Networking Revenue Growth Drivers from Video Game Publishers: A Wall Street Transcript Interview with Edward S. Williams, a Managing Director at BMO Capital Markets, Covering the Interactive Entertainment and Leisure Industries
67 WALL STREET, New York - November 12, 2013 - The Wall Street Transcript has just published its Entertainment, Toys and Games Report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This special feature contains expert industry commentary through in-depth interviews with public company CEOs, Equity Analysts and Money Managers. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.
Topics covered: Brick-And-Mortar Versus Online Retail Sales - Cautious Consumer Spending - International Paid Television Growth - Digital Advertisement Trends - Mobile Device Gaming Prospects - Toy Company Competition
Companies include: Activision Blizzard, Inc. (ATVI), Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO), GameStop Corp. (GME), International Game Technology (IGT), Mattel Inc. (MAT), Hasbro Inc. (HAS), Sony Corporation (SNE), Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) and many others.
In the following excerpt from the Entertainment, Toys and Games Report, an highly experienced research analyst discusses the outlook for the sector for investors:
TWST: What is your coverage in the toys and games sector?
Mr. Williams: I cover the game side, including companies such as Activision Blizzard (ATVI), Electronic Arts (EA), Take-Two (TTWO), UbiSoft (UBI.PA) and GameStop (GME), all of which are involved in the packaged goods console games business. I also cover Zynga (ZNGA), Gameloft (GFT.PA) and IGT (IGT). The first two, Gameloft and Zynga, are in the mobile game space. Zynga also has a large presence in the social games space.
IGT has got a subsidiary, DoubleDown, which is one of the top developers of social casino iPad apps. IGT is primarily a gaming equipment company. They manufacture and operate slot machines. That is my exposure to the category. We have another analyst here who covers the likes of Mattel (MAT) and Hasbro (HAS) and the toy companies.
TWST: All the talk is about the new game consoles in the video sector. Is that the most important thing in the area right now?
Mr. Williams: Absolutely. The key thing at this stage for many of the companies in the category is the pending arrival of the new game consoles from Sony (SNE) and Microsoft (MSFT) and the opportunity that those new consoles bring to the market to refresh the landscape and potentially reinvigorate demand for software for the category. We are also wrestling with trying to get a sense as to how the consumer is going to behave between now and the November launch of the consoles. Both of the new consoles are not backwards-compatible, which could lead to uncertainty about purchasing behavior of releases that are coming out now for the legacy systems.
From the perspective of the investment community, we are trying to figure out how this uncertainty will weigh on near term company performance. However, we believe the investment thesis for the category is...
For more of this interview and many others visit the Wall Street Transcript - a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs, portfolio managers and research analysts. This special issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.
