Industry insiders and members of the media attending the recently concluded Electronic Entertainment Expo got a sneak peak at several new titles Orange County video game developers plan to introduce in coming months.
Irvine-based Blizzard Entertainment Inc., the county’s largest software maker, opted for closed-door meetings at the Los Angeles Convention Center to tease the last installment of its StarCraft 2 franchise, “Legacy of the Void,” and a new free, three-mission expansion that links previous installment “Wings of Liberty” to the one in development. The company also demoed its second free-to-play game, “Heroes of the Storm,” which it released June 2, trumpeting a new multiplayer online battle arena inspired by its Diablo franchise that will debut June 30.
Its first free-to-play title, the collectible card game “Hearthstone” that was released in March 2014, is played by more than 30 million fans and generates about $30 million per quarter from in-game purchases.
Santa Ana publisher Little Orbit LLC in a private conference room demoed four games scheduled for release this year, including several titles tied to licensed brands that have proved successful. They included the company’s second Barbie game, “Barbie and Her Sisters: Puppy Rescue;” “Adventure Time: Finn and Jake Investigations,” its second game tied to the Cartoon Network hit; “Monster High: New Ghoul in School,” which includes an option to create one’s own character in the fourth title under the brand; and new brawler offering “Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends.”
Atlus U.S.A. Inc. in Irvine and its Tokyo-based parent, Atlus Co. Ltd., was one of the larger exhibitors on the frenzied showroom floor, offering giveaways on a makeshift dance floor as gamers tested several new titles, including “Persona4: Dancing All Night,” which is scheduled for release in the fall, and “Dungeon Travelers 2,” which will be released this summer.
Other locals, such as Irvine independent game developer Ready at Dawn, didn’t showcase upcoming games but held several executive meetings with industry players at E3, the largest computer and video game trade show in the U.S. The conference was expected to draw about 50,000 people to downtown L.A.
D-Link Responds to Competitive Threat
Fountain Valley-based D-Link Systems Inc. has a big new competitor in the growing IP camera market that could threaten its leadership position in the consumer segment.
Nest Labs, which was acquired by Mountain View-based Google Inc. for $3.2 billion, has entered the ring with the Nest Cam, which costs $199, plus a yearly subscription fee of $100 for a 10-day history of video footage or $300 for a 30-day history.
D-Link, the North American unit of Taiwan-based D-Link Corp., which generates about $1 billion in annual sales, launched a website with data comparing its devices with Nest’s lone offering. Its vice president of marketing, Daniel Kelley, summed up the comparison this way: “While Nest offers one solution with no outdoor models, no pan-and-tilt functionality, no local recording, and likely increased bandwidth needed to record into the cloud at the increased resolution of 1080p, D-Link offers the widest breadth of cameras with options appealing to consumers not wanting to pay a monthly fee or have their video living outside of their home.”
TigerLogic Exits California
Software maker TigerLogic Corp., which has shrunk local employment to six people, has moved its headquarters from Irvine to Portland, Ore. The consolidation and move had been expected for months following years of losses and a recent struggle to meet Nasdaq’s minimum price compliance of at least $1.
