While Greece may have taken down stock markets across the globe, there seems to be little impact on video game companies, thanks to the perpetuating positive impacts of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2015. Most of the companies have shown an upward trend over the past week and we expect the momentum to continue as major releases take center stage in the second half of the year.
Microsoft MSFT stole the limelight with its HoloLens gearing up for a space ride. Nintendo’s NTDOY hit video game characters are finally going to make an entry into theme parks. Further, Activision Publishing, Inc.’s ATVI Destiny is now going to be the face of popular energy drink Red Bull in the U.S. and Canada.
Highlights from Last Week
1. Japanese video game company, Nintendo recently announced that it is working on introducing its video game characters to Universal theme parks. Reportedly, Mario and Mushroom Kingdom would be the first among other titles to debut in Universal's parks although no details of the launch have been provided.
Further, the company also announced that its third person shooter game – Splatoon – has sold 1 million copies. The success of Splatoon has inspired the company to come up with 11 more exclusive Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games along with amiibo as well as other digital offering and games from third party partners.
2. Recently, Electronic Arts Inc. EA along with the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) announced that during the 2015 NHL Awards, Stanley Cup Champions Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane from the Chicago Blackhawks will appear on the cover of EA SPORTS NHL 16. The cover would not only feature two teammates but also the Stanley Cup trophy for the first time.
3. Activision and Bungie are set to bring Red Bull, the energy drink, as an epic quest for players of hit sci-fi action adventure game franchise Destiny. The game will be promoted via customized Red Bull cans in the U.S. and Canada. This would be the first time that a third party brand will feature on a Red Bull can. We believe this unique promotional strategy will help Activision further promote its brand and hit titles among gaming enthuisiasts.
4. Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.’s TTWO 2K along with Turtle Rock Studios announced that one new Monster and four new Hunters characters are being added to the popular game franchise Evolve. The latest upgrade will include four Hunters who will fight against a single-player controlled Monster. The new special characters can be availed individually by the players or as part of Evolve Hunting Season 2. The company is expected to launch all five new characters on Mar 31, 2016.
5. The virtual reality world is in for exciting times as Microsoft’s augmented reality headgear HoloLens is likely to debut in space. Reportedly, the company has tied up with NASA in order to send HoloLens to the International Space Station for collaboration and training. HoloLens first wooed video game players at the E3 2015 show and received positive response from players.
Now, the collaboration with NASA is indicative of HoloLens’ strong potential as a virtual reality device. This is expected to attract more consumers and businesses. However, HoloLens’ price is yet to be revealed, and details about the number of units in production also remain undisclosed. We believe that Microsoft with such high profile collaborations is trying to create a high demand scenario in the retail market before HoloLens is made widely available.
Performance
The following table shows the price movements of major video gaming players over both the past five trading days as well as the last six months:
|
Company |
Last 5 Days |
Last 6 Months |
|
ATVI |
1.56% |
24.18% |
|
EA |
2.27% |
37.22% |
|
GLUU |
0.46% |
59.21% |
|
MSFT |
-0.98% |
-2.93% |
|
NTES |
-1.58% |
48.36% |
|
TTWO |
1.39% |
-2.10% |
|
ZNGA |
0.00% |
10.33% |
In the last five trading sessions, the companies witnessed a mixed trend. The stock that gained the maximum was Electronic Arts, up 2.3%, whereas the stock that lost the most was NetEase, Inc. NTES, down 1.6%.
Over the last 6-month period, Glu Mobile surged the most — nearly 59.2%. We believe that the continued growth in the company’s mobile gaming audience and new game launches will add to its bottom line over the long term. However, the stock that declined over the last six months was Microsoft, down almost 3%.
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