GameStop’s Q3 results buoyed by hit game sales

While other companies are screaming that the sky is falling, retailer GameStop said Thursday that sales of hot game titles helped boost its third-quarter profits by nearly 12 percent and offset a sales decline for video game hardware in the quarter. These profits just barely helped the company beat Wall Street expectations. Excluding costs, GameStop’s operating profit of 32 cents per share beat a forecast of 30 cents per share.

Net earnings for the quarter that ended on Oct. 13 were $52.2 million - 31 cents per share, up from a profit of $46.7 million - 28 cents per share, in the same period a year ago. Sales in the quarter climbed 8.2 percent to $1.83 billion; analysts estimated $1.73 billion. A year ago the company raked in $1.7 billion.

Sales of new software rose 9.4 percent, and sales of used products jumped 19 percent. These gains helped offset a decline in sales of new video game hardware. But sales at stores open at least a year, which is considered a measure of a retailer’s financial health — fell 7.8 percent. That’s in line with forecast the company offered last week - a decline of 6 - 11 percent.

So what games pulled GameStop’s fanny out of the fire this quarter? According to the company, Madden NFL 10, Halo 3: ODST, Batman: Arkham Asylum, NBA 2K10 and Nintendo’s Wii Sports Resort. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 sold more than 2.5 million copies worldwide in its first 72 hours of release as well.

For the fourth quarter, GameStop expects a profit of $1.47 - $1.65 per share; analysts forecast Q4 profits at $1.57.

Modern Warfare 2 Tops GameFly’s Most Wanted

Video game rental service GameFly has released its annual list of “Most Wanted” games ahead of the holiday shopping season. Of the top 10 titles featured on the across all platforms list, seven have seen brisk retail sales and significant rental activity for GameFly. They include Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Halo 3: ODST, Borderlands, Dragon Age: Origins, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and Madden NFL 10. Here are the top ten most wanted games according to GameFly subscribers:

1) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - XBOX 360, PS3

2) Batman: Arkham Asylum - XBOX 360, PS3

3) Assassin’s Creed 2 - XBOX 360, PS3, DS

4) Halo 3: ODST - XBOX 360

5) Borderlands - XBOX 360, PS3

6) Left 4 Dead 2 - XBOX 360

7) Dragon Age: Origins - XBOX 360, PS3

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - PS3

9) Madden NFL 10 - XBOX 360, PS3, PSP, Wii, PS2

10) New Super Mario Bros. Wii - Wii

For more information on GameFly, check out www.gamefly.com.

Halo Waypoint now live on Xbox Live

Starting Saturday, Nov. 7, Halo Waypoint will begin previewing new Halo content on Xbox Live. The new virtual home for all things Halo launches today on Xbox LIVE, and will be the “exclusive destination for full-episode previews of Halo Legends beginning Saturday, Nov. 7. Halo Waypoint promises daily updates featuring developer interviews, trailers and screenshots, exclusive video footage, community activities and the latest Halo news.

In addition, Halo Waypoint includes a career system that tracks players’ accomplishments across multiple Halo games and gives them new ways to show off their in game exploits. Players who participate in Halo Waypoint will be rewarded with a variety of Bungie-created Halo 3: ODST Avatar Awardables for attaining specific Achievements in the game. Rewards vary from T-shirts to full sets of ODST armor. These awardables are retroactive, so if players have already unlocked the requisite Achievements, the awards will be ready for them once they enlist in Halo Waypoint.

Turn on your Xbox 360 and log on to Xbox Live to learn more.

Video game hardware, software sales mostly flat in Sept.

While some might applaud the new batch of sales numbers for the month of Sept., they show that the sector, like many others in the world during this still shaky financial times, is feeling the bite just like everyone else. It is hard to imagine what hardware numbers might look like if Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft hadn’t slashed the prices on their respective home console systems. Even with those price cuts, NPD data for the month showed a meager 1 percent gain over the same period a year ago, with total videogame related sales in the U.S. of around $1.28. Again, if not for cuts, it would have been more downward trending for the sector. Still it’s hard to ignore that compared to August, sales were up considerably in Sept.

On the hardware front, the one relevant console that did not get a price cut, the DS (which includes the DSi and DS Lite), was at the top of the heap moving over half a million units in the month. The good news for Sony - if there really is any in a month that was mostly flat - is that it managed to beat out the Wii and Xbox 360 in the month with 491,000 units. The Wii was close by with almost 463,000 units and the Xbox 360 managed to move nearly 353,000 units. The PSP moved right around 190,000 units in Sept., - which we assume includes both the old model and the new PSP go. Finally, the PS2 managed to move 146,000 units.

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Halo 3: ODST soundtrack Sept. 22

Sumthing Else Music Works announced that the official soundtrack to Halo 3: ODST, featuring an original musical score from Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori, will be released later this month. The 2-disc set will be released on September 22nd to retail outlets through Sumthing Else Music Works, and will be available for digital download on Sumthing Digital and iTunes.

Developed for Xbox 360 by series creators Bungie, Halo 3: ODST is a new game in the Halo saga that lets players experience events leading up to the story told in Halo 3 through the eyes of an ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper), as they search for clues leading to the whereabouts of their scattered squad and the motivations behind the Covenant’s invasion of New Mombasa. The release promises to add a new dimension to a universe that gamers around the world have known and loved for close to eight years.

It Came From G4: Sessler’s Soapbox and Halo 3 ODST

This week on Sessler’s Soapbox, G4’s Adam Sessler discusses The Beatles: Rock Band, and how it was difficult to properly review the game when it almost had to be looked at more as an experience than a game. You can catch it below or at G4TV.

Speaking of experiences, G4TV also has an interview with Bungie’s Brian Jarrard about Halo 3: ODST. I’m not a big Halo fan but ODST looks like an experience that, while still very Halo at its core, tries to create somewhat of a different angle into the Halo universe. You can find that interview at G4TV.

Halo 3: ODST goes on tour in America’s

Hey there Halo fan boys and girls, if you can’t wait for Halo 3: ODST to deploy on September 22 then you’ll want to check out the Halo 3: ODST GameStop Tour when it drives through your city (or one that’s close by). From August 22 - September Xbox LIVE’s Major Nelson and Bungie will drive The Halo 3: ODST Transport Vehicle across America breaking hearts and taking names - oh, and showing off ODST.

The action begins this Saturday, Aug. 22, in Redmond, Washington at the Redmond Town Center GameStop (17128 Redmond Way, Redmond, WA). The “Halo 3: ODST” Transport Vehicle deploys at noon and will remain active until 8:00 p.m giving fans in each city of the tour the opportunity to experience the all new Firefight multiplayer mode in Halo 3: ODST and score Halo swag for proving their skills (all participants must be age 17 or older, sorry teenage boys with haircuts like the Jonas Brothers and that idiot from high School Musical).

Built from a modified M820A2 expandable truck, the Halo 3: ODST is a mobile gaming experience measuring 27 feet long and 14 feet wide when fully expanded, and weighing at 13 tons. It’s also a Halo party on wheels, according to Microsoft, with eight Xbox 360 console rigs featuring Halo 3: ODST, ready for play.

You can check out the cities and dates for the tour at www.gamestop.com/halo.