Electronic Arts posted a major loss on Thursday. According to the company, it realized a $310 million loss and will be forced to lay off 6 percent of its staff due to worsening financial conditions and bleak outlooks.
Of course, EA, as a public company, blames its results on economic factors and just about everything else, besides what it should really blame: itself. But the problem facing the video game industry isn't unique to EA. Each company in the market is facing the same problems, and they're all forced to blame it on ludicrous reasons.
But as anyone who follows the industry knows, the real reason behind poor performance is the general lack of innovation coming out of developer studios lately.
I don't think there's any debating the fact that innovation in the video game industry is practically nonexistent. Every time I turn around, there's another crappy first-person shooter hitting store shelves with the same basic mechanics and control scheme. Even better, there's always a new sports title out there to whet your appetite. But whatever you do, look past the same player models, and derivative gameplay, and look at the new enhancements made to this year's stadiums!
What a joke.
... Read moreMuch has been made about Apple's cash. The company, which operates with no debt in its financial structure, is one of the most financially sound organizations in tech, with $24.5 billion in cash on hand, even more cash than Microsoft.
But now that it has all that money, what should it do with it?
Some say Apple should simply hold on to the cash and be prepared for what could be a difficult few years, as the economy continues to feel the pressure of a credit crunch, while others think Apple should start spending while the targets are cheap and do what it can to expand its role in the industry.
I can't help but agree with those in the second camp. Why should Apple, one of the most profitable and powerful companies in the industry, sit on its hands while other companies with strong properties and technologies in their own right need to worry about the future? For the first time in recent memory, tech companies can be acquired for a relatively affordable price, and a company in the position that Apple is in needs to capitalize.
So what can it do? Quite a bit. Instead of spending all its time on cell phones, PMPs, and Macs, maybe Apple should try to become the company that offers products that tag along with you throughout the day. Or maybe Apple should get into the video game business and start solidifying its position in that market. Or maybe Apple should start putting real pressure on Microsoft and build an operating system that not even Ballmer & Co. can match.
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The video game industry is abuzz over the possibility of Take-Two Interactive and Electronic Arts joining hands and become the world's most powerful video game developer. According to EA, such a move will improve its lineup of games and help consolidate its presence in the industry.
Take-Two hasn't been so delighted about EA's acquisition attempts. The company has let the offer deadlines slip countless times--the last happened just nine days ago--but it still can't quite shake EA. And this time around, the companies have signed a confidentiality agreement that would ensure both sides don't go public with the closed-door proceedings.
Some tout this acquisition as the next logical step for a video game industry that's becoming more consolidated. Others say that EA's takeover of Take-Two could actually increase the value of games and create a company that will offer some of the most impressive titles we have ever seen, thanks to the combined efforts of developers.
That sentiment may ring true in some cases, and every now and then, there's a flash of something unique, but if this acquisition becomes a reality and EA swallows up one of the biggest developers in the industry, it spells trouble for gamers and the industry itself.
... Read moreWhen Take-Two released GTA IV to the masses last week, some wondered just how big this game would be. Most analysts pegged the eventual first week sales at around $400 million and thought that was a huge week. But in an interesting turn of events that should press Take-Two's asking price higher, the company is poised to announce that it realized over $500 million in revenue in just the first week of Grand Theft Auto IV's availability.
But before it was met with such success, GTA IV garnered some of the biggest hype we have ever seen in gaming. Unlike any other title released in recent memory, the story of Niko Bellic and his rise in the criminal underworld achieved blockbuster status and quickly realized the full potential of a title that can totally change the way we're expected to think of gaming in general.
With that in mind, I entered the world of GTA IV wondering what would confront me. Would it be just another example of debauchery and disregard for humanity like some critics believe or a title that would change the way I think about gaming?
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Over the past decade, video game popularity has grown at an exponential rate. Instead of being the niche market that only a select few cared about, the industry is now worth billions of dollars and has become mainstream.
But as that has happened, video game developers like EA and Take-Two Interactive have become far more business-savvy and done their part in ensuring that they can maximize shareholder value and create an environment where video games are an extremely profitable product.
In the process, the video game industry has been damaged by a slew of mergers and acquisitions and in the process, some of the most profitable genres (first-person shooters and sports games, for example) have been copied and refreshed so many times over that gaming has quickly become derivative and bereft of innovation.
And although the main culprit for the lack of innovation is obviously the Almighty Dollar, another culprit is lurking in the shadows and quietly damaging the foundation of gaming as we know it--acquisitions.
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