Tag Archives: sne

EA, Take-Two to benefit from console upgrade ‘sweet spot’

Video game publishers are starting to benefit from the console upgrade cycle hitting the sweet spot and the shift to digital distribution, investment bank Jefferies said Wednesday. Jefferies analyst Brian Pitz said he is broadly positive on the video game sector following the annual E3 trade show last week in Los Angeles. Pitz on Wednesday upgraded his ratings on game publishers Electronic Arts (EA) and Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) to buy from hold. He also has a buy rating on Activision Blizzard (ATVI). Pitz sees “two powerful, multiyear tailwinds” for the sector: faster-than-expected sales of next-generation consoles and the transition to digital distribution and other digital revenue streams. He expects the installed base of the latest consoles, specifically Sony’s (SNE) PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s (MSFT) Xbox One, to reach 48 million to 49 million by the end of 2015, two years after they launched. By comparison, it took the previous…

E3 Attendees Critique HoloLens, Oculus, Morpheus

At E3 2015, huge crowds of attendees waited in lines with long wait times to try out all the newest games and gear, including virtual reality headsets. Not long after the show floor opened, the wait-time in line for Microsoft’s (MSFT) HoloLens was already more than an hour long. IBD’s Alissa Williams was able to get reactions from attendees who demoed the HoloLens, Sony’s (SNE) Project Morpheus and Facebook’s (FB) Oculus Rift. They commented on

Sony PS4 nabs exclusive content from Activision, Square Enix

LOS ANGELES –Sony (SNE) hopes to gain an edge over rival Microsoft (MSFT) in the current-generation console battle by securing major games and content from third-party publishers on an exclusive basis. Sony executives outlined their strategy at a media briefing in Los Angeles on Monday on the eve of the E3 video game show, which runs Tuesday through Thursday. Like Microsoft, Sony is launching first-party exclusive games from its own studios such as “Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.” It also has forged deals with publishers like Square Enix, Activision Blizzard (ATVI) and Walt Disney (DIS) to get some of their content exclusively or at least on Sony’s PlayStation 4 first. For instance, PS4 will be the first console to get Square Enix’s “Hitman” as well as “Star Wars” play sets and content for “Disney Infinity 3.0.” Sony also has partnered with Activision to get additional content for…