US video game sales slump
US video game equipment and software sales fell 29% in July to $848.9 million, according to research group NPD, as the gaming industry limps through the economic downturn, writes Reuters.
Hardware sales fell 37% from a year ago, while software sales slid 26%, NPD said. Sales of video game accessories declined 12%.
It was the fifth consecutive monthly decline for the US video games industry. Year-to-date sales are down 14% in a sector once thought to be relatively insulated from the economic downturn.
Mobile gaming platform gets boost
A new Seattle-based mobile social gaming platform, Z2Live, has just landed itself $3 million in a second round of financing after already raising $1 million to kick things off, says Pocket Gamer.biz.
Z2Live, founded by Microsoft veteran Damon Danieli and mobile developer David Bluhm, is pegged as "the first mobile multiplayer game platform", and offers a host of services to iPhone and iPod touch developers.
Supporting a wide range of social gaming genres, such as strategies, RPGs, racers and (shortly) first-person shooters, Z2Live adds multiplayer functions, leverages social networks and subscription functions to games, and is free to use.
Business as usual for MS?
Along with a slew of new functions in its Xbox 360 system update, Microsoft introduced its Games on Demand store last week with full Xbox 360 titles for download, reports Fast Company.
But is this move a game-changer or just business as usual?
The store opened with 24 titles, a mix of games from several companies. And while Sony has offered a handful of full games for download, Warhawk, Siren, and SOCOM, Microsoft has taken it a step further in introducing a full store.
Shane Kim, Microsoft's VP of strategy and business development for interactive entertainment, said, "It's a natural evolution, not only of the capabilities of the service, but the expansion of the business model that we offer, not only internally, but to our business partners".
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