It’s a new year, which means another earnings season is underway!
Do you like numbers? And charts ? And corporate buzzwords like “tailwinds” or “compound growth?” Then you’ll dig the next few weeks as we’ll hear reports from major companies around the globe with updates on how each of them are doing.
(And if you don’t, you probably wouldn’t be here amirite?)
With a new earnings season comes my usual post, featuring essentially a calendar of events that no one visiting here wants to miss. Above is a snapshot, while below gives you access to a Google Doc for easy navigation to each investor site.
There’s been a lot of chatter lately about Nintendo $NTDOY and whether it can hit its lofty hardware target of 20 million Switch units sold during its fiscal year ending in March. I’m on the record as being optimistic it will hit this goal, especially after December’s NPD sales report showing it was the best-selling console in the States during 2018. However I’m actually more interested in its software figures after hearing how wellSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate is tracking in particular after its December release.
In my recent piece about Capcom’sResident Evil 2 Remake, I explained why I’m upbeat on the Japanese publisher’s latest title. Today the company revealed it’s shipped 3 million copies of this remake in its first week on sale, eclipsing the launch of Resident Evil 7 in 2017 which moved around 2.5 million. Between this resurgence and the ongoing support of Monster Hunter: World, I anticipate strong results when the firm reports on Monday, February 4th.
Major U.S. publisher Electronic Arts $EA has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately. Word of another Star Wars game being cancelled broke recently, its upcoming blockbuster game from BioWare called Anthem had a rocky demo this past weekend plus now the company has caved to pressures in Belgium to stop offering “loot box” transactions there for its FIFA franchise after local regulators deemed them gambling. The key here won’t be its actual results on February 5th, but instead its future guidance and overall tone when answering analyst questions. Especially with Anthem releasing next month.
What companies are you interested in hearing from this time around? Did I miss any that you want me to cover? Feel free to leave a message here or on Twitter, I’d be happy to chat. Thanks for stopping by.
-Dom
Sources: Company Investor Relations Websites/Press Releases, NPD Group, VentureBeat, Erica Griffin on YouTube, Kotaku, GamesIndustry.Biz, BioWare.
As the weather here in the States gets colder, the last earnings season of 2018 is heating up. Which can mean only one thing of course: It’s calendar time!
See image above for a snapshot of the public companies planning on releasing results during the next couple of months, and below you can access in Google Doc form complete with investor relations links for further details.
Among the biggest story lines during this busy pre-holiday season include:
Hearing from Sony Corp $SNE on how Marvel’s Spider-Man, its fastest-selling exclusive game of the year with over 3.3 million units moved at launch in September, has impacted its gaming division and overall profitability.
Perhaps a hint from Take-Two Interactive $TTWO on early sales for Red Dead Redemption 2, hands down its largest and most important release from its flagship studio Rockstar Games, makers of the Grand Theft Auto franchise.
Contributions to Apple Inc $AAPL results from its latest iPhone models, XS and XS Max, perhaps even an early indication of consumer demand for the iPhone XR, which went up for pre-order last week.
As you’ll see, there are some companies that haven’t revealed dates yet so please check back soon for updates on the remaining names. Thanks for stopping by!
-Dom
Sources: Company Investor Relations Websites/Press Releases, MarketWatch, NASDAQ.
Above and below are my usual handy quarterly calendars for which notable companies within the gaming, media and technology spaces are reporting fancy figures and newfangled numbers. Except for some stragglers that like to either not tell us until the last minute, or are a couple weeks out still.
This will be a quick one today, I’ll be spicing it up way more on Twitter as these figures come in over the upcoming weeks. Thank you very much for checking in this quarter, feel free to drop me a line here or there!
-Dom
Sources: Company Investor Relations Websites/Press Releases, MarketWatch, NASDAQ, Bloomberg, Google.
Hi all. It’s time again for some numbers. Well let’s be honest, for a whole lot of numbers!
Our quarterly celebration of numerical values, financial performance and corporate updates is upon us as the latest earnings season is now underway. We will see most gaming, media and technology-related companies report results in the next few weeks then a handful of stragglers later on down the line.
To help guide through this particular season, I’ve compiled the usual calendar with dates and investor links in case you want to track these sorts of events individually. I’ll update it above and below at the Google Docs link as the last few come in with official dates.
As for notable results to watch this quarter, here are three I’m watching:
Facebook Inc ($FB): Wednesday, April 25th
To say that Facebook and its wunderkind CEO Mark Zuckerberg have been in the spotlight lately is an understatement, with its latest data scandal and questions on the privacy of its user information. Financially, the company beat analyst estimates last quarter and I expect its results will be consistently strong again, so I’m more interested in how Zuckerberg and his fellow executives answer tough questions on its conference call with analysts rather than the underlying figures themselves.
Capcom Co Ltd ($9697): Tuesday, May 8th
The Japanese publisher has a huge hit on its hands in January’s Monster Hunter: World, which at last count has moved over 7.5 million units to become the best-selling individual release in the company’s storied history (not accounting for re-releases, re-makes etc). Since this is the first quarter where this massively successful title will contribute to sales, I’m very interested to hear about what kind of growth Capcom sees and also whether its financial outlook changes based on these stellar shipment numbers for its latest flagship title.
Ubisoft Entertainment SA ($UBI): Thursday, May 17th
This will be the first time French developer and publisher Ubisoft announces results since news that Vivendi has divested its stake in the company, putting to bed any rumors of a potential acquisition by the French media conglomerate. Separately, as I’ve said before and I’ll say again, Ubi has been doing exceptionally well in terms of both releasing new games and supporting its older titles. It released Far Cry 5 in late March, and at least one analyst estimates it sold 5 million units right after release to become the second largest launch in the firm’s history. Ubisoft also shared that Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6 Siege has eclipsed 30 million players since it came out nearly 3 years ago, one of many examples of how the firm is generating ongoing revenue to invest in upcoming projects. It’s a good time to be either a fan, or a stakeholder, or both!
Thanks all for visiting, and for checking back in if you bookmark this page for future updates!
The quarterly earnings season is upon us, during which time public companies bless fellow financial nerds and the investing public with a bevy of numbers, charts, tables plus all manner of corporate terminology to describe how business is faring. Sift through the technical jargon and biz-speak and I guarantee there’s interesting information to be gathered and crucial indicators that reveal a company’s health individually and within its broader industry.
As always, I’ve got you covered on a lineup of earnings dates for games, tech and media firms through the next few weeks. Bookmark this page and use the image above or the link below, as I’ll periodically update both once some of the stragglers start announcing firm dates.
Lastly, here are three big names I’m following closely this season. Thank you as always for reading!
Nintendo $NTDOY (Wed 1/31): Yes, I’ve listed Japan’s Nintendo as a company to watch every single quarter. But that’s because it continues to be the most innovative and noteworthy of all companies in its industry, whether hardware maker or software publisher. It boasts the hottest product in gaming and one of the must-have gadgets right now in the Switch, which has sold-through 10 million consoles to consumers in around nine months on sale. And it recently announced crazy, cardboard construction “kits” in a line of products dubbed Nintendo Labo which is so outlandish that it just might work enough to impact its future guidance. Expect Nintendo to have its best annual results since the tail end of the Wii’s popularity almost a decade ago.
Analysts: Nintendo is reporting both Q4 2017 and full-year results. Consensus is it will generate sales of ¥433 billion ($3.89 billion) for Q4, which would be up more than 150% year-on-year, though earnings-per-share will decline 30% to ¥373 ($3.36). On the year, analysts see revenue of ¥1.01 trillion ($9.09 billion) and ¥953 ($8.42) in earnings-per-share, which would be increases of 108% and 12% respectively. Needless to say, count me as among those who think Nintendo will beat these numbers.
Apple $AAPL (Thu 2/1): Though Apple normally doesn’t break out revenue or unit sales by each of its products within each product category (iPhone, iPad, etc), I’m hoping it can *hint* at a bit of granularity for iPhone sales in light of its high-end iPhone X release back in November plus recent reports of production adjustments for its high-end smart phone. Even so: When it seems like the market is completely and utterly saturated, Apple continues to have impressive sales and earnings beats, so I vow to never, ever underestimate it.
Analysts: For Apple’s first quarter 2018 fiscal, analysts forecast almost $86 billion in quarterly sales and around $3.80 in earnings per share. Up 10% and 13% over last year, respectively.
NVIDIA $NVDA (Thu 2/8): Next week, the world’s hottest graphics card manufacturer (and crytpo-currency mining catalyst) NVIDIA will reveal both its final quarter and full-year 2018 results. And I fully anticipate it will continue its streak of record results driven by both gaming and, yes, our beloved bitcoin. The company’s stock surged almost 87% last year, and is up another 28% in January alone, and yet I still think it has room to grow. I see almost limitless earnings potential in the current environment where demand is sky-high, as many have learned when checking prices on its products while trying to build a powerful new gaming computer. As long as it can keep up with production, which I believe it absolutely will in the short to medium term, NVIDIA will continue its extraordinary run.
Analysts: Estimates are for $2.66 billion in quarterly revenue, earning $1.30 or so a share. Both would boast double-digit growth rates since the same time last year. As for its annual sales, consensus is $9.5 billion in revenue (up almost 37%), with earnings growing even faster at a rate of 48% to $4.52. I have to check historically, but I believe this would be a record year for the company overall. Stay tuned for an update.
Updated: 1/30/2018
-Dom
Sources: Company Investor Relations Websites/Press Releases, MarketWatch, CNN, NASDAQ, Bloomberg.
It’s been.. let’s call it.. an “interesting” year. Despite my writing output obviously declining, and the current state of the geopolitical climate (which is something I don’t critique or comment on here), it’s actually been one of the best in recent memory in terms of video games and the technology surrounding the medium. 2017 has seen both Nintendo and Microsoft release a new console, innovation in the augmented/virtual reality and mobile spaces, a stellar year for video game stocks plus some of the best darn games of this entire generation if not ever. Gamers and techies have been treated to an awesome 12 months, admittedly if only within our immediate “bubble.”
In celebration of the past year, I’ll now round up my thoughts on some of its most important topics and products, similar to last year’s pieces. I’ll update this post throughout the next week, as I cover the following:
Dom’s Top 10 Video Games of the Year
Top 5 Influential Gaming, Tech & Media Companies of the Year
Top 3 Impactful Deals or Mergers of the Year
Best & Worst-Performing Gaming, Media & Tech Stocks
If you participate (or participated) any of the year-end celebrations, I’ll take this opportunity to wish you a happy, healthy holiday season and a very Happy New Year into 2018. But it’s not over just yet, so stay tuned!
As you can see, I’ve taken a bit of a break but I’m back for my latest earnings calendar post so we can all prepare to see how companies in the gaming, media and tech spaces are performing lately. Q4 performance tends to be an important indicator of how companies are faring against full-year estimates, since it’s usually the half-way mark for a fiscal year. And it’s especially telling if companies start to adjust guidance.
I’ve posted the calendar above with the most current dates available, and the link below takes you to the usual Google Docs location to use it as a reference:
Some of the noteworthy results incoming within the next month:
Amazon $AMZN (Thu 10/26): The world’s largest online retailer by market capitalization recently closed its acquisition of Whole Foods back in August, so we should see the early impact of the deal on its overall business plus future guidance. Plus Amazon’s tone and guidance are always a good barometer of consumer sentiment going into the holiday season, which is of course the most important time of year for the online retailer especially as most holiday shoppers still tend to favor brick-and-mortar stores (for some odd reason.. embrace the digital revolution, folks!).
Nintendo $NTDOY (Mon 10/30): The Big N’s Switch hybrid console has even more sales momentum than I initially thought. It’s been the best-selling console in the States for the past 3 months according to NPD Group, and has moved over 1.5 million units in its home country of Japan to date. The firm’s stock is up a whopping 91% return since Switch’s launch in early March. Friend of the blog and analyst Daniel Ahmad says its worldwide total is likely around 7 million units by now, which means it’s well on its way to the 11 million in its 1st year that I predicted back in April and will likely even surpass that total. We’ll hear exactly how many have shipped in a little over a week, and exactly how much it’s contributed to the firm’s bottom line.
Samsung Electronics (Tue 10/31) and Apple Inc $AAPL (Thu 11/2): You could argue that the financial results of two of the world’s largest smart device manufacturers are always important to gauge how the global economy is doing plus how people are spending their discretionary income, but this quarter will be especially interesting for both as Samsung released its Galaxy S8 in April and its larger Galaxy Note 8 in September and Apple will provide current figures on overall iPhone shipments plus more guidance on its iPhone 8 which came out about a month back.
Ubisoft Entertainment SA $UBI (Tue 11/7): France’s Ubisoft has been on a tear this year when it comes to its lineup of games: Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands, For Honor, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle and even 2015’s Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6 Siege have all spent time on the best-sellers list across a variety of regions. In fact, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands is actually the best-selling game of the year in the States as of late August, and For Honor holds the 4th spot on that coveted list. And Ubi isn’t done yet for the year, releasing South Park: The Fractured But Whole just this past week plus its triple-A holiday title Assassin’s Creed Origins later this month. The company also has been making efforts to remain independent from ownership of outside parties, namely Vivendi $VIV, by buying back shares and opening new studios so I anticipate its results will remain solid if not beat to the upside.
Thanks as always and I hope you stay tuned for commentary here and on Twitter during this earnings season!
-Dom
Sources: Company Investor Relations Websites/Press Releases, MarketWatch, NPD Group, Business Wire, Daniel Ahmad.
Welcome back friends! Time to get excited for numbers, and charts, and graphs. Lots of ’em.
This post is a little later than usual as the “quarterly earnings season” is already well underway, but there’s still plenty of companies within tech and gaming that have yet to announce how their business have been faring during the past few months.
Per usual, above you’ll see a full calendar of public companies and the dates on which earnings results are posted. Then below is a link to a Google Doc containing this same information for easy access to investor relations websites for your viewing pleasure.
Some companies on my radar this quarter are as follows:
Amazon $AMZN: The massive online retailer based in the States announced its whopping $13.7 billion acquisition of grocer Whole Foods $WFM in June, so it may provide some sort of update on the status of this deal when it reports this Thursday, July 27th. The deal itself is a key development in the retail space as it cross over between digital and brick-and-mortar sellers, however that’s part of the reason it’s under continued scrutiny from the U.S. government and no formal approval has been given thus far.
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. $TTWO: The owner of studios Rockstar and 2K Games has seen growth lately based on the ongoing success of Grand Theft Auto V, in particular its online component. However, GTAV released all the way back in 2013, plus Take-Two doesn’t have any triple-AAA game releases this year now that Rockstar’s widely-anticipated Western Red Dead Redemption 2 was delayed. In an interview recently with GamesIndustry Biz, CEO Strauss Zelnick acknowledged the thin release schedule and commented that ideally the company would release more big titles on a regular basis. I don’t think we’ll hear much in terms of RDR2 status other than it’s still in the development phase, but the company needs to reassure investors that its line-up can support big gaps between Rockstar’s heavy-hitting games.
Activision Blizzard $ATVI: Activision Blizzard reports on Thursday, August 3rd and is in arguably the best position this year of all the major worldwide video game publishers. Blizzard’s multiplayer hero shooter Overwatch continues its widespread appeal more than a year after release, surpassing 30 million registered players and transitioning to a viable eSports franchise with the announcement of the Overwatch League this month. The company’s Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, released in late June, is vastly exceeding expectations as it was the best-selling game in the world during its release month. Not to mention upcoming releases, where Activision boasts two games with huge upside that I believe will end up in the Top 5, if not Top 3, games by sales this year: (the Game of the Year contender and what might be the best game this generation if it was up to me, hah) Destiny 2, out September 6th, and Call of Duty: WWII, releasing on November 3rd. Oh, and it also now has fully integrated King Digital into its structure so it has significant mobile exposure too.
Vivendi SA $VIV: Lastly, as I’ve noted in the past, whenever French media firm Vivendi reports, there’s the potential it could formally announce a bid to purchase Ubisoft Entertainment SA $UBI, which has already reported stellar results itself for its last fiscal year. As of Vivendi’s latest annual report, it now owns 26.8% of Ubisoft’s outstanding shares, meaning that my prediction the acquisition will not happen anytime soon less and less likely by the quarter.
Thanks as always for checking out the calendar and my thoughts on some of the companies on the list. Any announcements you’re looking forward to in particular? Will the publisher of your most-anticipated game this year
-Dom
Sources: Company Investor Relations Websites/Press Releases, MarketWatch, GamesIndustry Biz, Business Wire.
The annual Electronic Entertainment Expo is fast-approaching, with the pre-E3 festivities and conferences kicking off this weekend and the show officially running from June 13th to 15th. Organized by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and set in its usual location of Los Angeles, CA, E3 is basically a cherished holiday for gamers, tech fans, enthusiast media and industry folks alike.
Now that we’ve “set the stage,” if you will, here’s a list of many companies that we know will be there, what we know about them and what they should show in a perfect world. Some are hosting press conferences. Others will be taking part in various streams or interviews with media members. Then even more will be packing the show-floor to demo or host exhibits featuring new games. No jokes, this is the most exciting time of year for video games and we should expect a ton of new announcements, trailers, gameplay videos and, as always, surprises.
Saturday, June 10th
Electronic Arts $EA: EA Play, 3pm ET
Saturday marks the unofficial start of the festivities, as Electronic Arts hosts its second annual EA Play conference in Hollywood, CA. Starting in the afternoon and running through Tuesday, June 12th, this is mainly a fan event which is a theme of late for many companies.
What We Know: In advance, EA has posted a list of games to expect at its event. These of course include its Star Wars and sports titles: Star Wars Battlefront II, FIFA 18, Madden NFL 18, NBA Live 18, EA SPORTS FIFA on Switch in addition to other titles including another entry in its racing series, Need for Speed Payback, then others like The Sims 4 and some mobile offerings. Note that extra content for its hit shooter Battlefield 1 will also be shown.
What It Should Show: Of course both fans and investors would love to hear more about its OTHER Star Wars projects, of which there are two more in development that were revealed at last year’s show. Visceral Games and EA Motive are working on an action adventure game, which has some serious development muscle behind it with industry vets Amy Hennig and Jade Raymond running the studios respectively. Then, Titanfall developer Respawn Entertainment’s project is a mysterious 3rd person action game set in a completely different timeline than the company’s other titles.
But to be honest, EA’s lineup is super “safe” right now, so I think it should also show off some of its other more interesting future games. Mass Effect Andromeda developer BioWare teased a brand new game recently and I think this is the time to reveal more after the mixed reaction to the latest Mass Effect installment. Then there’s the EA Originals line of smaller titles, which includes studio Hazelight’s unannounced project, Fe by Zoink Games then Sea of Solitude by Berlin’s Jo-Mei Games. I even fully expect another EA Original title to be announced, maybe even Unravel 2?
Lastly, might be a long shot based on my last note about BioWare, but I think EA should go even further and give us a glimpse of the studio’s next Dragon Age game. The publisher needs a fantasy RPG to round out its lineup, otherwise it honestly may be the most predictable (some would say “boring”) of all the companies this year.
Sunday, June 11th
Microsoft $MSFT: Live E3 Briefing, 5pm ET
What We Know: Isn’t it obvious? In its most important E3 to date, Microsoft will finally reveal Project Scorpio. The upgraded, “most powerful console ever” iteration of the Xbox One was announced at last year’s show and ever since it’s been shrouded in secrecy except for an overview of its specs from Digital Foundry. Microsoft has to show us what it looks like, tell us when it’s coming out, share its price and, most importantly, tell us about some of its freakin’ games! A shiny new piece of hardware is well and good, but without software there’s no way the company can close the gap with Sony’s PlayStation 4 shipments (now standing at 60 million units).
What It Should Show: In a conference that will run longer than its usual hour and a half according to head of Xbox Phil Spencer, Microsoft absolutely NEEDS to show us the games that it’s been so quiet about recently. We know a new mainline Forza racing game is in development of course, but it’s time we hear more about titles like Crackdown 3 (which I fully expect to launch alongside Scorpio), Sea of Thieves, State of Decay 2, Cuphead and Below. And we need to hear about its new 3rd party partnerships, because right now it’s basically just Middle-Earth Shadow of War published by Warner Bros that we know is coming to Scorpio.
The Xbox team is pushing to cultivate developer relationships with Project Scorpio, and they need to prove it by showing us some surprises or at least confirming some rumors. There will be “something” Halo related during its show, though not likely to be Halo 6, but also what about the sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest rumored to be called Ori and the Will of the Wisps? What about utilizing the Fable license again? Maybe Shadow of the Tomb Raider if the relationship with Square Enix is still going? How about a surprise or two or even more, maybe an RPG to round out its portfolio or a story-based single-player experience to rival a huge Sony hit like The Last of Us? Project Scorpio will only be as good as the games it can offer, and it’s not enough to lean solely on major 3rd party titles because is competitor already has a much larger install base of people playing those exact games.
Last quick note is that Microsoft said it will not show anything Virtual Reality-related, unfortunately. So those rumors about a collaboration with Oculus Rift are on hold for now.
Bethesda Softworks: #B3 Showcase, 12 am ET (Monday)
What We Know: Private publisher Bethesda has been providing the industry with some gems lately, think new entries in DOOM, Wolfenstein and Dishonored series plus recent release Prey, and I expect its hot streak to continue at this year’s conference. In the above image, it showed off its plan for E3 called “Bethesdaland,” which reveals a lot about what will be at its showcase and on the show floor. Expect to see Elder Scrolls Online/Elder Scrolls Legends, Quake Champions, Fallout 4 VR, then new content for games that are already out: Dishonored 2, Prey plus DOOM 2016 (perhaps a VR mode for that one?).
What It Should Show: You’ll notice that Bethesdaland has a couple of areas under construction. In these spots and at its event/show floor exhibit, I think it should absolutely (finally) reveal Wolfenstein The New Colossus. Gamers have been waiting a year since the title was initially teased. So assuming that’s the first area, what about the other one? Realistically, it’s probably something like Evil Within 2. Or maybe related to Skyrim for Nintendo Switch, which was shown off in the initial trailer for the hybrid console?
Super long-shot for this conference is the big rumor circulating: a sci-fi, open world project rumored to be called Starfield. It sounds like the type of thing that would fit nicely in the company’s portfolio. We also know that Bethesda Game Studio is working on a couple projects, but I assume those are not far enough along in development to show here.
Devolver Digital: Press Conference & All-Night Event, 1 am ET (Monday)
What We Know: Well, we know that independent game and film publisher Devolver Digital is having an event overnight. But nothing “official” has been announced in terms of exactly which games will be, except that there won’t be any brand new reveals. Though Japanese developer Suda 51 will be!
What It Should Should: Some titles that it should likely show are The Swords of Ditto, Crossing Souls, Minit, Ape Out, Eitr and Serious Sam’s Bogus Detour. Admittedly, I don’t know much about these except for Crossing Souls, made by Spanish developer Fourattic.
Monday, June 12th
Ubisoft $UBI: Press Conference, 4 pm ET
What We Know: French gaming firm Ubisoft is known for its unique and energized stage shows, though this year it might be toned down a bit with internal developers hosting rather than comedian Aisha Tyler. Still, in the above video, Ubi and its CEO Yves Guillemot have confirmed we will see South Park: The Fractured But Whole and Far Cry 5 in particular. Technically, that’s all we “know” for sure but in reality..
What It Should Show: .. We probably already know most of its show. I’m fairly confident that based on recent leaks, we can guess the “Conference Exclusives” and “New IP Saved for Conference” referenced in the video. One of them has to be Assassin’s Creed Origins, all but confirmed to be the official title of a new game in the series set in Ancient Egypt. Another should be social racing game The Crew 2. And that new IP? I’d wager it’s the Nintendo crossover called Mario x Rabbids Kingdom Battle. There’s also a good chance it features next year’s Just Dance title, or some new content for this year’s version.
If it’s not those titles, then what if Ubi goes ahead and treats us to the new triple AAA online multiplayer game it mentioned in its last earnings call? Or the space simulation game, code-name Pioneer, with a trailer in Watch Dogs 2? Or a brand new smaller or indie type of game from UbiArt engine? Or even a Splinter Cell title (however unlikely)? Ultimate long-shot is that it announces some sort of brand new project exclusive to Nintendo Switch, but that’s probably not feasible at this point in the hardware’s life cycle.
Sony $SNE: PlayStation Live from E3, 9pm ET
What We Know: Closing out the last day before E3 technically begins is current console market leader Sony with its PlayStation Live event. And we know it’s had some heavy-hitting conferences lately, despite some of the games featured being early in development or delayed when all is said and done. Be that as it may, Sony shows a ton of games at its show from both internal studios and external partners, so we know games like God of War, Uncharted The Lost Legacy, Spider-Man, Days Gone and Grand Turismo Sport will be shown off. Not to mention those 3rd party games where Sony has established marketing deals, including (my most-anticipated game of all time) Destiny 2, Call of Duty WWII, Far Cry 5, Star Wars Battlefront II and fighting game Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite.
What It Should Show: Knowing that Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding project will not be making an appearance, that leaves Sony’s biggest game remaining that I believe it should absolutely show as The Last of Us 2. I know it’s early in development. I know creator Naughty Dog’s leadership team has said it takes a lot of effort to create teasers. I know that the studio is showing off its upcoming Uncharted game already. But wouldn’t a Sony show feel empty now that everyone knows TLoU2 is a real thing instead of a pipe dream? It would at least to me.
Otherwise, Sony should really show off what studio Sucker Punch has been working on all these years after PS4 launch title Infamous Second Son. Then round out its show or exhibits with Knack 2 (yes, really), Detroit: Become Human, Housemarq’s in-development title Matterfall, Media Molecule’s Dreams (if it still exists) and Michel Ancel’s WiLD (if it also still exists). Sony also said recently that it has some news surrounding unannounced Japanese games, which have done well for the platform lately. Separately, if Sony is serious about PlayStation VR, it should really show people why they should pony up hundreds of dollars to buy one. The device has been “virtually” non-existent at its last couple of press events. (Apologies, it was too tempting.)
Lastly, is it finally time for From Software to reveal Bloodborne 2? Might be wishful thinking, but crazier things have happened at E3.
Tuesday, June 13th
Nintendo $NTDOY: Nintendo Spotlight E3 2017, 12pm ET
Nintendo Treehouse Live, Tuesday, June 13th, 12:30 pm ET & Wednesday, June 14th, 1pm ET
What We Know: On the morning of the first official day of E3, Nintendo will have a half-hour long recorded “Spotlight” event. During this show, we know for sure that (my second-most anticipated game of all time) Super Mario Odyssey will be heavily featured. It’s a given that Nintendo’s event and show-floor exhibit will be centered around its most iconic character returning in a 3D platforming game later this year. It even appears Nintendo is creating a real-life version of the location New Donk City featured in the original Odysseytrailer. We also know that the company will be delving deeper into Switch games releasing this year, which are ARMS, Splatoon 2 and Pokken Tournament. In fact, Nintendo is hosting tournaments for all three of three games at E3.
What It Should Show: Stuff for Switch, then some more, then even MORE. This is prime time for its hot new console. The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild DLC. Fire Emblem Warriors. Super Smash Bros (if a version is coming to Switch). Xenoblade 2. The aforementioned Mario x Rabbids Kingdom Battle. Capcom’s Monster Hunter XX, releasing in Japan during August. Platinum Games’ unannounced title. Skyrim for Switch. FIFA for Switch. Anything for Switch that is new and fresh and keeps its sales momentum going strong. Maybe even news on its online service, voice chat phone app, classic games lineup or, gasp, Virtual Console.
Oh, there will be a 3DS and maybe even a mobile presence as well, but the focus HAS to be on Switch’s software and services.
The Show Floor!
Los Angeles Convention Center, Tuesday, June 13th to Thursday, June 15th
Finally, after all that, the show itself will take place across three long but fun days! See the map above for exact locations of big company booths, or the floor plan link here from the ESA which gives every location throughout the convention center.
Here’s a quick, general run-down of companies that will have some sort of presence:
Activision Blizzard $ATVI
What We Know:Destiny 2, Call of Duty WWII multiplayer reveal, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy.
What It Should Show: Future Overwatch or Hearthstone plans. Maybe Call of Duty mobile. Next Skylanders. But really, exactly what it’s showing will be sweet!
Bandai Namco
What We Know:Code Vein, its vampire RPG Souls-like, which looks very cool.
What It Should Show: Is there any future for the Dark Souls series in light of a new game like Code Vein? Is it making any Switch games? Or just bringing classic games to the platform? Also, more information on Ni No Kuni II.
Capcom
What We Know: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite.
What It Should Show:Street Fighter “surprises.” Monster Hunter XX for Nintendo Switch should be there, would be nice to even get a release date for the Western version.
Sega/Atlus
What We Know: We actually know everything that Sega and Atlus will have on the show floor this year. Total War: Warhammer 2, Total War: Arena, Sonic Mania, Sonic Forces, Yakuza 6, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. Then some Nintendo 3DS titles: Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth, Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology and Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux.
What It Should Show: Whatever it shows of Sonic Mania, it should show more, because it could be the best Sonic game in years.
Square Enix
What We Know: Per its blog, Square will have “developer interviews, announcements, gameplay sessions” and more. These include content for games including Final Fantasy (both new and old), Agents of Mayhem, F1 2017, Kingdom Come Deliverance, Lost Sphear, Flame vs Blaze, Dissidia Final Fantasy NT and even a concert featuring NieR.
What It Should Show:Shadow of the Tomb Raider? The next installment of Life is Strange.
Take-Two Interactive $TTWO
What We Know: Take-Two has already said it’s not showing any brand new games, so basically its existing franchises will be there: NBA2K 18 (probably even its Nintendo Switch version), WWE 2K18. Definitely some Mafia III extra content. GTA Online in some fashion.
What It Should Show: Red Dead Redemption 2. Borderlands 3. But these won’t. Don’t even get your hopes up.
THQ Nordic
What We Know: That the renamed studio will be on the show floor showing its games, both present and future. Presumably..
What It Should Show: Darksiders 3, Battle Chasers: Nightwar. Aquanox Deep Descent, Victor Vran.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
What We Know: Five games will be on display from its studios. These are Middle-Earth Shadow of War,Injustice 2, LEGO Dimensions, LEGO Worlds, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2.
What It Should Show: I mean, the obvious answer is what the next Batman game looks like especially now that Rocksteady is no longer the development studio. But that doesn’t seem likely given WB has already told us what it’s showing.
Miscellaneous
E3 Coliseum: Tuesday, June 13th to Wednesday, June 14th
What We Know:E3 Coliseum is a really cool event at LA Live organized by The Game Awards’ Geoff Keighley, featuring interviews, demos and panels. Games featured include God of War, Destiny 2, Assassin’s Creed, Dissidia Final Fantasy NT, Spider-Man, Sea of Thieves, Mortal Kombat, Far Cry 5 and Call of Duty WWII but more interestingly, the people that make them. I’m looking forward to a number of these, namely the conversation with Bungie, creators of Destiny, plus of course legendary Japanese developer Hideo Kojima himself will be making an appearance (of course!).
There you have it. Thanks if you made it this far, or are using this as a reference to see when each company is having its event. And to those attending the show, have fun and know I’m quite jealous. Am I missing anything that you think should be shown by one of these companies? What are you most anticipating at this year’s show? It’s an exciting time, I’ll have more comments on Twitter and some sort of post mortem once the dust settles as well.
Sources: ESA, Company Websites/YouTube, NeoGAF, Geoff Keighley, Gamasutra
It’s “earnings season” again, and you know what that means! Time to get geared up with an updated calendar covering the usual gaming, media and tech companies. This particular part of the year is especially interesting and important, as many companies end their fiscal years in March and will be reporting both quarterly and annual figures.
As always, the image above shows you a number of relevant dates for this earnings season. Feel free to save or share, or if you’d like to view this in Google Doc form where it’s easier to access the links, check it out below.
As I mentioned, this time of year is always super important since full-year figures are provided, and then forecasts are given by companies on their upcoming fiscal years. Aka even more data than usual!
Within gaming, the “Big Three” console hardware manufacturers will all be presenting annual earnings within the next week: Microsoft $MSFT and Nintendo $NTDOY on April 27th then Sony $SNE on April 28th.
Out of these, I’m certainly most interested in hearing from Nintendo. Of course. It’s the first earnings release after the Nintendo Switch hybrid console launched in early March, and we will now know how many units were actually shipped/sold and also its early contribution to profit. Indications are that the Switch is doing quite well. Originally, the company said it would ship 2 million Switches in its initial roll-out, and according to NPD Group, 906K of those were sold in the United States during March. For some context, that’s more than the legendary Wii console sold during its launch month, and that console went on to sell over 100 million units. I’m not saying that the Switch will sell close to that in the long-run, but early on it’s certainly showing strong demand.
There have even been quotes as high as 2.4 million Switches being sold worldwide, per SuperData Research, so we’ll know for sure come next week how many fit into the time frame leading up to the end of March and more importantly, how these hardware sales and software like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are contributing to its bottom line.
As for other notable companies on the list, both Alphabet (Google) $GOOG and Samsung Electronics numbers come in next week, then the largest company on the planet, Apple $AAPL, will present on May 2nd. All will be quarterly reports.
Both Samsung and Apple will be sharing ongoing sales stats of their flagship smartphones of course, including the iPhone 7 which launched in September, and it will be worth watching Samsung especially to see how much financial impact from the Note 7 debacle. I expect it was much worse from a PR standpoint than it was on its profits, personally, since the Note series doesn’t contribute as much as other products. Note that Samsung launched its Galaxy S8 smartphone line today, so sales there will be reflected next quarter.
Rounding out reports during May will be a couple of European companies, in particular Vivendi $VIV and Ubisoft Entertainment $UBI. I mentioned these two side-by-side as we haven’t heard much about the former’s ownership stake in the latter for a number of months now. At last measure, Vivendi owned 25.15% of Ubisoft, which signaled to some analysts that a hostile takeover was upcoming. Personally, I don’t know if that’s a battle Vivendi wants to fight right now, especially as Ubisoft strengthens with two of the best-selling games this year in Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands and For Honor. I don’t expect a takeover to happen just yet.
Note that there are still some companies that haven’t announced dates yet, including Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent Holdings, Japanese game makers Sega Sammy and Square Enix plus noted domestic publisher Take-Two Interactive $TTWO, so I will update accordingly when we hear from them.
Any companies on the list that you’re keeping an eye on? Did I miss any? Are you as excited as I am (you should be!)? Let me know, and thanks for checking in!
Sources: Each of the companies listed, Google Finance, NPD Group, SuperData Research
Disclaimer: I have owned Intel Corp $INTC stock in the past. As always, this is not a recommendation to invest in any companies but used for informative and analytical purposes.
