Industry News, Industry Features - Page 15 of 26

Better specifications and big games needed

As Nintendo's press conference at E3 gets closer, many will be focusing on what the company has to say about Wii U. News about the console has been slow to come through, and we've had plenty of contradictory comments from developers regarding what the system can do in terms of graphics and performance. It...

Joins Nintendo as major absentee

Gamescom is Europe's equivalent to E3, the biggest consumer and trade show for video games in the region. It's set to take place in Cologne, Germany from 15-19th August, though it will do so without two of the biggest names in the industry. Nintendo has already confirmed that it won't be attending this year, instead...

Is that a flying pig?

After today's financial reports confirmed major losses for Nintendo, there are once again calls for the company to take its greatest IP treasures onto other platforms, such as smartphones and tablets. We've heard this all before, with investors saying similar things when Nintendo dropped the 3DS retail price. It's as likely now...

But lower than expected

Nintendo made a 43 billion Yen net loss in the past financial year. A straight currency conversion puts the loss at $529m USD or £327m GBP. The company had originally predicted a 65 billion Yen net loss, but clawed back some of the deficit with strong software, particularly in Japan. The Yen also devalued compared to the...

Reward cards and trade-in deals return

In recent weeks we've reported on the troubles at UK retailer GAME Group, with a number of high profile titles on Nintendo systems not being stocked and the company eventually going into administration, with over 2000 jobs lost. While our thoughts and best wishes are with those staff, there was positive news...

It's just not natural

Hirokazu Yasuhara, an instrumental member of Sonic Team during the 1990s, has taken a new role at Nintendo of America. Yasuhara — sometimes known as Carol Yas — was game planner on the original Sonic the Hedgehog before directing and designing the best of the hedgehog's 16-bit adventures. His final game at SEGA was...

Better late than never

GAME has left administration after less than a week. Investment firm OpCapita negotiated a sale of the company's UK assets to Baker Acquisitions Limited, bringing GAME Group out of administration and providing it with the necessary capital to continue trading over the near future. Baker has confirmed there are no more plans...

Dark days

SEGA has revealed it's to slim down its Western operations and cancel some games to combat an operating loss in the current financial year. The publisher hasn't stated which games will be cancelled but did reveal its desire to focus on strong-selling IPs such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Football Manager, Total War and Aliens. From our list of...

Troubled times

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said last year that Nintendo is not interested in producing free-to-play software, displeasing Ben Cousins, director of free-to-play software company Ngmoco. Speaking to Develop, Cousins discussed his belief that console manufacturers are frightened of free to play games: The only platform where...

Take that, movies

At times being a gamer can still be a taboo subject: saying that you're a gaming enthusiast may cause others to raise their eyebrows. Though video games are arguably still trying to earn the same cultural respect as films and music, when it comes to earning cold, hard cash, games are on top. According to the ERA (Entertainment...

'It must happen now'

It seems that the Japanese game industry has become a notable topic at this year's Game Developer's Conference. As we reported yesterday there was some controversy around comments made by indie developer Phil Fish, yet some would agree that, despite the bluntness and innacuracy of saying that Japanese game 'suck', there are...

Clearly hasn't been playing much Nintendo

The Japanese game industry is undoubedly facing challenges, and in the opinion of some is losing its influence as the homeland of gaming: as Keiji Inafune said at the Tokyo Game Show in 2009, for example, 'Japan is over'. That said, a comment made by indie developer Phil Fish at a GDC (Game Developer's...

Rising in the West

Popular European publisher Rising Star Games has revealed it's to open an office in California. The company has also formed Rising Star Games Digital, a — wait for it — digital publishing division for the ever-growing download market. RSG hasn't revealed any digital plans for Nintendo formats, but said recently it will continue to release games on Nintendo platforms. Coming..

It's tough out there

Even though the 3DS has hit 15 million sales worldwide, it's not been enough to help Nintendo post a profit, with the company expecting to post an operating loss of 45,000 million Yen in this financial year. Nintendo revised its financial expectations this morning as follows: Net sales — revised down from 790,000m Yen to...

Fond farewell

Nintendo UK's long-serving marketing director Dawn Paine is leaving the company. Paine has served ten years at Nintendo, during which she oversaw the marketing campaigns for Wii, DS and 3DS, as well as games phenomena including Wii Fit Plus and Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training, among others. Paine leaves Nintendo to join Universal Pictures as marketing vice president.

But there's still work to be done

We may only just be embarking on a new year, but reports are already surfacing that the 3DS enjoyed a positive holiday period, particularly with the news that over four million 3DS consoles have been sold in the United States. With the recent boom of sales in Japan, it's clear that the handheld is enjoying its most...

Mario left all at sea

The Wii may be in its twilight years, but a large number of its retail titles are still being being downloaded and played illegally. Website TorrentFreak compiled figures of downloads in 2011 from a number of sources and trackers, providing results for three major formats, though these are estimates rather than official...

Everyone's in on the act

Andy Payne, chairman of UK Interactive Entertainment — the UK's games industry trade association — is the latest in a long line of industry notables to call on Nintendo to create games for smartphones. Speaking at Liverpool's Develop conference, Payne spoke in response to an audience statement that platform exclusivity...

If further alienation is something it wants to avoid

It's taken just several months for Nintendo to issue the 3DS's first price-cut since the console's launch; a move which Nintendo is hoping will play a part in giving the console a much-needed boost after sales have been less than expected. According to investors, there's another move that Nintendo...