Moving Pieces

Electronic Gaming Business, Jan 14, 2004

In a surprising move, console industry heavyweight and gaming veteran Ed Fries, the head of Microsoft's Xbox division, resigned this week. Fries not only helped launch the Xbox for MS but he also ran their first games division back in the day - 1995. Fries told CNN/Money that he had decided not to sign up for the next tour of duty at MS, which would have included the next Xbox, and MS tried to get him to stay by redefining his job. And then, curiously, Fries added that he would stay in the industry. "I'm looking for a situation where I have a lot of freedom around the development of our products and the way those products come to market. I've had some of that to date, but not as much as I would like."

Namco appoints former Vivendi Universal Games executive Rod Nakamoto as EVP of R&D. He will oversee all game development and acquisitions. Namco is hoping to maintain the momentum after an unprecedented company success with Soul Caliber II last year.

Top 10 GameFly Rentals of 2003
1   Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox)
2   Simpsons Hit and Run (Xbox)
3   Crimson Skies (Xbox)
4   True Crime (Xbox)
5   Soul Caliber II (Xbox)
6   Jak II (PS2)
7   Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (PS2)
8   Freedom Fighters (Xbox)
9   Prince of Persia (Xbox)
10  Rainbow Six 3 (Xbox)

The online rental service gives us one of the most curious lists we have seen, because it seems to suggest that the small but emerging online rental sector disproportionately favors the Xbox. Only two PS2 titles even make the top ten. Some of this may reflect the conventional wisdom that Xbox demos skew older and more techie, and so the audience is more likely to try an online rental service like this.

U.K. Sales Chart (Week Ending Jan. 10)
This Week  Last Week  Title\Publisher
1          1          Need for Speed Undereground\EA
2          7          GTA: Double Pack\RockStar
3          2          Simpsons: Hit & Run\VUGames
4          5          LOTR: Return of the King\EA
5          9          Norton Internet Security 2004\Symantec
6          4          FIFA 2004\EA
7          6          Sims: Bustin' Out\EA
8          3          Medal of Honor: Rising Sun\EA
9          12         Tiger Woods PGA 2004\EA
10         10         Tony Hawk Underground\Activision

This Week  Last Week  Platform % Share
1          1          P2-80;XB-13;PC-4;GC-3
2          7          XB-78;P2-22
3          2          P2-73;XB-13;GC-12;PC-2
4          5          P2-64;XB-13;GBA-12;GC-6
5          9          PC-100
6          4          P2-63;XB-13;GBA-7; P1-7
7          6          P2-64;GBA-18;XB-13;GC-5
8          3          P2-81;XB-14;GC-5
9          12         P2-68;XB-17;PC-10;GBA-3
10         10         P2-73;XB-17;GC-8;GBA-3

Source ELSPA

While Electronic Arts continues to dominate the U.K. charts, its mediocre MOH: Rising Sun finally loses its shine even for the WWII-obsessed Brits, falling five places. Need for Speed: Underground continues to be the holiday star. Overall sales were down 50% across platforms in this post-Christmas week. Lower down the list, UbiSoft's Prince of Persia, which has performed below expectations (well, our expectations, at least), seems to be maintaining a slow, steady sales pace rather than a blockbuster sales pattern.

Source: GameFly

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