Market

Report: Sony PS3 to Dominate Game Console Market Through 2010

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 20, 2006 - 7:57am.

Scottsdale, Ariz. - Sony will continue to dominate the video game console market through 2010, well into the next-generation console cycle that includes the already-released Microsoft Xbox 360 and forthcoming PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Revolution, according to a forecast from market research firm In-Stat. The firm predicts that the Sony PlayStation 3 will account for just over 50% of the console installed base through 2010, followed by the Xbox 360 (28.6%) and Revolution (21.2%). "Microsoft will outship Nintendo in the next generation of consoles due to its head start in launching, its strength in the North American market, and its appeal to older gamers, a demographic that seems to widen with each new generation of consoles," said In-Stat analyst Brian O'Rourke.

NeoMedia to Acquire Mobile Marketing Firm HipCricket for $4.5 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 17, 2006 - 7:19am.

Fort Myers, Fla. - Continuing a recent string of acquisitions, NeoMedia Technologies, a provider of mobile Internet technologies, has agreed to pay $4.5 million in cash to acquire HipCricket, a Connecticut-based provider of mobile marketing technology for broadcasters and brand marketers. HipCricket provides customers with a range of mobile media technology, including marketing and mobile strategy development, creative content development, tracking and analysis, and database development and maintenance. Founded in 2004, HipCricket has already worked with four national radio groups, TV networks, a top TV reality show, and more than two dozen major marketers, NeoMedia said. Last week NeoMedia acquired Mobot, a provider of mobile visual recognition technology, for $10 million in cash and stock. Earlier this week, NeoMedia announced the purchase of 12snap, a Germany-based provider of marketing and entertainment applications and programs for cellular phones, for $22 million.

Report: U.K. Legal Movie Download Market Will Mature by 2010

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 8:04am.

London - According to market research firm Screen Digest, the U.K. broadband movie market is set to boom over the next five years, the Register reports. Screen Digest predicted that, by the year 2010, every home in the U.K. will have downloaded at least one movie using a broadband connection. Over the same period, legal movie downloading will be worth more than $106 million in the U.K. and more than $299 million across the rest of Europe, Screen Digest said. "Although there are still issues in terms of bandwidth, download times and general consumer familiarity with the Internet as a means of consuming movies, these issues are becoming less significant," analyst Arash Amel told the Register.

EU Proposes Creation of Market for Trading Radio Bandwidth

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 30, 2005 - 3:23am.

Brussels - The European Commission has proposed the creation of a single pan-EU market for the trading of radio bandwidth by the year 2010. Currently, each of the 25 EU member states runs a different system for regulating bandwidths, which can vary from 400 MHz for TV to 5,000 MHz for Wi-Fi. The Commission believes the status quo is too inefficient and that a unified market would free up more of existing bandwidth and ensure that a greater range of operators are able to use parts of the spectrum. "Radio spectrum is fast becoming the lifeblood of the Information Society, whether you use a mobile phone or watch a TV broadcast," said EU Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding. "The direct economic contribution of industries using the radio spectrum is already considerable, between 1 and 2% of national GDP in the EU, but could be greatly increased if national regulators and all stakeholders can identify common approaches at EU level to create a single market for equipment and services using radio spectrum."

tags: Market | EU | Trading | Radio Bandwidth |

Report: DVD Recorder Market to Grow 87% This Year

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 16, 2005 - 3:03am.

Dublin -- The DVD recorder market doubled in size in 2004, to 9.4 million, and is projected to grow another 87% this year, according to a report from Research and Markets. Worldwide DVD recorder shipments are expected to grow to 67.7 million in 2009. The data does not include DVD recorder drives installed in PCs. The firm noted that digital TV tuners will be federally-mandated standard equipment in U.S. DVD recorders in July 2007, and are being added to DVD recorders in increasing numbers in Japan. "In 2004, Japan DVD player shipments declined, while DVD recorders grew by over 100%," the report said.

tags: Report | Market | Grow | DVD Recorder |

Report: European Song Download Market to Reach $5.7 Billion by 2009

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 28, 2004 - 4:46am.

Paris -- According to a new report by research and analysis firm Generator, the digital song download market in Europe will reach $5.7 billion (4.5 billion euro) by 2009, a figure that would account for about 40% of the total recorded music market. The report also predicted that the mobile channel will soon figure largely as a sales vehicle for digital music. "Depending on how the mobile operators play their hand, European consumers could spend as much as $777 million (610 million euro) on song downloads during 2009, about 13.5% of the total, and ringtones will be on top of that," said Generator research director Andrew Sheehy. To encourage the successful use of the mobile channel, however, Europe will first need to change its usage-based mobile data tariffs and adopt flat-rate 3G tariffs similar to those introduced in Japan by DoCoMo and KDDI, Sheey said.

FT: Microsoft to Argue that EU Assessment of Market "Incorrect"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 28, 2004 - 9:30am.

Brussels -- The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Microsoft plans to argue that the European Commission's antitrust ruling against the U.S. software giant was misguided because the European market for media players is far more varied than the Commission previously claimed. In March, the EU found Microsoft in breach of European antitrust laws; Microsoft's appeal of that decision will be heard in court later this week. Microsoft told the Financial Times that "much of the evidence that the Commission presents on this issue is incorrect". What's more, Microsoft told the Financial Times that "all signs point to a growing, vibrant media player market, with neither media players nor media formats showing any signs of 'tipping' to Microsoft technologies". As proof positive of its claim, the company cited the introduction of new music services by Apple and Sony and Yahoo's recent acquisition of Musicmatch.

Report: CDs to Still Dominate in 2009; Digital Music Will Be 8% of Market

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 28, 2004 - 9:26am.

London -- Compact discs will continue to dominate the recorded music market for at least the next five years, while digital music downloads will slowly increase their market share, according to a report from New York-based market research firm Jupiter Research. The firm predicted that Europeans will spend about $1 billion on digital music in 2009, including downloads and subscription services, but this will make up only 8% of the overall $12.6 billion music market there. By contrast, rival research firm Forrester predicted recently that digital music would make up 30% of the overall European market by 2009. "Digital music distribution will be an important alternative revenue channel for the music industry, but it is not about to replace the CD," said Jupiter Research analyst Mark Mulligan. "Although Europe's digital music market has finally begun to take off after a sluggish start, it will remain a relatively niche market."

Nintendo: GameCube Price Drop Quadrupled Sales; Market Share Now 37%

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 4, 2003 - 8:28am.

Redmond, Wash. -- Nintendo of America announced on Tuesday that, since discounting the price of its GameCube video game console in the U.S. to $99 just over a month ago, sales of the product have quadrupled. The company also cites sales figures gathered from the nation's largest retailers that show the GameCube has risen from 19% to 37% of game console market share, ahead of Microsoft's Xbox. According to data from NPD Group, Nintendo GameCube sales are up 2% percent over figures from last year, while sales for Microsoft's Xbox dropped 3% and Sony's PlayStation 2 dropped 17.5%. The company also announced that on Nov. 17 it will begin selling a $99 package that includes the GameCube console and its "The Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition Bundle" -- which features the original title for NES, "Zelda II: The Adventure of Link," "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time," "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask" and a playable demo of "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker."

Following Rivals' Lead, Dell Moves Into Consumer Electronics Market

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 25, 2003 - 10:45am.

Round Rock, Texas -- Following the lead of rivals Gateway and HP, PC maker Dell announced on Thursday new Dell consumer electronics products -- including a digital music player, online music service and multifunction LCD television -- that will be available from its online store in time for the holiday shopping season. The company said its online music store will be comparable to Apple's iTunes Store, and that pricing and additional details on the products will be released later. Dell also announced plans to release proprietary software that will turn its PCs into digital entertainment centers. The Dell Media Experience will facilitate playback of music files, adding music to photo slideshows, and watching DVDs video clips.

tags: Market | Dell | Electronics | Rivals' Lead |