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Casual Games Report

Pearl Research is pleased to have contributed to the trade organization Casual Game Association’s “Casual Games Report”. This exclusive 60-page report covers worldwide market sizing, business models, industry dynamics and top products and companies. The report presents the inner workings of the industry and is a central document for key casual game information.

If you did not receive a copy in the mail and would like to acquire one: www.regonline.com/CGAPearlResearchReport

February 2008 Newsletter

Pearl Research Services
Pearl Research provides customized research and consulting services including market entry or market expansion plans, competitive analysis, benchmarking and best practices in addition to survey services.

Please contact us at 415-738-7660 or email research (at) pearlresearch.com for more information and a customized proposal.

Upcoming market brief
Latin America Spotlight:
Argentina

New Research Reports Available

Console Market in China
Pearl Research conducted store checks in Beijing along with interviews with console gamers. This fascinating upcoming brief includes number of units of hardware sold per store, interviews with store managers and Pearl Research’s analysis of the console market.

Please call (+1) 415-738-7660 or email research (at) pearlresearch.com to inquire about this study and to receive a sample.

FPS: Special Force and Sudden Attack / Zhengtu and TianLong BaBu
For a sample of the FPS analysis, please contact us. A sample of Zhengtu/TLBB is below
http://www.pearlresearch.com/newsl/Zhengtu_TLBB.pdf

Electronic Arts recently announced a free-to-play model for its Battlefield Heroes games. Two games that have successfully leveraged this model include Special Force and Sudden Attack. Both were enormous hits in Korea and revitalized the FPS genre. CDC has announced robust revenues for its Special Forces title. While Sudden Attack excelled in Korea, the game is running into some issues in China, even though many players consider it a more fast-paced game.

As part of the competitive analysis, Pearl Research examines key success factors, player critiques, the marketing of these titles along with in-depth comparisons of features including the combat system, user interface, community management, the games' stickiness, replay value, learning curve and other relevant features.

Google and Baidu: Search Engine Preferences
http://www.pearlresearch.com/files/SAMPLE_PearlResearch_BaiduGoogle_0801.pdf

Based on one-on-one interviews and an online survey, the study analyzes Google’s competitive position against Baidu. Baidu's lead is mostly a result of its Chinese brand, early market entry, strong entertainment functions and other youth-friendly features. However, many of our panel believed that Google offers a robust product with more relevant and precise search results. Click on the link above for a free sample.

Conferences and Events

+We will be attending GDC February 18-22th in San Francisco. To contact us for an appointment, please send an email to research (at) pearlresearch.com

+Pearl Research is pleased to partner with the ION conference.

The ION Game Conference (formerly known as OGDC) is the only annual game industry event with a laser-sharp focus on the rapidly evolving business of online game development on all its platforms. The 2nd Annual ION Game Conference will be held May 13-15, 2008 at the Seattle Waterfront Marriott Hotel in Seattle, Washington.

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Pearl Research is a San Francisco- and China-based consulting and market research firm that focuses on the Internet, games and technology markets. We send out a newsletter 10 to 12 times a year. Please contact us for more info about our services or for any questions. To unsubscribe, please click the link below.