Anime/Manga
Manga absolutely dominated October graphic novel sales, according to Bookscan. Viz Media alone had 12 of the top 20 selling titles, Del Rey Manga had three and Tokyopop had one (Volume 8 of Loveless)
Japanese anime maker Studio Gonzo has reduced its annual output by half for 2008. Less titles coming out of Japan means less available to come to the States, so there may be a residual effect on the American anime industry.
Video Games
Activision and Electronic Arts can't seem to stay out of the news. Activision is keeping it all in the family by acquiring Budcat Creations, which adapted its Guitar Hero games for Playstation 2. Meanwhile, EA Mobie has launched Console Boost, which allows players of the console version of Tiger Woods PGA Golf to connect with the new mobile phone edition to download stat points. We've seen connectivity between handhelds like the DS and consoles like the Wii before, but this the first cell phone connectivity – and we're sure it will be far from the last.
In the latest game industry soap opera, Sega A&R content head Darren Williams dissed the Wii's emphasis on casual gaming, saying it's on its way to being "the most expensive board game on Earth." Perhaps Williams should consider which platform resurrected Sonic the Hedgehog before making hasty judgements.
More trouble for Circuit City: One week after announcing it would be closing more than 150 stores, the electronics chain, which currently sells five to 10 percent of the video games in the U.S., has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Technology
When your business seems doomed by advancing technology, learn to adapt and carry on: Blockbuster has announced that it will have a set-top box that people can use to access movies on demand for the holiday season. The movies will come from the Movielink download service. However, they may get competition from YouTube, which will be offering full-length movies from the MGM library in an attempt to boost ad revenues.
Sony BMG may be offering DRM-free music download via iTunes in the near future. So far, EMI is the only music company participating in Apple's iTunes Plus service, which offers DRM-free music that's higher quality for a slightly higher price.