Evan Wilson Offers Video Game Update, Offers Takeaways From GameStop Expo

September 3, 2015

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Evan Wilson Offers Video Game Update, Offers Takeaways From GameStop Expo

Evan Wilson of Pacific Crest attended GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) exposition on Wednesday in which he observed "plenty of buzz and excitement" around the upcoming video game release slate.

Wilson said that the exposition reinforced his prior thesis that 2015 will be the year when physical software growth will return to growth for the first time since 2008. As such, the analyst suggested that the GameStop is "the most undervalued name" in the video game space and should benefit from "strong" industry conditions for physical releases.

Wilson also discussed Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), noting that he came away "more positive" given "strong interest" in "Destiny: The Taken King." The analyst added that the game has "clearly" overcome initial review concerns surrounding quality while interest in playing the game at the show was "high" even if it is just an expansion. On the other hand, "Call of Duty: Black Ops III" was "relatively in-line" with what was expected while next year's "Overwatch" has "some work to do" to gain consumer interest.

Moving to Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA), Wilson observed "Star Wars Battlefront" had the "biggest" line and total number of gamers playing. The analyst did however note that even though the game is clearly setting up to be the biggest non-annualized game of the holiday, he struggles to see potential upside to the 15 million to 20 million unit "whisper" number sales projection.

Finally, "there was little interest" in Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO)'s slate of "Battleborn," "NBA 2K16" and "WWE." With that said, the analyst argued that since there exists "such high expectations" for next year's release slate, investors should look elsewhere until there is further clarity and confirmation of a Rockstar game.