LG
05-21-2013, 05:49 AM
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Microsoft Corp. is expected to unveil a new Xbox videogame console on Tuesday, nearly eight years since the company launched its last gaming device into a market that was far more certain than it is today.
Microsoft has invited reporters to an event on Tuesday that is expected to feature a new Xbox console.
The new Xbox is not expected to go on sale until sometime this fall. But Microsoft MSFT +0.60% is hosting an event at its headquarters in Redmond, Wash., on Tuesday, beginning at 1 p.m. ET called “Xbox: A New Generation Revealed.” Further details of the new device are expected to come out during the company’s press conference at the E3 conference in Los Angeles on June 10.
Sony is also expected to reveal more about its PlayStation 4 at E3. The company released a video clip on Monday teasing its planned E3 event, as it has not yet shown a picture or a demo of the new console.
The videogame business has shifted dramatically since the company launched the Xbox 360 in November of 2005. Smartphones, tablets and social networks have given rise to a new generation of low-priced games. This has made the prospect of spending several hundred dollars on a gaming console — plus $60 for a single game disk — into an unappealing prospect for many beyond the hard-core gaming audience.
That has shown in the numbers. Total retail sales of videogame hardware and software at U.S. retailers has fallen by 13% in the first four months of 2013 compared with the same period last year, according to NPD data.
But Microsoft has a strong position with the core gaming audience that has proved willing to still spend top dollar on games. The Xbox 360 has sold about 39 million units in the U.S. since its launch, which is more than 60% above the total unit sales of the PlayStation 3 from Sony in the domestic market, according to data from the NPD Group, though the 360 came out a year ahead of the PS3.
This segment is commonly referred to as the high-definition gaming market, which differs from the Nintendo Wii in the current generation of game consoles, as the Wii offered only standard-definition games that were typically geared more for a family or casual gamer.
Investors have been bidding up stocks in the videogame sector for the last several months in anticipation of the new consoles. Publishers Electronic Arts EA -1.89% , Activision Blizzard ATVI +1.61% and Take-Two Interactive TTWO -0.73% and retailer GameStop GME -2.52% have all surged more than 35% over the last six months — solidly outpacing the broader market for that period.
“We think that investor confidence is well-placed, and expect the next-generation consoles from Microsoft and Sony to impress and delight consumers,” wrote Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities in a note to clients on Friday.
Little is known officially about what the new Xbox will look like or offer. The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that Microsoft has experimented with several different technologies during the development of the device, including streaming and adding to the motion-control capabilities of its current Kinect sensor.
Some rumors have pointed toward a lower-priced device that would primarily stream content from the Xbox Live service, but Walter Pritchard of Citigroup wrote last week that “we think Microsoft will give the new Xbox a year to shine before introducing a low-end box.”
How can a new Xbox stay cool?
Ian Sherr reports on how Microsoft, set to unveil its new Xbox on Tuesday, is trying to make gaming system cool and relevant in a world of smartphones and tablets.
On Monday, Brian Pitz of Jefferies & Co. wrote that he expects the new Xbox will feature “a Blu-ray disc, a large hard drive, tight Skype/Kinect integration, a multitude of digital content options (audio + video), and a robust digital store that will feature traditional core games in addition to indie games and apps made specifically for the living room.”
Sony SNE +3.10% JP:6758 -0.46% unveiled plans for the PlayStation 4 at an event in New York in February. While the company did not show the console, it revealed details like a cloud-gaming service and the fact that the new console is being built with an X86 chip from Advanced Micro Devices AMD +0.74% , representing a break from the proprietary Cell processor used in the PS3. Using a more standard chip architecture is expected to make it easier to keep the console updated with the latest chip capabilities.
Pitz believes the new Xbox will have an advantage over the PlayStation 4. He noted that Microsoft has more than 46 million Xbox Live subscribers, “who already spend over half their time consuming digital content vs. playing games.”
Microsoft has invited reporters to an event on Tuesday that is expected to feature a new Xbox console.
The new Xbox is not expected to go on sale until sometime this fall. But Microsoft MSFT +0.60% is hosting an event at its headquarters in Redmond, Wash., on Tuesday, beginning at 1 p.m. ET called “Xbox: A New Generation Revealed.” Further details of the new device are expected to come out during the company’s press conference at the E3 conference in Los Angeles on June 10.
Sony is also expected to reveal more about its PlayStation 4 at E3. The company released a video clip on Monday teasing its planned E3 event, as it has not yet shown a picture or a demo of the new console.
The videogame business has shifted dramatically since the company launched the Xbox 360 in November of 2005. Smartphones, tablets and social networks have given rise to a new generation of low-priced games. This has made the prospect of spending several hundred dollars on a gaming console — plus $60 for a single game disk — into an unappealing prospect for many beyond the hard-core gaming audience.
That has shown in the numbers. Total retail sales of videogame hardware and software at U.S. retailers has fallen by 13% in the first four months of 2013 compared with the same period last year, according to NPD data.
But Microsoft has a strong position with the core gaming audience that has proved willing to still spend top dollar on games. The Xbox 360 has sold about 39 million units in the U.S. since its launch, which is more than 60% above the total unit sales of the PlayStation 3 from Sony in the domestic market, according to data from the NPD Group, though the 360 came out a year ahead of the PS3.
This segment is commonly referred to as the high-definition gaming market, which differs from the Nintendo Wii in the current generation of game consoles, as the Wii offered only standard-definition games that were typically geared more for a family or casual gamer.
Investors have been bidding up stocks in the videogame sector for the last several months in anticipation of the new consoles. Publishers Electronic Arts EA -1.89% , Activision Blizzard ATVI +1.61% and Take-Two Interactive TTWO -0.73% and retailer GameStop GME -2.52% have all surged more than 35% over the last six months — solidly outpacing the broader market for that period.
“We think that investor confidence is well-placed, and expect the next-generation consoles from Microsoft and Sony to impress and delight consumers,” wrote Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities in a note to clients on Friday.
Little is known officially about what the new Xbox will look like or offer. The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that Microsoft has experimented with several different technologies during the development of the device, including streaming and adding to the motion-control capabilities of its current Kinect sensor.
Some rumors have pointed toward a lower-priced device that would primarily stream content from the Xbox Live service, but Walter Pritchard of Citigroup wrote last week that “we think Microsoft will give the new Xbox a year to shine before introducing a low-end box.”
How can a new Xbox stay cool?
Ian Sherr reports on how Microsoft, set to unveil its new Xbox on Tuesday, is trying to make gaming system cool and relevant in a world of smartphones and tablets.
On Monday, Brian Pitz of Jefferies & Co. wrote that he expects the new Xbox will feature “a Blu-ray disc, a large hard drive, tight Skype/Kinect integration, a multitude of digital content options (audio + video), and a robust digital store that will feature traditional core games in addition to indie games and apps made specifically for the living room.”
Sony SNE +3.10% JP:6758 -0.46% unveiled plans for the PlayStation 4 at an event in New York in February. While the company did not show the console, it revealed details like a cloud-gaming service and the fact that the new console is being built with an X86 chip from Advanced Micro Devices AMD +0.74% , representing a break from the proprietary Cell processor used in the PS3. Using a more standard chip architecture is expected to make it easier to keep the console updated with the latest chip capabilities.
Pitz believes the new Xbox will have an advantage over the PlayStation 4. He noted that Microsoft has more than 46 million Xbox Live subscribers, “who already spend over half their time consuming digital content vs. playing games.”