Daily Marauder

GAMING

People like air guitar and pretending to be in modern warfare … a lot. That’s the message to be gleaned from news that Activision, the maker of the wildly popular “Guitar Hero 3″ and “Call of Duty 4″ video games, reported quarterly revenue of $602.5 million, a 93% bounce from the comparable period in 2007. “It’s the ongoing popularity of ‘Guitar Hero’ and ‘Call of Duty.’ It just shows what can happen in terms of performance when you have blockbuster hit titles”, said Colin Sebastian, a Lazard Capital Markets analyst. (Pocket-lint.co.uk 5/9, Reuters 5/8)

A patent filing suggests that Apple is researching development of a 3-D gaming controller for its Apple TV set-top box that would be designed to parrot the functions in the Nintendo Wii and add features related to its multitouch technology. The November 2006 filing was published this week for the first time. (AppleInsider 5/8)

RealNetworks plans to spin off its casual games division into a separate company, distributing shares to its shareholders and possibly moving forward with an IPO. Games have been a growth area for Real as of late with revenue up 33% Q1 ‘08 from the first quarter of 2007 to $31.8 million. The company reported overall Q1 earnings up 14%, despite slowly losing subscribers to its subscription-based Rhapsody music service. (Cynopsis 5/9)

Video games are being used for rehab and therapy to improve balance and mobility in Parkinson’s patients and even to increase the health and well being of children. Check out the Games for Health website for more on this trend, including video from this week’s Games for Health conference in Baltimore. (Cynopsis 5/9)