Tag Archives: UBS

UBS analyst Ben Schachter’s that Guitar Hero outsold Rock Band by more than 1 million units in America last month, Gamespot reports.

Over 1.7 million Guitar Hero games of all versions and formats were sold in the US in November, of which 978,000 were copies of the latest version, Guitar Hero World Tour. This compares with 628,452 copies of Rock Band and Rock Band 2.

However, Guitar Hero sales were down 25 percent on November last year, versus an increase of 65 percent for Rock Band.

Combined sales of both games fell 12 percent compared to 2007.

Thanks, Eurogamer.

According to UBS analyst Ben Schachter, music games have been a “key driver” for music industry this year, with “sales of music-themed games responsible for 19% of overall industry software dollars in July (15% YTD) and 44% of y/y industry dollar growth during the month (32% of growth YTD).”

That’s not insignificant. In a research note, Schachter has also pointed out that Guitar Hero franchise dollars year-to-date are up a mighty 87 percent.

In terms of units, Guitar Hero is up 82 percent this year. On a dollars basis, the recent DS release of Guitar Hero: On Tour took in more than $15 million in July alone.

Moreover, MTV Games’ Rock Band bundles on Wii, PS2 and Xbox 360 combined for nearly $47 million in sales in July.

More on GameDaily.

The latest Xbox 360 price cut seems like a pretty good idea considering the console’s less-than-rocket sales of late, but could it end up being Microsoft’s ace-in-the-hole? UBS analyst Ben Schachter thinks so.

“If we are correct [about the price drop], it would position the Xbox 360′s low-end sku as the lowest priced next-gen console (below Nintendo’s Wii for the first time). Its high-end SKU would be price-comparable to Sony’s new $399 PS3 SKU,” Schachter told GameDaily.

“Overall, consoles have seen an average unit increase of ~53% in the month of/after a price cut,” he noted.

Undercutting the Wii would probably give Microsoft a nice boost, but without a waggle wand, how long would it last?

By Nathan Grayson

Speaking to The Deal, Janco’s Mike Hickey has predicted that Activision Blizzard will take a look at buying Take-Two, for no better reason that to piss EA off.

“We absolutely believe Activision will take a look at Take-Two,” said the analyst. “If a competitor is for sale, you take a look, and if EA is your real rival, why wouldn’t you stir the pot a little bit?”

UBS’ Ben Schachter, however, isn’t so sure anything could ever happen between Acti-Blizz and the GTA-owner.

“It is highly unlikely that Activision would try to outbid EA,” Schachter said. “They have enough on their plate at the moment.”

More through there.

UBS analyst Ben Schachter has called for higher profile third party titles for the Nintendo Wii following the May NPD software numbers.

“While overall hardware and software trends for the Nintendo Wii continue to be strong, we would like to see more third-party hits on the platform,” said Schachter.

“To date, Guitar Hero III, Sega of America’s Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games, and TTWO’s Carnival Games are the only third-party Wii games that have sold more than 1 million units to-date according to NPD, and there are many third-party Wii exclusives that have come-and-gone with minimal reaction from the market,” he added.

“Nintendo’s share of software dollars on its platform has approximated almost 50% since the Wii was introduced, and reached an all-time high in May of 68%.”

The statement comes after it was revealed that Spielberg’s Boom Blox only sold 60k, although NPD analyst Anita Frazier puts the poor performance down to EA’s puzzler being released in amongst “Super Smash Bros. Brawl, GTA IV, Wii Fit, Mario Kart and the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4″.

Thanks GameDaily.

By Mike Bowden