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Technology Stocks : Rambus (RMBS) - Eagle or Penguin -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dave B who wrote (65468)	2/6/2001 3:14:47 PM
From: Scumbria	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93625

Dave, You are fishing for a failure that doesn't exist. Scumbria

To: Dave B who wrote (65468)	2/6/2001 3:33:43 PM
From: Mihaela	Respond to of 93625

break ...some game news ... dailynews.yahoo.com Tuesday February 6 2:48 PM ET Sony Clashes with Independent Game Developers By Timna Tanners LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sony Corp.'s (6758.T) troubled launch of its flagship game console PlayStation 2 (news - web sites) has strained relations with some key allies -- the software publishers that once helped it claim top spot in a $20 billion-a-year market. Analysts say that while Sony will be a leading contender in the market for the new generation of consoles, its stickier relations with some U.S. game developers have cast some doubt on its market dominance and could open the door for rivals. ``In development ease and lead time, Sony has been more difficult to work with this time around than for the original PlayStation launch,'' Wedbush Morgan analyst Miguel Iribarren said. Part of the reason the Japanese electronics giant was able to break into a market dominated by Nintendo (news - web sites) Co. Ltd. (7974.OS) and Sega Corp. (7964.T), when it launched the hugely popular PlayStation in 1995, was because it lured third-party game developers to produce top games for an unproven platform. Yet now that the PlayStation is the world's most popular console, some game developers say Sony has neglected them. Sony Computer Entertainment America spokeswoman Molly Smith said that the record number of titles ready at the launch of PlayStation 2 was a testament to its developer support. She said shipment delays for the console were regrettable, but added that the production problems had been fixed. ``It's clear that companies that have invested a lot of money in development understand that our business model is long term,'' Smith said. Sony launched PlayStation 2 in the United States in October, but is seen facing stiff competition later in the year from Nintendo's GameCube and handheld Game Boy Advance, plus Microsoft Corp.'s (NasdaqNM:MSFT - news) market entry with the Xbox (news - web sites). Game developers have been frustrated with Sony's shipping delays, which left many gamers empty-handed in the Christmas shopping season and left Sony with a 1 million worldwide unit shortfall for its fiscal year ending in March. They also accuse Sony of not making game development kits more widely available or early enough to designers. ``It's opened the door a little bit for Microsoft,'' Iribarren said. Sony's Loss Could Be Microsoft's Gain Microsoft, meanwhile, has been copying Sony's prior path to success -- actively courting game developers. All of the major video game makers have agreed to produce for the Xbox, which developers say are an easier platform to make games for than the PlayStation series because Microsoft's console is similar in design to a PC. Xbox's most significant conquest was No. 1 third-party developer Electronic Arts, Inc. (NasdaqNM:ERTS - news), which has had close ties to Sony and has focused most of its resources on making games for the original PlayStation and its successor. Yet Electronic Arts very publicly said it would provide up to 10 games in the first 6 months of Xbox's launch. That roll-out compares with the 10 games it pledged to make ready for PlayStation 2 in the first 4 months of its U.S. release. Some analysts interpreted Electronic Arts' decision to publicize its support of the Xbox, in the thick of the key Christmas shopping season, as a snub to Sony. Meanwhile, Sony has laid some blame for its $120 million game division loss in its most recent quarter on video game publishers, saying they did provide enough titles for its PlayStation 2. Most profits from Sony's gaming unit come from software royalties. Electronic Arts President John Riccitiello criticized Sony in a recent interview for not doing enough to support the PlayStation 2 with strong games of its own, calling Sony's driving game Ridge Racer ``relatively mediocre.'' ``There weren't enough software titles to create a market,'' he told Reuters. Bad Blood With Gamers Those slower PlayStation 2 sales have hurt profits for game developers who have staked a lot on Sony's success. Justin Post of Deutsche Banc Alex Brown said the short-term impact of the smaller-than-expected PlayStation 2 sales could hurt Electronic Arts most as the market leader. ``If you look at the million unit shortfall and go with the average 2-1/2 units of software for each console, that's 2.5 million units of software, and EA has a big share,'' he said, predicting the company's lost revenue could total $20 million to $30 million for its fiscal year ending in March. Similarly, game developer THQ Inc. (NasdaqNM:THQI - news) delayed launching its PlayStation 2 game Red Faction, citing uncertain shipments of the console in the current quarter. Sony also miffed smaller video game developers like THQ, which has traditionally vied for the No. 2 and No. 3 independent game publisher spot with Activision Inc. (NasdaqNM:ATVI - news). ``It's fairly widely known EA got the development kits earlier,'' THQ President and Chief Executive Brian Farrell told Reuters. ``If they'd have gotten all of us the kits, we would have had better titles earlier.'' Meanwhile Activision's Chair and Chief Executive Bobby Kotick voiced no complaints, and said his company's relationship with Sony had improved since the original PlayStation launch. ``We've had a great relationship with Sony,'' he said.