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Santa Clara, CA — NVIDIA on Monday, Feb 04, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire AGEIA Technologies, the industry leader in gaming physics technology. AGEIA’s PhysX software is widely adopted with more than 140 PhysX-based games shipping or in development on Sony Playstation3, Microsoft XBOX 360, Nintendo Wii and Gaming PCs. AGEIA physics software is pervasive with over 10,000 registered and active users of the PhysX SDK.

Like graphics, physics processing is made up of millions of parallel computations. The NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT GPU, with its 112 processors, can process parallel applications up to two orders of magnitude faster than a dual or quad-core CPU. More at NVIDIA.

Companies sign landmark multi-year deal to collaborate on content distribution, advertising, event promotions and gaming

Microsoft’s Atlas to become exclusive ad serving platform for Viacom US web sites

NEW YORK and REDMOND, Wash — Dec 19, `07 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Viacom and Microsoft today announced a broad-based, strategic alliance under which major divisions of both companies will collaborate on advertising, content distribution, event promotions and games over the next several years.

The comprehensive agreement spans across the two companies and includes a number of significant components. Among them:

– Microsoft will license, on a non-exclusive basis, long and short-form television and theatrical content from across Viacom’s cable network
and motion picture businesses, including MTV, Comedy Central, BET and Paramount Pictures for use on Microsoft properties such as MSN and Xbox 360.

– Microsoft’s Atlas division will become the ad server for Viacom’s US websites and Microsoft will have the exclusive right to sell remnant
display advertising inventory on Viacom’s US websites.

– Microsoft will buy advertising on Viacom broadcast and online networks over a five-year period and the companies will work together on
promotions and sponsorships for MTV Networks and BET Networks award shows;

– Viacom will work with Microsoft on opportunities to become a preferred publishing partner across Microsoft’s casual gaming platforms.

Detailed financial terms were not disclosed, but the deal has a projected base value of approximately $500 million in financial considerations and business services between the two companies over the initial five-year length of the agreement.

The deal includes a combination of revenue sharing provisions, guarantees and content licensing agreements.More at Viacom.

Dec 05, ‘07 — Video Ezy and Blockbuster have thrown their support behind Blu-ray, saying HD DVD was “missing the boat” and not taking the Australian market seriously enough, Sydney Morning Herald reports.

SMH further writes, “Paul Uniacke, managing director of the Franchise Entertainment Group, which owns Video Ezy and Blockbuster in Australia, said the local roll-out of HD DVD had been too slow as its supporters did not see Australia as an important market compared with the US and Europe.

According to market-watcher GfK, 2241 stand-alone Blu-ray players have been sold in Australia to date, compared with 609 HD DVD players.

But Sony has moved more than 100,000 units of the PS3, which has a built-in Blu-ray player. Only 2461 add-on HD DVD players for the Xbox 360, which cost $249.95, have been sold so far.

The trend in player sales is consistent with sales of HD movies. More than 102,000 Blu-ray movies have been sold to date, as against just under 18,000 HD DVD movies.

Blockbuster in the US has supported Blu-ray exclusively for months and, locally, its head of product, John McKay, said Blockbuster would buy only Blu-ray titles “for the foreseeable future”.” More at SMH.

Paris, France — Dec 02, ‘07 — The French and US companies behind the hugely popular video games “World of Warcraft” and “Call of Duty” announced Sunday that they are merging in an 18.9 billion dollar deal, which could shake up the global video games industry.

Vivendi, the French media and entertainment conglomerate, said Sunday that it planned to acquire a controlling stake in the US video game publisher Activision in a deal aimed at taking advantage of booming video game markets like South Korea and China.

Under the agreement, which values Activision at $18.9 billion, Vivendi would combine its game division with Activision, creating the largest video game company in the world that is not owned by a maker of game consoles.

Vivendi and Activision executives said that by combining the two game businesses, they could help Activision, which has developed popular games for consoles like the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360, move more strongly into online “massively multiplayer” games, which have legions of devoted fans in Asia and elsewhere.

Vivendi has specialized in multiplayer games like “World of Warcraft,” which has more than nine million players worldwide, including millions of paying subscribers in China and South Korea, making them some of the only successful Western entertainment exports in a region ravaged by piracy.

Blizzard is the biggest player in online gaming and Warcraft is the global market leader of what are known as massively multi-player online role-playing games, or MMORPGs.

It is currently owned by the French media group Vivendi. As part of the merger plan, Blizzard will invest $2bn in the new company, while Activision is putting up $1bn.

The merged business will be called Activision Blizzard and its chief executive will be Activision’s current CEO Bobby Kotick. Vivendi will be the biggest shareholder in the group.

Jean-Bernard Levy, Vivendi chief executive, said: “This alliance is a major strategic step for Vivendi and is another illustration of our drive to extend our presence in the entertainment sector. “By combining Vivendi’s games business with Activision, we are creating a worldwide leader in a high-growth industry.”

Meanwhile, as news of the merger reached the ears of videogamers Sunday morning, many of them began to wonder if they should be getting ready to play a merged game called “World of Guitarcraft.”

More at Vivendi. (in pdf)

LONDON — Nov 27, ‘07 — In the battle of formats, High definition movie DVDs in the Blu-ray format have outsold the rival HD DVD standard in Europe this year, breaking the 1 million barrier and constituting 73 percent of all HD movie discs sold, says Reuters.

“Citing industry sales data by Media Control Gfk International, the Blu-ray disc association said in a statement on Tuesday Blu-ray movie disc sales had topped 1 million units and when counting Blu-ray gaming discs the total number produced for sale in Europe exceeded 21 million units.

Sony’s PlayStation 3 game console includes a Blu-ray Disc drive.

Hollywood and electronics manufacturers are hoping that new high-definition DVDs, with better picture quality and more capacity, will revive the slowing home DVD market. But the launch of the next-generation DVD players has been complicated by the fact that there are two competing technologies available, Blu-ray and HD DVD.

HD DVD was developed by Toshiba while Sony backs the Blu-ray standard”. More at Reuters.

Nov 26, ‘07 — Walmart.com, hoping consumers did not get their fill of shopping over the long Thanksgiving weekend, will roll out more holiday deals online every day this week. Reuters reports.

“The site will offer special prices on 150 items — three times more than a year ago — posting roughly 65 discounts on Monday and then adding new deals to the site daily through Friday.

Walmart.com will also promote one special “featured” item each day, like Monday’s Xbox 360 bundle, which includes Microsoft’s Xbox 360 premium video game console, an extra controller, three games and messenger bag for $399.” More at Reuters.

Wal-Mart Unbelievable Online Specials, Electronics Specials.

Tokyo, Japan — Nov 12, ‘07 — JapanToday is reporting on sales of Microsoft Corp’s Xbox 360 have exceeded those of Sony’s PlayStation 3 for the first time on a weekly basis in Japan, citing a survey.

The site further reports, “According to the survey conducted by research firm Media Create Co, Xbox 360 sales came to 17,673 units in the week to Saturday, against 17,434 units for PS3.

Xbox 360 overtook PS3 as the second best-selling video game machine in Japan, Media Create said. Nintendo’s Wii stayed the best-selling machine. The Xbox 360 machine performed strongly partly because Microsoft on Nov 1 cut its price by up to 5,000 yen. In the preceding week, Xbox 360 sales totaled only 3,718 units.” More at JapanToday.

WhatTheyPlay is all about videogames, and it’s for parents just like you. We’ll help you understand everything you need to know about the games your kids want to play, and bring you friendly, helpful, unbiased information about the content and the experiences that videogames provide. Says the welcome message at WhatTheyPlay.com

Los Angeles — Nov 12, ‘07 — Alex Pham of LA Times writes on a site that features reviews not for the kids playing the games but for the parents supervising them.

In his words, “For many parents, figuring out which video games are safe for kids can itself be a maddening game.

Most game reviews in fan magazines and on enthusiast websites don’t offer much help, with their fixation on geeky details such as frame rates, texture maps and physics engines. The packaging gives parents a few clues — whether the game contains violence, strong language or sexual innuendoes — but little else.

Two game industry veterans plan to launch a website today that aims to help parents who might not know what a first-person shooter is but have kids clamoring for the new “Halo 3″ game.

Although video games have become an increasingly popular form of entertainment, ringing up more than $30 billion in annual sales worldwide, parents often don’t hear much about them until a controversial title hits the news.

“Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” earned that spotlight two years ago when a programmer uncovered nude sex scenes hidden in the game that a software download made visible. Its publisher, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., last week settled a class-action lawsuit by agreeing to pay $1 million in consumer refunds.

This year, Take-Two’s “Manhunt 2,” a game about a sociopath on a homicidal rampage, was banned in Britain for what regulators there called its “bleakness and callousness of tone.” In the U.S., the industry’s Entertainment Software Rating Board gave the title an “Adults Only” rating, a category that most retailers refuse to sell. Take-Two later blurred out the violent scenes to earn a more acceptable “Mature” rating, but hackers found ways to restore the graphic depictions.

Microsoft Corp. last week announced a feature on its Xbox 360 consoles that would let parents limit the amount of time their children spend playing video games.” More at LA Times.

Seattle, WA–Nov 05, ‘07–Microsoft has added college basketball and other ESPN programming to the growing lineup of video content available for download to its Xbox 360 video game console.

Microsoft and ESPN said people can purchase complete NCAA basketball and football games, the X Games sports competitions and programs like ESPN’s “Madden Nation,” which chronicles a competition of “Madden NFL” video game players, from the Xbox Live Web site.

Xbox 360 users can buy commercial-free standard-definition versions of select NCAA games for $3, and high-definition versions for $4.50, within 48 hours of the game’s conclusion. ESPN TV shows, like the other TV content on the Xbox Live download site, cost $2 for standard-definition and $3 for high-def versions.

As part of the agreement, ESPN is considering ways to incorporate the Xbox Live online gaming community into its telecasts. ESPN spokesman Paul Melvin said there are no firm plans for how this will be done.

Microsoft Reports 27% Revenue Growth; Fastest First Quarter Since 1999.

REDMOND, Wash–October 25, 2007–Microsoft Corp. said first-quarter earnings rose 23 percent, exceeding analysts’ estimates, and raised its forecasts for this year on sales of the new versions of Windows, Office System and the “Halo 3” video game.

The company said net income increased to $4.29 billion, or 45 cents a share. Sales advanced 27 percent to $13.8 billion, beating projections by more than $1 billion.

Microsoft, the world’s biggest software maker, brought in $300 million in one week from “Halo 3″, the latest installment of its flagship shooter franchise, in its first week of sales after its Sept. 25 debut, double some analysts’ estimates.

More computer makers installed the pricier versions of the new Windows Vista program on their machines. Sales of Windows for personal computers jumped 25 percent and Xbox almost doubled, putting both units ahead of Microsoft’s forecasts in the first quarter.

The holiday quarter is a crucial one for Microsoft as it aims to spur adoption of new computers running its latest Windows Vista operating system. Its entertainment arm also counts on the December quarter generating twice as much revenue as any other quarter of the year.

More detailed results at Microsoft

New console includes five games, wireless controller and storage to save games — all for the incredible value of $279.99. REDMOND, Wash. — Oct. 22, 2007 — Just in time for holiday, Microsoft Corp. today released a new Xbox 360^® console that delivers games and content to everyone in the family for an incredible value of $279.99. Available in stores beginning today, Xbox 360 Arcade console is the first Xbox 360 console to include five family-friendly games, a wireless controller, a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) connection to enable high-definition output if desired and 256 MB of memory useful for storing games and entertainment content. At $279.99, the Xbox 360 Arcade console will include five best-selling games: “PAC-MAN Championship Edition” (NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.), “Uno” (Carbonated Games), “Luxor 2” (MumboJumbo), “Boom Boom Rocket” (Electronic Arts Inc.) and “Feeding Frenzy” (Sprout Games).“In addition to offering an incredible all-in-one package for families to get right into the fun, the Xbox 360 Arcade system features the industry-leading Family Settings, which allow parents to control what their kids are watching and playing — and we know how important that control is to families around the world.” said Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of global marketing, Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft.

From Looney Tunes and iCarly to Shrek and SpongeBob SquarePants, Xbox 360 Launches Massive Library of Family Games and Entertainment:

Warner Bros. and Nickelodeon add new TV shows for kids on Xbox 360, including exclusive content from Nickelodeon’s “The Backyardigans”; new kid-friendly games “SHREK-N-ROLL” and “SpongeBob SquarePants: Underpants Slam” will be available soon on Xbox LIVE Arcade.

More than any other next-generation video game console on the market, the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft offers a wide variety of fun-for-all content with more than 700 episodes of TV shows specifically for the family and more than 200 family-friendly games the whole household can enjoy. The company also introduced two new game titles, “SpongeBob SquarePants: Underpants Slam” and “SHREK-N-ROLL™,” based on the popular animation characters SpongeBob SquarePants and Shrek^®, for Xbox LIVE Arcade, the premier destination to download high-definition games for Xbox 360.

More at Microsoft here and here

Tokyo, Japan — October 22, ‘07 — Microsoft is cutting the Japanese price of its Xbox 360 games console by 13% as it struggles to match sales of rivals Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3. Following similar price cuts earlier this year in the US and Europe, the standard model will now sell for 34,800 yen ($304).

Earlier this month, Sony also cut the cost of the PlayStation in the US and introduced a cheaper version. Both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are now trailing behind sales of the Wii. Nintendo has a strong lead, not just in the Japanese market, but also in wider global sales.

In the first half of 2007, Microsoft sold 122,565 units of the Xbox 360 in Japan, compared with 503,554 PlayStation 3 units and 1.78 million of the Wii. Microsoft’s basic Xbox 360 model will now sell in Japan for 29,800 yen ($258).

More at BBC News

Reuters reports, “Electronic Arts Inc said on Thursday it will buy two video game studios for $855 million in a deal that fills weak spots in its games lineup by adding role-playing and action titles. The world’s biggest games publisher, which produces popular titles such as “Madden” football and “The Sims,” also said it would exceed its earlier profit and revenue forecasts for the quarter ended in September.Under the deal, EA will acquire BioWare Corp and Pandemic Studios, privately held companies that have been partners since a 2005 deal brought them together under VG Holding Group with backing from private equity firm Elevation Partners.

Excerpts of EA press release: “Today I want to announce two new teams joining the EA family – Pandemic Studios in Los Angeles and Brisbane , Australia ; and BioWare Corp. in Edmonton and Austin .  Both will become part of the EA Games Label, reporting to Frank Gibeau.

As you may know, I brought these studios together and served as their CEO while I was with Elevation Partners.  I know and respect these teams, the games they make and the strong individual creative cultures that define them.  I couldn’t be happier to have them join us at EA.”

More at Reuters / EA

Microsoft has announced new Xbox 360 bundles, with for the upcoming holidays. In their words,

“Xbox® is rewarding holiday console buyers this season with two free games! Hot on the heels of a price reduction for all Xbox 360™ consoles, Microsoft is now giving holiday buyers even more value by including two great games with every Xbox 360 console and Xbox 360 Elite, a retail savings of $90. The acclaimed Forza Motorsport™ 2 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance will both be included for the recently reduced prices of $349.99 for Xbox 360 and $449.99 for Xbox 360 Elite. Both bundles will be available at your favorite game retailer by the end of October.”

More at Xbox.com