Tag: Industry - Page 7
News Nintendo Once Again Reassures It Has No Plans To Increase Switch Prices
Following Sony's announcement
Nintendo has confirmed that it will not be increasing the price of Switch models any time soon. VGC reached out to the UK arm of the company to confirm that Nintendo does "not have any plans" to bump up the prices of the console yet. This statement follows the news that Sony would be increasing the price of both...
News CNBC Sources State Amazon Is Not Planning To Buy EA
Update: USA Today's FTW responds
Update #2 [Fri 26th Aug, 2022 19:00 BST]: FTW has now updated its original story, stating that "unnamed and unvetted sources" were cited in the reporting on this rumour. Here is the editorial statement in full: "Earlier today, GLHF — a gaming/e-sports outlet and content partner of For The Win — ran a version...
News TinyBuild Just Paid $3m To Own Surgeon Simulator And I Am Bread
Bossa Studios is pivoting to co-op PvE
American-European developer and indie publisher TinyBuild announced today that they have acquired the developmental rights for several of Bossa Studios' IPs, namely Surgeon Simulator, I Am Fish, and I Am Bread. TinyBuild's stable of games currently includes Potion Craft, Hello Neighbor, Totally Reliable...
News Stardew Valley Creator Uploads New Screenshot Of His Next Project
Introducing the Bee Boss
Stardew Valley creator "Eric 'ConcernedApe' Barone has already shared a new screenshot of his next project Haunted Chocolatier earlier this month, and now he's released another one. It's perhaps the sweetest one yet - revealing one of the boss enemies in game. This one is simply referred to as "Bee Boss" for now, and as you...
News Sega Announces Space Channel 5 And Comix Zone Movies
Sonic was just the beginning
Sega has had so much success with the Sonic the Hedgehog movies that it has already locked in the third one and confirmed a separate television series starring Knuckles. If this wasn't enough, it's now officially confirmed there'll be Space Channel 5 and Comix Zone adaptations. "SEGA is partnering with @picturestart to...
Guide So, What Does Embracer Group Actually Own The Rights To?
What do Catan, The Hobbit, Gex, and The Mask have in common?
Disclaimer: We are not lawyers and some of the wording here may not be 100% correct. Apologies in advance! If you're at all tuned in to gaming news, you'll probably have noticed the seemingly-endless and slightly-worrying number of news posts about acquisitions over the past few years...
News Nintendo To Reduce Switch Packaging By 20% To Combat Supply Issues
Packing 'em in
As the gaming industry's increasing popularity drives up the demand for consoles, manufacturers have struggled to keep up and are subsequently experiencing worldwide distribution issues due to a number of factors. We have been reporting on the semiconductor shortage for some time now, detailing Switch assembly issues and the company's...
News Embracer Group Acquires Limited Run Games, Lord Of The Rings IP & More
The list goes on...
Swedish video game company Embracer Group has acquired not one but multiple companies and IP for an undisclosed sum. In a series of press releases, Embracer announced the acquisition of Tripwire Interactive (Killing Floor, Maneater, Rising Storm), Tuxedo Labs (Teardown), Singtrix (vocal processing effects tech), physical...
News Nintendo Says It's "Actively Investigating" Most Recent Misconduct Claims
Doug Bowser issues internal message about latest report
Yesterday, Kotaku published a report with a new round of accusations against both Nintendo of America and contracting firm Aston Carter. In an update, the same outlet has now seen an internal message (sent out by NoA's president Doug Bowser to employees) regarding the "media coverage involving...
News New Report Alleges Sexual Harassment And Discrimination At Nintendo Of America
Testing department at NoA described as "frat house"
Update: Nintendo of America's president Doug Bowser has now responded to this report, mentioning how the company is "actively investigating" these claims of misconduct. Content warning: Please be aware that the following article and the sources linked within touch on topics including...
News Reggie: Nintendo Was Working On A Device Like Xbox's Adaptive Controller
"My hope is that the effort has continued"
Accessibility is something that needs a lot more attention in the video game space, and one company helping to make people more aware of this is Microsoft's gaming division at Xbox. The team released the Xbox Adaptive Controller in 2018 and has also published guidelines to help developers and publishers...
News Disney & Marvel Announce First Ever Games Showcase, Airing September 9th
Avatar, Lego Star Wars and more!
Following on from THQ Nordic's digital showcase last week, Disney & Marvel have now announced their first-ever video game showcase. This will include content from Disney, Pixar, 20th Century Studios, Lucasfilm (Star Wars) and Marvel. The show will be hosted by Kinda Funny host and producer, Blessing Adeoye and...
Gamescom 2022 Everything You Need To Know - Times, Dates, Games, And Announcements
Also, Geoff Keighley! Again!
It's August, and that means that Geoff Keighley's Never-Ending Train Of Games is chugga-chuggin' into Cologne, Germany for the E3-of-Europe, Gamescom. Get ready for a bunch of announcements (maybe), reveals (probably), and free game promo T-shirts that are only available in one size (definitely) as Gamescom unfolds over...
News Fire Reported At Nintendo's Japanese Headquarters
Luckily, no one has been injured
Emergency services in Japan have responded to a fire at Nintendo's HQ in Minami-ku, Kyoto, local media outlet NHK reports. The article (shared and translated by VGC) states that the fire was reported at 1pm local time today, 15th August. Police at the scene state that some furniture has been damaged in one room on...
News A New South Park Game Has Been Teased
Expect lots of toilet humour...
THQ Nordic's latest digital showcase shared all sorts of game announcements, but perhaps the highlight of the lot was the final teaser right at the very end. The company has officially confirmed a new South Park game is in development, cutting down its list of unannounced games by one. Apart from this, the only other...
News Veteran Capcom Producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi Joins NetEase Games
Moving on after 27 years
Capcom producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi has announced his departure from Capcom after 27 years. To mark his 50th birthday he'll be filling the same roll over at the Chinese video game giant NetEase. Kobayashi started out as a programmer on the Resident Evil series in the '90s and took up producer roles for series like Dino...
News Sunsoft Hosting New Digital Event To Announce Upcoming Titles
For "fans old and new"
Sunsoft, the company behind series like Blaster Master, has announced it will be hosting a new digital event next week on August 18th. At this event it intends to unveil its plans for titles due out for the remainder of 2022 and also the year ahead. In a PR, Sunsoft general manager, Yuichi Ochi mentioned how the company was...
News Nintendo Of America Named In New Workplace Complaint
Contracting firm Aston Carter, too
Back in April, Nintendo of America was named alongside contracting firm Aston Carter in a National Labor Relations Board filing, where an "unnamed worker" claimed their legally protected right to unionise was violated. Nintendo issued an official statement at the time explaining how the contractor was "terminated...
News Sega's Financial Results Bolstered By Sonic Origins And Pachinko Machines
A surprisingly healthy Q1 for the company
Sega Sammy Holdings recently posted its financial results for the three months ended June 2022, highlighting a surprising increase in net sales and profits considering an overall lack of major releases (thanks, GamesIndustry.biz). In terms of net sales, the company total ¥66.1 billion ($496 million), which...
News Square Enix Is Potentially Looking To Sell Stakes In Its Studios
After reporting declining financial results
Square Enix has been a mainstay in the industry for years, but it looks like the Japanese publisher and developer is struggling, having reported declining financial results for Q1 2023 (besides the huge success of its MMORPG, Final Fantasy XIV). And, following the publication of those results, Eurogamer...
News Tencent Is Seeking A Bigger Stake In 'Mario + Rabbids' Publisher Ubisoft
Chinese firm reportedly wants to be Ubisoft's biggest shareholder
Tencent Holdings Ltd is looking to raise its skate in Assassin's Creed and Mario + Rabbids publisher Ubisoft Entertainment SA, it's been reported. From Reuters.com, the Chinese gaming giant purchased a 5% stake in Ubisoft back in 2018, but is now looking to raise this and effectively...
News Nintendo Of Europe Announces New Senior Managing Director
Welcome to Mr Tom Enoki
Nintendo of Europe, based in Germany, has announced changes to its senior management team. On 16th July, Tom Enoki joined the management team as the new Senior Managing Director and Head of Corporate Planning Office. With this brand new appointment, Koji Miyaki — former CEO and Chairman of Nintendo of Europe, has returned...
News Kirby And The Forgotten Land Becomes The Second Best-Selling Kirby Game Ever
And it's had the highest sell-through of any Kirby game to date
Kirby and the Forgotten Land continues to break Kirby series records for Nintendo and HAL Laboratory. After becoming the most successful Kirby game in the UK ever last week, Nintendo now reports that the latest Kirby game has seen the highest sell-through of any Kirby game to date! This...
News Nintendo Has High Hopes For Nintendo Switch Sports As It Nears 5 Million Sales
Going for gold
As part of Nintendo's financial results for the three months ended June 2022, it highlighted the total sales for a number of games released during the period, including the divisive Nintendo Switch Sports. Despite some lukewarm reception from both ourselves and the community, Nintendo Switch Sports has nevertheless proved a hith with...
News Nintendo Reports Drop In Sales For Q1- Should We Be Worried?
Semiconductor shortages puts a strain on console production
Nintendo has released its financial results for the three months ended June 2022, reporting an operating profit loss and a drop in both hardware sales and software sales. In terms of its net sales, Nintendo reported a total of 307.4 billion yen, which is down by 4.7% YoY. Hardware sales...
News Nintendo Reconfirms Release Windows For Major Upcoming Switch Games
Bayonetta! Kirby! Pokémon!
Nintendo has released its latest financial report today, and as with every one of these, the company has updated its list of upcoming releases. June and July have been pretty busy months for the Big N, but the rest of the year is looking much calmer. This updated schedule does include July's releases — so Live A Live...
News Stardew Valley Creator Shares A Brand New Screenshot Of His Next Project
Says "progress is pretty good"
Stardew Valley is an amazing game that seems to just keep getting better and better, and while Eric 'ConcernedApe' Barone appears to still be working on future updates for it, he's also busy with his next project Haunted Chocolatier. Now, in a new update - Barone has shared what seems to be a new screenshot, just to...
News Nintendo Rules Out Any Price Increase On The Switch In Japan... For Now
Inflation currently isn't affecting the console market
Amidst a weak yen in Japan, electronics are currently facing some serious price hikes, including the likes of Apple's iPhone, but also emcompassing a wide range of pretty essential goods including TVs, fridges, dishwashers, and printers. One area that seems to be immune (for now) is the video...
News Logitech And Tencent Games Are Working On A Cloud-Based Handheld Console
The future of gaming?
Logitech G, the gaming branch of the Swiss peripheral giant Logitech, has announced that it has partnered with Tencent Games to work on a dedicated cloud-based handheld device. As reported by The Verge, the system is currently very much in active developement, and nothing has been announced at this time regarding release date,...
News Cadence Of Hyrule Dev Teases Super-Secret "NecroDancer-Related" Announcement
All will be revealed later this week...
Brace Yourself Games - best known on the Nintendo Switch for its amazing work on Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer - has taken to social media to tease an upcoming announcement. Apparently, it's got "super-secret" news related to the Crypt of the NecroDancer franchise to make. All will be revealed...
News Nightdive Apparently Has "A Few More" FPS Remasters On The Way
According to the studio's CEO
Nightdive Studios has been responsible for some outstanding first-person shooter revivals in recent years and unsurprisingly more are on the way. Studio CEO, Stephen Kick, recently responded to a viral tweet focused on first-person shooters of the '90s - noting how the studio has already remastered four of the games in...
News Nintendo Announces Return To BitSummit, Will Showcase 7 Indie Titles
Nintendo's booth is back for the first time in three years
Nintendo is always hosting special indie world game presentations, and now, for the first time in three years, its booth will be returning to Japan's largest indie game event 'BitSummit X-Roads' next month from 6th August to 7th August. It will be held in Kyoto City, with the first day a...
News Funko Pop Teams Up With Ex-LEGO Developers To Make "AAA" Video Games
A plastic dream team
Funko Pop seems to be one of those polarising brands — you either own enough of them to create your own plastic multiverse of your favourite pop culture characters, or you would be more than happy to melt down the parade of dead-eyed figurines that fill the shelves of your local game shops, if arson wasn't "technically" a...
News Mojang Says No To Minecraft NFTs
No blocks on this chain
In a post on the Minecraft blog today, July 20th, 2022, Mojang staff drew a line in the sand when it comes to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the blockchain in their game, following feedback from players seeking clarification on the company's position on the controversial topic. Multiple mod-makers, companies, and creators...
Random Elected Official In Japan Is Looking To Legally Preserve Games
And keep them playable for generations to come
A newly elected official in Japan has announced his intention to implement a legal framework to preserve games and keep them in a playable state. As reported by Automaton, Ken Akamatsu recently won a seat on Japan's House of Counsellors and is due to take office on July 26th. In a statement on Twitter...
News DOOM's Legendary Co-Creator John Romero Is Making A Brand New FPS
"We're working with a major publisher"
The absolutely legendary game designer and programmer John Romero has announced he's working with a major publisher on an "all-new" first-person shooter and is now hiring. In an announcement on social media, John shared the following message on behalf of Romero Games - calling for talented people to join the...
News The Pokémon Company Needs Someone To Help Archive Pokémon History
Update: Looks like the vacancy has been filled
Update: Aaaand it looks like the position has been taken already, according to this message that pops up when you visit the careers page: Sorry folks! Okay, this must be a dream job for someone out there, right? The Pokémon Company International is looking for someone to help them create an...
News UK Government Warns It "Will Not Hesitate To Consider Legislation" Against Loot Boxes
"Video games companies and platforms must do more"
Loot boxes have long been a contentious topic of conversation in the gaming industry, and the UK government has warned companies that restrictive legislation may be enforced in the future if the culture surrounding these purchases doesn't change. The Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport...
Random Turns Out Elite Beat Agents Predicted 'Nintendo Pictures' Years Ago
The Agents were right on the money
Having acquired Dynamo Pictures — the production company behind the Pikmin Short Movies — Nintendo recently announced its intention to rebrand, with the studio formally becoming 'Nintendo Pictures Co., Ltd.'. While the name change will be a surprise to many, eagle-eyed fans of Elite Beat Agents may have seen...
News Nintendo To Acquire Dynamo Pictures, Will Rename It 'Nintendo Pictures'
Previously known for its work on the Pikmin Short Movies
Nintendo has entered an agreement to fully acquire the visual production company Dynamo Pictures, Inc., known previously for its work on the Pikmin Short Movies. Completion of the acquisition is expected to close on October 3rd, after which Dynamo Pictures will be known as 'Nintendo Pictures...
News Nintendo Formally Acknowledges Same-Sex Marriage, Despite Japanese Law
Enabling employees to "fully realize their talents"
Update: It has been highlighted that this particular addition to Nintendo's CSR first appeared when it was updated last year, and is therefore not a new addition to the document. We apologise for the error. Bearing in mind we haven't previously reported on it, we've decided to keep the story live...
News Bandai Namco Confirms Ransomware Attack, Investigating "Scope Of The Damage"
Update: Publisher is "identifying the status about existence of leakage"
Update [Wed 13th Jul, 2022 13:45 BST]: Bandai Namco has confirmed reports that its servers were hacked. In a statement provided to VGC, the publisher has said it is currently assessing the scale of the attack and states that the leak of customer information is a "possibility"...
News Devon Pritchard Becomes Nintendo Of America's Newest Executive
Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Communications
Nintendo of America has put out a press release via Business Wire naming Devon Pritchard as the company's Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Communications. Devon Pritchard, Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Communications at Nintendo of America Since...
News Respawn Working On Single-Player FPS Set In Apex Legends Universe
The battle royale could be expanding...
Respawn Entertainment's free-to-play battle royale Apex Legends doesn't always get as much credit in certain corners of the internet, but it's actually generated more than $2 billion in earnings since its arrival in 2019. With this in mind, Respawn appears to be developing a new solo first-person shooter...
News GameStop Staff Layoffs Are Announced As Chief Financial Officer Leaves
In an aim to reduce costs
Reports have emerged that GameStop is replacing its Chief Financial Officer and will begin laying off "a number" of staff. In a memo acquired by Axios' Stephen Totilo, GameStop CEO Matt Furlong reportedly wrote that the layoffs are to allow the company to strive for "sustained profitability". Mike Recupero, current CFO,...
News Overwatch 2 Dev Blizzard "Committed" To Reviving BlizzCon In 2023
The live event will return
It's the time of year when all sorts of video game conferences are broadcast, or at least get announced. Blizzard - the developer behind series like Diablo, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft hasn't held its own in-person event in a while, but it seems this will be changing next year. Speaking to the Los Angeles Times...
News E3 2023 Will Be "A Return To Form", Promises New Production Company
The ESA teams up with PAX and New York Comic Con organisers
It has been confirmed that E3 2023 is definitely happening and will be run by events company ReedPop as part of a new partnership with the Entertainment Software Association. As detailed in a press release, E3 will be returning in the second week of June next year as an in-person event...
News NPD Group Predicts Switch Will Sell Most Units In North America In 2022
Game spending to drop almost 9%
The first few months of 2022 have seen the video game industry struggle with sales, with a drop in figures month-on-month. Now the NPD Group has officially reported that this trend looks to continue, although there's some good news for Nintendo in the midst of this. NPD analyst Mat Piscatella predicts that the Switch...
News Kazuki Takahashi, The Creator Of Yu-Gi-Oh!, Has Died
Celebrated manga artist was 60
Update: Thu 7th Jul, 2022 17:25 BST: The official Twitter page for Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Games from Konami Europe has tweeted out its condolences in relation to the passing of Kazuka Takahashi, pledging to carry on the Yu-Gi-Oh! legacy with the love and care it deserves. Original Article: Thu 7th Jul, 2022 12:05 BST:...
News Nintendo Switch Sales See 24% Increase In June In The UK
And sales are steadily increasing
It's good news for hardware sales in the UK for Nintendo for June. After a few quiet months in hardware and game sales, Nintendo has seen a bit of a boost — as have Sony and Microsoft. Switch hardware sales have increased by 24% on the previous month, gameindustry.biz's Chris Dring shared on Twitter. The Xbox...