Sony And Panasonic Exploring 3D HDTV Sales

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Sony and Panasonic are showing off 3D HDTV and exploring purchase interest for the sets, reports NY Times.  Neither company has announced a price for the TVs.

Panasonic demonstrated a prototype 50-inch plasma set at Tokyo electronics show Ceatec, drawing gasps from crowds during 3D scenes from Disney’s Toy Story.   The company anticipates being able to price 3D sets to match current HDTV prices, and it claims that it s out to grow 3D HDTVs into half of of its total TV sales.  Sony is considering deploying the tech into Bravia TVs, Vaio notebooks, and even the PS3.

Research firm In-Stat has data showing that 64 percent of people are interested in 3D home viewing if the sets are the same price as standard HDTVs.  NY Times wonders whether the need for glasses estimated at $50 a pair might hinder buyers even if the sets are priced comparably.

Read more at NY Times.

Questioning The Premium Price Point For Console Games

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David Thomas raises the ultimate question in an article for Crispy Gamer.  Who set the current price of games at $60   Thomas interviews EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich and Entertainment Consumer Association president Hal Halpin for insight.

Whether it s to cover growing development costs, reflect the high quality of current games, return more money on publisher investment, or all of the above, the math doesn’t add up for Thomas.  Not when for the same price inherent product value such as game play hours and production value varies greatly from game to game.

Read more at Crispy Gamer.

Ping Pachter Through Industry Gamers

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As part of his regular column for Industry Gamers, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter is fielding reader questions.  If you have a burning question that can’t wait until the next time you can corner him at a conference, take a shot through “Pachter’s Podium. ”

Submit your question at Industry Gamers {link no longer active}.

‘Halo3: ODST’ Sells 2.5 Million Units, Says USA Today

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Reporting for USA Today, Mike Snider says Halo3: ODST is estimated to have sold 2.5 million units and generated $125 million in its first two weeks of sales.  He calls the Halo IP one shaping up to rival Star Wars, giving a rundown of the property s licensing and merchandising efforts including Halo Legends anime coming out next year on video.

Frank O’Connor of 343 Industries, Microsoft’s Halo division, tells Snider that there is a six-year plan in place for the franchise.  He also says the Halo film is still on hold and waiting for the right partner.

Read more at USA Today {link no longer active}.

PSP Mini Games Priced At A Premium

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Designed to bring iPhone style games and popular game apps to PSP, PSP mini games are proving to be much more expensive than their smart phone counterparts.  Reported by Joystiq, downloadable casual games for PSP are priced at two to three times what the same titles cost on iPhone.  A Sony representative explains that pricing is entirely up to publishers.

Read more at Joystiq.

Online Ad Spends Bottoming Out

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A study conducted by eMarketer along with research data from a separate report released by Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers show considerable decline in online ad spends.  Reported by Adweek, IAB and PwC found that online ad revenue slid by 5.3 percent year over year in the first half of 2009.  One bright spot was a surprisingly low one percent decline in display ads.  There is general optimism that the slide will decelerate in the second half of the year as more ad budget is diverted to low-cost display and direct response tactics.

Read more at Adweek {link no longer active}.

Cat-Walking On The Wii Balance Board

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Project Runway creator Weinstein Co. has partnered with Atari to develop video games based on the hit fashion industry reality show, reports Variety.  The move comes as Atari had been considering developing a fashion-based game and was looking to partner with an established brand.

The first Project Runway title is slated for Wii and will have game play centered on designing fashion for competition and modeling creations.  The modeling aspect is expected to make use of the Wii balance board.  Fashion mavens Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn are reported to be involved in the project.

Read more at Variety.

XBL Gets ‘GTA IV’

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Microsoft has revealed the list of games coming this month to the Games on Demand service for Xbox Live, reports Industry Gamers.  Grand Theft Auto IV tops the list of updates for next week.  Tuesday updates for the remainder of the month will continue to add top-selling games such as Army of Two and DiRT.

Check out the full list at Industry Gamers {link no longer active}.

Googling And Binging For Tweets

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Twitter has approached Google and Microsoft to discuss licensing partnerships that would incorporate Tweets into the companies search engines, reports Reuters.  Word of the deal making first appeared in Wall Street Journal’s AllThingsDigital blog.  The blog has said one structure for a deal could include upfront payments in the millions of dollars to Twitter along with ongoing ad revenue sharing.

Twitter wants to include its data feed in Google and Bing so that queries would also search and retrieve relevant Tweets.  Reuters cites growing sentiment among internet users that Tweets are among the most up-to-date information on the web.  Read more from Reuters.

They Can Work It Out, Says Analyst Of Rock Band And Guitar Hero

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EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich says that better than expected performance by both MTV’s Beatles Rock Band and Activision’s Guitar Hero 5 will give a needed boost to declining music and rhythm game sales.  Speaking to Industry Gamers, Divnich predicts MTV’s game sold 1 million units in September, edging out the 800,000 units he expects for sales of Activision’s title.  He thinks the extreme rivalry between the two is an unfair scenario, with each a success in its own right.

Read more at Industry Gamers {link no longer active}.