Tag: Industry - Page 17
News Nintendo 'Must Keep Up' With Cloud Tech, But Sees Further Potential In Dedicated Hardware
"Delivering unique entertainment... will continue to be our top priority"
As rumours and whispers of new consoles from all the big companies abound (as they always do at this point in a console generation), and with Google preparing its entrance into the gaming space with its cloud-based Stadia tech, questions are starting to be asked of Nintendo's...
News Mortal Kombat 11 Dev NetherRealm Studios Responds To Toxic Workplace Accusations
"We are actively looking into all allegations"
Last week, allegations of an abusive work culture at Mortal Kombat 11 developer NeatherRealm Studios began to surface online as employees shared their experiences on social media and with the press. The studio has now released a statement in response. Speaking to
News Mortal Kombat Studio NetherRealm Accused Of Taking Advantage Of Contracted Workers
"I have had people break down because they could not keep up"
Mortal Kombat 11 has been available on Switch for around a week or two now, and is a mostly pleasing product in its own right, but the release has been dampened somewhat by allegations of an abusive work culture at developer, NetherRealm. A report from USGamer highlights the voices of...
News Nintendo, Sony And Microsoft All Under Investigation Over Online Gaming Services
"We are fully prepared to take action"
Gaming giants Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are all currently under investigation in the UK over fears that their online subscription services are unfair. The Competition and Markets Authority (a non-ministerial department of the UK government which has the power to enforce competition and consumer law) says...
News Nintendo Is The Ninth Most Reputable Major Company In The US, According To Study
Netflix takes top prize
A US study investigating the reputation of major companies has ranked Nintendo in ninth place, putting the Japanese gaming giant just ahead of The LEGO Group. The study, carried out by Reputation Institute, reportedly assessed the reputation of more than 2,200 companies in the US, undertaking over 167,000 individual ratings...
News Senran Kagura Producer Leaves Marvelous After Frustrations Over Sexual Content Restrictions
Now working with Cygames
Kenichiro Takaki, producer of the Senran Kagura series, has reportedly left his position at Japanese developer Marvelous. Takaki, known as the “huge boobs producer” by fans thanks to his work on the mature-themed Senran Kagura games, had been working with Marvelous for 13 years. The news of his departure comes via...
News EA Laying Off Around 350 Employees Across Multiple Divisions
"This is a difficult day"
Video game publishing giant Electronic Arts is laying off around 350 employees across its marketing, publishing and operations divisions. In an email to employees, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said the company had "a vision to be the world's greatest games company" and to do this, it would streamline its organisation to meet the...
News Rumours Of New Switch Models Cause Nintendo's Share Price To Significantly Rise
Investors seemingly on board
Yesterday, we shared a report from the Wall Street Journal which states that Nintendo is planning to release two new Switch models later this year. These claims haven't been confirmed or commented on by Nintendo itself, but the company has seen a significant share price rise as a result. The report suggests that both a...
News Nintendo And Sony Shares Drop Following Google's Stadia Reveal
Down almost 4%
Both Nintendo and Sony have seen their shares take a bit of a tumble following the Google Stadia reveal on Tuesday. Google's upcoming Stadia platform is set to allow users to stream games across pretty much any screen - mobiles, TVs, tablets, and laptops - and looks like it could make a significant and very different dent in the...
News Google Reveals Stadia, Its Vision Of A Cloud Gaming Future
The future is not a box, apparently
Search giant Google has just lifted the lid on its cloud gaming service, known as Stadia. The service will stream games across pretty much any device with a screen, including phones, tablets, laptops, TVs and more besides. You’ll be able to access your games via all of these portals, and even pick up where you...
News Media Create Will No Longer Share Japanese Sales Data Publicly
Behind closed doors
Recently, the head of Media Create Atsushi Hosokawa told Bloomberg the practice of releasing Japanese hardware and software sales data publicly may not continue. Now, after a review, the team has decided to no longer share weekly sales figures with the general public. Starting next month, companies requiring sales data will need...
News Media Create Boss Says Switch Will Have A Seven Year Life Cycle, Sales To Grow In Third Year
Will we still be playing in 2024?
The Switch has had an impressive first couple of years on the market, selling well and earning records left, right and centre, but this financial year was tainted ever so slightly by lofty targets. Originally, Nintendo expected to ship 20 million units, having to cut this down to a more modest 17 million due to...
News Nintendo Tells Mobile Partners To Limit Microtransactions So That Players Don't Spend Too Much
Players and brand reputation come first
Nintendo's delve into the world of mobile gaming came as quite a shock, especially considering the Japanese giant had barely even scratched the surface of the new and rapidly emerging practice of paid DLC at the time. The company has often been thought to be slightly behind the times when compared to its main...
News Activision Admits Recent Layoffs "Could Negatively Impact Business"
"No assurance that our business will be more efficient or effective"
Given the sheer volume of cash involved in games development these days you'd assume that a company the size of Activision Blizzard would be capable of conducting its business in a sensible manner, but that doesn't appear to be the case, given recent events. We reported a short...
News Nintendo Reveals Average Salary, Age And More Of Its Employees In Japan
Let's be nosy, shall we?
For most fans of the company, working at Nintendo probably sounds like a dream come true. Being surrounded by your heroes on a daily basis, working on incredibly exciting projects and - of course - the potential for free games all sounds pretty lovely, but what is it actually like working in the house of Mario? Well, while...
Feature Meet Doug Bowser, The Man Behind The Meme
Just who does this 'Bowser' fellow think he is?
With news that Reggie Fils-Aimé is to step down from his role as President of Nintendo of America, his successor – Mr Doug Bowser – was probably prepared for the deluge of familiar headlines to flood the web. He’s been on the radar of Nintendo fans for a while now – with that surname it would...
Rumour French Gaming Website Suggests Cuphead Could Come To Switch
Nintendo and Microsoft collaboration rumours persist
Further to last night's rumours suggesting that Microsoft is planning to bring an Xbox app, Project X Cloud and its Game Pass service to Switch, more details have come to light regarding the possible cross-pollination. French gaming website Jeuxvideo has extra details regarding the potential...
News Julian Eggebrecht, Ex-Head Of Factor 5, Joined Epic Games Last Month
What if...?
Warning: the following news may have you pining for 'the good old days' and thinking back wistfully to when EA wasn't fouling up good Star Wars games with lootbox nonsense. Erstwhile Nintendo Life contributor Liam Robertson has noted on Twitter a recent movement of a prominent industry figure under the considerable umbrella of Epic...
News Bayonetta 2 Director Yusuke Hashimoto Leaves PlatinumGames
Moving on
Following the recent Nintendo Direct, where it was revealed PlatinumGames was "hard at work" on the upcoming Switch release Bayonetta 3, it's now been revealed Japanese director and producer Yusuke Hashimoto - who previously worked on Bayonetta, Bayonetta 2 and
Something isn't right
Activision Blizzard has revealed that it will be laying off hundreds of members of staff despite seeing the best financial results in the company's history last year. The news comes from the company's full-year earnings call, in which Activision Blizzard CEO, Bobby Kotick, shared the news that the company had “once again...
News Sony Gaming Boss Says The Industry Is "Better" Because Of Nintendo's Efforts
"Never underestimate Nintendo"
Yesterday, we heard how Sony Interactive Entertainment Chairman Shawn Layden sat down with Game Informer and sent some praise in the direction of the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One X and even tablets and smartphones - stating how there are great gaming experiences across all of these platforms and explaining how each of...
News Sony Gaming Boss On The "Great Experiences" Available On Switch And A More Open Future
"We’re all part of the same gaming community"
We're used to hearing positive remarks about Switch from Xbox's executive vice-president of Gaming, Phil Spencer, but Sony are usually a little more tight-lipped when it comes to praising the competition. In a recent chat with gameinformer, SIE Chairman Shawn Layden was uncharacteristically generous...
News Nintendo Sees Stock Fall By 9% After Cutting Its 20 Million Switch Sales Target
Ouch
Yesterday, Nintendo shared financial data, sales figures and more from its Nine Months Earnings Release, revealing that it has slashed its bold 20 million Switch hardware sales target for the financial year. As is becoming a somewhat usual occurrence, the company's stock has fallen by a dramatic amount as a result, with investors seemingly...
Now aiming for 17 million
Nintendo has shared its Nine Months Earnings Release for the financial year ending March 2019, giving us plenty of insight into how the company is performing in terms of sales across all consoles and other forms of income. Perhaps the most interesting news to come of the financial report is the fact that Nintendo has...
News Game Developer Survey Shows That Nearly Half Of Devs Are Most Interested In The Switch
Switch game sales still performing well
A survey asking a large number of video game developers for their views on the current climate of game development has revealed that almost half are most interested in releasing a game on the Nintendo Switch. This information comes from the 2019 GDC State of the Game Industry survey, which polled nearly 4,000...
News Nintendo's Bold Switch Sales Target Could Be Achievable After All
'Unexpectedly good' holiday sales provide boost
Remember when Nintendo projected it would sell 20 million Switch consoles in the current fiscal year? The prediction was met with pretty widespread derision, with many industry analysts claiming it was far too high to be achievable – especially when you take into account the Switch's second year on...
News Gaming Analysts Predict 'Switch Pro' And 'Switch Lite' Revisions For 2019
And more third-party support
In March, the Nintendo Switch will have been on the market for two whole years. With advancements in technology being as fast as they are, and with demand for bigger and better gaming experiences growing at a similar rate, seeing console revisions midway through a system's life has become almost guaranteed in recent...
News 80% Of UK Gaming Revenue Came From Digital Sales In 2018, Industry Made Almost £4bn In Total
Top 20 best-selling games of the year shared
New statistics from The Entertainment Retailers Association have revealed a variety of staggering facts concerning UK gaming in 2018, perhaps most notably confirming that 80.1% of revenue was made through digital sales. The study compares information across video games, film, and music in the UK, with...
News Damon Baker Departs Nintendo After 12 Years
All the best
Damon Baker might not be quite as famous as certain other employees who work at Nintendo of America, but he's definitely not far off. Now, in an unexpected announcement, Baker has revealed via Twitter he will leave Nintendo after more than 12 years. In 2019, he will pursue a new opportunity and promises fans this won't be the last time...
News Nintendo Switch Becomes The Fastest-Selling Console Of This Generation In The US
Nintendo the best-selling publisher, too
The Nintendo Switch has become the fastest-selling video game system of this hardware generation during its 21 months on sale in the US, it has been confirmed. The news comes from American market research company The NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States. From its launch in March 2017...
News Epic Games Launching Free Cross-Platform Online Services For Developers
Rolling out next year
Epic Games has grown into a global video game powerhouse thanks to the Unreal Engine and internally developed video games such as the insanely popular free-to-play title Fortnite. Since the breakout success of the battle royale game, the American-based developer hasn't wasted any time expanding its empire. In a recent news...
News Publisher THQ Nordic Acquires Carmageddon IP From Stainless Games
Retro revival
Austrian video game publisher THQ Nordic has announced its acquisition of the Carmageddon intellectual property from the creator Stainless Games. The vehicular combat series first started out on the PC in 1997 and was later ported to multiple other platforms. It also received a number of follow-up titles including a reboot in 2015...
News More Than Ten Games Are Being Announced At The 2018 Game Awards
Geoff isn't holding back
This year will be the fifth edition of The Game Awards and the focus is on making it bigger and better. The event organisers intend to do this by expanding the show's reach across multiple digital platforms, bringing back the live orchestra and allowing new ways for viewers to vote and interact. That's not all, though. In a...
News Nintendo's Share Price Hit By Largest Drop In Two Years After Nvidia Shares Crash
Falling by more than 10%
Nintendo's share price fell by more than 10% today, resulting in the largest drop experienced by the company since 2016. Share prices began to fall early this morning (in Japanese local time), continuing to plummet for the majority of the trading day. Shares fell to as low as ¥31,350 at one stage (which is as low as it has...
News Nintendo Embraces Opportunity To Share New Games At E3 2019 As Sony Opts Out
Business as usual
Sony has surprised the rest of the video game industry, with the confirmation it will not be attending E3 2019. Despite the absence of the Japanese tech giant, the official press release notes how "industry momentum" will drive next year's show to new heights. On the Nintendo front, there's nothing to worry about. In the same PR,...
News Strategy Guide Publisher Prima Games Is Shutting Down After 28 Years
End of an era
It has been revealed that Prima Games, the largest video game strategy guide publisher in the US, will be closing down after 28 years. The announcement comes from Prima Games' parent company DK, which has shared its "extremely difficult decision" to no longer commission guides and its intention of discontinuing all Prima Games...
News Square Enix Reports $33 Million Loss After New Studio Shifts Focus
Declines across the board
Following the success of Octopath Traveler on Switch, the latest financial results for Japanese publisher Square Enix have revealed things aren't as rosy as they might appear to be. The company reported a $33 million loss (¥3.73 billion) which was primarily linked to the new studio - Luminous Productions - shifting focus...
News EA Has More Than 1,000 Employees And "Dozens Of Studios" Working On A Cloud-Based Future
"We're calling this Project Atlas and we believe in it so much"
Big-name video game companies are beginning to experiment with cloud-based gaming on a regular basis. Although the required technology and infrastructure might not be available in every location, that hasn't stopped publishers like Ubisoft from testing the waters with special Japan-only...
News Amid Closures And The Decline Of Print Media, Raspberry Pi Is Launching A New Games Mag
Say hello to Wireframe
The world of print video game journalism is in a pretty rough place right now, with companies like Future Publishing shutting down long-running mags as readership dwindles in the face of online competition. However, one company is bucking this trend by launching a new magazine. Wireframe is a fortnightly publication that will...
"We must keep releasing new software"
While many positives can be drawn from Nintendo's recently published quarterly results, analyst estimates had predicted slightly higher earnings. The Japanese gaming giant reported an operating profit of 30.9 billion yen during the quarter, which was below the estimated 37.9 billion yen, and quarterly revenue...
News Epic Games Closes $1.25 Billion Investment Deal Thanks To Success Of Fortnite
Money maker
If it wasn't already evident, the free-to-play title Fortnite has a been a huge success for Epic Games. In the latest news, Epic has closed a $1.25 billion investment deal with a group of private equity backers. KKR, ICONIQ Capital, Smash Ventures, aXiomatic Gaming, Vulcan Capital, Kleiner Perkins and Lightspeed Venture Partners are now...
News UK Gaming Magazines GamesMaster and GamesTM Set To Close Next Month
Staff will be "redeployed"
British magazine publisher Future plc has revealed that both GamesMaster and GamesTM will release their last issues next month. Between them, the two magazines have spent over 40 years gracing the UK's shelves, with GamesMaster being around since 1993, and GamesTM launching a little more recently in 2002. Both magazines...
News Skybound Games Expects Episode 3 Of The Walking Dead: The Final Season To Be Released This Year
Miracle workers
Earlier this week, Skybound Games announced it would be hosting a Reddit AMA focused on The Walking Dead: The Final Season. Now that it’s wrapped up, here’s what we found out. According to the company’s CEO Ian Howe, production of episode three and four is at a standstill. New release dates for the episodes will be announced...
News Skybound Games Hosting Reddit AMA For The Walking Dead: The Final Season
Ask anything
Following the news of mass layoffs at Telltale last month, Skybound Games announced it had acquired the rights to publish and develop the remaining episodes of The Walking Dead: The Final Season. The Walking Dead: Season Two and
News New Study Suggests That Playing Violent Video Games Leads To Increased Physical Aggression
Asks for more investigation
The analysis looking at more than 17,000 adolescents across 24 previously conducted studies has found that violent video games cause players to become more physically aggressive. The "metaanalysis" was published earlier this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, looking into video game players aged...
News Vivendi Set To Sell All Shares In Ubisoft By March 2019
Safe for another day
Vivendi has revealed that it will sell all of its shares in Ubisoft by 5th March 2019, finally putting an end to the power struggle that has been taking place between the two firms over recent years. Ubisoft has been fending off an "unsolicited and unwelcome" takeover bid from Vivendi for some time now; back in 2015, the mass...
News Former Telltale Employee Takes Legal Action Following Mass Layoffs
No surprises here
Telltale Games has now been hit with a class-action lawsuit. A disgruntled former employee is suing the San Francisco-based company on behalf of himself and his fellow laid-off workers. In the filed complaint, Vernie Roberts said Telltale let go of the employees without cause and without providing them advanced notice in writing...
News Sony Will Step Away From The Handheld Games Business In 2019, Leaving It All To Nintendo
2004-2019
Sony has now been in the handheld video game business for 15 years. It first began with the release of the PlayStation Portable in 2004 - a device created to tap the Nintendo dominated market and appeal to older audiences with additional features such as the ability to play music and movies. This eventually followed with a revised and...
News Telltale Games Offered Lifeline, Might Allow The Walking Dead To Be Completed
A new hope
Telltale Games hasn't entirely closed up. Although it dismissed hundreds of staff last week, there are still 25 people who have stayed on to fulfill contractual obligations linked to a Minecraft: Story Mode project for Netflix. Other series like
News Telltale Games Voice Actor Posts Message About Incomplete Projects
"You, the fans, will not get to see Clem's journey through to the end"
A few days ago, Telltale Games revealed it had laid off hundreds of employees, with only 25 staff members remaining. The skeleton crew was reportedly staying on to fulfill contractual obligations, which allegedly includes work on a Minecraft: Story Mode project for Netflix. With...