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How Feasible Are Big Tech's Plans to Win the Gaming Market?
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The ability of the video game universe to offer an amazing getaway from the real world has helped it to attract considerable attention in the past few weeks. With strict social distancing measures and coronavirus-triggered lockdowns in place, people have little entertainment other than what is available indoors.
In such a scenario, it’s of little surprise that sales of video games have hit record highs. After all, video games make up a significant portion of indoor entertainment. This rising inclination toward video games is acting as a catalyst for Big Tech’s moves to up their game in the space.
Facebook, Inc.’sFacebook Gaming app, which was released earlier this month, has already racked up 5 million downloads. The application was set to be released in June. However, Facebook decided to launch it in April to bank on potential gamers, now homebound.
In fact, the social media giant stressed on the significance of #PlayApartTogether while releasing the application, to create solidarity among players amid the coronavirus-induced global crisis. Apart from this, the application has features that allow users to create tournaments with their friends and other players in games such as Fortnite and Activision Blizzard, Inc.’s Call of Duty: Warzone.
Shares of Facebook, which belongs to the Zacks Internet - Services industry, rose 18.5% in the past month. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for current year is 11.7%.
Amazon.com is also taking similar initiatives to make its mark in the gaming space. The company is offering free games to Twitch users and Amazon Prime subscribers in a bid to garner as many players as possible. Twitch is Amazon’s most popular site for livestreaming games. Until May 1, Amazon is offering free games worth more than $100. Some of these games are Turok and Earthlock.
Considering the rising demand for gaming, one may take a look at Twitch’s statistics in first-quarter 2020. The Amazon-owned site outpaced 3 billion hours watched on its platform for the first time in the quarter ended March, according to analytics firm StreamHatchet. From February to March, watch hours on Twitch spiked by 23%. In addition, the number of unique channels (new users) on the site in the first quarter also rose by 33.3% compared to fourth-quarter 2019.
Shares of Amazon.com, which belongs to the Zacks Internet - Commerce industry, rose 27.2% in the past month. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for current year is 21.3%.
Appleis also not far behind Facebook and Amazon. The company’s subscription-based gaming service Arcade, which is available on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV or even iPod Touch with the iOS 13 operating system, has added new games to keep its gamers engaged.
The platform recently added Beyond Blue by E-Line Media and A Fold Apart by Lightning Rod Games to its list of a hundred free video games (both original and exclusive ones with no in-app purchases or advertisements) for $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year.
Shares of Apple, which belongs to the Zacks Computer - Mini computers industry, rose 12% in the past month. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for current year is 2.3%.
Alphabet has taken a somewhat different approach than its competitors above to reach its goals. First, Alphabet’s Google made its new cloud-based game streaming service Stadia Pro free for two months, which offers access to nine games, including the insanely famous Destiny 2. Any Gmail account holder can access Stadia free of cost. After offering free access, Stadia crossed as many as 1 million installs globally, according to analytics firm Sensor Tower’s data.
Second, to accommodate more players onto the platform, Google is adding a temporary feature that alters the default screen resolution from 4k to 1080p, which would lower load on the Internet.
Shares of Alphabet, which belongs to the Zacks Internet - Services industry, rose 15.4% in the past month. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for next year is 28.7%.
Given the dedicated work of Big Tech giants in the arena of video games, it is of little doubt that the segment could soon be ruled by these companies in terms of new gaming concepts, unique stories and interfaces. Moreover, considering the surge in video games sales to a 12-year high in March, one may expect the existing players on Big Tech’s gaming platforms to further their engagement in their popular games, whether or not the lockdown persists.
More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!
It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.
Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.
Image: Bigstock
How Feasible Are Big Tech's Plans to Win the Gaming Market?
The ability of the video game universe to offer an amazing getaway from the real world has helped it to attract considerable attention in the past few weeks. With strict social distancing measures and coronavirus-triggered lockdowns in place, people have little entertainment other than what is available indoors.
In such a scenario, it’s of little surprise that sales of video games have hit record highs. After all, video games make up a significant portion of indoor entertainment. This rising inclination toward video games is acting as a catalyst for Big Tech’s moves to up their game in the space.
Big Tech’s Activities in the World of Video Games
The Big Tech — Facebook, Inc. , Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN - Free Report) , Apple Inc. (AAPL - Free Report) and Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL - Free Report) — despite being relatively new to the video game business, is making fast advances especially since billions around the world are confined to their homes. All of the Big Tech stocks carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.
Facebook, Inc.’sFacebook Gaming app, which was released earlier this month, has already racked up 5 million downloads. The application was set to be released in June. However, Facebook decided to launch it in April to bank on potential gamers, now homebound.
In fact, the social media giant stressed on the significance of #PlayApartTogether while releasing the application, to create solidarity among players amid the coronavirus-induced global crisis. Apart from this, the application has features that allow users to create tournaments with their friends and other players in games such as Fortnite and Activision Blizzard, Inc.’s Call of Duty: Warzone.
Shares of Facebook, which belongs to the Zacks Internet - Services industry, rose 18.5% in the past month. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for current year is 11.7%.
Amazon.com is also taking similar initiatives to make its mark in the gaming space. The company is offering free games to Twitch users and Amazon Prime subscribers in a bid to garner as many players as possible. Twitch is Amazon’s most popular site for livestreaming games. Until May 1, Amazon is offering free games worth more than $100. Some of these games are Turok and Earthlock.
Considering the rising demand for gaming, one may take a look at Twitch’s statistics in first-quarter 2020. The Amazon-owned site outpaced 3 billion hours watched on its platform for the first time in the quarter ended March, according to analytics firm StreamHatchet. From February to March, watch hours on Twitch spiked by 23%. In addition, the number of unique channels (new users) on the site in the first quarter also rose by 33.3% compared to fourth-quarter 2019.
Shares of Amazon.com, which belongs to the Zacks Internet - Commerce industry, rose 27.2% in the past month. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for current year is 21.3%.
Appleis also not far behind Facebook and Amazon. The company’s subscription-based gaming service Arcade, which is available on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV or even iPod Touch with the iOS 13 operating system, has added new games to keep its gamers engaged.
The platform recently added Beyond Blue by E-Line Media and A Fold Apart by Lightning Rod Games to its list of a hundred free video games (both original and exclusive ones with no in-app purchases or advertisements) for $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year.
Shares of Apple, which belongs to the Zacks Computer - Mini computers industry, rose 12% in the past month. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for current year is 2.3%.
Alphabet has taken a somewhat different approach than its competitors above to reach its goals. First, Alphabet’s Google made its new cloud-based game streaming service Stadia Pro free for two months, which offers access to nine games, including the insanely famous Destiny 2. Any Gmail account holder can access Stadia free of cost. After offering free access, Stadia crossed as many as 1 million installs globally, according to analytics firm Sensor Tower’s data.
Second, to accommodate more players onto the platform, Google is adding a temporary feature that alters the default screen resolution from 4k to 1080p, which would lower load on the Internet.
Shares of Alphabet, which belongs to the Zacks Internet - Services industry, rose 15.4% in the past month. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for next year is 28.7%.
Given the dedicated work of Big Tech giants in the arena of video games, it is of little doubt that the segment could soon be ruled by these companies in terms of new gaming concepts, unique stories and interfaces. Moreover, considering the surge in video games sales to a 12-year high in March, one may expect the existing players on Big Tech’s gaming platforms to further their engagement in their popular games, whether or not the lockdown persists.
More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!
It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.
Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.
Click here for the 6 trades >>