 | Shareholder sues Activision Blizzard over $8.2 billion split plan Sep 13th 2013, 02:41 Game publisher Activision Blizzard sued by shareholder in an attempt to block stock sale; deal reportedly worthy $8.2 billion. 
A shareholder of Activision Blizzard has filed a lawsuit against CEO Bobby Kotick, co-chairman Brian Kelly, and Vivendi SA in an effort to block a stock sale. According to Bloomberg, shareholder Douglas M Hayes stated in the application that the sale would "unjustly enrich Kelly, Kotick, and the other participants". The lawsuit was filed on September 12 in Delaware's Chancery Court. In July this year, game publisher Activision Blizzard announced its intention to separate from its parent company Vivendi. The deal was orchestrated by Activision Blizzard's management team and assisted by investors. The intended trade will result in shareholders owning a controlling stake in the business. Kotick and Kelly were responsible for the purchase of 172 million shares, worth an estimated $2.34 billion. The pair personally contributed $100 million to secure the sale. At present, Vivendi owns 61 percent of Activision Blizzard's stock. The announcement followed news earlier this year that Vivendi was exploring a "variety of options" to sell a portion of its stake in Activision Blizzard. At the time, a number of potential buyers were named, including Microsoft, Time Warner, Tencent, and Disney. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Pikmin 3 US sales reach 115,000 units Sep 13th 2013, 00:31 Nintendo reveals first-month sales for new strategy game; 6.47 million 3DS units sold during 2013 so far. 
Pikmin 3 has sold 115,000 combined physical and digital copies in the United States since launch on August 4, Nintendo announced today, citing data from research firm the NPD Group. Another August release--Mario & Luigi: Dream Team--sold nearly 190,000 combined physical and digital units, Nintendo added. That game was released on August 11. Nintendo also called out New Super Luigi U, saying the game has now sold nearly 120,000 copies. It was originally released as downloadable content for New Super Mario Bros. U in June and became available at retail earlier this month. The 3DS was the top-selling games system for August in the US, beating out the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Nintendo said today that is has now sold more than 6.47 million systems so far in 2013, up more than 30 percent compared to this time last year. Thus far in 2013, nine 3DS games have sold at least 250,000 copies. Nintendo also provided updated 2013 and lifetime sales figures for various 3DS and Wii U games. Check out the list below. Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon - 863,000 units (2013)
Animal Crossing: New Leaf- 739,000 units (2013)
New Super Mario Bros. 2 - 406,000 units (2013), 1.85 million units (lifetime)
Fire Emblem: Awakening - 390,000 units (2013)
Mario Kart 7 - 352,000 units (2013), 2.84 million units (lifetime)
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity - 298,000 units (2013)
Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D - 268,000 units (2013)
Super Mario 3D Land - 265,000 units (2013), 2.86 million units (lifetime)
Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins - 264,000 units (2013)
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| | NPD: 3DS outsells Xbox 360, PS3 in August Sep 12th 2013, 23:26 Nintendo's portable outsells home consoles from Microsoft and Sony in the US for latest month; software sales post first gain since November 2011. 
The NPD Group today released United States sales data for August 2013, revealing Nintendo's 3DS was the top-selling platform during the month, outpacing the PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. Nintendo did not reveal specific sales data for the 3DS, but Microsoft chimed in to say the Xbox 360 sold 96,000 units during the month, down sharply from the 193,000 systems sold during August 2012. Total Xbox 360 platform revenue (hardware, software, accessories) was $213 million, the most for any platform in the United States, Microsoft said. Sony did not reveal August US sales figures for the PS3 or PS Vita. Overall, US hardware sales were down 40 percent year-over-year to $90.8 million and every platform saw a decline. "We hope to see hardware sales improve with the launch of the Xbox One and PS4 in November," NPD Group analyst Liam Callahan said in a statement. Overall, total industry sales rose 1 percent to $521 million, though this number only reflects about half of the true market spend on games during the month, Callahan said. "These sales figures represent new physical retail sales of hardware, software, and accessories, which account for roughly 50 percent of the total consumer spend on games," he said. "When taking into account our preliminary estimate for other physical format sales in August such as used and rentals at $178 million, and our estimate for digital format sales including full game and add-on content downloads including micro-transactions, subscriptions, mobile apps, and the consumer spend on social network games at $528 million, the total consumer spend in August is just over $1.2 billion." Excluding January 2013, which posted gains due to an extra reporting week versus January 2012, the last time retail sales were up overall year-over-year was October 2011. Switching to software, this category jumped 21 percent to $305 million, compared to $253 million last year. This was principally driven by the shift of Madden NFL 25 into the NPD Group's August reporting period and the release of Saints Row IV, Disney Infinity, and Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Callahan said. "Collectively, August 2013 launches made up an astounding 58 percent of overall dollar sales for the month and 41 percent of units sales, which compared to 24 percent of dollar sales and 15 percent of unit sales that August 2012 launches represented in that month," he said. "Due to a greater percentage of sales stemming from newer games at full price and have higher priced collector's editions, overall software average pricing grew by 25 percent." Callahan said it is "remarkable" that Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 sales grew over 50 percent during the month and were only down 1 percent year-over-year considering the arrival of the Xbox One and PlayStation is just months away. Madden NFL 25 was the top-seller during August, followed by Saints Row IV and Disney Infinity. The full list of top August titles is below. The accessories category rose 7 percent to $136.7 million for the month. The NPD Group said with the launch of Disney Infinity, which includes physical toys, the research group has begun categorizing these sales--along with Skylanders sales--within the accessories category as Interactive Gaming Toys. "Sales of Video Game and Subscription cards were also strong in August 2013, and when combined with Interactive Gaming Toys, these two types of accessories represented over 50 percent of dollar sales this month," Callahan said. AUGUST US GAME SALES (August 4-August 31, 2013)
OVERALL DOLLAR SALES
Total retail sales: $521 (1%)
Non-PC hardware: $90.8 million (-40%)
Non-PC software: $293.4 (23%)
Accessories: $136.7 (7%)
Total software: $305 million (21%)
TOP 10 GAMES FOR AUGUST 2013
Title (Platforms) - Publisher
1. Madden NFL 25 - (X360, PS3) - Electronic Arts
2. Saints Row IV - (X360, PS3, PC) - Deep Silver
3. Disney Infinity - (X360, Wii, PS3, Wii U, 3DS ) - Disney Interactive
4. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist - (X360, PS3, Wii U, PC) - Ubisoft
5. Minecraft - (X360) - Microsoft
6. Mario & Luigi: Dream Team - (3DS) - Nintendo
7. NCAA Football 14 - (X360, PS3) - Electronic Arts
8. PayDay 2 - (X360, PS3) - 505 Games
9. Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn - (PS3, PC) - Square Enix
10. Pikmin 3 - (Wii U) - Nintendo
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| | BlizzCon 2013 virtual tickets now on sale Sep 12th 2013, 22:58 Fans can now pick up $40 tickets for two-day all-things-Blizzard event in November; purchase includes access to multi-channel HD streams. 
Though physical tickets for BlizzCon 2013 are sold out, fans can now purchase virtual tickets for the all-things Warcraft, Diablo, and StarCraft event, Blizzard Entertainment announced today. Available at $40 each, a virtual ticket includes access to a live high-definition stream of the event, which takes place November 8-9 at the Anaheim Convention Center. Viewers will receive access to two channels featuring developer panels, interviews, community contests, and the closing ceremony, as well as on-demand replays and DVR functionality. Of note, video programming will be available in English only. BlizzCon 2013 will mark the seventh instalment of the event. Blizzard elected to skip a 2012 show due to a "jam-packed" release schedule. In addition, anyone who orders a BlizzCon virtual ticket will receive exclusive in-game items for World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, Diablo III, and HearthStone: Heroes of Warcraft. These will be detailed later. For those who don't want to buy a virtual ticket, Blizzard will provide a free video stream of the BlizzCon 2013 opening ceremony and the event's various eSports tournaments, including the StarCraft II World Championship Series Global Finals and the World of Warcraft Arena Global Invitational. Past BlizzCons have featured closing concerts from big-time acts like Ozzy Osbourne, Foo Fighters, The Offspring, and Tenacious D. Blizzard has not announced details for this year's musical guest, if there is one. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | NASCAR driver will be NPC in Watch Dogs Sep 12th 2013, 19:55 Brad Keselowski will be featured as non-playable character in Ubisoft's upcoming open-world game, joining actress and comedian Aisha Tyler. 
Ubisoft's upcoming open-world action game Watch Dogs may be an entirely new franchise, but its list of familiar faces is growing longer. NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski will be featured in the game as a non-playable character, Ubisoft confirmed today. Keselowski will be one of many in-game citizens roaming the streets of Chicago and joins actress and comedian Aisha Tyler, who will also appear as an NPC. In addition to his career as a racer, Keselowski owns Keselowski Racing, which operates two full-time teams in the Camping World Truck Series. He currently drives the No. 2 Ford Fusion for Penske Racing in NASCAR and the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang in the Nationwide Series. Watch Dogs launches for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U, and PC on November 19. The Xbox One and PS4 versions will be released as launch titles for those platforms. Ubisoft expects the game to sell more than 6.2 million units. For more, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of Watch Dogs. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Sony has no plans to launch PS Vita TV in US, Europe Sep 12th 2013, 19:48 Andrew House says streaming device not planned for release in Western markets, at least not yet; could support PS3 and PS4 streaming. 
Sony has no plans to release its newly announced PlayStation Vita TV streaming device in the United States or Europe, at least not yet, president and group CEO Andrew House has said. According to a report from Nikkei's Tech On blog, House told a group of journalists following Sony's pre-Tokyo Game Show event this week that the PS Vita TV will be released first in Asian markets, including Japan, China, and South Korea. Western markets will be left out, though no rationale was provided. Also in the interview, House said the Gaikai-powered streaming service in the works for the PlayStation 4 could "technically" be supported on the PS Vita TV. "Therefore, SCE is considering providing PS3 games to the PS Vita TV by using the service in the future," House said. The Apple TV-style device measures 6.5x10.5cm and connects to a television, with slots for players to insert their PS Vita game cards. The hardware will also beam games remotely to other televisions within the home, as well as work in conjunction with streaming video services such as Hulu. The PS Vita TV will allow owners to play PSP, original PlayStation, and PS Vita games directly on their televisions. The system will also work with the PlayStation 4's Remote Play feature. The device will launch in Japan on November 14 for ¥9,480 (around $95) and will also be available in a bundle that includes a PS Vita TV, a DualShock 3 controller, and an 8GB Vita Memory Card. Earlier this week, Sony published a full list of supported titles for the PS Vita TV. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Polyphony: Gran Turismo 7 for PS4 in "a year or two" Sep 12th 2013, 19:43 Producer Kazunori Yamauchi says unannounced racing game will be ready in 2014 or 2015; Gran Turismo 6 about 80 percent finished. 
A new Gran Turismo game for the PlayStation 4 will be released in "a year or two," according to Polyphony Digital producer Kazunori Yamauchi. In the latest issue of Famitsu (via Polygon), Yamauchi said this unannounced game will feature a significant community aspect. "The PlayStation 4 game, which we'll likely call GT7, will be done in about a year or two, I think, and I think the community aspect's going to be vital there as well," Yamauchi said. Yamauchi previously said that he had a PS4 version of Gran Turismo "in mind." Gran Turismo 6 launches exclusively for the PlayStation 3 on December 6. Yamauchi also said in the magazine that the game was about 80 percent finished. "The physics engine, the steering controls; those parts of the user interface are things that we fine-tune right up to the very end," Yamauchi said. "Things like the game modes; I can say that those are complete." Gran Turismo 6 is one of the more than 50 games that Sony will have on display at its booth at the Tokyo Game Show, which begins late next week. For more on Gran Turismo 6, check out GameSpot's previous coverage. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
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