Electronic Arts blames bad results on poor XBox 360 production
The Wall Street Journal notes that Electronic Arts has warned that it will miss two quarters of earnings, in part because of low XBox 360 sales.
This is the vendor version of the XBox 360 shortage backlash. As the video game business becomes increasingly hit-driven like the movie business, we can expect to see profits at gaming companies vary widely as well. According to NPD, game sales have dropped 18% this year because of fewer hits and consumer anticipation of new platforms. What's unsaid in the articles is that new XBox 360 games retail for $10 more than older games, which may be suppressing sales as well.
With the launch of both Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Revolution in 2006, we should see a pickup in game sales next year. But it looks like anything but a Merry Christmas for game makers this year.
This is the vendor version of the XBox 360 shortage backlash. As the video game business becomes increasingly hit-driven like the movie business, we can expect to see profits at gaming companies vary widely as well. According to NPD, game sales have dropped 18% this year because of fewer hits and consumer anticipation of new platforms. What's unsaid in the articles is that new XBox 360 games retail for $10 more than older games, which may be suppressing sales as well.
With the launch of both Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Revolution in 2006, we should see a pickup in game sales next year. But it looks like anything but a Merry Christmas for game makers this year.
Technorati Tags: Business, Consumer Electronics, Electronic Arts, Games, Gaming, Microsoft, Playstation 3, Revolution, Nintendo, Sony, XBox 360
posted by Carl Howe at
9:51 AM
| View blog reactions
| 
