Reports

Report: Video Game Software Sales Down 6% in Q3

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 6, 2009 - 10:18am.
New York - Video game software sales across the U.S., Europe and Japan fell 6% during the third quarter of 2009, according to a report combining sales data from NPD Group, GfK Chart-Track Limited and Enterbrain. While Japan actually saw video game software unit sales increase by 15% in the third quarter -- compared with the 20% decline seen in the same period last year -- year-to-date sales in the country are down 9%, according to Enterbrain.

U.S. E-Commerce Spending Falls for Second Straight Quarter

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 6, 2009 - 8:46am.
Reston, Va. - For the first time on record, U.S. e-commerce spending has now seen negative growth for two straight quarters, according to new figures from comScore.

Report: Digital Out-of-Home Ad Revenues to Hit $3.7B in 2013

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 4, 2009 - 11:37am.
Chantilly, Va. - Revenues from digital out-of-home advertising -- including digital billboards and the displays located in grocery stores, malls and elsewhere -- are expected to grow from $2.2 billion this year to $3.7 billion in 2013, according to a report from BIA/Kelsey.

Survey: Among Consumers, File-Swappers Spend Most on Music

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 2, 2009 - 8:30am.
London - Those who download songs from unauthorized file-sharing services are the consumers who spend the most money on music, according to a survey of 1,000 16-50 year-olds with Internet access conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of London-based think tank Demos. The survey found that one in ten of the British respondents admitted to using free file-sharing services. File-swappers were found to spend about $120 a year on music -- 75% more than the $72 spent by those who aren't on file-sharing networks.

Survey: More Firms Planning to Reverse Salary, Hiring Freezes

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 30, 2009 - 7:09am.
Arlington, Va. - Approximately half of the companies that froze salaries and hiring in the past year now plan to unfreeze them in the next six months, according to a new survey by consulting firm Watson Wyatt.

Survey: Most Companies Not Planning to Boost "Green" Efforts

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 30, 2009 - 7:06am.
Menlo Park, Calif. - Despite a nationwide focus on "going green," most U.S. companies don't plan to ramp up their eco-friendly programs and policies in the near future, according to a new survey by Robert Half Management Resources.

Web Metrics Firm comScore to Acquire Certifica, Cut Jobs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 30, 2009 - 6:46am.
Reston, Va. - Boosting its presence in the fast-growing Latin American market, comScore (NASD: SCOR), a provider of Internet audience measurement services, said it will acquire Chilean Web measurement firm Certifica.

Report: In-Game Currency is Most Popular Virtual Item to Sell

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 28, 2009 - 11:16am.
Santa Clara, Calif. - Nearly one-third (31%) of those who purchased virtual goods over the past year also sold virtual goods, with in-game virtual currency being the most frequently sold item from player to player, according to a report from market research firm VGMarket and PlaySpan, an operator of virtual goods marketplaces.

Report: U.S. Game Sales Up 1%; Sony PS3 Leads for First Time

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 20, 2009 - 7:43am.
Port Washington, N.Y. - Sony's (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3 for the first time ever led U.S. video game sales in September, which on the whole rose 1% from a year ago after several months of  decline, according to sales figures compiled by market research firm NPD Group. Overall sales were $1.28 billion in September; despite Sony's success, game hardware sales fell 6% from a year ago, to $472 million.

Report: Investments in U.S. Venture-Backed Firms Stall in Q3

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 19, 2009 - 8:21am.
Washington - Following an uptick in the second quarter, investments in U.S. venture-backed companies stalled in the third quarter, putting 2009 on track to be the worst investment year since 2003, according to new data from Dow Jones VentureSource.

Report: U.S. Virtual Goods Market to Hit $1 Billion This Year

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2009 - 11:06am.
San Francisco - The U.S. market for virtual goods -- including items in online games, virtual worlds and social network sites -- is expected to reach $1 billion this year, according to a report published by Inside Virtual Goods and the Virtual Goods Summit.

Report: Facebook, Twitter See Growth; MySpace in Decline

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2009 - 10:54am.
New York - Facebook accounted for 59% of all U.S. social network site visits in September, an increase of 194% from the 19% of site visits that Facebook attracted a year ago, according to data from Internet measurement firm Hitwise. MySpace received the second-highest percentage of traffic among social network sites in September, with 30.2% -- a plunge from the 67% of all traffic it drew a year ago.

ComScore Launches Tracking Service for Game Publishers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 13, 2009 - 12:17pm.
Reston, Va. - Online research firm comScore has announced the launch of a new service -- called GamePlan -- that provides new audience targeting tools focused on gamers. "Game publishers and developers can use GamePlan to quantify, validate and improve their digital gaming strategies, including the ability to efficiently allocate advertising and marketing expenditure, enhance an understanding of one's target audience, and retool games on the fly," the company said in a statement.

Survey: Venture Capital Fundraising Down Again in Q3

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 13, 2009 - 11:11am.
New York - Fundraising by venture capital firms in the third quarter of 2009 were at the lowest level since the first quarter of 2003, according to statistics just released by Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA).

Study: 10% of Display Ads Are Locally Targeted

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 9, 2009 - 9:17am.
Reston, Va. - A new study by Internet audience measurement firm comScore found that about 10% of all display ads are locally targeted.

Private Equity Fundraising Continues Steep Decline in Q3

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 9, 2009 - 7:08am.
New York - U.S. private equity fundraising dropped 70% in the third quarter, with firms closing just 72 funds worth $25.2 billion, according to new figures from Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst.

L.A. Times Covers Music Biz Forecasts at Digital Music Forum

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 8, 2009 - 11:39am.
Los Angeles - The Los Angeles Times reported from our Digital Music Forum West event in Hollywood on Tuesday, focusing on music industry data presented by NPD Group, BigChampagne and Topspin. "Analysts speaking at Digital Music Forum West in Hollywood this afternoon suggested that there's more pain ahead for the industry -- much more. On the other hand, they said it's not necessarily a bad time for artists, and things couldn't be better for fans," the Times' Jon Healey reported.

Report: Majority of U.S. Firms Ban Social Media Sites at Work

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 7, 2009 - 11:52am.
Los Angeles - More than half (54%) of businesses block employees' access to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter while on the job, according to a survey of more than 1,400 CIOs conducted by Robert Half Technology.

Report: Venture-Backed Exits Continue Slow Pace in Q3

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 6, 2009 - 9:16am.
Arlington, Va. - Venture-backed company exit activity showed little signs of life during the third quarter and fell far short of historical norms, according to a new report by Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA).

U.S. Internet Advertising Revenue Drops 5.3% in First Half

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 5, 2009 - 10:05am.
New York - U.S. Internet advertising revenue dipped 5.3% to $10.9 billion in the first half of this year, according to new figures from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Search-related advertising amounted to more than $5.1 billion of the figure, up slightly from the same period in 2008, while spending on display ads fell 1.1% to $3.8 billion.