Gaucho420

Utilities: Get Dividends Paid in Euros

And to answer David, yes, the only reason these companies aren't on the NYSE are the set of rules and fees required to pay to be officially listed. Most of these companies have fairly light volume on the NYSE and it is cost prohibitive for them to pay fees to be fully listed (as well as meet the disclusore requirements), so they go with the OTC.

GDFZY is the world's 2nd largest utility company behind Russia's behemoth Gazprom, and they were listed fully with the NYSE prior to Sarbanes–Oxley Act becoming law, which required more time & money to stay listed with the NYSE. Once that law became 100% enforeceable, for foreign companies with low volumes in the US, Banes-Oxley proved too cost prohibitive given the low volume, so they went with the OTC.

Utilities: Get Dividends Paid in Euros

I agree with the logic, but you missed one key thing, unless I skipped over it in the article... you didn't mention the fact that most of these countries will deduct their dividend tax prior to getting your dividend, so the true return dividend wise is lower than you state in the artcle, as France, for example, takes out up to 30% from GDF stock the moment its issued. Most of the time, the foreign governments tax is higher than what you would've paid in the US.

I still beleive in the philosophy and have been investing in it for a while, but your readers should know about the taxes taken out up front as well. I do beleive, however, that you are not double taxed from the US government either, but the foreign tax will probaby be a higher % than what the US government would've taken out on its own.

Microsoft's Xbox Beats Out All Other Game Consoles

and very good point...everyone I know has had a 360 breakdown...I'm on my 2nd one.

It happens again and hello PS3. I'm not a damn idiot who's going to keep feeding MSFT money, when clearly they don't give a damn about their customers.

$120 120 gig hard drive? $99 WIFI Antenna? Poor customer service?

Check, check and check with MSFT.

Microsoft's Xbox Beats Out All Other Game Consoles

Its a great console, but wasn't the point of the 360 to be in the living room, guarrrenteeing constanT access to the family?

Your own columns have said in the past that the Wii is in the living room, while the 360 is in the bedroom...which clearly shows that it isn't a family friendly device and therefore, cannot hope to surpass the Wii.

I also know many non-gamers who are waiting to get into gaming for one reason or another (as Nintendo always touts within their stats) and most have zero interest in the 360 or the PS3...too many button, too complicated and too expensive ($60 games turns people off).

So I don't know Bruce....I own a 360 & a Wii, and while I like the extra 360 stuff on XBL, I would choose the Wii over the 360 if I had to pick one console at this point. Its interactive, easier to play with all my non-gaming friends, Wii Fit is a great program that really isn't a game AND...NO RED RING OF DEATH!

If the 360 is going to outsell the Wii, it will be because it copies the Wii. The great myth of the all encompassing machine that the family revolves around isn't true along the PS3 & 360 machines...that machine is the Wii as its simple, fun and easy to get into.

Take Two Trades Wager on Upside

The reason this is going on is 1) Borderlands, a new TTWO release, was the best selling non-Wii game in the US last week, with media report of shortages, 2) TTWO released a new GTA for the PSP, the previoulsy released Chinatown Wars for the DS...it has received rave reviews and is expected to sell well, 3) the new downloadable expansion pack for GTAIV comes out tomorrow for the 360, and 4) NBA2k10 was just released...it is usually the best reviewed and best selling basketball game on the market.

So that's one new franchise selling well, two GTA games expected to sell well and the usually NBA2k, which typically does well.

But the big news is point #1.

GameStop Director Leonard Riggio Shows Us the Future of Gaming

Dedicated gamers will get their games faster by downloading. I have XBL and if a game came out at midnight online, I'd have XBL downloaded overnight and have it ready for use in the morning. That's much faster than waiting for a retail store to open the next day.

I go to store now, such as this week to pick up NBA2k10, because I wanted the anniversay edition. But had it been a normal non-anniversary year and had the option been there to download it straight to the hard-drive from XBL, I probably would've opted for that.

I think a bigger argument agaisnt downloads is 1) the added cost of a hard drive to store them (especially when you get to the full sized games), 2) the lack of a manual and 3) no trade in value on downloads.

I know quite a few dedicated gamers who don't download that many games, because they dont' feel like wasting money on a hard-drive. And that's the over-riding reason, plus the trade-in value of discs.

For the 360, retailers should thank MSFT for making the hard drives propriatery and super expensive, as it keeps a large number of gamers hooked to retailers, as nobody wants to pay MSFT ridiculous price on its 60 gig or 120 gig drives.

I have paid for the 120 gig drive, because I can afford it, but most can and most simply don't even trie demos, movies or anything else, as the hard-drive on the 360 is cost-prohibitive.

I know the PS3 can use any drive you choose, but even at bottom barrell prices, it still cost money.

So in my humble opinion, online gaming will be restricted (for a tiny while) by the cost of extra storage. I have seen this to be true across my gaming friends and I know a boatload of all ages, sex and income types. Gamers want to play...paying for a hard-drive is simply an unwanted hassle at the current prices.

MarketingVox: Are Gamers Dropping Consoles for Online Gaming?

Terribly shallow article worthy of the local news. If there is any analysis of substance or anything at all worth publishing in that article, that hasn't been said before with more deeper analysis over the last 3 years...let me know.

Tiger Woods 10 for Wii: An Electronic Arts Epiphany

Ins't Nintendo the biggest game publisher in the world and by a long shot?

I love Tiger Woods Wii, it is brilliant...but let's not forget who came out with the Wii and with Wii Motion Plus...as good as Tiger is, Wii Sports Resorts BLOWS IT AWAY...and I love Tiger on the Wii.

Just sayin'...EA simply finally figured out how to use the Wii correctly, with this and with the Wii Fit competitor they have...but all they're doing is riding a much bigger company's coatails, so let's not spluge in our pants just yet for EA...good progress following someone else's lead, but how about some profitability?

Sony's PS3 Slim: What Has the Company Achieved?

I'm sure the linked video is real, but why is it filmed like a fake bigfoot video? Can't they stand back a bit so we can get a real look at the console and not swing wildly from side to side, up & down? It looks like a PS2 to me.

I'm just saying, its as grainy & fumbly as all internet videos for sasquatch.

Nintendo DS: Getting Killed Off by Game Theft

I copy games all the time and I have a boatload of copied DS games. HOwever, Nintendo and the publisher aren't missing a dime, as I wouldn't have bought them at any price.

I however, do not copy 360 or Wii games, although I easily could...but I like them, so I pay for them outright. The DS? Nope, I rarely play it and therefore, no money is lost on me getting it for free as I would've never spent a dime on most games.

So there's a point to be made about this...if anything, copying DS games has had me recommend certain games to my father and little brother, who do have a DSi and went out and bougth the games I recommended as they don't have time to mess with those downloads or getting the chip required to play tem. So without me getting them for free (and again, I would never had laid out a dime to buy them, so no loss of sales on my account), my dad would never have bought certain DS games.

And I loved GTA: Chinatown so much, I went out and bought the real thing.

Same with music...I have copied MP3s of a billion tunes that I never would've bought normally, at any price. But after having free MP3s of certain artists that I really liked, I went out and bought actual albums and that's happened quite a bit on the music side.

So its not truly lost sales on every account, as again, I wouldn't have bougth any of the DS games or those MP3s at any price...for free, I'll give them a shot and if I like them, I'll recommend them or buy them next time myself.

I'm not sure how often this happens, but for sure...free things lead to money made at least for some customers.

Just because we take something for free, doesn't mean we would've spent any money on it if we couldn't get it for free.

Activision's Modern Warfare 2 and Console Game Pricing

I think only the most hardcore of gamers is willing to shell out $150 for nightvision goggles, but some will do it for sure. The rest of us will get the regularly priced $59.99.

By the way, has Activision thought about what may happen if someone, say under 18, uses those nightvision goggles at school? Perhaps to commit a crime? Spy in a dark gym? Scope out someone at night? I'm just sayin....there's some bad publicity waiting to happen there given the audience who may buy this. This is one of the few add-on premium packages that actually has an add-on that works in the real world, so I wouldn't be surprised if some kid, somewhere, decides to scope out his neighbors at night with that night vision and cap 'em with a bee-bee gun or something similar or quite frankly, worse. Not ATVI's fault if it does happen, but you know how the media spins this stuff.

I know this wasn't the point of the column, but I would say Wii Sports is the defining game of this generation, as it kicked off motion gaming, which is where clearly the future of the industry is.

Call of Duty is a great shooter, loved COD4, but it is JUST another shooter. If that's the defining game of this era, its sad...I would hope we'd make bigger leaps & bounds as an industry than just changing the scenario of shooters and that's why I beleive in the long run Wii Sports will stand out much more than any COD.

It'll be interesting to see how the sale do, but given what I'm seeing so far, especially the discounting of games almost one week after they are released and sometimes, upon release, I foresee Modern Warfare doing gangbusters out the door, but without a price drop on the 360 or PS3, I foresee it tale-sales dragging behind.

And god-forbid the game isn't a 9 or 10, it could happen...then sales will taper off even more. The retail environment is much too tough currently and will only get worse, that I do not see this game in the long run living up to its giant sales hype.

A price cut in console prices and then it maybe different.

Are Microsoft and Sony Closing in on Nintendo?

I will add...how come the PS2 still outsells the PS3?

P-R-I-C-E.

Same goes for the DS over the PSP.

The Wiimote will win out over this no-dout cool looking camera, for the exact same reason. And...isn't it more realistic to box, play tennis or drive...with a tennis racquet, steering wheel or gloves?

Just sayin'. How come no ones talked about that? Holding a joystick does make certain games more realistic...good luck with Tiger Woods Golf, for example...not everyon owns a golf club, skateboard or apparently, a steering wheel to "scan" into this item, as the movie suggested.

Are Microsoft and Sony Closing in on Nintendo?

I follow both analysts comments on this and then regular people's...the reactions are quite different. I have yet to find a single Xbox player who has any significant interest in the camera...however, Wall Street loves it.

I beleive it is because Wall Street analysts make a ton of dough and simply fail to understand that for the average person or household, a $200 attachment to an already pricey console simply isn't excitting.

If I were you, I'd look back to see what these so called experts thought of the Wii out the gate vs. the PS3, as the over-riding sentiment on Wall Street was the PS3 was going to run all over the 360 & the Wii. I beleive the key factor in their terrible analysis is the fact that either they don't play games or they get them for free or they make so much money, it might as well be free.

So I disagree...I can tell you my survey of young & old gamers has shown no great interest in this due to the cost, the bad reputation MSFT has in putting out a weak product in the 1st gen and the simply fact that many already own a Wii and even with a camera, it didn't look that impressive.

So until I hear its $199 with two free games and one year free of Xbox Live...this product is dead in the water. It'll have a few users ready to grab it out the gate, but unless things change radically as to its price and offering, it won't have many users due to the pink elephant in the room all videogame analysts seem to forget about (until weak sales show up)...THE PRICE, on top of the price for an Xbox, Xbox Live subscription, WIFI antenna and of course, the dreaded RRoD.

THQ's Online Role-Playing Studio Sold Amid Pressing Financial Troubles

THQI is a buy at the current levels. I'm not saying their the greatest videogame company, in either game quality or as an investment...but this stock has been too cheap for too long...buy out op for someone out there. The stock had a weird chart today to boot...

I also do beleive on a sales standpoing that its UFC game as well as the new Red Faction game, will do much better than anticipated, given the good reviews and interest they are generating.

Microsoft Xbox Natal: A Leap Forward in Gaming

And for racing, project natal will stink...holding out your hands with no steering wheel to support them it is quite tiring and is not reflective of how your drive. Which is why MarioKart Wii works best with the Gamecube controller.