Blizzard Entertainment announced this week that World of Warcraft's subscriber base has exceeded 11.5 million units following the November launch of the expansion pack Wrath of the Lich King.

Wrath of the Lich King sold 2.8 million copies in its first 24 hours, and 4 million in its first month, beating both previous records held by Blizzard's other WoW expansion, 2007's The Burning Crusade.

WoW had just hit 11 million subscribers at the end of October.

In mid-October, analyst Colin Sebastian said he expected 1 million new WoW subscribers would join during the course of 12 months.

GameStop SVP of merchandising Bob McKenzie said in a statement, "Not only is Wrath of the Lich King still doing well, the base World of Warcraft game and the World of Warcraft Battle Chest are performing better than last year.
"That type of traction is very impressive for a game that is going into its fifth holiday season and speaks to the enthusiastic player base Blizzard Entertainment products have."

Blizzard said that it is currently hiring to keep up with development activity.

The company defined "subscribers" as: "...Individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last 30 days are also counted as subscribers. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired prepaid cards. Subscribers in licensees' territories are defined along the same rules."

Humana's Online Games Make A Case For Health

The holiday season is generally time for people to pack on pounds, but Humana is hoping that their selection of games on Facebook and HumanaGames.com, a website set up in May by the health insurance company as a way to explore how to use games and technology to further messages of health. "Freewheelin' Cycle Challenge," on HumanaGames.com is inspired by the company's bike-sharing program. In the online game, users race against virtual opponents such as a cheerleader or Marine drill sergeant in a bicycle race. Energy and speed are gained by capturing nutritious snacks while running over junk food. The game is being promoted through information and blogs on popular casual gaming sites, and can be emailed for maximum viral effect. "The Battle of the Bulge" is available on Facebook. Through the social networking site, users answer a few questions and are assigned a virtual waistline. Through the Facebook network, other users can "fling fat" at you, which would expand your waistline and lead to a possible online heart attack. Answering health-related questions correctly can shrink the size of the virtual waistline and enable you to throw fat at your friends.

Microsoft Woos Women

Microsoft has had the attention of core gamers with franchises like Halo and Gears of War, but it's now trying new ways to capture the female market.

Last month Microsoft commissioned a service called House Party to send free Xbox 360 packages, valued at around $150, to 1,000 women across the U.S. who agreed to invite at least 10 friends or relatives over for a party, a USA Today report said. The packages included Scene It? Box Office Smash, an Xbox 360 universal remote, three months of Xbox Live and $20 worth of Microsoft Points. Microsoft has sold 20 million consoles to date globally since they launched three years ago. In order to get to the next 20 million, they need to get a new audience of women and teens. And now, they're going after women in ways they have never done before.

10 Defining Moments of 2008

There was no shortage of soaring highs, depressing lows and everything in between in 2008 gaming news.

Financial turmoil and studio closures were unfortunately the common theme in the fourth quarter. But on the other side of the coin is how the games industry is poised for another record-breaking year. Aside from the purely business aspects of the past year, we saw a PlayStation man move on, a videogame fitness craze, a controversy fizzle and as always, gamers who let their voices be heard. Here are 20 news pieces that helped define 2008.

GAMES

1. Virtual Musicians Outnumber Virtual Jocks

A poll whose results released in October found that the music game genre is now the second-most-played, bumping sports games down a notch. The bulk of the share gain can be attributed directly to Guitar Hero and Rock Band. The poll, conducted by research firm Odyssey, found that 50 percent of U.S. gamers played sports games and 58 percent played music games. Action games were the most popular with 65 percent. Much has been made about the "battle of the bands" between Activision's Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises (Guitar Hero alone surpassed the $1 billion mark at the beginning of the year), but the truth is, both have played an astounding role in opening up gaming to a demographic typically averse to anything involving a D-pad.

2. Grand Theft Auto IV Commandeers Charts

Everyone knew Grand Theft Auto IV was going to be a hit, but it wasn't until consumers turned anticipation into cold hard numbers that Rockstar was able to truly remind the industry that GTA was king. Launched in April, GTA IV generated $500 million worldwide during its first week on sale, selling 6 million units. In its first day alone, publisher Take-Two shifted 3.6 million units. The publisher declared the game's release the biggest entertainment launch of all time. A true phenomenon and one testament to just how big games can be.

3. The Wii Fit Sensation

The floor-bound, weight scale-inspired Wii Balance Board and its accompanying Wii Fit software have proven yet again that Nintendo has its finger firmly on the pulse of the mass market. The exer-game so far has sold around 9 million units worldwide after having launched in the West this year and in December 2007 in Japan. With continuing high demand, the game--described by Nintendo as "evergreen"--is on track to outsell even the mighty Grand Theft Auto IV. Wii Fit's wonderful, thoroughly weird, and bona fide commercial hit.

4. The Beatles Have a Music Game

The Beatles have been highly resistant to releasing their songs digitally, so it came as a surprise that they caught on so quickly to another growing music trend, the music/rhythm game genre. Reportedly bidding for the Fab Four's material against Guitar Hero publisher Activision, Rock Band and MTV Games owner Viacom wrestled away exclusive rights to the music. Announced in October, Harmonix Music Systems is currently working on the unnamed Beatles game, which will explore the group's catalog from Please Please Me to Abbey Road--all with the full blessing of Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison.

PLATFORMS

5. Nintendo Hardware Cheerily Crushes All

It's hard to imagine now that we ever snickered at the wand controller, or questioned Nintendo's wisdom in calling its new console "Wii." With around 40 million sold worldwide in just over two years, the Wii is this generation's certified sales freak, smashing records gleefully with mass market appeal. And economic downturn? What economic downturn? Nintendo's home console sold over 2 million units in the U.S. during November, more than the top piece of software, Gears of War 2, almost as if Nintendo wanted to say, "Come see what we can do when we actually have supply." In terms of installed base growth, it's laying high-def consoles Xbox 360 and PS3 to waste, typically outselling both consoles combined on a monthly basis in North America. As for portable domination, the four-year-old DS is now ahead of the Game Boy advance with around 90 million sold worldwide. Nintendo hopes to reinvigorate handheld sales with the DSi, the freshened hardware that launched this year in Japan and slated for 2009 in the West. It looks like a one-two finish for Nintendo's platforms.

6. Achievement Unlocked: First Console to $199.99

A year head start is good for a few things, one of them being beating competitors to the mass market sweet-spot of $199. Xbox 360's low-end Arcade SKU was the first "new generation" console to reach the sub-$200 mark, to the delight of Microsoft, game publishers and late-adopting consumers alike. The September price drop across the three models ($199-$399) boosted Xbox 360 sales in the U.S. and Europe, putting more pressure on Sony to trim the price of the $399 PS3. For now, Sony says it won't budge, with profitability being CEO Howard Stringer's primary focus. Nintendo's $250 Wii is outstripping the cheaper Xbox 360 in near-astronomical volumes, so pricing isn't everything, after all. But Microsoft is still happy to lower the barrier of entry for high-def gaming.

7. Online Services Level Up

With the evolving roles of game consoles, in 2008 the "battle for the living room" turned from an oft-talked about mythical skirmish into a genuine ever-escalating war. New Xbox Experience and Sony's Home open beta added significantly updated community features in the middle of a console cycle. Home's virtual world, among other aspects, has added the ability for gamers to virtually congregate around their favorite games, and Xbox Live improvements upped the overall entertainment appeal of the Xbox 360 with streaming Netflix support. Sony marketing has also begun to put a heavy emphasis on the movie downloading capabilities of the PS3, which are continually expanding.

PUBLISHERS

8. Midway Sold for $100K

Chicago-based Midway had been puttering along for the past several years, failing to turn a profit since 1999. With the failing economy taken into consideration and mounting financial pressure on majority stakeholder Sumner Redstone, the entertainment industry exec finally offloaded the Mortal Kombat house in late November for the rock-bottom price of $100K in order to alleviate debt. The buyer, private investor Mark Thomas, assumed $70 million in debt. Midway's troubles have continued, with the company announcing in December that it would cut 25 percent of its global workforce, or 180 people. It's currently working with investment bank Lazard to formulate strategic alternatives to filing bankruptcy, as it's in danger of defaulting on $240 million of debt.


9. Phil Harrison Quits Sony, Joins Atari

Harrison was the face of Sony software, having joined the company in 1992, fostering relationships with developers and turning Sony Computer Entertainment into a worldwide software publishing powerhouse. So when he announced out of the blue that he would be leaving the company in February this year, more than a few mouths were gaped with surprise. And if that wasn't enough of a shock, in March, Harrison announced that he would be serving as president of Infogrames subsidiary Atari, a company whose classic brand had been watered down over years of abuse. But already, with David Gardner and Harrison leading Infogrames, we're seeing change. Atari recently beat out a disappointed Ubisoft in a bid to acquire City of Heroes creator Cryptic Studios, and signed intriguing new publishing deals that will bring games like Ghostbusters and titles from Q Entertainment to market. With Harrison's keen software know-how, he may be Atari's best bet in bringing some respect back to the slandered label.

10. The EA and Take-Two Acquisition Dance

In the weeks following late 2007's $18.9 billion Activision Blizzard merger, fellow publishing juggernaut Electronic Arts hoped to carry out its own coup by proposing a $2 billion bid for Grand Theft Auto house Take-Two in February. This tango lasted for six months, which consisted of Take-Two rejecting the "inadequate" offer, EA going hostile with the bid and lowering the price of its proposal, multiple extensions of the offer, and pages upon pages of analysis of the situation from outside parties. All of this exposition and posing led to the biggest anti-climax of the year when EA walked away from the deal after exhibiting steadfast discipline in sticking with its $25.74 per share offer. A review of upcoming Take-Two titles failed to convince EA to raise the bid and the non-deal disappeared behind the horizon.

Year Two... in the Life of a Startup

The transition from working for someone to for Yourself

It is something many want to do but few ever think they can do, and even fewer try. Starting in 2006, Joe McDonald (TGA co-founder and Managing Partner) and I went through the stages that many have gone through in the past where we said to ourselves “we should do this” which then became “we can do this” and eventually reached the “we ARE doing this”. We left the security of working for a large company, getting a paycheck and 401k and paid vacations, etc. - basically stability for our families - and risked it all to start a brand new company from scratch.

It was December 2006 when we first started talking about starting The Game Agency and November 2007 when we officially opened our doors. We knew we had a lot to offer… a new approach for the industry, great products and superior services. We set out to start a company focused on creating, marketing and licensing content in the video game space. Now, that’s not too lofty, is it? Luckily Joe and I shared a similar vision of what we wanted to accomplish and the approach in which to do so.

We named our Company “The Game Agency” because we wanted to position ourselves as the “go to” gaming specialists for non-gaming companies.

Two years later, I can point to several mistakes we’ve made, but just as many solutions. Not that we won’t ever make mistakes again, but some of the biggest mistakes people make is repeating them. We’re constantly looking for new ways of doing business and new models for the industry. Bringing games to life is fun, and maximizing the reach and impact of that content is our sweet spot!

For TGA, vision and focus has been critical. Like other businesses, we spent several months defining a clear vision for our future and determining what it would take to get you there. We believe quality, integrity and fun are the keys towards success and those qualities have been a motivator for everything we do from design to development and from hiring to client service.

The first year of being in business was really hard. Things you take for granted when you work for someone else suddenly fall on your shoulders and it takes some getting used to. We certainly have a whole new respect for accountants, human resource managers, designers, etc. having played all those roles at one point or another.

Before we started TGA, Joe and I had very strong work ethics and would regularly work evenings and weekends, but it doesn’t compare to the work involved in the first year of starting your own business. Today we spend 24 hours a day on the business whether it’s through travel, planning, meetings, interviewing – we sleep with one eye open and our PDA’s in one hand and we are constantly looking for the next big task to accomplish. By no means is the storm over now that the first year has passed. The whole experience is extremely rewarding and one we would do over and over again.

2008 Year In Review

With 2008 coming to a close, and the video game industry expecting double diget growth, despite the recession around us, it is time to review the past twelve months and highlight some of the years big winners, big losers and big lessons.

BIG WINNERS

Wii Fit was one of the most innovative products of 2008. Nintendo took a big risk in developing a product that targeted both the casual and core gamers. That risk definitely paid off. Six months after its release, it is one of the hottest games out there.

Guitar Hero: On Tour was another title that beat the market's expectations. Activision managed to take the Guitar Hero franchise, shrink it, and implement it on the Nintendo DS.

Charming is a word oft used to describe LittleBigPlanet, Media Molecule’s debut game. This game brings together all types of gamers, even drawing in non-gamers to witness user-generated spectacle. LittleBigPlanet’s target audience is “people,” and it deserves recognition as one of the best games of the year.

2008 was a great year for brand new franchises including Dead Space, Left 4 Dead, Grid and Pure. The proliferation of review aggregation sites such as Metacritic and GameRankings is making it easier for great new games to find their way to the top.

Other surprise hits include downloadable games such as Braid for Xbox Live and World of Goo for the Wii. The cult success of these games is proof that you don't need to make a blockbuster game to get in front of millions of eyeballs.

On the small screen, Nitro Kart 3D on the iPhone is a fantastic game. The sense of speed is excellent, the graphics are nearly as detail-packed and colorful as Super Monkey Ball, and it includes plenty of game modes and racers.

BIG LOSERS

One of the biggest disappointments of 2008 was Too Human. In development for almost 10 years, Too Human was hyped to be one of the defining releases of this console generation. With such high expectations, it was no surprise that many critics judged the game harshly; the general consensus among gamers was that the game play was highly repetitive and the story fell flat.

Iron Man is another game that failed to to live up to its potential. While it was a fantastic movie, the video game was one of those cash-in brand deals that reminds us all why ET ended up as landfill. Someone should have taken a tire iron to this iron man.

BIG LESSONS

Despite not being 100% recession-proof, the video game industry has proven this year that it is definitely recession-resistant. This is still a growth industry, and there are many outside players trying to figure out how they can get a piece of the proverbial pie.

PLATFORMS
The real battle in this console cycle is for second place. While the continued momentum for the Wii has certainly been impressive (2 million units in one month is quite a feat), Microsoft is making all the right moves to ensure that it holds a significant edge over Sony in the U.S. for the number two slot. In the face of a struggling economy, the Xbox team hit just the right tone in the marketplace by dropping the price of the Xbox 360 Arcade to $199. Sony, on the other hand, decided to stick with the same general price points while adding extra gigabytes to the hard drive. The DS remains mindbogglingly successful, with year-to-date sales up 15 percent over last year's thru November, 6 million units. Despite The PSP 1.5% year-over-year growth, this was that most disappointing platform on the market in 2008.

PUBLISHERS
As larger publishers begin to focus more and more on generating blockbuster hits, there is a growing contingent of independent developers with their eyes on a different kind of business model. For a fraction of the cost of developing a fully-loaded $60 game, independent developers can avoid the pitfalls of the traditional retail distribution model and reach gamers directly through the consoles' online services. While these two approaches could not be more fundamentally different, both will need to rely on the growing number of connected consoles in order to find success in 2009.

RELEASES DATES
Watch out for crowded release windows... There were a ton of games that were overlooked, that should have been more successful including Far Cry 2, Midnight Club: Los Angeles, Dead Space, Mirror's Edge, Saints Row 2, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, LittleBigPlanet, and Prince of Persia, all of which came out in a crowded holiday window. Many of these titles would have performed better if launched in January through August, and we may see publishers re-think release windows going forward.

Welcome to The Game Agency!

The Game Agency “TGA” is an award winning marketing agency specializing in video games and interactive entertainment. Our employees have worked in every facet of the interactive industry and we strive to deliver a wide range of video game services and products to our clients. Bringing games to life is fun, and maximizing the reach and impact of that content is TGA’s sweet spot!