Analysts Lower Publisher Projections

Despite the launch of the first next-gen console, winter sales figures have been lower than hoped-for. From the article: "The two lowered their projected earnings numbers for Electronic Arts and Activision in both the short and long term today, but said both companies remained attractive in long-term investments. They reduced their Electronic Arts sales projections for the December quarter from $1.52 billion to $1.45 billion, and likewise lowered the associated earnings per-share estimate from $1.29 to $1.20. In the long term, the company reduced its peak earnings per-share estimate from $3.50 to $3.20 in fiscal year 2010."

Lack of Interest?

[TheZeusJuice]

Maybe it's because nothing particularly astounding has come out as of late? I understand that the game industry is right now trying to concentrate on just getting the next-gen consoles out the door, but thats no excuse for the lack (well, more so than usual) of creative, interesting, and/or original games lately. You can't expect sales to increase just because its winter (well, you can, but not completely). There also has to be something that entices people to say "hmm.. I really want to get this for chris

Re:Lack of Interest?

[Anonymous Coward]

There's a lot worth buying, it's just all on the DS, a platform that has been largely ignored by both EA and Activision. Not saying there is a causal relationship here, just an interesting correlation :)

Re:Lack of Interest?

[dogbowl]

I don't know about you, but I've had the damndest time just keeping up with new releases.

I'm in the middle of Dragon Quest8 and Mario Kart right now. That Ico sequel (whatever its called) and Animal Crossing are sitting shrinkwrapped on my desk. Civ4 is right next to them, waiting on a decent patch. And Katamari 2 and Mario+Luigi are being neglected.

This job/life thing can really be a drag on my video game consuption.

For those interested in investing

[Puhase]

I'll throw this out there just for those who give any thought to investing in game stocks. EA and Activision's stock has already partially taken the bump that it is going to receieve from lukewarm 360 sales, but the story that is going to make the month, is whether that built up "game" demand is then converted into software purchases. There are alot of people out there who may get refunds on their pre-orders or use saved up cash to purchase a few more games instead of the 360 hardware. So while, in the shortrun, these big companies wont make as much money on the specific titles they had pushed for the 360, others titles may benefit to an even greater extent and sell more than expected. If I were an executive, I would put on the afterburners and run a 1 week blitz campaign on current generation "big titles", such as Prince of Persia.
Of course, take this with a grain of salt. There is still the PS3 on the horizon, possible spring says slashdot. My predictions are simply based on the cashflow of the holiday season, and those who invest wisely may see a nice late gift when holiday quarter profits are announced.

Re:For those interested in investing

[rAiNsT0rm]

Actually, this is one year when this will not hold true. Profits are down and will stay down for some many months to come. There are many factors contributing to it, but companies like EA are going to be turning in some low numbers even at year end.

The DS and the GC have been at the forefront for the past month in sales in the US amazingly, the $99 GC/ Mario Party 7 bundle is selling like crazy and the DS took off like a rocket and has a steady stream of must haves coming soon.

As always, slow and steady win

Rotting on the shelf

[Generic Guy]

During these holiday shopping weeks, I've been noticing a fair number of Xbox 360 titles and even a lot of PSP titles sitting on the shelves. I can't really explain the PSP titles, except that maybe demand isn't high for the Sony portable.

With the 360 sold out and pretty much unavailable anywhere, there isn't much demand for the software. So it sits there, collecting dust. I'm surprised at the number of boxes just sitting there, like they overproduced or something. Keep in mind that these are games whi

Obviously...

[bergeron76]

The grinch actually stole Christmas this year.

In this case, the Grinch is the big oil companies, their record 75% increase in profits, and our $2.99/gallon gasoline. Mommy can't buy you a new Xbox for $399 this year, because that $399 went into the gas tank so she could get to work - to pay for the roof over your head.

Who Are We Blaming?

[ticklemeozmo]

Considering the previous article [slashdot.org] that good reviews do not equal good sales, are we still blaming piracy? Or are we at least considering it might have a possibility to do with something like churning out the same game about 7 or 8 times under a different name [slashdot.org]?