Archive for the ‘Gaming’ Category
By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press
ALBANY, NY — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday proposed a major economic development package that would expand gaming, which could mean a Catskills casino, establish a new infrastructure repair fund, provide more tax credits for job growth and create a job-training program.
The extensive proposal released to The Associated Press and to newspapers statewide as an opinion column is Cuomos response to an unexpected $350 million deficit this year and a projected $3.5 billion deficit in the 2010-13 fiscal year.
Cuomo calls for comprehensive reform of our tax code to promote investment in jobs in New York. He doesnt mention raising taxes or adjusting the tax code to raise taxes for wealthier New Yorkers. Democrats in the Assembly and Senate continue to push for a higher tax on wealthier New Yorkers to address the deficits without further cuts to education and health and social programs.
Cuomo, a Democrat, led the Legislature to address a $10 billion deficit in April with a state budget that included a rare cut in spending.
His plan could be presented in a special session of the Legislature to be held as early as this week, or it could be a centerpiece of his second year in office beginning in January.
We should pursue a comprehensive gaming plan — recognizing the reality that New York is already in the gaming business, Cuomo said. He called for the creation of destination gaming locations, which in past proposals from Albany has included the Catskills, once home to a flourishing resort industry.
PwC’s new annual report ‘Global Gaming Outlook: The casino and online gaming …
Posted by: Admin
January 3rd, 2012 >> Gaming
With the PwCs latest release of their annual report, Global Gaming Outlook: The casino and online gaming market to 2015′ explores the changes and challenges in mature markets, the upcoming opportunities in new and developing jurisdictions, as well as the legislation, regulation, and potential impacts brewing in the online gaming arena.
According to PwC projections the global casino gaming revenue across the United States, EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), Asia Pacific, Latin America and Canada will grow at 9.2% compound annual rate during the next five years, rising from US$117.6 billion in 2010 to US$182.8-billion in 2015.
Spending in the United States on casino and online gambling activities will rise by five percent from $57.5 billion in 2010 to $73.3 billion in 2015 while the Asia-Pacific region will see ‘dramatic growth’ of 18.3 percent in gaming spend to reach $79.3 billion in five years and overtake the US to become the world’s largest regional market.
Looking at physical gaming revenues, PwC predicts that by 2015, the financial balance of power in the global casino gaming industry will have undergone a fundamental eastward shift, with Asia Pacific growing at 18.3 percent annually to 2015. This will see Asia Pacific overtake the US growing in contrast at only 5 percent annually to 2015 to become the biggest regional market in terms of off-line, non-digital revenues in 2013. By 2015, Asia Pacific will account for 43.4 percent of global spending on casino gaming, with the US accounting for 40.1 percent.
PwC says that in terms of casino gaming, France had the largest casino market in 2010 at $3.8 billion, followed by Germany and South Africa at $2.0 and $1.8 billion, respectively.
Revenues in EMEA will reach US$18.3-billion in 2015 up from US$16.3-billion in 2010, an average annual increase of 2.4% compounded annually. The weak economic conditions and the impact of adverse regulatory developments in some countries will curtail growth. The much smaller Latin American market will see growth of 8.1 per cent compounded annually from US$3.8 billion in 2010 rising to US$5.6 billion in 2015. Canada will grow from US$5.7-billion in 2010 to US$6.2-billion in 2015, a 1.8% compound annual rate.
South Africa’s casino gaming market in 2010 generated revenues of $1.8-billion, growing at a very respectable 3.5% in that year. For 2011 to 2014, SA gaming revenues are expected to grow at a low rate to $1.9 billion in 2015, a compound annual growth rate during the forecast period of only 1.9%.”
PriceWaterhouseCoopers found that most of the world’s legal online gaming takes place in Europe, the Middle East and Asia with the UK being the largest single market.
According to PwC, the next five years will see rapid and pervasive change in every segment of the casino gaming industry. Now is the time for all participants to plan for this change– and to stake out the right positioning in the new landscape of 2015.
Written by Maggie B.
One of the largest social gaming companies in Japan, Gumi, announced Monday that it pocketed 2 billion yen ($25.7 million) in a Series F round of funding from investors such as JAFCO, DJB Capital, Nissei Capital and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital.
Gumi has gained attention across the globe since it has touted that the company makes more than $6 million per month and continues to see more growth.
Gumi gained wider attention from US gaming companies when it partnered with EA to release FIFA World Class Soccer to the GREE platform in Japan.
As the San Francisco-based start-up Zynga inches closer to it IPO, Japanese social and mobile gaming companies have been looked to because of their higher rate of monetization.
While Zynga has seen a decrease in the rate of growth in social gamers on its platforms, companies working on the Japanese GREE system have seen growth in its user base and the revenue brought in by its players. If you think about GREE as a social gaming platform similar to what developers partnering with Facebook are doing, companies like Gumi split revenue from digital goods with GREE for the benefit of working on its platform.
Zynga has had trouble transitioning to platforms outside of its stronghold on Facebook to get substantial revenue on the mobil front, but Gumi has illustrated that, at least in the Japanese market, mobile social gaming can be extremely lucrative, especialluy on the GREE mobile platform.
Zynga has many obtained more users worldwide than Gree (227 million monthly actives for Zynga against GREEs 27 million), but GREE has been able to prove that it can monetize its mobile at a staggering rate. GREEs revenues are 25% higher with only 10% of the user-base (close to $400 million to Zyngas $300 million.)
Unlike Facebook (though not for long), GREE is a publicly traded company in Japan TYO: JP: 3632 closed at 2,523 yen, up one-third of a percent for the day.
Last week, video game publisher and iOS heavy hitter Electronic Arts dropped a new version of a classic title: Tetris, the block puzzle game beloved by millions. Or at least, EA is hoping it’s beloved by millions, because it wants Tetris to become your new iPhone gaming obsession.
When it originally launched on the iPhone way back in 2008, Tetris was a premium title in the iTunes App Store and as recently as last year could still be purchased for around $5 or more. It’s a game with a long history of great releases and EA could charge that kind of coin in the infant App Store. But as EA continues to expand into the mobile space, it’s clear that the company is looking for additional ways of making money more effectively using in-app purchases.
As Pocket Gamer reports, Tetris has been reworked for the iPhone to take advantage of Apple’s in-app purchasing capabilities. Coming in at only $0.99 to purchase, the focus has been placed on social interaction and a long-term relationship with players. Tetris now tracks your lifetime stats for the game: the object is to fit different pieces together to make an uninterrupted line across the bottom of the screen from one side to the other to clear blocks. The game now tracks your lines cleared (you get more points for bigger groups of lines cleared at once), and encourages you to care about that.
EA seems to be hoping players are not only going to be playing Tetris enough to care about their stats, but that they’ll want to pay to boost their progress through the game. In-app purchases go as high as $99 for the purchase of in-app currency called T-Coins, and EA is also pushing a subscription-based service called T-Club for $29.99 per year. It offers “exclusive discounts and content, premium Tetris Log challenges, and a booster to progress your Tetris Rank faster,” as Pocket Gamer notes.
It’s not quite the same subscription service that Big Fish Games attempted with a recent iPad app that Apple approved and then bounced from the App Store. That app would have allowed players to pay a monthly rate and then stream a number of games to their iPads over the Internet. EA also wants recurring subscription payments, but it’s going with a lower-key offering that still falls within the bounds of Apple’s terms and conditions.
The fundamental changes to the mobile version of one of the best-known titles in video gaming seem to be telling of EA’s view of the mobile sphere. The company clearly sees mobile as a big deal – it has been putting a lot of focus on the market, with both premium and low-cost titles – but this is a big push into the freemium realm with a big franchise. How successful Tetris is will likely have a big effect on EA’s future games.
You can read what Appolicious Advisor Kathryn Swartz thinks of the new Tetris update right here.
Kinect Helps High School Duo Win $100000 National Science Prize
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January 1st, 2012 >> Gaming
Who says gaming cant lead to a higher education? Ziyuan Liu and Cassee Cain of Oak Ridge High School in Oak Ridge are splitting a $100,000 college scholarship awarded in the Siemens Foundations annual high school science competition after creating a Kinect-powered application that uses Microsofts magical camera to analyze the way a person walks.
Every human being has a different pattern of movement, and an in-depth analysis of that pattern of movement can be crucial in diagnosing and treating movement-impairing ailments or fitting prosthesis to amputee patients. Not everyone has access to a clinic or gait lab necessary for such analysis. Thats where Ziyuan Liu and Cassee Cains Beyond Gaming: Using Kinect for Xbox 360 and Computer Vision to Analyze Human Gait – Bioengineering project comes in.
The pair developed a piece of software that can utilize the Microsofts relatively inexpensive depth sensing and motion tracking camera peripheral to analyze a persons movement patterns.
This teams project involved the creative reuse of new gaming technology – the Kinect sensor – with advanced computer vision algorithms, said competition judge Sudeep Sarkar, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, University of South Florida. When further developed, their system could open avenues to bring personalized rehabilitation to the home. This could potentially reduce medical costs, allowing clinicians to monitor a patients progress from a remote site.
Liu and Cain were among six teams chosen as finalists from more than 2,000 teens that entered the annual competition. Born in Qujing, Yunnan, China, Liu wants to be the head of a software company or banking firm on Wall Street (ouch, the timing), while Tennessee native Cain hopes to become an oncologist. Id say theyre off to a pretty good start.
Siemens Competition 2011 [Official Webpage]
Seneca Nation and state leaders have finally agreed on something – casino gambling can provide economic benefits.
Whether the mutual understanding could lead to the two working out differences, however, remains a roll of the dice.
Gov. Andrew Cuomos economic development package released Sunday included casino gambling as a way to address a state deficit that could reach the hundreds of millions of dollars next year, reports the Associated Press.
We should pursue a comprehensive gaming plan – recognizing the reality that New York is already in the gaming business, Cuomo said.
He called for the creation of destination gaming locations, looking into allowing private sector, non-Indian casinos in New York, with the AP speculating that could be in the Catskills, where the nation has also looked.
Although Seneca President Robert Odawi Porter previously voiced concerns about state talk involving casinos, he took a different view after hearing the Cuomos recent comments.
He recognized Cuomos acknowledgement of the nations gaming facilities, with which it has a state compact to operate.
The Seneca Nation, with three destination properties, will continue to be part of this discussion, he said.
Porter added the nation has worked with the state since 2002, investing $900 million on the three casinos, creating thousands of jobs that have a significant economic multiplier effect.
Lets keep the big picture in focus: Seneca gaming works and right now its the only gambling mechanism that provides economic benefits to the state and its people and will continue to for years before any amendment might be put to a vote, said Porter about the necessity of a state constitutional amendment before private casinos could be allowed.
New Yorkers have every right to discuss expanded gaming outside our exclusivity zone, he said about the idea refered to by the governor.
As a business partner with the state, we disagree over racino in our zone, Porter said about Seneca objections to video lottery terminal games within a zone of exclusivity spelled out in a state/nation compact outlining specifics of Seneca gaming in Western New York.
Due to the state allowing racino within the area, the nation has not paid the state an annual amount, also part of the compact agreement between the two governments.
Porter said the disagreement will go to arbitration and be resolved.
In the meantime and the future, the nation will continue to be a leader in this area of economic development, he said.
Both the state and nation are looking to the future of casino gaming.
The compact between the state and nation for the three Western New York casinos expires in 2016.
In order to have commercial gambling in the state, an amendment to the state constitution would have to be passed by two successive state legislative bodies, meaning the matter could be taken up both this year and after next years elections and put before the general public for a vote in November 2013. If approved by voters, the nation could be a bidder, along with others, for a state casino such as one in the Catskills.
On Tuesday, the nation will release a poll of 1,000 Western New Yorkers they say shows support for nation gaming operations and minimal support for statewide commercial gambling.
Whether the Seneca Nation could continue to play a role in the states bid to operate casino gambling may be a game the two are willing to chance.
State gubernatorial officials could not be reached to comment Monday.
Gaming website picks Hillary Clinton over Bachmann and Santorum for president
Posted by: Admin
December 22nd, 2011 >> Gaming
A UK gaming website is betting that the odds of Hillary Clinton winning the 2012 presidential election are greater than some of the declared candidates.
While Paddy Power, an Irish bookmaker, is putting its money on President Obama winning reelection, at 10 to 11 odds, GOP candidates Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney both follow behind with 3-1 odds.
Microsoft Accepting Beta Applications for Flight Sim Reboot
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December 21st, 2011 >> Gaming
Now simply called Microsoft Flight, the companys rebooted simulator franchise is now accepting applications for a closed beta launching launching next month.
Microsofts Flight Simulator has seemingly been around forever, and for many, resides in the PC gaming Hall of Fame along with DOOM, Quake, X-Wing Vs. TIE Fighter, Descent, Diablo, EverQuest and numerous other classics. The first version hit store shelves way back in 1982 while Flight Simulator X brought the series to a close in 2006. However Microsoft refused to let the concept die and announced a reboot of sorts in August 2010 with the upcoming launch of Microsoft Flight.
With Microsoft Flight were approaching the virtual flight genre from the ground up, with the focus on the universal appeal of the experience of Flight, the company said. We believe the simplicity of Microsoft Flight perfectly captures that vision while welcoming the millions of existing Flight Simulator fans. The new Microsoft Flight retains the full fidelity simulation longtime fans have come to expect while offering all players a whole new look and feel, a wide range of new game play and challenges, persistent experiences and social connectivity.
According to Microsoft, the company is now accepting applications for the Flight beta program taking to the skies in January 2012. To enter, interested gamers can head here via Microsoft Connect, but theres a catch: a nondisclosure agreement means you cant take photos, videos or audios of the software, nor can you post such items anywhere online. Information obtained about the game cannot be disclosed, nor can the client be hacked or copied for distribution amongst forum friends and strangers… typical NDA stuff that many ignore anyway.
We will be sorting through your applications over the coming month and will get back to qualifying participants with additional details throughout our beta phases in January, the company said. As we taxi for takeoff, we will continue to provide intriguing updates about the future of Microsoft Flight so please keep checking in on our website or on our Facebook Fan Page.
Although theres no set release date as of this writing, Microsoft released a set of tentative system requirement last month:
Minimum:
CPU: Dual Core 2.0 GHz
GPU: 256 MB card capable of shader 3.0 (DX 9.0c compliant)
HD: 10 GB Hard Drive space
OS: Windows XP SP3
RAM: 2.0 GB
Recommended (high settings):
CPU: Intel Core i7 960 @ 3.20GHz, AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 3.3 GHz or better
GPU: ATI Radeon HD 5870, Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 or better
HD: 10 GB Hard Drive space
OS: Windows 7 64-bit
RAM: 6 GB
Rival social gaming companies Zynga and Nexon are both going public
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December 18th, 2011 >> Gaming
December is proving to be a watershed moment for online gaming companies: Just a few days after Farmville creator Zynga initiated a lower-than-expected(-but-still-massive) IPO, rival company Nexon set the price for its IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Its likely to become the biggest Japanese IPO of the year, according to The New York Times. Nexon has a considerably smaller consumer base than Zynga about 77 million active monthly players, versus Zyngas estimated 260 million. Its an interesting moment for the social gaming companies: Because of the extremely fraught economic climate, Zyngas IPO was valued at $9 billion, which is considerably lower than expectations. (Forbes estimated that the valuation instantly lost Zynga CEO Mark Pincus about $650 million.)
It will be interesting to see how well Zynga and Nexon perform as publicly traded companies, especially since if you think about it online social games are sort of like their own metaphorical economies. Except that the economy of FarmVille is entirely managed by Zynga, whereas the economy of the United States was supposed to be managed by an invisible hand that turned out to be so invisible it didnt exist. In conclusion, Adam Smith was wrong, and FarmVille is probably about to become the most successful socialist organization since the National Football League.
Follow Darren on Twitter: @EWDarrenFranich
Social gaming firm We R Interactive appoints Geoff Heath
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December 16th, 2011 >> Gaming
UK social gaming company We R Interactive has appointed Geoff Heath, a games and music veteran who sold the rights to Beatles songs to Michael Jackson and founded Call of Duty maker Activision, as it prepares to launch its second major title.
Heath joins a roster of high-profile names supporting the company including Elio Leoni-Sceti, the former EMI chief executive, Eric Fellner, the co-chairman of the Four Weddings and a Funeral maker Working Title, and ITV senior executive Fru Hazlitt.
We R Interactive, founded last year by former Sony and Eidos executive David Rose, is aiming to become a British social gaming rival to Zynga, the US maker of successful Facebook game FarmVille.
Heath, who was awarded an OBE in 2009 in part for his contribution to the computer games industry, has been hired as We R Interactive looks to marry music and gaming with a new title called I Am Star. The company says the game will enable players to live the life of a music star.
The title is being hyped as giving players the chance to achieve fantasy fulfilment and live a rock star life from bedroom to concert hall.
We R Interactive has won EUR150,000 (£129,000) in funding from the European Union Media programme, which aims to strengthen the competitiveness of the EU film, TV and digital media industries. The EU money will be used in the pre-production phase of the I Am Star.
There is a rich heritage in console-based music games that have proven there is an appetite for user interaction, said Leoni-Sceti. Yet to date interactive music has not successfully translated to social platforms.
The company, chaired by former Ingenious Media director Richard Dale, has launched a football-themed title called I Am Playr.
In May, We R Interactive secured a second round of funding of $5m (£3.2m) from private investors including Leoni-Sceti and Paul Fitzsimons, a former media partner at private equity firm Apax. Other investors include Peter Mead, the co-founder of ad agency AMV BBDO.
During his career in music publishing, Heath was instrumental in striking deals that resulted in ATV acquiring Northern Songs, the home of publishing rights to a range of Beatles compositions, which was then eventually sold to Michael Jackson in the 1980s.
In the 1990s, ATV merged with Sony, to create Sony/ATV, which last month secured a deal to buy EMIs music publishing division for £1.3bn.