The popularity of the new BioShock 2 game may have been behind Microsoft’s sales of 422,000 Xbox 360s in February, an eight percent increase from a year earlier, according to NPD Group. Nintendo sold 397,900 Wiis and Sony sold 360,100 PlayStation 3 consoles in February.

The BioShock 2 game for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 was released on Feb. 10 and sold 750,000 units. Of those, 75 percent, or 562,900, were for the Xbox 360.

“We’re excited about the biggest February in Xbox 360 history,” said Dennis Durkin, COO of Microsoft’s interactive entertainment business, in an e-mail. “We know consumers are hungry for our 2010 portfolio of exclusive blockbuster games, industry-leading online experiences over Xbox LIVE, and for the holiday release of Project Natal for Xbox 360.”

A Sense of Excitement

While BioShock 2 has created a buzz among gamers, so have sensing controllers. Microsoft’s Project Natal system will let Xbox players use body motions to control the game instead of pressing buttons or waving a controller.

Microsoft wasted no time in getting celebrities to praise Project Natal’s potential. Boxer Sugar Ray Leonard called the technology “amazing”; former NFL quarterback Willie Gault said it was one of the “most realistic game experiences” he has had; and pro beach volleyball player Misty-May Treanor said it’s great for someone who, like her, is in physical therapy.

This week, Sony revealed additional information about its own new motion-control sensor. Dubbed the PlayStation Move, Sony first provided details last June. The controller allows PS3 gamers to use an Eye web camera and a wand to detect motion.

The controller will be packaged as a starter kit with a PlayStation Eye, a PlayStation Move controller, and a demonstration disc. The black controller is similar to the Wii wand, developed in 2006, and will be priced below $100, according to Sony.

Nintendo Falls Behind in U.S.

Microsoft executives may be beaming with their new position in the gaming market, but Nintendo still leads worldwide. Nintendo has sold more than 67.5 million Wii consoles worldwide, compared with more than 39 million Xbox 360s and 33 million PS3s, according to NPD.

But that success does not come without challenges. Last month the U.S. gaming industry saw a 15 percent drop in revenue to $1.26 billion, according to NPD. The drop was a result of a 15 percent decrease in sales of gaming software and a bad month for Nintendo.

December was a record-breaker for Nintendo with 3.81 billion units sold. When that was followed by a 31 percent decrease in sales in January, analysts speculated Nintendo didn’t have enough inventory to meet demand. That was confirmed by Nintendo America President Reggie Fils-Aimé.

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Zampella had served as CEO at Infinity Ward, and West as chief technology officer, among other titles.

Activision also said it plans to form a new business unit around the “Call of Duty” franchise, focusing on online content and expanding the brand.

The shake-up comes a day after Activision said it was looking into breaches of contract and insubordination by two senior employees at its Infinity Ward studio.

Activision did not name West and Zampella in Monday’s regulatory filing. But the filing said the company expected the “departure of key personnel” as a result.

Infinity Ward did not make every “Call of Duty” title. But it was behind the original game and the latest installment, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2,” which broke entertainment records last fall when it made $550 million in worldwide sales during its first five days. By January, it crossed the $1 billion mark.

Activision said Tuesday it plans to release a “Call of Duty” game developed by Treyarch this fall. That studio had been behind less successful games in the franchise.

The company also plans a new “Call of Duty” for 2011 from another studio.

Philip Earl, who currently runs Activision Publishing’s Asia Pacific region, will head the Call of Duty business unit.

Activision Publishing executives Steve Pearce, chief technology officer and Steve Ackrich, head of production, will lead Infinity Ward on an interim basis, the company added.

Shawn Milne, an analyst with Janney Capital Markets, said while having the top developers leave the company is “a new risk.”

“A greater risk would be whether or not the two heads end up taking more talent away from (Activision), or the whole team leaves,” he said in a note to investors.

Still, he said that given Activision’s compensation model — based on a franchise’s profitability — “we would believe there would be no shortage of top development talent looking to work on such a valuable brand.”

Shares of Santa Monica, Calif.-based Activision slid 2 cents to $10.79 in after-hours trading.

Original source: http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/03/02/3970703-infinity-ward-execs-leave-activision

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Here’s a breakdown by category:

Hardware: $353.7 million, down 21 percent

Software: $597.9 million, down 12 percent

Accessories: $217 million, up 2 percent

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“I think 2010 is going to be the determining year,” said one senior executive of an online gaming group who asked not be named.

“I do think there’s going to be a domino effect, meaning the first deal gets everybody else to run. You don’t want to be the last one left without a partner.”

If a merger of Party and bwin were to materialize, it could cajole the likes of 888, Sportingbet and Playtech into tie-ups.

Traditional betting firms like Ladbrokes, William Hill and Paddy Power may also look to make acquisitions to boost their online presence.

Numis analyst Wyn Ellis says M&A activity across the sector is “inevitable.”

“We believe that consolidation talks are widespread across the online gaming sector and that most companies could be considered to be both potential industry consolidators and takeover targets,” he said.

Party and bwin have held early stage talks about a combination which would pair Party’s strength in online gaming with bwin’s expertise in sports betting.

Analysts say the logic behind the deal is compelling.

“Such a deal would bring Party the critical mass in sportsbook that it lacks, while for bwin, Party’s casino and poker products would provide a significant boost to its presence in these markets,” said KBC Peel Hunt analyst Nick Batram.

Daniel Stewart analyst James Hollins described the combination as “pretty epic.”

“The combination would be very strategically strong. It’s a pretty neat fit. PartyGaming is a very good poker brand. To combine that liquidity with bwin’s network would be pretty impressive,” he said.

Bwin shares have risen by over 300 percent since the beginning of 2009, boosted by ongoing merger speculation, a more favorable regulatory environment and the wider rally in Austrian shares, giving it a market value of $2.2 billion.

That compares with PartyGaming’s $1.8 billion valuation, suggesting bwin would be the senior partner in a merger.

“The fact that bwin has edged ahead in terms of market cap may mean that the deal could happen earlier rather than later,” said Cheuvreux analyst Alfred Reisenberger.

Hopes of industry consolidation and optimism over growth prospects are reflected in the companies’ valuations.

Bwin is trading at around 24.5 times forecast 2009 earnings, compared with a price-earnings ratio for the Wiener Boerse Index of 21.7. PartyGaming is trading at 19.9 times forecast 2009 earnings, compared with a price-earnings ratio of 18.5 for the FTSE All Share Index.

Bwin’s previous attempt to enter the lucrative poker market was ill-fated.

It bought Swedish poker operator Ongame in 2006 for almost half a billion euros to get a foot in the door of the United States poker market but its plan was scuppered when the United States effectively outlawed online gambling later in 2006. Bwin wrote off the entire investment in the same year.

Analysts say a number of factors have combined to make sector consolidation more likely over the next twelve months.

Most significant has been PartyGaming’s agreement with U.S. authorities which will protect it from being prosecuted over its past activities there.

Deutsche Bank analyst Richard Carter said the settlement had given the online gaming sector “significantly more certainty and confidence and has enabled the capital markets to better understand the potential exposure of other online gaming companies that operated in the U.S.”

Other online gaming companies which previously had U.S.-facing activities such as 888 and Sportingbet are also in talks with U.S. authorities with a view to reaching settlements.

The threat of retrospective action being taken against companies created enough uncertainty to derail deals such as Ladbrokes’ proposed takeover of 888 which floundered in 2007.

The easing of those fears and greater clarity over the way the industry is regulated have led to banks being more comfortable with the sector and, therefore, more willing to provide credit for deals.

(Additional reporting by Boris Groendahl; Editing by David Cowell)

($1=.7122 Euro)

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Like most of us, I don’t have much time for Arts and Crafts, and really Arts and Crafts are so kindergarten. Personalize gifts always great and says, Mom I thought about you when I bought this gift. But really if I buy my Mom another personalized coffee mug I think she’d kill me. You can thank me for this later; I’ve been doing some research and I’ve compile a list of the 10 most wanted Christmas gifts for parents. This list was compiled from Amazon’s bestsellers.

Top 10 Christmas Gifts – Mom Edition

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