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Nintendo Co. Ltd. (7974.OS: Quote, NEWS, Research) sold 600,000 units of its new Wii video game console in the first eight days after its release in the Americas, as the company vies with rivals Sony Corp. (6758.T: Quote, NEWS, Research) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) for gamers' hearts and wallets. Including sales of accessories and games, Nintendo's Wii-related revenue had hit $190 million since the machine's November 19 release, the company said. At $250, the Wii costs half as much as the cheapest version of Sony's (SNE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) PlayStation 3 console, which went on sale in the United States two days before the Wii hit the market. Many fans of both systems lined up at retailers hours or even days in advance of the launches to guarantee they were among the first to claim ownership of the highly anticipated machines. The consoles are also being hawked on Internet auction sites such as eBay (EBAY.O: Quote, Profile, Research) for several times their retail price tag. "We've shipped retailers several times the amount of hardware the other company was able to deliver for its launch around the same time -- and we still sold out," Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime said in a statement.
Sony has not revealed how many PlayStation 3 consoles it has sold in North America so far, but has said it aims to have shipped 1 million units by the end of the year. Microsoft has shipped more than 6 million of its Xbox 360 since launching it in November 2005.
Source: Reuters.com

Labels: Microsoft, Nintendo, Playstation 3, Sony Corp., X-Box

Supporters of the free PC operating system Linux are preparing to counter a recent Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) deal which established for the first time the principle of paying the software giant to use Linux. Microsoft signed a deal with Novell Inc. (NOVL.O: Quote, Profile, Research), one of the providers of Linux, in which Novell paid a lump sum in return for a guarantee that Microsoft would not sue Novell's clients for what it calls a violation of its own patents in the Linux program. Eban Moglen, one of the pioneers of free software, said Microsoft's deal skirts the requirements of the GNU General Public License, used by Linux and other free programs, which requires the software to be given away. He said he and others have started work on updating the license to close the loophole by inserting a clause stating that a promise not to sue, such as the one given by Microsoft, would be automatically applicable to everyone. That would effectively flip Microsoft's agreement on its head and guarantee that no one would face a suit from Microsoft if anyone were protected. "A clause like that would not be difficult to get community agreement on these days," Moglen said, adding that a change could be ready in weeks or months. A spokesman for Novell, Bruce Lowry, said: "We don't want to speculate on what would happen under the next version of the GNU General Public License because things are still in motion." Microsoft had no comment. In the meantime, the prospect of a drawn-out legal battle with Microsoft, an experienced litigator, could push users of Linux into the hands of Novell and away from dominant Linux provider Red Hat Inc. (RHAT.O: Quote, Profile, Research), which does not have such a deal with Microsoft. Although Linux is free, providers of the system offer the software with packaging, documentation and -- most important -- installation and maintenance, so that any client shift from Red Hat would cost it money.
Source: Reuters.com

Labels: Linux, Microsoft, MSFT, Novell, NOVL, Red Hat, RHAT

GameStop Corp. (GME.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the largest U.S. video game retailer, reported on Tuesday reported a quarterly profit and strong same-store sales and issued a holiday forecast that some analysts saw as conservative. Its stock hit a new year high.
Third-quarter net income was $13.6 million, or 17 cents per share, compared with a loss of $2.5 million, or 4 cents per share, a year before. The company said excluding special items, its profit equaled 22 cents a share, in line with the average forecast of 14 analysts polled by Reuters Estimates. Revenue nearly doubled to $1.01 billion from $534 million a year earlier. Sales at stores open at least a year were up 8.8 percent versus a year before. GameStop predicted a strong holiday season with comparable store sales climbing between 14 percent and 18 percent during the fourth quarter, following the launch of Sony Corp.'s (6758.T: Quote, NEWS, Research) (SNE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s (7974.OS: Quote, NEWS, Research) Wii video game consoles. It forecast fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.53 to $1.59 and full-year earnings per share of $1.98 to $2.04. "Holiday guidance may prove conservative," Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian said in a client note. He has a "buy" rating on the stock and on Tuesday raised his 12-month price target on GameStop to $60 from $54 per share. U.S. video game companies reap around half of their sales in the holiday season. During the third quarter, GameStop's hardware sales climbed 69 percent from a year earlier, led by Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Xbox 360 and Nintendo's DS Lite hand-held player. Sales of software rose 14 percent, led by the popular "Madden" football game from Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS.O: Quote, Profile, Research), "Saints Row" from THQ Inc. (THQI.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and "Dead Rising" from Capcom Co. Ltd. (9697.T: Quote, NEWS, Research) Shares were up $2.71 or 5.3 percent in afternoon trade on the New York Stock Exchange to $53.87 after touching a 52-week high of $54.90 earlier in the session.
Source: Reuters.com

Labels: Capcom, Electronic Arts, ERTS, GameStop Corp., GME, Microsoft, MSFT, SNE, Sony Corp., THQI, Video Games