Xbox 360 Reaches 30 Million Console Sales

Microsoft today dropped an Xbox 360 statbomb, showering figures on a range of metrics including the fact that the Xbox 360 has now sold over 30 million units worldwide.

After combing through financial reports and rooting around in bins, Shacknews offers the following list of worldwide lifetime console sales:

1. Nintendo DS – 101.78 million units (as of March 31 2009)
2. Nintendo Wii – 50.39 million units (as of March 31 2009)
3. PSP – 50 million units (as of February 13 2009)
4. Xbox 360 – 30 million units (as of May 28 2009)
5. PlayStation 3 – 22.91 million units (as of March 31 2009)

Microsoft also boasts it leads current-generation consoles in attach rate, with 8.3 titles being bought per console, as well as sales for third-party developers–$5.9 billion.

On the community front, Xbox Live’s 20 million active accounts have downloaded nearly 1 billion pieces of Marketplace content. Sony announced in February that the PlayStation Network had 20 million registered users, though this includes forum and PSP accounts.

Source

AT&T May Reduce Price for iPhone Data Plan by $10

Expectations that AT&T will lower the cost of wireless service for Apple’s iPhone are growing. A $20-a-month data plan with limited access is a possibility for the exclusive U.S. iPhone service provider.

AT&T’s monthly plan for the iPhone is currently $69 plus taxes and fees and includes a $30 unlimited data plan. A comScore study found that 43 percent of current iPhone users have incomes above $100,000, so AT&T needs a lower price for it and Apple to grab a larger share of the smartphone market.

As we reported earlier this month, Cote Collaborative analyst Michael Cote expects AT&T to cut the monthly iPhone plan by $10, to $59 a month, a savings of $240 off the $1,656 cost of a two-year plan. Other reports have speculated that Apple may offer a lower-priced version of the iPhone, particularly since the cost for the touchscreen component has dropped.

Competition Rising

As the three-year anniversary for the iPhone nears, competition is rising, with the BlackBerry Curve and the Palm Pre getting good notices. In addition, more devices powered by the Google-backed Android mobile operating system are coming, and the platform is expected to grow fast.

Apple has an advantage over other smartphone makers in its App Store, which has started carrying more business-oriented apps for the iPhone, including a USAA Mobile App that arrived last week and lets customers handle banking, insurance and investment accounts securely on the iPhone. As we have reported, the App Store may not make much money for Apple, but it helps drive sales of the iPhone and iPod touch.

While its competitors are copying Apple’s App Store model with their own online stores, including App World for the BlackBerry and the Android Market, more than one billion apps have already been downloaded from the App Store.

Apple has offered iPhone deals through…

Source

AT&T Considering Price Cut For iPhone Plan

Over the last two years, Apple and AT&T have collaborated on one of the most successful product launches in recent history, using a wave of positive press to help sell more than 17 million iPhones.

But the three-year anniversary of the iPhone is fast approaching, and as phone manufacturer Motorola can attest, few high-tech devices remain shiny and compelling forever. The seemingly endless number of apps available for the iPhone may help delay consumer ennui, but Apple — and particularly AT&T — are clearly worried about the rising buzz for new entrants in the smartphone category.

The Blackberry Curve, for instance, has earned some rave reviews, as has the Palm Pre. Android-driven phones are slowly gaining market share, aided by a surprisingly quick upgrade of Android to version 1.5. And Nokia, which has long been absent from the high end of the smartphone market, is reportedly set to introduce three different touchscreen models this summer.

Same Data for Fewer Bucks?

Given the rising competition among smartphones, it’s not surprising that analysts are speculating about an AT&T price cut. Cote Collaborative analyst and pricing strategist Michael Cote told TheStreet.com Thursday that he thinks AT&T will cut the cost of the iPhone’s monthly service plan by $10, from its current $69 per month to $59.

If AT&T does so, it will cut $240 off the $1,656 cost for a two-year service plan for the iPhone. Cote argues that the cut is necessary for AT&T to extend the reach of the iPhone beyond early adopters and Apple fans to more price-conscious mainstream consumers. Cote, who wasn’t available for comment, told TheStreet.com that the high cost of the service plan "does not address the whole market."

Cote’s reasoning is based in part on Apple’s experience with offering its iPhone at Wal-Mart, where sales haven’t met expectations, and the reaction of…

Source

Richard Garriott Sues NCsoft Over Stock Options

Claiming breach of contract, Tabula Rasa and Ultima Online creator Richard Garriott is suing MMO publisher NCsoft for “more than $27,000,000 in actual damages,” GamePolitics reports.

The official complaint crafted by Garriot’s legal team (.pdf) alleges that NCsoft fired him during the “quarantine from his space flight” and then publicly characterized his departure as voluntary. Aside from being rude, this act proved financially detrimental. Per court documents:

As Mr. Garriott prepared to leave NCSoft, however, Mr. Garriott learned that NCsoft had internally re-characterized his termination by Mr. Chung as a “voluntary” resignation… This mischaracterization had profound and detrimental effects on Mr. Garriott’s stock options: if NCsoft terminated Mr. Garriott’s employment (which it did) then the options – worth tens of millions of dollars – would remain in effect until 2011; but if Mr. Garriott resigned voluntarily (which he did not), then NCsoft might have terminated those options… within ninety days of his departure…

NCsoft forced Mr. Garriott into a Hobson’s choice of exercising his options… and forced him to sell into one of the worst equity markets in modern history…

Since we first reported on Garriott’s departure from NCsoft, I’ve spoken to friends at the company who all seem to genuinely believe he left amiably and of his own free will. Garriott however, alleges that he repeatedly asked the firm to “retract its misstatements … and the cancellation of his stock options,” all to no avail.

Source

Federal Trade Commission Investigating the Apple-Google Relationship

The FTC has begun an investigation into possible antitrust violations caused by the often close relationship between two of our favorite companies, Apple and Google. But they look so nice together!

The biggest issue here seems to be that Apple and Google share two directors, in this case Eric E. Schmidt and Arthur Levinson. Both Schmidt and Levinson sit on the boards of the two companies, and a 1941 law prohibits such a relationship when it could reduce natural inter-company competition. The proper term for this is "interlocking directorates."

Google and Apple, of course, compete in several categories: Google’s Chrome and Apple’s Safari web browsers, Android and Mac OS, YouTube and iTunes, Picasa and iPhoto, and many, many more. Yet the companies’ fates are intertwined, and our faithful government watchdogs want to make sure nothing untoward is happening in the union. We’ll keep you updated if anything interesting develops out of the investigation. [New York Times]

Source

Valve Sues Activision Over 2002 Royalty Dispute

Source

Skype founders want to buy back company from eBay

It looks like a serious bid to buy Skype from eBay is coming to the table from co-founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis. The duo have reportedly talked up several private equity firms to put together a multi-billion dollar offer for Skype.

Reports say eBay wants at least the $1.7 billion current book value of Skype, while Zennstrom and Friis are trying to raise a billion in private cash with eBay possibly putting a seller’s note together for another $1 billion. Given Skype had revenues of $145 million in Q4 2008, setting up a financing instrument for the purchase of a company expected to generate more than $500 million in 2009 shouldn’t be that tough.

Skype was originally sold to eBay in 2005 for $2.6 billion and bonus payments increased the final price to $3.1 billion, so both Zennstrom and Friits are also likely good for a large chunk of cash on a repurchase effort.

Since buying Skype, eBay has been confused as to what to do with the company, ‘fessing up that the communications company hasn’t blended well with its core competencies of e-commerce and payments businesses.

Other buyers for Skype may be scared off/locked out of discussions due to low-key intellectual property discussion between eBay and Skype founders. In a recent regulatory filing, Joltid, which – surprise — was founded by Zennstrom and Friis – has terminated eBay’s license to Joltid’s peer-to-peer technology at the heart of Skype. The lawsuit is currently in a British court and also begs the question as to why eBay didn’t get exclusive rights to Skype’s peer-to-peer technology in the first place when it shelled out the original $2.6 billion.

Source

iTunes Tiered Pricing Goes Live

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Apple and major music labels are betting that the launch of three-tier pricing at the iTunes Music Store will boost music sales with a new mix of song-based packages and give consumers more options.

Apple will announce its new three-tier price points at 69 cents, 99 cents and $1.29 on Tuesday, according to several people familiar with its plans. Since opening in 2003 all songs in the iTunes store have been priced at 99 cents. Some songs were already reflecting the new pricing scheme.

The previous ‘one price fits all’ strategy has long caused friction between Apple and the music labels, who argued that songs should be priced differently to reflect their perceived value by consumers.

The labels will finally get their wish.

While the majority of songs will still be sold at 99 cents, a certain number of new hit songs will now be raised to $1.29. Many older catalog songs will now go for 69 cents.

Perhaps anticipating a consumer backlash against price increases executives, who spoke to Reuters on background ahead of the launch, pointed out that for every one song they raise to $1.29 they will be reducing 10 songs to 69 cents.

But these executives said the biggest advantage of the new pricing would be flexibility to create new digital products beyond the album.

“We’re thinking outside of the disc to reach a new generation of consumers who are able to consume music on any device, it’s not just the track any more,” said one music label executive, who was involved with the talks, but did not want the label identified ahead of the launch.

For instance, a label could sell a brand new song and its music video for $1.29 or package it with a ringtone. The lower pricing could eventually mean that iTunes can sell albums at more competitive prices though early indications are that album prices will not change right way.

Major label owners like Vivendi’s Universal Music Group, Sony Music, Warner Music Group and EMI Music say they can make money with more flexible prices and possibly help make music retail a profitable enterprise again.

“If we can gain traction with $1.29 that will be good for greater margin,” said another label executive, also involved in discussions, but who did want to identify the record label.

Read more

E-book sales up 68.4% to $113 million in 2008

Ritz Camera closing 300 retail stores, liquidation sales start April 4th

As part of its newfound bankrupcy status, Ritz Camera’s gearing up to close more than 300 of its around 700 brick-and-mortar stores across the US, or about 43 percent of its retail presence. Starting April 4th, the affect stores will begin liquidation sales that’ll go on until — in the words of the press release — “everything is sold to the bare walls.”

Forget DSLRs, if you were needing any fancy, brick-and-mortal shelving units, now might be your chance! Hit up the read link for a PDF listing all the closing stores.

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Source

« Previous Page — Next Page »