When a publicly traded U.S. company experiences what the Securities and Exchange Commission terms an "unscheduled material event" it is required to file a form 8-K in order to alert stockholders and the market at large.
For example, Electronic Arts filed an 8-K just yesterday to inform the market that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was slipping into 2009, with a resultant loss of significant expected 2008 income.
So, if the rumor that EA's upcoming Dead Space has been banned in three markets - China, Japan and Germany - is true, might that not trigger an 8-K disclosure as well? None has been forthcoming so far.
For the answer, GamePolitics turned to financial analyst extraordinaire Michale Pachter (left) of Wedbush-Morgan:
GP: If Dead Space was really banned in three major markets (Japan, China, Germany) as the rumor currently goes, wouldn’t that be a material event that EA would need to disclose to the stock market? Also – does EA sell console games in China? I thought no one did because of piracy issues.
PACHTER: Germany will allow the game with modifications. Japan and China are essentially closed markets. So really, no big deal. No consoles in China, yet
GP: Can you elaborate on what you mean by "closed market" in terms of Japan?
PACHTER: EA sells very little there, maybe $50 million per year, mostly PC games. I don't think it is that controversial. [Dead Space] is a horror game, not the same as Manhunt. The bans are from the usual suspects, not a big deal
GP: Thanks, Mike.
Although Pachter confirms that there are no console sales in China, Dead Space is scheduled to release on PC, so that's the version which EA would want to market in China and Japan. If the ban is real (still a pretty big "if" at this point), it likely involves the PC flavor of Dead Space in those markets.
Clearly, Pachter does not see this as a significant issue for EA, at least in the financial sense. Bans are always troubling, however, so we eagerly await EA's official word on this.
Comments
Re: Pachter: Rumored Dead Space Ban "No Big Deal"
Nintendo is indeed selling SOME of these on the Virtual Console but not even close to all of them. While i agree in part to his piracy he was filling a market that Nintendo failed to recognize. Maybe someone doesnt want to buy a Wii. maybe they just want a console with 50 - 100 NES games on them?? maybe just maybe?
but no Nintendo wants everyone araba kiralama to buy the Wii. thats their excuse but thats not what copyright is supposed to protect. i am real sure that the makers of 10 yard fight were losing sleep because they were missing out on their $0.00025 worth because they didnt get royalties from this player. *smirk*
my question is, should Super Mario Bros. be banned from public domain forever? isnt 23 years enough time for Nintendo to have made their profits?
If you have followed the Steamboat Willie case regarding Mickey Mouse you can rest in your bed well at night knowing that the MOUSE will still be under copyright law, away from public domain after your great grandchildren are in nursing homes. That is beyond ridiculous dont you think??
Gallagher can araç kiralama say all he wants, but I strongly rent a car believe it's due to his crappy leadership and E3 being a joke. ESA's Board of Directors need to find a way to get out rent a car of this horrid contract with this Bush cronie before there's no one left on the Board.
Btw, I think Atari and Midway will drop out too, but mostly travesti because these guys have done nothing ttnet vitamin or little and need to start saving costs.
YES.
Now I don't have to get off my ass for the important shit anymore!
Whats next, ordering pizza from Xbox live?
Wait... I think that sounds like a good idea.
But I think voting should MAKE you get off your ass, and see outside or a second while you go vote. I mean, your picking the president of the United States of America for God's Sake... least you can do is drive down there and punch out a card.
Re: Pachter: Rumored Dead Space Ban "No Big Deal"
Re: Pachter: Rumored Dead Space Ban "No Big Deal"
Any chance of getting comment from someone that isn't Pachter? None of his past commentary has given me any reason to trust his judgement. Nor do these comments. As Seanb notes, he pretty much dodged the question. That he seemingly disregards the PC market in China and the console market in Japan does not exactly lend weight to his downplaying of those two markets. Furthermore, while Germany would allow games with edits, that takes time, and can cause delays. You'd think a potential screw up in the European market would come in for a bit more weight than he gives it.
-Gray17
Re: Pachter: Rumored Dead Space Ban "No Big Deal"
Re: Pachter: Rumored Dead Space Ban "No Big Deal"
Sounds like Pachter kinda dodged the 8-k question....
Re: Pachter: Rumored Dead Space Ban "No Big Deal"
Hmmm....they way he's saying it, sounds like the Asia "bans" weren't anything more than someone giving the old "we aren't gonna pay to localize this game."
Looks like an importer for eager Japanese gamers.