckham at #10 ($1.58 million and $1.63 million). Last week’s #1 DVD -- Columbia TriStar’s Anger Management -- dropped to #3 ($4.64 million in week and $16.81 million to date), VSDA said.