Round Up: Ziff Davis Q2, E3 In July, Greystripe & HandyGames

Today's Gamasutra round-up includes news of Ziff Davis' second quarter results, E3 2007 moved back to July, and a mobile deal between Greystripe and HandyGames, as well as the latest GameSetWatch posts, Serious Games Source news, Letters to the Editor, and Gamasutra job postings. - Ziff Davis Holdings, the parent company of game and technology magazine/website company Ziff Davis Media, which owns three major North American-distributed game magazines (Electronic Gaming Monthly, Computer Gaming World and Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine) and the 1UP.com game website, today announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2006. The company's overall profit was $5.7 million, but the company's game division reported a decline of 3 percent in revenue to $8.7 million from the previous year, and the loss of $1.5 million, apparently due to development costs within the online business. The company noted that it has retained financial advisors for a possible sale of some or all of its groups - possibly including the Game Group. - Following today's news concerning a major restructuring effort on the part of the ESA trade organization regarding E3, consumer website GameSpot has confirmed, according to the City of Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau and a follow-up to ESA president Douglas Lowenstein, the recently downsized event has been pushed back from May, and is now expected to take place in July in 2007. According to the report, the move was made in order to give companies time to “polish their holiday releases,” as many publishers and developers felt rushed to get games ready for display in years prior. Further information on the rejigged show is likely to debut over the next few months. - Mobile in-game advertising network Greystripe announced that it has partnered with independent German mobile game publisher HandyGames to distribute 28 separate mobile titles. The deal will bring more free mobile games to consumers worldwide and produce new ad-generated revenue for the developer. The games will be supported using Greystripe's AdWRAP for Publishers (AFP), which provides advertisers with unique targeting, while at the same time subsidizing free games for consumers with non-intrusive, opt-in advertising. “HandyGames sees this ad-supported model as the way to make mobile games profitable, and we think the AdWRAP network will increase consumer access and excitement about playing mobile games,” said Greystripe CEO Michael Chang. “People who are still new to playing games on their phones will be more willing to experiment with free games rather than risk disappointment with a $3 to $12 download.” - The latest updates on Gamasutra sister weblog GameSetWatch include a tongue-in-cheek look at the Wii's seamy underbelly, the Street Fighter Alpha Anthology contest winners, and a localization oddity within Grasshopper Manufacture's Contact for the Nintendo DS. - Also updated today: Serious Games Source news, including news of The European Conference on Games Based Learning (ECGBL 2007) event and Nanoswarm entering prototype testing, a new Letter to the Editor concerning Ernest Adams' "No Twinkie" article on "design errors", plus the latest Gamasutra job postings, featuring openings from Amaze Entertainment, Blizzard Entertainment, Buzz Monkey Software, Gas Powered Games, and Pandemic Studios.