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Geoff Ramsey, the co-founder and CEO of eMarketer, recently shared 0.001% of the information that his team of researchers and analysts knows about Internet market trends during his morning keynote at Electronic Retailer’s LiveEdit Lab.

Why can I be so precise?

He presented 60 slides out of the 54,000 charts available to eMarketer’s subscribers. You do the math.

Now, I’m not going to try recapping all 60 of his slides here.

Instead, I’m going to highlight three key market trends that Ramsey touched on. Plus, I’ll pass along his analysis of how each of these new trends is profoundly affecting the business landscape.

Slide #15

The first market trend that is worth highlighting is the percentage of Internet users who are watching video online monthly.

According to eMarketer, it’s 73% – or 137 million Americans. And by the end of the year, eMarketer estimates that 154 million, or 80% of Internet users, will be watching online video.

About a year ago, I reported on a survey conducted by PR News and Medialink which found that “PR pros aren’t using online video as often as they're watching it.”

Well, they better start using it now. Online video isn’t an emerging market trend. It’s already emerged – big time!

Slide #18

Ramsey said, “Online video is a great way to engage with your customers.” And he recommended:
• Placing video footage of your products on your Web site (e.g., create a video demo!);
• Placing video ads on other content video sites, e.g., on YouTube and product category-related sites; and
• Creating your own Webisodes – content so entertaining that people will come to watch it (and share it with others).

Slide #24

The second market trend that deserves serious attention is the percentage of large companies that already have a blog. According to JupiterResearch, it’s 34%.

Last August, at Search Engine Strategies San Jose, I caused a stir in the blogosphere when I said, “Getting excited that you’ve got a blog is like getting excited that “the new phone book’s here!’”

Now, less than a year later, it appears that if your company doesn’t have a blog already, it’s going to feel even more like Steve Martin in “The Jerk.”

Slide #28

Ramsey said, “Advertisers should explore creative ways to leverage the power of blogs.” And he advised:
• Monitoring the blogosphere not only with professional services, but also on your own;
• Working with existing relevant bloggers, in ways that will encourage them to link to your site;
• Placing advertising on popular blogs; and
• Creating your own blogs -- to create a community of interest around your product.

Slide #44

While the third market trend didn’t surprise me, it may come as a shock to some others in the industry.

A survey by AdMedia Partners found that 69% of senior media execs think social media is “over-hyped.” (I should disclose that AdMedia Partners is a client.)

And Hitwise has validated this skepticism by reporting that only 4% of US online retail traffic is driven by social sites, which is significantly less than the 29% of online retail traffic that is driven by search engines.

Slide #48

So, what’s a marketer to do? Ramsey outlined four strategies for gaining consumer insights into social networking:
• Looking, listening, lounging and learning;
• Advertising on the big social networking portals, e.g., MySpace and Bebo;
• Getting vertical with your social advertising on smaller, niche sites like Flip.com; and
• Building your own social network, e.g., Procter & Gamble’s Capessa community site.

Now, six slides out of 60 are only 10% of Ransey’s presentation. And that’s just 0.0001% of the information that eMarketer knows about Internet market trends.

So, you may want to dig deeper. Nobody wants to be the last one on the block to spot key market trends. via searchenginewatch.

I recently read an interview IGN had with Cevat Yerli, CEO of Crytek, the creators of Crysis (Link). Interestingly enough within a few minutes into the interview, the topic of piracy appeared. The stats given by Cevat Yerli was for every 1 PC Game sold, 15-20 copies of the same game is pirated. This is an ugly statistic. To put it in a bit more perspective, if there was absolutely no piracy, how much money would the PC Gaming market have been worth in 2007?

According to NPD, the Retail PC Gaming market in 2007 for the US was worth approximately $910.7 Million, a little under a billion (Link). If we assume Cevat Yerli is correct about the 1:15 ratio of sales:priated games, then approximately $13.66 BILLION ($910.7 Million * 15) worth of PC games were pirated in the US alone. That is a pretty remarkable figure. Of course, this is the way the RIAA and MPAA performs their music and movie pirating analysis and eveyone knows HOW ACCURATE are even remotely accurate those reports are.

In actuality, this number is very inflated and I would be very surprised if the $13.66 BILLION can actually be translated to even $1 Billion worth of sales. Here are a number of reasons why.

1. The price of a pirated game is $0-5, while the price of a new PC Game on retail shelves is $50, and an older catalog PC Game usually runs on average $20. The $13.66 Billion figure relating to piracy loss was calculated with the assumption all users who pirated the game would have purchased the game if a pirated copy was not available. I would disagree, the basic law of supply and demand does not support this assumption. As price goes up for a good, demand falls. Therefore, if there was no “pirated” aka free copy available, then most “Pirates” would not have purchased the game.

2. Another key assumption is all PC games that have been pirates are new games or games freely avaliable on the retail market. I would disagree, most older PC Games are just not sold anymore within standard retail channels. If the game was not incredibly popular, only online locations such as ebay or craigslist would have a copy. Yes, purchasing from ebay and craigslists are options, but even then its minimal and filled with obstacles. Can the good be trusted? Would I received the product in working order? Has the CD-Key been shared with the world, thereby preventing me from enjoying the game? These are common questions users ask. Most of the time, the pirated version is the easiest one to obtain and to test without having to worry about putting money at risk. If an older game is pirated because a legitimate copy is difficult to locate, can these copies be considered as pirated games? I would say no, since the company does not make the product avaliable anymore, it cannot be counted as a another +1 for PC Piracy.

3. When a PC Game is installed, some general information about the computer it is installed is communicated back to the “Mothership” aka home server. Everytime a the Game is run, it communicates with the Mothership for verification. If verification fails, the game fails to load. In the event a game is resold, traded or given away as a gift and installed on a new machine, the information communicated back to the Mothership changes. In some cases, the game can still be played. In other cases, protection kicks in and disables the copy. Even though the method of obtaining the game was completely legitimated, the game was prevented from being loading because the specifications of the machine did not match the specifications on file. These instances can attribute to any scenario where a change in hardware occured, such as the game installed on a new machine or the machine received an upgrade (i.e. new graphics card).

I am fairly certain the majority of such issues are resolved quickly and most customers are able to freely play their game after contacting customer service. But what I do have an issue with is how often do these issues arise and if they arise are the counted as user pirating a game? If it is being counted as a game that has been pirated, are the stats fixed after the issue has been resolved? What I am questioning is the validity of the data and what is being measured as PC Piracy. For publishers and other video game companies, stats regarding PC Gaming piracy will be overstated to help further cause in battling piracy.

4. The pirated game is a superior product. This is one of the saddest and probably the most true point. A pirated game is free and can be installed on any machine without any restrictions. It can be backed up multiple times and stored for future use. In addition, it respects the fact your computer is a personal device and as such does not send out “information” to the Mothership (most pirated games sends the information back to computer it is installed on to “activate” themselves). A fully legimated copy of the game can only be installed on 2-5 computers, cannot be backed up and stored for future uses, and does not respect the privacy of your own personal machine. For all of those restrictions, a consumer must pay $50 for a new game. One laid side by side, the logical conclusion would be to obtain the pirated product.

The number of reasons PC Piracy is NOT a $13.66 Billion problem is not just limited to the above. With all of the above factors taken into consideration, I would attribute the total lose of sales to the industry to about $500 Million - $1 Billion. Even if this is not accurate it is much more accurate then the $13.66 Billion dollars that was implied.

I agree PC Piracy is a problem, but I do not agree fighting it is the answer. Rather, a new value proposition has to be introduced for consumers that pirates cannot imitate without incurring heavy cost, but this will be a post for another day. All in all, the PC Gaming retail landscape is fighting a losing battle with piracy, but any loss reported would most likely be heavily exaggerated. In reality, from my own point of view, piracy of PC Games has actually been the most helpful thing that has happened to the industry. It has taught the industry survival skills and prepared it for future problems in ways nothing else could have. It has communicated the needs and desires of customers clearly to companies who are willing to listen. But most of all it has shown them that the future is not with the retail landscape of GameStop, Best Buy, Circuit City, Walmart and the big publishers. via zkwang

An NPD analyst says that the $60 million drop in PC software retail revenue from 2006 to 2007 reflects the industry's movement towards digital distribution, GameDaily reports.

Analyst Anita Fraisure notes that the data, which currently does not account for digital downloads or subscriptions, is no cause for concern.

"As we've seen from a number of our studies, the PC continues to be a top platform in terms of total game playing time," said Fraisure. "I don't think this slight decline in retail sales is anything more than a reflection of a shifting of distribution channels."

The latest numbers reveal that PC sales accounted for only 14% of total revenue for game software sales in 2007. But without a comprehensive perspective of online activity, Fraisure says, the implications of the gap remain unclear.

"Video games software sales, and even just the console portion of that figure have been greater than PC retail sales every year that we've tracked. Yes, the (console and portable) video games retail sales have really exploded, but again, until we can get a measurement of dollars spent online, we won't have the true picture." via shacknews

Ingram Digital has announced that it has been selected by Princeton University Press to enable the publisher's digital strategy. It will provide a comprehensive roster of services to Princeton University Press ranging from file digitization and format conversion to digital asset management, distribution, and e-book fulfillment. via Peter Scott

Downloading games in the console market is a relatively new venture, but developers and publishers are finally starting to populate the digital shelves with higher profile games. They’re also starting to put more effort and resources into original downloadable properties as well. This expanded selection is good for business, but it’s also good for gamers. Digital distribution affords developers the freedom to release just about anything they see fit.

Take a look at the landscape of digital distribution and you’ll see a lot of games that would look out of place on store shelves. Echochrome would likely suffer the same fate of cult classic brain puzzler Intelligent Qube. The pressing would likely be limited, so its availability would likely be scarce. By the time word of mouth spread how cool the game actually is people would be shelling out well over the original MSRP on Ebay. Since the game is available on the PlayStation Network, gamers don’t have to worry about not finding it on store shelves – they can download it whenever they see fit.

Episodic content is a new market for consoles that was untapped until now. Lostwinds is one of the Wii’s best experiences, despite the fact that the game is only around three hours long. The fact that it’s only 10 dollars justifies the length, especially when one considers it’s only the first installment in what could end up a multipart series. Chopping the title up does a few things for the game. The gameplay elements might have grown stale if it were stretched out to an immediate 10 to 15 hours. Smaller chunks over a longer period of time puts a buffer between how much the player can experience of the same thing before they get sick of it. They might be away from it so long that they actually look forward to experiencing the functional and familiar tactile controls. This also gives the developers time to test new ideas to further diversify the gameplay, or even listen to fan feedback for to learn what elements were annoying or looked down upon.

Small developers aren’t the only ones getting on the bandwagon though. Capcom has recently been a major player in bringing new installments in classic series’ to download services. Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 recently hit the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade. The company is reintroducing another series with Bionic Commando Rearmed before their current-gen sequel hits. Mega Man 9 will be reintroducing the Blue Bomber’s mainline series via WiiWare, and it’s rumored to be coming to other outlets as well. These games probably wouldn’t do well at retail, but cut the costs of packaging and printing discs and you have titles that are likely to make money because of preinstalled fan-bases. If they happen to expand, well, that’s just icing on the cake.

Of course, that’s the main question. Is using digital distribution crippling the potential success of these titles? There’s a much larger percentage of people who buy games in stores rather than online, not to mention the fact that the vast majority of console owners aren’t jacked into the ’net with their game boxes. Truth is, it’s up to the company making the game to make that decision. Digital distribution isn’t a replacement for retail space – it’s a complimentary avenue. Games like PixelJunk Monsters and the aforementioned Echochrome are perfect examples of games that will likely benefit from this method of sale, just like Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved already has.

Digital distribution affords companies to take risks and not worry about the retail costs if the game fails. The more companies can flex their creative muscles the better it is for the industry and the better it is for gamers. Hopefully downloadable games see continued success; it can only mean good things for everyone. via GamersMark

The giant consumer electronics retailer has plans to push into new markets in Mexico, Europe and Turkey.

I blog about community building strategies at conniebensen.com. I am recognized as a leader in community management. I enjoy providing resources, mentorship & connecting with the thought leaders in social media, PR & marketing.

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IODA Also Expands Its Catalog of Independent Film and Video Content Rightsholders With Arab Film Distribution, NCircle and Indie Rights

LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwire - June 26, 2008) - IODA, the global leader in digital distribution, marketing, and technology solutions for the independent music and film industry, today announced Amazon will now carry IODA's independent film and music-related video content. Under the terms of the collaboration, IODA's broad catalog of indie films and music-related videos will now be available through Amazon's Unbox digital video download service, and through CreateSpace, the inventory-free, self-publishing platform that is part of the Amazon.com group of companies. IODA already distributes a catalog of more than one million independent music tracks worldwide through a network of music distribution channels, including Amazon MP3.

IODA manages digital distribution for over 2000 video and film titles, spanning features, documentaries, TV shows, short films and fitness, sports and lifestyle programs. Amazon's Unbox video download service will make the indie films and videos distributed by IODA easily available to the millions of loyal customers who use Amazon. CreateSpace will further expand the revenue opportunities for the film and video rightsholders working with IODA by enabling them to sell CDs and DVDs on demand.

"Demand for independent film content continues to grow and we are excited to offer people access to the thousands of hours of high quality indie video content we distribute through Amazon," said Kevin Arnold, CEO and founder of IODA. "IODA's catalog of indie content is also a perfect fit for CreateSpace, which makes DVD production and sales not only logistically possible but also potentially lucrative for the indie film rightsholder."

IODA also announced digital video distribution agreements with independent film and video companies Arab Film Distribution, NCircle and Indie Rights. The content will be distributed through IODA's retail partners, including the new collaboration with Amazon Unbox and CreateSpace. Arab Film Distributes such award-winning films as "Iraq in Fragments." NCircle Entertainment distributes high profile children's video titles like "Trollz," "Super Mario Bros. Super Show!" and "Sonic Underground." Indie Rights is distributing the documentary "Skid Row," which was produced by and stars Pras from the Fugees.

"The success of independent films and music-related videos is largely driven by word-of-mouth as opposed to big marketing and advertising campaigns used by the major movie studios and production houses," continued Arnold. "The number of people who are now using the Internet to discover, share and enjoy movies online has magnified the word of mouth effect for the indie film industry. Adding such a well-known, large retailer like Amazon to our distribution network will make it even easier for the indie film and video makers IODA works with to develop their fan bases worldwide."

IODA, already at the forefront of digital independent music distribution, has been building a high quality catalog of 2,000 music-related film and video titles since its entry into the digital video distribution market last year. IODA's content partners include top-tier indie film production companies such as Heretic Films, whose titles include the award-winning documentaries "24 Hours on Craigslist" and "Starbucking," Greenline Digital, known for "Confessions of a Burning Man," and Cugat, Inc., known for the heralded Ramones documentary "End of the Century."

In addition to offering content on Amazon, IODA's network of retailers that distribute indie film and music-related video content includes movie download sites Netflix and Bit Torrent, mobile outlets Groovemobile, Hudson, Jamba/Jamster, Mobile Streams, Rogers Canada and Musiwave, and music video purveyor Real Rhapsody.

IODA issued the announcement during the Home Media Expo in Las Vegas.

About IODA

IODA, the Independent Online Distribution Alliance, is the industry-leading digital distribution company for the global independent music community. IODA provides comprehensive services to record labels, physical distributors, and artists, including license negotiations; media encoding and metadata management; and royalty payment administration and reporting. The company also offers promotional support through a dedicated marketing division and through the IODA Promonet (www.iodapromonet.com), a promotional distribution network that provides qualified podcasts, blogs, and other promotional sites with access to pre-cleared, legal music and other promotional assets from IODA's labels. Founded in 2003, IODA represents a rapidly expanding roster of over a million tracks from thousands of independent labels around the globe. IODA also distributes independent film and video content for over 2000 titles. IODA was named one of FORTUNE magazine's 25 Breakout Companies for 2005. The company's website is www.iodalliance.com. via marketwire

SHANGHAI--China's Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of kung fu and the star of many martial arts films, has set up an online store to flog its wares.

Named "Shaolin The Stage of Joy", a Web page has been set up by a unit of the temple on popular Chinese e-commerce site www.taobao.com, offering a range of goods including shoes, tea, T-shirts and slippers.

Enthusiasts can snap up a kung fu instruction manual for 9,999 yuan ($1,456), or pick up a pair of "environmentally friendly" chopsticks for 29 yuan.

This is not the first time that the monastery--known in the West as the training ground for Kwai Chang "Grasshopper" Caine in the 1970s hit television series "Kung Fu"--has made a commercial foray.

Shaolin Temple's business ventures include kung fu shows, film production and a reality TV search for the next kung fu star. Its monks also go on world tours to perform feats of agility and balance.

The temple, in central Henan province, was also the driving force behind a local government plan to float shares in tourism assets, a Hong Kong newspaper reported late last year.

But the temple came under fire in 2006 after a senior Chinese monk was awarded a luxury car for services to the local tourism industry, which forms a bulk of the city's revenues.

Some Chinese Web surfers also appeared equally unimpressed by the Shaolin Temple's latest commercial venture.

"Shaolin temple is getting less and less likeable," one Internet user wrote in an essay posted on news site ifeng.com on Wednesday. "There's a giant laughing buddha in Shaolin temple. If it saw what the temple is doing these days, I'm not so sure it would still be laughing." via zdnet

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how I think the widespread adoption of digital distribution is inevitable. It's already happening, it's not a secret. However...

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Crysis Warhead, Lego Batman, Ghostbusters, Call of Duty: World at War and much more will be headed to the PC. Who says consoles have all the fun?

In the second grade, James Silva didn't just play "Mario" and "Zelda" on his Nintendo but drew pictures of new levels and cooked up ideas for future games. While other kids dreamed of becoming an astronaut or president, he felt destined to be a video game designer. Conquering space or politics might have been easier.

read more | digg story

The Alphabet is slowly warming up to Web syndication.

ABC on Monday granted a second outside portal access to its skeins for streaming, albeit on a more restrictive basis than some of its rivals.

Under the Alphabet's deal with Veoh.com, all skeins will stream for free through ABC's broadband player, which does not allow users to skip commercials. Veoh will get paid for traffic it directs to the ad-supported shows in an arrangement similar to the one ABC has with AOL, the one other outside portal with an ABC streaming deal.

By comparison, Hulu, a digital distribution platform backed by Fox and NBC, gives partner sites a cut of the ad revenue.

CBS has also proved more open to syndicating its skeins online; Eye skeins can be streamed on more than a dozen sites.

Matt Murphy, senior VP of digital video distribution for Disney and ESPN Media Networks, touted the pact as a way to expand distribution while growing its advertisers' reach.

There has been a growing shift toward syndication online as companies seek more ways to wring coin out of content. Content providers that once tried to draw visitors to sites with exclusive programming are trying to disseminate it wherever viewers congregate online.

Warner Bros. Television Group, for example, has embraced a syndication strategy for its two new distribution platforms, TheWB.com and KidsWB.com. Last week, WBTV unveiled a series of distribution partners for the ad-supported ventures. Dailymotion, Joost, Sling Media, TiVo and Veoh will launch channels with the new broadband offerings in mid-September. Sister Time Warner division AOL previously agreed to feature the channels. via Variety

AT&T Inc. is introducing a package of digital media products aimed at helping businesses manage the delivery and distribution of video and Web content across their networks.

AT&T's Digital Media Solutions portfolio includes content distribution and management, broadcast video and digital signage services along with other features geared toward businesses with multiple small office locations as well as for larger multinational companies.

In pulling the package of products together, AT&T has struck strategic agreements with ExtendMedia, Qumu and Stratacache, which are software companies that specialize in formatting and packaging content that is suitable for both business-to-business and business-to-consumer applications, such as streaming video, live and on-demand webcasting, e-learning and virtual trade shows, as well as the delivery of advertising over emerging media networks.

"Enterprise customers are using video and multimedia content to communicate with their employees, shareholders, partners and suppliers, but they are grappling with the complexity involved in staging, managing and distributing their content to their end-users," says Ron Spears, group president for Global Business Services at AT&T. "AT&T's network is at the heart of a simpler way to achieve this, using the scope and scale of our networking capabilities, services and professional expertise to deliver applications to both companies and the end-users they serve. We are uniquely positioned to help enterprises more simply and efficiently manage their digital media assets for improved performance."

San Antonio-based AT&T (NYSE: T) is a global communications holding company. Via San Antonio Biz Journal

Download portal GamersGate has announced GameNerve, a new "digital publishing suite" that it says will allow developers and publishers to "access digital distribution from their desktop."

According to the company, GameNerve is "the first digital software suite for setting up and managing global online publishing and distribution," and will offer publishers a price management system and marketing message and text updating.

The platform will also offer instant patching, trailer, demo, manual, and marketing asset distribution, and real-time statistics and reporting that break out sales by title, catalogue, country, purchase rates, average transactions.

GamersGate says the suite gives creators "greater control over the digital publishing process and a higher percentage of the profits, while offering publishers a simple solution for monetizing their entire game catalogues online."

Said GamersGate CEO Theodore Bergquist, “GameNerve spans the digital gap between creating a game and bringing it to the online community. By giving developers and publishers access to the publishing suite, we’re empowering them to directly control their online sales and distribution in a quick and easy way.” via Gamasutra

AUSTIN, Texas & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--LibreDigital, a division of NewsStand, Inc., and Simon & Schuster, Inc., today announced that Simon & Schuster has selected the LibreDigital Warehouse solution for digital distribution of its content. Using LibreDigital’s solution, Simon & Schuster’s digital warehouse will serve as the central source for all book content, supporting e-commerce including the distribution of eBooks and downloadable audio, book search programs for both SimonSays.com and external search partners, and digital marketing initiatives.

“Safe and secure access to our books and the distribution of content and assets is a cornerstone of publishing in the digital age,” said Ellie Hirschhorn, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer of Simon & Schuster, Inc. “Our new digital warehouse will afford us the flexibility to syndicate our content to meet the needs of a wide variety of partners, from social networks to portals to retail sites. Our work with LibreDigital will make discovering our books easier and more convenient for readers.”

Simon & Schuster will work with LibreDigital to syndicate its content across the web to external sites and on emerging digital media platforms, and at SimonSays.com, where the company also provides readers with live author events and interviews, reading groups and book clubs, bulletin boards, email updates, and access to its portfolio of works.

“Simon & Schuster understands that the world of digital books is here to stay,” said Craig Miller, Vice President and General Manager of LibreDigital. “Working with LibreDigital to bring its library of content online will ensure that its list of popular and award-winning books will be readily accessible to readers.”

LibreDigital solutions are used by many of the world’s top publishers, including Simon & Schuster, Harlequin, Bloomsbury and Hachette USA. The company’s offerings feature the LibreDigital Internet Digital Warehouse solution, which allows publishers to deliver searchable book content in a variety of digital formats while protecting control of content and copyrights.

About Simon & Schuster:

Simon & Schuster, a part of the CBS Corporation, is a global leader in the field of general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for consumers of all ages, across all printed, electronic, and audio formats. Its divisions include Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster Digital, and international companies in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit our website at www.simonsays.com.

About LibreDigital

LibreDigital develops technologies to enable book publishers to captivate readers across new print, online and mobile platforms, including the iPhone. The LibreDigital Internet Digital Warehouse for controlled Internet distribution and display of book content, eBooks and Audio Books is the platform-of-choice for the world’s top book publishers. LibreDigital is a division of NewsStand, a privately-held company headquartered in Austin, Texas, with offices in New York City, Germany and the United Kingdom. Investors include Adams Capital Management, Noro-Moseley Partners, the New York Times Company and HarperCollins Publishers. Find out more at www.libredigital.com.

LibreDigital and NewsStand are trademarks of NewsStand, Inc. All other company and product names mentioned are used only for identification and may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. via businesswire

Electronic Software Distribution (ESD, also known as Digital distribution) refers to the practice of allowing users to download software products electronically (and primarily over the Internet) as opposed to receiving physical media. Although not all software vendors discount the prices of electronically distributed software from the price of the physically distributed versions, such a discount is common, as electronic distribution can typically be much less costly for the vendors than its conventional counterpart.

ESD as a service can be further broken down based on straight purchase of the software (above) and try-before-you-buy (TBYB). TBYB allows the consumer to trial the product for a length of time or number of activations and then, through the software interface, purchase the software from the publisher.

ESD services are broken down into several components including Digital Rights Management (DRM), Trial Management and the Transaction or eCommerce component. Each of these services can be purchased and managed as standalone components or they can be outsourced through 3rd party companies.

The global games industry will jump from $41.9 billion in 2007 to $68.3 billion in 2012, according to PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

The annual growth rate of 10 percent would best "all other media sectors except for online advertising and access," according to a report in The Hollywood Reporter.

Citing PWC's upcoming "Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2008-2012," THR says that console games revenue will grow to $34.7 billion in 2012, up from $24.9 billion last year.

Online and wireless games will have the fastest growth, the report says. Online will grow to $14.4 billion in 2012 compared to $6.6 billion in 2007. Wireless game revenue will grow to $13.5 billion from $5.6 billion.

An increase in broadband penetration will help drive online revenues, and advancements in mobile phone tech will make wireless more appealing to a wider base of consumers, according to PWC.

PC retail will fall from $3.8 billion to $3.6 billion as online models such as subscriptions gain momentum.

Videogame advertising will shoot from $1 billion to $2.3 billion in 2012.

The report also said that the U.S. will lag behind in growth compared to the rest of the world, growing 7.9 percent annually to $17.7 billion in 2012 from $12.1 billion last year.

Last year, overall U.S. industry sales (which include not only software, but also accessories and hardware) were $18 billion, a new record, according to the NPD Group.

NPD analyst Anita Frazier said this month that the U.S. is on track for a year in the $21-$23 billion range. via next-gen

Digital and mobile distribution should more than double its share of global media and entertainment spending in the next five years, according to Pricewaterhouse Coopers.

Although digital and mobile distribution comprised only 5 percent of global entertainment and media (E&M) spending in 2007, these revenues will account for 24 percent of all growth throughout the industry during the next five years, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2008-2012.

By 2012, digital and mobile revenues will account for 11 percent of total E&M spending, or $234 billion of the $2.2 trillion global market. Digital and mobile revenues will account for 10 percent of total E&M spending, or $75 billion of the $759 billion U.S. market.

The report underscores the importance of continuing to extract revenues from traditional business segments while emerging technologies continue to solidify their consumer position. PwC’s annual report pegs global compound annual growth rate [CAGR] at 6.6 percent for the sector, anticipating it reaching $2.2 trillion in 2012. The U.S. E&M market will grow at 4.8 percent CAGR reaching $759 billion in 2012.

The global broadband boom continues unabated, fuelling overall growth, and more than doubling again to 661 million households in 2012, a 16.4 percent compound annual increase.

While Internet advertising growth will moderate from that in recent years, it will see the most robust growth globally, at 19.5 percent CAGR through to 2012. Internet access (12.1 percent), video games (10.3 percent) and television subscriptions and license fees (10.1 percent) will all experience double-digit growth, globally. Yet in the U.S., the three leading segments will be Internet advertising (15.1 percent), Internet access (10.9 percent) and video games (7.9 percent).

More established segments—television advertising (global 5.9 percent; U.S. 4.9 percent), theme parks (global 5 percent, U.S. 3.9 percent), casino gaming (global 6.5 percent; U.S. 4.0 percent), filmed entertainment (global 5.3 percent; U.S. 4.6 percent) and sports (global 6.5 percent; U.S. 6.1 percent)—are all set to grow at between approximately 4 percent and 7 percent compounded annually.

The publishing segments face the stiffest challenges, where the declines in physical distribution are at their most significant and growth in digital distribution—although rapid—is struggling to make up for the shortfall: newspapers (global up 2.2 percent; U.S. -0.7 percent CAGR), consumer magazines (global 3.5 percent; U.S. 3.8 percent), consumer & educational books (global 2.8 percent; U.S. 2.5 percent), business-to-business publishing (global 3.2 percent; U.S. 2.6 percent) as well as recorded music (global -0.6 percent; U.S. -5.3 percent).

While the rest of the world expects growth, the U.S. newspaper segment is expected to decline.

However, U.S. newspaper web site advertising will reach $6.4 billion, a 15.1 percent compound annual increase by 2012. Web sites will account for 15 percent of total daily newspaper advertising, more than twice its 7 percent share in 2007. via seekingalpha

VIZ Media Licenses BLUE DRAGON Trading Card Game Rights To Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. For North America

San Francisco, CA, June 18, 2008 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, and Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. (KDE), a leading publisher of mass market video games and manufacturer of trading card games (TCG), today announced that KDE will exclusively manufacture and distribute the BLUE DRAGON Trading Card Game and Trading Card Game Accessories in North America. The agreement further extends the scope and popularity of the BLUE DRAGON franchise. VIZ Media is the master North American licensor for the television, home video and non-video game merchandising rights for BLUE DRAGON.

The BLUE DRAGON animation is based on the Xbox 360 video game Blue Dragon, developed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of “Final Fantasy”, and featuring character designs by Akira Toriyama, the creator of the best-selling DRAGON BALL series of manga (which is published in North America by VIZ Media and featured in SHONEN JUMP Magazine). The new trading card game is also based on the Xbox 360 video game.

The animated series debuted in Japan on TV Tokyo on April 7, 2007 and is produced by Studio Pierrot, which is well known for its work on NARUTO and BLEACH, also licensed by VIZ Media. The highly anticipated BLUE DRAGON animated series, rated TV Y7FV, debuted across the United States on Cartoon Network on Saturday, April 5, 2008 and now airs regularly at 9 a.m. on Saturday mornings.

The BLUE DRAGON video game and animated series is a classic adventure story of magical Shadow powers, flying air fortresses, and unbounded heroism! Brought together by fate, Seven Soldiers of Light must awaken the Shadow within themselves in time to overcome a despotic power and bring peace to their land. Their ensuing journey through a rich fantasy world is also an internal journey to awaken the great power within each of them. Journey with them into the world of BLUE DRAGON!

“Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. welcomes the opportunity to further build the popularity of the BLUE DRAGON franchise with this licensing agreement with VIZ Media and is thrilled to have the opportunity to work on its first ever role playing card game with a dynamically advancing game mechanic,” said Yumi Hoashi, Vice President, KDE’s Card Division. “We look forward to reaching out to an array of players of all ages and sharing the excitement of the group-oriented role playing card game, Blue Dragon. It is our expectation that the character designs of esteemed creator Akira Toriyama, combined with the unique game play of Blue Dragon, will create countless new fans within the card game community."

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. is a leading developer, publisher and manufacturer of card and electronic entertainment properties. The most notable of KDE’s card genre is the wildly popular Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game, which is welcoming its 10th anniversary this year. In addition to Yu-Gi-Oh!, KDE’s other titles, although released only in Japan, include such hits as The Prince of Tennis, D. Gray-man, MÄR, Eyeshield 21 and more.

“The creative forces behind BLUE DRAGON include some of the most notable talents from the worlds of gaming, animation and manga/graphic novels,” says David Rewalt, Senior Director - Licensing and Retail Development, VIZ Media. “The continued development of BLUE DRAGON from a video game to an animated series and now a Trading Card Game demonstrates the successful convergence of all these entertainment and media genres. With established legacies in these arenas, VIZ Media and KDE will continue to develop the BLUE DRAGON brand through a variety of innovative and fun products.”

About Konami
Konami is a leading developer, publisher and manufacturer of electronic entertainment properties. Konami titles include the popular franchises Metal Gear Solid®, Silent Hill®, Dance Dance Revolution® and Castlevania®, among other top sellers. The latest information about Konami can be found on the Web at www.konami.com. Konami Corporation is a publicly traded company based in Tokyo, Japan with subsidiary offices, Konami Digital Entertainment, Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, Japan, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. in the United States and Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH in Frankfurt, Germany. Konami Corporation is traded in the United States on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol KNM. Details of the products published by Konami can be found at www.konami.com.

About VIZ Media, LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), is one of the most comprehensive and innovative companies in the field of manga (graphic novel) publishing, animation and entertainment licensing of Japanese content. Owned by three of Japan’s largest creators and licensors of manga and animation, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan Production Co., Ltd. (ShoPro Japan), VIZ Media is a leader in the publishing and distribution of Japanese manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the UK, Ireland, and South Africa and is a global licensor of Japanese manga and animation. The company offers an integrated product line including, magazines such as SHONEN JUMP and SHOJO BEAT, graphic novels, DVDs and audio soundtracks and develops and markets animated entertainment from initial production, television placement and distribution, to merchandise licensing and promotions for audiences and consumers of all ages. Contact VIZ Media at 295 Bay Street, San Francisco, CA 94133; Phone (415) 546-7073; Fax (415) 546-7086; and web site at www.VIZ.com.

via activeanime

MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - Moody's Investors Service said internet retail sales have reached the point where a retailer's internet strategy is crucial to its success, because it represents an important channel of distribution and can mitigate declining comparable-store sales trends.

The ratings firm noted that online sales are one of the few bright spots for specialty retailers currently.

Moody's said it expects conditions to continue to induce consumers to spend more over the Internet at the expense of the brick-and-mortar stores. Moody's said while investors have long been dazzled by the double-digit growth of online sales, the channel still only accounts for about 4 percent of retail sales, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

But that percentage has reached finally sufficient mass to be important to many ratings, with the Census Bureau placing sales in 2007 at over $136 billion, it added.

The strength of the online channel will benefit retailers that focus solely on the Internet, such as Amazon.com Inc. and retailers that have a sizable online presence, such as Wal-Mart, J.C. Penney, J.Crew, Neiman Marcus, Macy's, and Limited Brands. TFN.newsdesk@thomson.com pvi/ssa via hemscott

It seems everybody is talking about the rising cost of gasoline these days, and with good reason. Almost everything we do is somehow based around oil in some way or another. Whether it's used in the production of products we purchase every day or the shipping, receiving or most modes of transportation we use to go and purchase these products, oil is somehow involved.

Gasoline now costs between $3.50 and $4.00 per gallon in the United States and between $1.25 and $1.50 per litre (between $4.75 and $5.70 per gallon) in Canada. At these prices, and the still higher prices predicted to come in the near future, many consumers have already begun changing their driving and purchasing habits. As we well know, the price of gas does not just affect where we are willing to drive to purchase the products we desire, but the cost to the manufacturers, distributors and retailers to ship those items to those retail locations as well. As the cost of gas rises, so to does the cost to ship the item and, usually, the cost of the item itself.

With all of these factors in play, it is quite likely that many consumers, even a number of avid comic book collectors and enthusiasts, will begin reconsidering that trip to their favourite comic shop. If these places are well out of walking or the average person's biking distance, that trip may no longer feel cost effective, especially with that gallon of gas costing almost as much as that latest issue of your favourite comic book.

However, the solution for publishers is simple when compared to possible solutions for other industries, because their products, like those of other print publishers, don't have to come in a physical form. And that's where digital distribution comes in. A number of comic book publishers have already begun publishing their properties online, as part of subscription services. Marvel has its Marvel Digital Unlimited subscription service, giving users access to a number of Marvel titles online, and DC runs Zudacomics , which uses crowdsourcing to give unknown comic creators the chance to be seen and, possibly, published, while giving readers an easy way to view and vote for new comics.

Following a similar model to what Web comic creators have been doing for years, major publishers are just now beginning to give their readers access to their favourite comic books in a digital format, though they are actually making readers pay to read. Most Web comics, on the other hand, are available to readers anywhere at absolutely no cost, and they are extremely easily accessible, which is why they are the future of comics.

With Web comics, there is no need for readers to travel anywhere to go and find the comic they are looking for, often wasting time and gas in the process. Instead, all they need to do is head to the website of that Web comic and pick the strip they want to read. Not only that, but most Web comic websites give all readers complete access to that comic's entire strip archive, unlike subscriptions, which only allow users access to comic book issues they have purchased.

Digitally distributed comics also have the benefit of being able to be accessed from anywhere. While on a trip to New York City recently, I wanted to keep up with the latest comics from Penny Arcade , Ctrl+Alt+Del and No Reason Comics and, of course, that was no issue because they are all available online. You can be anywhere on the planet and, as long as you've got an Internet connection, you can stay up to date with your favourite Web comics. The same can apply for digitally distributed comic books from major publisher, as long as they use browser based viewing, even with subscription services. Even if you're traveling far away from home, if you've got Internet access you can log in and check the latest issues.

As gas prices continue to rise, comic book publishers will continue to find it more difficult to sell their wares, especially with less consumers willing to make the trip to go purchase them. Digital distribution will make it considerably easier and more appealing for consumers to begin reading those comic books. The Web also opens up a whole new world of fresh readers for these publishers to which they can market their characters. This is not to say that comic shops will become a thing of the past though. Physical comic books will still be quite collectible. But in a reality where it's starting to feel to expensive to make a trip around the block, comic book publishers would be foolish to look away from the Internet as the future of distribution. via comicbookbin

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