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Electronic Gaming Business, Sept 24, 2003

Top Amazon Game Pre-Orders (as of Sept. 22)
Title                         Platform\ Publisher  Expected Release
1. Halo2                      Xbox\Microsoft       4/18/04
2. Final Fantasy X-2          PS2\Enix-Square      12/5/03
3. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004  PS2\EA Sports        9/25/03
4. Mario Kart Double Dash     GC\Nintendo          11/20/03
5. WWE Smackdown: Pain        PS2\THQ              10/30/03
6. Super Mario Advance 4      GBA\Nintendo         10/21/03
7. DDR Max Dance Revolution   PS2\Konami           9/26/03
8. Socom II                   PS2\Sony             11/7/03
9. Jak II                     PS2\Sony             10/17/03
10. NHL 2004                  PS2\EA Sports        9/25/03

The dominance of Halo 2 pre-orders more than six months before the game's release is a pyrrhic victory for Microsoft. Xbox has no other titles in the top ten, and only one other title in the top 20 - its version of Tiger Woods at #12. This suggests that the lateness of some of its marquee platform-specific games may arrest the strong momentum Xbox has been gaining this year. Also notable is the popularity of Konami's DDR Dance Revolution, the sort of unique, non-core title that expands the gaming franchise into new audiences.

Top 20 Online Game Destinations (9/7/03 - 9/13/03)
Site                                 Market Share*
1. Yahoo Sports Fantasy Football     11.73%
2. Yahoo Games                       9.81%
3. Pogo                              8.91%
4. Yahoo Fantasy Sports              6.45%
5. Yahoo Sports Fantasy Baseball     3.65%
6. Neo Pets                          3.02%
7. ESPN Fantasy Games                2.61%
8. MSN Gaming Zone                   2.59%
9. Gamefaqs                          2.26%
10. CBS Sportsline Fantasy Sports    1.55%
11. GameSpot                         1.01%
12. Fanball.com                      0.89%
13. Pogo.com Solitaire               0.89%
14. Lycos Gamesville                 0.83%
15. Pogo.com Whomp                   0.79%
16. Gamewinners.com                  0.71%
17. Sportingnews.com Fantasy Sports  0.69%
18. Pogo.com Puppit                  0.68%
19. Uproar                           0.65%
20. Game House                       0.57%
* Indicates share of total category traffic visiting this destination.
Source: Hitwise

While neither EA Sports, Sony, nor Microsoft show up on this record of games-related traffic in the U.S. in mid-September, the numbers tell us why these three giants have their eyes focused on networked sports play. The massive popularity of fantasy league sports online cannot be understated. All of the major fantasy league hubs are represented here and their dominance of game traffic is awesome. In fact, according to Hitwise's tracking of overall traffic patterns for game sites, the entire category spiked noticeably every Sunday in the last month. Any console game publisher that can tap into that energy with the right revenue model could make EverQuest look like a quaint niche play. These numbers also show where the game companies should be marketing both sports and other titles, the portals, which continue to funnel into the Web the lion's share of casual gamers. To wit: EA's Pogo is reaping a massive benefit from its AOL deal, while Yahoo remains one of the major gateways for sports enthusiasts. Even portal also-ran Lycos is a significant aggregator of casual gamers. Gee, when we browse over to many of these sites, we rarely see any promotions from relevant game companies.