DigitMemo.com

Make games less expensive

EA’s John Riccitiello has been shaking things up at EA lately, with everything from layoffs to the purchase of BioWare. Now he’s suggesting the company take some really drastic measures: make their games less expensive.

The $31 billion gaming industry will suffer if it doesn’t start to reevaluate its business model. Game executives at Sony, Microsoft and Activision must answer some tough questions in the coming years, like how long they can expect consumers to pay $59 for a video game. The model will be obsolete in the next decade. ‘In the next five years, we’re all going to have to deal with this. In China, they’re giving games away for free,’ he says. ‘People who benefit from the current model will need to embrace a new revenue model, or wait for others to disrupt.’ As more publishers transition to making games for online distribution, EA will experiment with different pricing models

It took Apple approximately six weeks to ship its 2 millionth copy of Mac OS X Tiger back in 2005.

Apple said Tuesday that it sold over two million copies of Mac OS X Leopard since its release on Friday, far outpacing the first-weekend sales of Mac OS X Tiger, which was previously the most successful OS release in the company’s history.

Sales included copies sold at Apple’s retail stores, Apple Authorized Resellers, the online Apple Store, under maintenance agreements and bundled with new Mac computers. In comparison, it took the Cupertino-based Mac maker approximately six weeks to ship its 2 millionth copy of Mac OS X Tiger back in 2005.

Click for more on Apple sells 2M copies of Mac OS X Leopard in first weekend »

Despite underwhelming consumers and being snubbed by enterprises, Windows Vista’s numbers keep growing

Despite underwhelming consumers and being snubbed by enterprises, Windows Vista’s numbers keep growing, with Microsoft Corp. saying Thursday that it has now shipped 88 million copies of the operating system, almost double the number of copies of XP in the same amount of time at its launch.

In late July, Microsoft said it had hit the 60 million shipment mark with Vista.

Click for more on Microsoft: 88 Million Copies of Vista Shipped »

The exact details of AT&T’s revenue-sharing agreement with Apple have not been disclosed, but one analyst thinks that over the two-year life of a user contract, the amount exceeds the actual price of the iPhone.

Silicon Alley Insider spotted a research note from Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster estimating that Apple is receiving $18 per month for each iPhone subscriber, under the revenue-sharing agreement between the two companies. Apple has confirmed that such an agreement exists, but has not shared the details about exactly how much cash it’s getting from the revenue AT&T makes on iPhone customers using the carrier’s data network. In July, Munster estimated Apple was receiving just $3 per iPhone subscriber and $11 per iPhone customers new to AT&T, but he’s rethought the numbers after Apple’s latest earnings release.

Click for more on Analyst: AT&T paying Apple $18 per iPhone, per month »

Microsoft has announced a revenue of $13.76 billion for the quarter ending on September 30, 2007, a 27% increase over the same period of the prior year.

Microsoft’s businesses of Client, Microsoft Business Division, and Server and Tools grew combined revenue in excess of 20%, and experienced robust demand for Windows Vista, the 2007 Microsoft Office system, Windows Server, and SQL Server. “Customer demand for Windows Vista this quarter continued to build with double-digit growth in multi-year agreements by businesses and with the vast majority of consumers purchasing premium editions,” said Kevin Johnson, president of the Platform and Services Division at Microsoft.

Interesting Quarter Notes:

• The fastest revenue growth of any first quarter since 1999
• Operating income = $5.92 billion, net income = $4.29 billion, diluted earnings per share = $0.45
• Microsoft’s largest acquisition occured, aQuantive was purchased for $6 billion
• Halo 3 achieved the biggest entertainment launch day in history

Microsoft beat out Google on Wednesday in a battle to invest in socializing Web site Facebook, agreeing to pay $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in the Web phenomenon.

Microsoft also clinched exclusive rights to sell ads on Facebook outside of the United States as part of the investment that valued Facebook at $15 billion — on par with the market capitalizations of retailer Gap Inc and hotel chain Marriott International Inc.

Analysts said Microsoft paid a steep price on a bet that the three-year-old company would be able to transform itself into a hub for all sorts of Web activity.

Click for more on Microsoft beats Google to Facebook stake »

Mozilla, the group behind the open-source Firefox Web browser, disclosed its 2006 revenue Monday night: $66,840,850.

That’s a 26 percent bump up from the $52.9 million that Mozilla garnered in 2005. And with 2006 expenses slicing off only $19.8 million, Mozilla has a tidy sum left at its disposal, even if it’s no Microsoft.

“The highlight is that Mozilla remains financially healthy: we’re able to hire more people, build more products, help other projects, and bring more possibilities for participation in the Internet to millions of people,” foundation Chairman Mitchell Baker said in a blog posting. The foundation released the results in conjunction with its 2006 tax form.

Click for more on Mozilla’s 2006 revenue: $66.8 million »

AMD Says It Is on Track with 45nm Process Technology

Advanced Micro Devices said in its most recent call with financial analysts that despite of relatively slow ramp of its quad-core microprocessors the chipmaker does not expect any issues to occur with the ramp up of its 45nm production technology.

“We’re looking forward to ramping 45nm product production in the first half of next year,” said Dirk Meyer, president and chief operating officer of AMD.

Click for more on AMD: Start New Process Technology Ramp in Q1 2008 »

Microsoft Corp., facing new competition from Apple Inc., is working with sellers of its Windows Mobile phones to cut prices below $100.

AT&T Inc. began offering the 3125 Windows Mobile model for $49.99. Another phone will go on sale for less than $100 next month, Microsoft said, declining to name the company selling the device.

Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, competes with Apple and Symbian Ltd. in developing phones that handle e- mail and surf the Internet. More consumers are buying such devices, so-called smart phones, which had been the domain of corporate customers. As competition grows, Microsoft is cutting prices to appeal to a broader range of shoppers.

Click for more on Microsoft, Facing iPhone Challenge, Plans Phones for Under $100 »

Transformers is best-selling movie on both standard and high-definition

Transformers is undoubtedly one of this year’s biggest films, so it should come to no one’s surprise that its release on the home video market quickly rose to the of the charts. Paramount Pictures today informed the media that Transformers is the top selling day one high-definition release ever.

Transformers on HD DVD sold 100,000 copies on October 16, making it biggest home video high-definition day yet. The release eventually gathering 190,000 sold over the first week, leading Paramount to boast Transformers as, “the fastest and best-selling week one release on either high definition format as well as the best selling HD DVD ever.”

Click for more on "Transformers" on HD DVD Sets All Sorts of Sales Record »