Although he still doesn't think that a price cut for the PlayStation 3 will be coming this year, Lazard Capital Market analyst Colin Sebastian urged investors not to count Sony out just yet. Hit the full article for details.

The NPD Group will soon release the software and platform sales numbers for December, so it's time once again to hear from our favorite analysts, Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan and Colin Sebastian from Lazard Capital Markets. Check out the full article to find out what they predict for December's results.

 

Financial analysts are certainly having a field day with Manhunt 2, with its recent banning and all. They've tried to predict what Take-Two will do regarding their ultra-violent title, they've guessed as to why the publishing firm is getting all this bad rap - and now, they're saying that Manhunt 2's suspension could actually end up boosting the game's sales.

Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets is one of those analysts, saying that he doesn't believe the move to suspend Manhunt 2 will actually hurt the company's bottom line in the long run, but instead increase the game's exposure - thus boosting demand when it hits store shelves.

He also believes, as we've reported in an earlier article, that Take-Two will probably do what it has to do to lower the game's rating from the current Adults Only to a softer, more accessible Mature rating. And while it's a given that stores such as Wal-Mart will always be wary about customer backlash, the controversy itself is already free publicity - and savvy store-owners will take the risk of selling a Mature title that's already popular beyond belief.

Sebastian also notes that even if Manhunt 2 does tank, the struggling publisher still has an ace up its sleeve - namely, the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV - to fall back on. He puts it like so:

Relative to Grand Theft Auto it's [Manhunt 2] a lot less significant. Grand Theft Auto is the key driver. This is a second-tier title.

Well, for a second-tier title, it's certainly getting first-tier attention. And while it's very possible that controversy could actually boost sales, it could also work the opposite way if the game itself gets overhyped and for some reason it doesn't deliver what it's promised to do. One thing's for sure, though, is that it's violent as heck.

Further updates about Manhunt 2 as we get them.

It's been quite the eventful week for Manhunt 2, isn't it? With its recent banning in the UK, being buffeted by parent watchdog groups, and having just been shunned by the two companies whose consoles it's coming out on - the title's not even released yet, and it's taking a colossal beating any other game would have shattered underneath. This begs the question: what's going to happen now?

Besides starting up a time machine to see what's going to happen come the game's promised July 10 release, we have the next best thing - a group of analysts' take on what sort of action Take-Two would probably do to be able to release Manhunt 2 without any more troubles.

But before that, let's go over Take-Two's options. The first is toning down the game a notch - which means cutting out or censoring content, to get it from being rated as Adults Only (AO) down to Mature (M). Second is appealing to the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) to re-rate the game themselves, with the title presented as is. The third is simply taking it all in stride, and release Manhunt 2 into the public, unedited and complete with its AO rating.

Now that we're up to speed, what do the analysts think Take-Two would do? Enter the first analyst, Nollenberger Capital Partner's Todd Greenwald. He says that he expects Take-Two to pick the first choice - that is, to do whatever it takes to get an M rating instead of an AO. Citing the Hot Coffee incident with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as the basis for his assumption, he expects the publishing firm to do the same with Manhunt 2. He also says that the sales of an M-rated Manhunt 2 would probably make up for the UK ban, but an AO-rated one wouldn't.

Lazard Capital Markets' Colin Sebastian shares Todd Greenwald's sentiments, in that Take-Two would indeed make the choice of cutting stuff out in favor of an M rating. However, Wedbush Morgan Securities' Michael Pachter believes otherwise, saying that Take-Two would most likely ship the game as it is, AO rating and all.

He cites two reasons for this. First, editing the content for an M rating would certainly mean Take-Two spending more money than they've already spent in developing this game, and also disappointing fans with a delayed (and watered-down) title. The other reason is that with Take-Two not doing so well in the financial aspect of things, and having already made some belt-tightening measures, investing more money in the game is a step backwards.

Well, whatever Take-Two's decision is going to be, the world's certainly waiting for it. More updates about Manhunt 2 as we get them. How about you readers, though? What do you think will be Take-Two's final answer? Let us know by your comments.

Electronic Arts has recently reorganized its top-ranking officials and made some key changes to its administrative roster. The maneuver was welcomed by a lot of observers, but one analyst made an interesting observation.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter says that the reorganization was a good move and a necessary one for the publisher, but someone seems to be missing in the equation: R&D  head Paul Lee. "In our view, the most important item in the press release is the omission of any mention about Paul Lee, the current head of R&D. It appears to us that Mr. Lee may have been reorganized out of a job," he says. Pachter continues:

He has been in his position for about a year, following the departure of Don Mattrick last year, and in that brief period, we believe that EA game quality has improved. However, we think that Mr. Riccitiello is laser focused on cost control, given that the R&D budget has doubled during his three-year hiatus from EA, while revenues have grown by only around 5%.

According to the analyst, one reason why EA is reorganizing may be because the administration has decided not to go all-out on research and development. He says he expects EA to begin talking more about its plans and policies soon.

For one, Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets agrees with Pachter on the necessity of restructuring. "We believe the restructuring was a necessary byproduct of EA's rapid growth over the last video game cycle compounded by operational challenges evident during the recent console transition period," he says.

No official word from EA has been released regarding Lee's status and what the new policy on research and development is. A statement is expected by many to come out any time soon. We'll keep you posted for more.

  

Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian claims that Sony is indeed working on a revamped PSP as the company implied during Sony's Gamers Day, or so Sebastian claims. This could mean any upgrade or additional features could be in the works. But as he puts it, a "hardware refresh... may or may not mean a change in form".

Since the PlayStation got PSOne, and PlayStation 2 got its PS2 Slim version, it's not very surprising that Sony would dish out something like that for the PSP too. Sebastian couldn't cite any specific sources, but he said "I can tell you from industry people I've talked to that [Sony] definitely has something in the works."

Will they turn the PSP into a mobile phone ala N-gage (well, we hope not...)? Or do something about its battery life? Make the controls more intuitive? It's pretty difficult to imagine that they'd reduce its size, but given Sony's history with the consoles, it's feasible. Any educational guesses?

The PS3 continues to build up steam, with Sony reportedly planning to release 90 third-party titles and 15 exclusives from first and third parties for the PS3 this year. This according to a Sony Gamers Day recap from Lazard Capital Markets.

Fans of Sony's PSP handheld system will be getting some much-needed love too. According to Lazard games industry analyst Colin Sebastian, "[Sony] also indicated that 140 titles would launch on the PSP, while a video download service and hardware refresh are expected later this year."

Rumors about a hardware refresh have been floating around the Internet for quite some time now, and just recently the rumor has resurfaced once again.

 

As confirmation to the EBGames and GameStop price drop sightings, the official word from Sony claims that the price tag has dropped by US$ 30 all over North America, making the U.S.-only word CVG got from Sony extends its horizons over Canada. So if you check a couple of Canuck EBGames retail stores there, you'd find that the PlayStation Portable CORE package is also now available at a modest US$ 169 tag.

Lazard Capital Markets noted that in Black Friday just last year, a Wal-Mart discount promotion sporting the same price of US$ 169 was able to reel in greater sales. They claim that this proves the demand for the handheld actually exists, although it is price-sensitive.

Sony, however, is not only hoping that the PSP would garner a modest gain in sales for after the price drop. They are also hoping that the line up of popular franchise titles, such as Ratchet & Clank, Syphon Filter and God of War, will also help the PSP sell like hotcakes. Gran Turismo for the PSP, coming in the second half of 2007, is also expected to boost unit sales in the near future.

Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets hopes to breathe new life into the PSP marketing campaign. They are planning an online and print campaign for young adults and teens, besides gamers-on-the-go. "In terms of software, we believe hardware price cuts can positively affect game sales with an expanding installed base as well as additional foot traffic in retail stores," said Sebastian, concluding:

It is too early to conclude whether Sony's pricing action will cause game developers to increase the pipeline of new PSP titles; however, several publishers publicly called on Sony to lower the PSP price and broaden the consumer end market. At the new $169 price, we note that the PSP is still $40 higher than Nintendo's DS.