E3, or the Electronic Entertainment Expo, is set to occur this week in Los Angeles. This is one of the largest trade fairs for the video game industry where developers, publishers and manufacturers reveal the latest games or merchandise that is about to hit the market. Last year alone there were nearly 50,000 people in attendance to this industry-only event.
A few companies presenting at E3, or at least tied to the event, are Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) and GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME).
The schedule for press conferences throughout the week is (all times are Pacific):
- Microsoft, Monday at 9 a.m.
- EA, Monday at 12:30 p.m.
- Ubisoft, Monday at 2:30 p.m.
- Sony, Monday at 5:30 p.m.
- Nintendo, Tuesday at 9 a.m.
- Square Enix, Tuesday at 10 a.m.
One of the biggest titles that will be making an appearance at E3 is Halo 5, set to come out later in 2015. This is the newest installment in perhaps one of the most successful gaming franchises ever. Microsoft will use the newest technology of its Xbox One to showcase this game’s stunning visuals.
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EA is presenting at E3, as well with its bread-and-butter franchise FIFA. This has been one of the most popular franchises worldwide and it is continuing to grow. FIFA ’16 is set to be released this fall on all major platforms. For the first time in the series, the game will feature playable female teams.
Activision Blizzard recently released its answer to League of Legends, Heroes of the Storm. This game spans multiple franchises under Blizzard (ex. Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo) and brings together key characters to battle it out online. This style of game has become increasingly popular over the past five years, and Blizzard has developed a freemium model around it.
At E3, Blizzard actually will present the next installment of its StarCraft series, StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void. The first and second installments were widely popular and celebrated by many gamers. This has been one of the strongest franchises for Blizzard.
On Monday afternoon, shares of Blizzard were down 2.7% to $24.72, within a 52-week trading range of $17.73 to $26.09.
Shares of Microsoft were down 1.5% to $45.25, in a 52-week trading range of $40.12 to $50.05.
Shares of GameStop were relatively flat at $43.01, in a 52-week range of $31.69 to $46.59.
Shares of Sony were up 1%, at $30.77 in a 52-week range of $16.05 to $32.95.
Shares of EA were down 1.2% to $62.00, in a 52-week trading range of $31.77 to $64.30.
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