The Economics of Halo 3

The L.A. Times has an interesting article today looking at the economics of video games vs. movies, in particular, comparing Halo 3 and Spider-Man 3. When Halo 3 hits stores at midnight tonight, it's expected to rack up about $150 million in sales in the first 24 hours, roughly the same as opening weekend for Spider-Man 3 back in May.

But that's where the similarity ends. According to the article:

Movie budgets, for example, regularly careen into the hundreds of millions of dollars, whereas game budgets rarely break $30 million. That's a fraction of the amount studios spend on marketing alone.

Movies also generate far more revenue, largely because they have sales outlets other than theaters. Games have one shot -- at retail. As a result, the movie business is projected to hit $84.3 billion globally this year, more than double the $37.5 billion forecast for the game industry, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

What makes the video game business tantalizing is the potential profits. For Sony Corp., the estimated profit margin for "Spider-Man 3" is 46%, according to entertainment research firm SNL Kagan. Microsoft Corp., which publishes "Halo 3," has the potential to see a profit margin of 90% or more for the game, according to analysts.

Sony Pictures spent upwards of $500 million on Spider-Man 3, while Microsoft's total cost for Halo is estimated at just over $60 million. See Bill Gates and his crew are pretty clever. For one, they own the rights to the Halo franchise, avoiding costly licensing fees that are common in games based on movies, TV shows or books -- an important factor when deciding on the flagship game for their XBox platform. For another, much of the television marketing being done for the game is being funded by marketing partners Pepsi, Burger King and Pontiac. And with all the hype around the game, they're getting massive amounts of news and industry press coverage, which is all basically free.

End result? Higher margins and a comparable net profit on an order of magnitude smaller investment. Which model is more attractive to you?

Think about your business. What lessons from this comparison can you apply to your own situation? Are you paying licensing fees where you could take ownership instead? Could you find marketing partners to help increase your reach while reducing your costs? What are you doing to encourage word of mouth? How can you turn a little bit of buzz into media coverage? And, of course, the million-dollar-question: how can you create a product so compelling that people will pre-order it and still stand in line for 3-4 hours to get their copy because they just can't wait one more day to try it

Start ebusiness today!!!

ecommerce and Your business!

Whether you have an idea for a new business or are already running an established small business then you should carefully consider the potential and/or relevance of ebusiness. Using ebusiness techniques could have a dramatic impact on your business!

The type of business you are planning or operating will have a strong bearing on the ebusiness solutions that might be relevant. There are several issues that should be considered;

a. Is your business very localised by nature/choice - for instance Window Cleaning, Keep Fit Classes?

If so then the "reach" (National/International audience!) provided by the Internet is probably not relevant. However you may find that a simple advertising site with contact details generates additional prospects and customers. It may also be beneficial to offer an email communication option to your customers. A London Dentist now sends appointment reminders by Email!

Many communities now have Web Sites. Look your location up on the internet and see if you can find a Local Authority, Chamber of Commerce or similar Web site with a local services page - it could be worth advertising there.

b. Is your business localised but with potential to expand - e.g. a Butcher, Accountants?

If so then you might find that an Advertising site with an email contact/ordering system could increase prospects and customers. With seasonal produce customers will often travel outside their usual area to buy specialities.
Because an Internet site has such reach, it might be worth considering extending or tailoring products to be more suitable for long distance delivery. If you are a service provider then could you offer a remote version of the service via Email and post? How does someone in a remote location gain access to services?

c. Could the business you are planning be an ebusiness?

This obviously depends on the products/services you plan to supply but if they are suitable for online selling and post/carrier delivery then it may be worth considering a shift of focus to a total ebusiness solution.
There are many potential benefits including potential market size, customer perceptions of your business (basically based on your web site image and service quality), lower traditional overheads because premises can be located where convenient rather than prime locations, you may not need that shop! etc. A word of caution though! ebusinesses operate in a fast moving competitive world and your products and services will be open to scrutiny by competitors so innovation needs to be continuous!

d. Could you develop your own ebusiness?

This will depend on your in-house skills and your business plan. It is important that your Web site looks professional and operates smoothly. In most cases the best approach will be to employ a specialist web developer who can quickly translate your ideas and plans into a working ebusiness solution.

If you have basic HTML skills and time to devote to learning and testing an ebusiness solution then you could use one of the many site builder products. These products enable creation of your "shop front" and product catalog and most include links to secure payment services. These services handle different types of payment, for instance they will validate credit card transactions, authenticate the user, convert currencies and deposit your preferred currency directly into your bank within hours of a transaction!

tips saving on collage

1.Although application deadlines for most college scholarships aren't due until the students' senior year, start searching for grants and scholarships their freshman year. By finding potential awards when they begin high school, the student can choose classes and participate in activities that will give them a better chance of getting free cash.

2.Reduce your college expenses by earning as many college credits outside the classroom that you can. Advanced Placement tests, internships, public service and job training programs are a few examples of ways that you can trim tuition costs by earning college credit outside the classroom.

3.There are some college scholarships available to qualified students. While many of these are financially need and grade based, many others are not. Don't let household income or grades stop you from searching for scholarships.

4.You are allowed to pay any amount for as many people's college tuition (not room & board or school supplies) without owing any gift taxes. For the tuition payments to qualify, you must pay the tuition directly to the college.

What happen if you 20s year old

There's no time like your twenties to start putting your money to work for you so that you can achieve your financial goals throughout your life. Developing good spending and saving habits, and learning to budget and invest during your twenties, can help you prevent needless debt, put away money for the things that are important to you, and take advantage of the power of compounding to amass a fortune for your future.

In fact, compounding of earnings is so powerful that those who start saving for retirement in their twenties can amass large nest eggs with relatively little effort, as long as they invest regularly.

For an example of the power of compounding, take a 25-year-old who invests $2,000 a year for eight years and never invests an additional dollar after the age of 33. He or she will earn more by the age of 65 than a 35-year-old who invests $2000 a year for 32 years, even though the 35-year-old invests four times as much.

Sertifikat Bank Indonesia

Ironis, Dana Pembangunan di Indonesia

Banyaknya dana pembangunan di daerah yang terbengkalai sangat memprihatinkan sekali mengingat dana tersebut dibutuhkan sekali untuk menggerakan perekonomian di tiap-tiap daerah. Pemerintah daerah lebih memilih menaruh dana megganggur mereka di SBI padahal Menkeu sudah mempringatkan hal ini hanya akan merugikan daerah sendiri karena tidak dapat mengoptimalkan pembangunan.
Selama ini penyimpanan APBD di SBI bergantung kebijakan dari masing-masing daerah. Hal ini diakibatkan penyerapan dana APBD masih kecil. Tetapi, disisi yang lain, banyak proyek pemda tertunda justru kekurangan dana. Menkeu mengakui, sebenarnya daerah merugi menempatkan dana si SBI karena itu pemda dan DPRD harus bisa menyusun alokasi dana anggaran semaksimal mungkin, namun tetap tidak boleh asal pakai. Punishment bagi pemda yang menempatkan dana sangat besar di SBI bukan solusi. Pernah beberapa kali dosen penulis diminta menangani proyek pemda mengatakan kalau pemerintah daerah terutama dalam pengerjaan proyek lebih berhati-hati untuk penggunaan dana, karena khawatir apabila ada apa-apa tidak ingin disalahkan.
Bank Indonesia (BI) juga berharap lebih banyak dana APBD yang terserap untuk proyek di daerah. Besarnya dana berupa sertifikat Bank Indonesia (SBI) tidak hanya menghambat pembangunan, tetapi juga membebani BI. Setiap bulannya BI harus menyiapkan dana rp. 1,5 triliun per bulan untuk membayar bunga SBI ke perbankan, lalu dari mana dana tersebut berasal kalau bukan dari masyarakat sendiri toh pada akhirnya akan merugikan masyarakat sendiri.
Perlunya koordinasi antara pemerintah pusat, pemda, dan BI agar tidak terlalu banyak dana yang ditemapatkan di SBI. Namun dalam konteks ini, BI hanya memiliki kewenangan konsultatif.. Seharusnya pemda dapat merencanakan anggaran agar terlaksana tepat waktu, otomatis dana itu tidak bersaldo giro di bank daerah. Mengingat hal tadi maka perlu adanya persamaan pandangan mau dikemanakan dana tersebut antar pihak terkait bahwa proyek di daerah harus berjalan guna mendorong perekonomian daerah. Pada sisi lain pemda mengalami kelebihan dana dan menyimpanya dalam bentuk SBI, pengusaha UKM sendiri masih banyak yang kekurangan modal dan pemda jarang ada yang mau melirik mereka padahal UKM merupakan sumber potensial penggerak perekonomian bagi daerah itu sendiri sehingga banyak UKM yang stagnan dan dana terlalu banyak yang dinvestasikan dalam bentuk SBI membuat tidak adanya penggerak ekonomi sektor rill.