Tag: Business - Page 2
News Oh No, GameStop Is Closing Its NFT Marketplace
NF-Terminated
GameStop has announced that it has "decided to wind down" its NFT marketplace after initially launching in July 2022. As reported by Decrypt (thanks, VGC), users will be unable to buy, sell, or create NFTs as of February 2nd, 2024, with GameStop citing the "continuing regulatory uncertainty of the crypto space" as its reasoning for...
News Nintendo Shares Hit Record High, Apparently Thanks To 'Switch 2' Fever
What have you got, 2024?
Nintendo shares have hit a record high of 7,823 yen (roughly $54.14) as of Wednesday, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. While increasing steadily over the last year or so, shares have recently spiked with WSJ citing 'solid earnings' and the expectation of new hardware from the firm to succeed the current Nintendo...
News Square Enix To Be "Aggressive In Applying" AI Going Forwards
Must... Consume... Content
Ah, what a lovely way to kick off 2024, eh? Square Enix's President Takashi Kiryu has revealed that the company will be "aggressive in applying" AI in its content development and publishing divisions in the future after he praised the technology in a New Year's Letter (thanks, VGC). Published on January 1st, 2024, the...
News Activision Blizzard's Bobby Kotick Will Step Down Later This Month
While ex-Nintendo employee Jill Braff will lead ZeniMax/Bethesda
Following Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard earlier this year (finally, right?), it's been announced that Bobby Kotick will step down from his role as CEO on December 29th, 2023 (thanks, Eurogamer). Kotick became CEO of Activision all the way back in 1991 and was integral...
News Fan-Made 'Link's Awakening DX HD' Port Taken Down By Nintendo
It was inevitable...
Remember the stunning The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX PC port we reported about just the other day? Well, it's sadly no longer. Nintendo has issued a takedown notice for the fan-made port, and it has now been removed from its itch.io page (thanks
News Nintendo Switch "Lifetime US Unit Sales" Surpass Xbox 360
"Switch trails only Nintendo DS and PlayStation 2"
The Nintendo Switch has smashed all sorts of records in 2023 and it turns out it's just done it again in recent times. As highlighted by Circana (formerly NPD) industry analyst Mat Piscatella, the hybrid hardware managed to surpass "lifetime US unit sales" of Microsoft's Xbox 360 in November,...
News TimeSplitters Dev Free Radical Has Shut Down As Staff Share "Last Day" Messages
"It's sad to say goodbye like this"
Without even an official announcement, it looks like Embracer Group has shut down UK game studio Free Radical Design, the team behind the TimeSplitters series of video games. Staff at the Nottingham-based developer have been sharing their thoughts, goodbyes, and happy memories on Twitter (spotted via Game...
News Aspyr Claims The Star Wars: KOTOR 2 DLC Was Cancelled Due To A 'Third Party'
Developer is looking to have a lawsuit dismissed
Earlier this year, it was reported that disgruntled fans had filed a class action lawsuit against developer Aspyr after the latter announced it would be cancelling the 'Restored Content' DLC for STAR WARS: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords on Switch. According to a new article from
News Persona Developer Atlus Is Raising Its Average Employee Salary By 15%
New graduates will also benefit
Atlus, the developer behind the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei franchises, has announced that it is raising the average annual salary for its employees by 15%. In a stark contrast to the seemingly endless lay-offs hitting the industry of late, new graduates at Atlus will see their starting salary rise by 300,000 yen...
News Embracer May Soon Be Closing 'Timesplitters' Studio Free Radical Design
Another casualty of Embracer's restructuring
In yet another blow to the gaming industry, VGC has reported that Embracer Group may soon be closing the Nottingham-based UK studio Free Radical Design. The team was reformed back in 2021 to revive the classic FPS franchise Timesplitters, but it looks like that may now be under threat as a result of...
News Nintendo Records Biggest Q1+2 Sales Figures Since Switch Launch
Mario Movie and other projects lend a hand
Nintendo has today published its financial report for Q2 FY2024 and it looks like things have been going really rather well. On top of some meaty sales figures for the likes of Tears of the Kingdom, Pikmin 4 and the Switch console itself, the report finds that Nintendo's sales in the first half of the...
News Tears Of The Kingdom Continues To Prove That 'Open World Zelda' Is A Best-Selling Formula
Almost 20 million units sold
Nintendo has announced that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has now sold 19.50 million units, just shy of that 20 million milestone. Launched on May 12th, 2023, the game has now effectively sold nearly two-thirds of what Breath of the Wild has managed in the space of about five months or so. That's insane. For...
News Here Are The Top Ten Best-Selling Nintendo Switch Games As Of September 2023
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe stays in pole position
Nintendo has today shared its latest financial report for FY2024 and this gives us an updated list of the best-selling Switch games as of 30th September 2023. Unlike the last report, which saw The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom sneak into the proceedings, this quarter remains relatively unchanged...
News Pikmin 4 Has Sold 2.61 Million Units In Just Over Two Months
Over 50% of which in Japan
As part of Nintendo's latest financial report, which tracks the second quarter of the fiscal year ending March '24 (that's April 1st to September 30th, 2023 specifically), the company has announced that Pikmin 4 has sold 2.62 million units since its release on July 21st, 2023. The milestone puts the game ahead of Pikmin 3...
News Nintendo Switch Has Now Sold Over 132 Million Units
They're stacking up
Nintendo's quarterly financial results have been released and they show that Switch, in all its iterations, has now crossed the 130-million-sales mark. As of 30th September 2023, the lifetime number of Nintendo Switch hardware units sold — including the regular model, Switch Lite, and Switch OLED — stands at 132.46 million,...
News Shinji Mikami And Hideki Kamiya Set To Host Talk On Careers And Future Plans
The start of a new venture?
Shinji Mikami and Hideki Kamiya, who both left their respective companies in 2023, are set to host a joint conversation on their careers and future plans at the Archipel Caravan Festival in Tokyo on December 16, 2023. As reported by VGC, the talk, simply dubbed ‘Shinji Mikami x Hideki Kamiya’, will also see the...
News Atari Acquires Retro Specialist Digital Eclipse
"The future is bright and unwritten"
In what will no doubt prove to be one of the more, shall we say, sensible acquisitions in the games industry, Digital Eclipse has announced that it is officially joining Atari after its stellar work on Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration. Founded in 1992, Digital Eclipse is well known for its expertise in the...
News Disney Boss Reportedly Being Urged To Acquire A Major Game Publisher
To become a "gaming giant"
Disney executives are reportedly encouraging CEO Bob Iger to consider expanding Disney from a "gaming license" to a "gaming giant". In a report published by Bloomberg (via VGC), it seems that all is not happy at the House of Mouse, with reports of discontent following comm
News Unity's CEO And President Retires After Policy Debacle
Firm seeking new permanent replacement
In the wake of Unity's highly controversial policy regarding runtime fees, which it has now altered based on community backlash, its CEO and President John Riccitiello has now stepped down. In addition, he has also stepped down from his position on the board of directors as chairman. As reported by...
News Telltale Games Confirms Layoffs, With 'Most Of' The Studio Reportedly Gone
Sigh...
In what has increasingly proved to be a turbulent year for the video game industry, with layoffs reported at studios such as Epic Games, Crystal Dynamics, and Team17, the latest to add to the pile is Telltale Games. The first indication of trouble ca
News Nintendo President Reiterates Switch Software Support Into FY24/25
A slow Switcharoo
In a recent interview with Nikkei, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has reiterated the firm's intentions to support Switch with new games next year. Having launched in March 2017, the Switch is already over halfway into its seventh year on the market. Asked whether the console's lifecycle could be lengthened even further,...
News Multiple Job Losses Expected At Team17 As It Splits With CEO Michael Pattison
QA team likely to be heavily affected
Team17 has confirmed that it will be commencing a company restructure that will likely result in multiple job losses. In addition, it has also announced an 'amicable' split with CEO Michael Pattison. This comes following recent reports of significant layoffs at Epic Games. As reported by Eurogamer and
News Capcom Would 'Gracefully Decline' An Acquisition Offer From Microsoft
No sale for you!
With Microsoft's gargantuan acquisition of Activision-Blizzard nearing its close after the UK's CMA provisionally approved the revised deal, many are wondering who might be next on the tech corporation's shopping list (and no, it's probably not Nintendo). Indeed, one prime target for acquisition at the moment might well be Resident...
News Embracer Group: More "Tough Decisions" To Come As Crystal Dynamics Suffers Layoffs
Embracer's restructuring continues
Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics is the latest subsidiary of Embracer Group to be hit with cuts, with the studio announcing yesterday on Twitter that ten staff had to be let go "due to an internal restructuring". And, at Embracer's annual general meeting (which you can watch on YouTube), CEO Lars Wingefors...
Soapbox Nintendo, "THE Prime Asset" In Xbox's Content Quest? It's Only Natural
But it ain't happening
The FTC case examining Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, depending on your perspective, is either the gift that keeps on giving or an eye-scrapingly dull, never-ending saga. Still, you can't deny that it's turned up some tasty behind-the-scenes morsels to chew on, giving gamers a fascinating glimpse of the...
Random Xbox Marketing Wanted To "Avoid Calling Switch A Console"
Wish upon a Star(field)
In an attempt to ensure that Microsoft's Xbox is easily differentiated from the Switch, the company once attempted to make a shift in terminology when it comes to what constitutes a "console" — because that couldn't possibly lead to confusion, right? In a 2019 email from Xbox's head of marketing, Aaron Greenberg (and...
News Embracer Group Reportedly Looking To Sell Borderlands Dev Gearbox Entertainment
Update: More reports surface
Update: Bloomberg has corroborated Reuters' report from earlier today. Reporter Jason Schreier shared that Bloomberg has seen an email written by Gearbox's Chief Communications Officer, which notes that there are "many options under consideration". The letter reportedly says "The base case is that Gearbox remains a...
Poll Hasn't Nintendo Always Been An 'Entertainment' Company?
Let Mii entertain you
The times are a-changin' for Nintendo, it seems. Nobody would doubt that the company has been video game-focused for the past few decades, but with theme parks, movies, and mobile apps popping up all over the place, it seems that the Big-N is moving in a slightly different direction. This was echoed by Nintendo of America...
News Nintendo Is "Evolving" Into An Entertainment Company, According To Doug Bowser
"With gaming as a nucleus of the overall business model"
Nintendo has mentioned on a number of occasions in recent years how it wants to go beyond video games and the company's American president Doug Bowser has now reiterated this during an interview with the Washington Post. Bowser mentioned how Nintendo is currently "evolving into being an...
News Charles Martinet Will No Longer Be The Voice Of Mario
Update: Is not in Mario Wonder, now Mario Ambassador
Update: In a statement made to both IGN and Eurogamer, Nintendo has confirmed that Charles Martinet is not in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. That means both Mario and Luigi are voiced by a brand new voice actor in the upcoming platformer. Nintendo told both publications that "... while Charles is not...
News Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Has Reportedly Helped Boost Japan's GDP
No tears here
Preliminary figures released by the Japanese Cabinet Officer today report that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom may well have helped boost Japan's GDP (gross domestic product), Japanese outlet Mainichi Shinbun reports. (via Forbes). Nintendo's highly-anticipated first-party title launched back in May 2023 and broke sales...
News Former PixelJunk Scrappers, Cursed To Golf Devs Open New Indie Studio In Kyoto, Japan
Denkiworks is already working on its first project
Former developers from Q-Games and Chuhai Labs have teamed up to open a brand new indie game studio in Kyoto, Japan. Denkiworks was founded by Liam Edwards, Jan de Graaf, and Taku Arioka. All three devs met while working on the mobile version of PixelJunk Scrappers at Q-Games in 2018. Edwards then...
News Monolith Soft Profits Almost Doubled In Fiscal Year Ending March 2023
A sparkin' good result
Monolith Soft had a cracking 2022 with the release of Xenoblade Chronicles 3, one of our favourite games of the year and a culmination of everything the developer has learned. And it shows in a recent report acquired by Gamebiz.jp (via Noisy Pixel), as the developer has almost doubled its profits in the fiscal year ending...
News Percentage Of Female Managers At Nintendo Hasn't Improved, Despite Pledges
Annual report also reveals gender pay gap at NCL
According to Nintendo's annual report published earlier this week, only 4.2% of company managers in Japan are women. This is a number that has remained unchanged since 2021, when the company formed its 'Nintendo Women and Allies' initiative, pledging to "promote women’s careers" (thanks, Axios). On...
News Embracer Group To Make Severe Cutbacks After Absurd Spending Spree
Jobs, studios, and games all on the line
Embracer Group has announced that it is entering a 'restructuring program' with a view to becoming a "leaner, stronger and a more focused, self-sufficient company". In other words, it's about to undertake some pretty substantial cost-cutting measures after spending the last six years or so focusing on...
News Sega Looks Set To Raise Its Game Prices Up To $70
"We would like to review the prices of titles"
Sega Sammy has suggested that it may join other major publishers in raising some of its game prices up to $70. In a recent Q&A session (thanks, VGC) with President / Group CEO Haruki Satomi and Senior Vice President / Group CFO Koichi Fukazawa, it's been confirmed that the company will be reviewing...
News Time Between Switch's Announcement And Launch Was A "Special Case", Says Nintendo
Could the gap be shorter for the next console?
The official translation of Nintendo's financial Q&A for the recently-released figures is now available to view online, in which the company's president, Shuntaro Furukawa, discusses the time between the Switch's announcement and its release, hinting that the same may not be applied to future...
News Capcom Reports Yet Another Record Year Of Game Sales
Sun-breaking records
Capcom has released its financial report for the fiscal year ended March 31st, 2023, and it's an impressive showing from the Japanese publisher. Following the launch of 35 new SKUs, including the likes of Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak and Resident Evil 4, the company has reported that it has sold a record-breaking 41.7 million...
News Xenoblade Developer Monolith Soft Raises Staff Salaries Across The Company
Future banked
Monolith Soft has revealed that it's increasing all staff salaries for all employees at the company. From April 2023, basic salaries have been increased "in line with rising prices", the developer has announced on its website. The raise affects everyone working at the company, including graduates, who will receive a 22% increase in...
News Nintendo Subsidiary Hiring Engineer For "Current And Next-Generation" Platforms
Here we go again...
Nintendo European Research & Development (NERD) is looking to hire a Game Tech Engineer to join the team. However, However, the listing has caught people's eye as the future employee will be targeting both "current and next-generation Nintendo platforms". (Thanks, GoNintendo!) The job seeks someone to fill an engineer and...
News FTC Reportedly Wants Info From Nintendo On Call Of Duty Deal (North America)
A seven hour testimony has been requested
The US Federal Trade Commission is attempting to get more information from Nintendo regarding the 10-year licensing deal it signed with Microsoft to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo platforms. In a report published by TweakTown (via
News Nintendo Wins Court Dispute Against Pirated Game Hosting Site
Dstorage can appeal
Nintendo has won a dispute with sharehosting website operator Dstorage which failed to remove pirated Nintendo games from its website 1fichier.com, GamesIndustry.biz reports. The Paris Court of Appeals has sided with Nintendo on the matter for a second time after previously delivering the same verdict in May 2021. Nintendo took...
News Nintendo Of Europe "Has Decided To Wind Down Operations" In Russia
Update: Will "maintain a minimal presence" in the country
Update [Fri 14th Apr, 2023 11:45 BST]: Nintendo of Europe has provided a statement to Eurogamer saying that following its suspension of the eShop and officially shipping products to Russia in 2022, it "has decided to wind down operations of its Russian subsidiary". Noting the current...
News Nintendo Wants Discord To Reveal Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Art Book Leaker
NoA files for DMCA subpoena
Nintendo of America has filed an application for a DMCA subpoena at a district court in California which, if granted, would order Discord to reveal the identity of the person who leaked The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's art book back in February. TorrentFreak reported earlier today that the company's attorneys...
News Devolver Digital Acquires 'Gato Roboto' And 'Gunbrella' Dev Doinksoft
"A historic moment"
Publisher Devolver Digital has announced that it has acquired Doinksoft, the developer behind Gato Roboto, the physical exclusive Demon Throttle, and the upcoming run 'n' gun title Gunbrella. Announced via Twitter, Devolver calls the acqusition "a historic moment" and included a rather amusing accompanying image that will look...
News Nintendo And Mobile Firm DeNA Launch Joint Venture Company
Update: Company now formally established
Update [Mon Apr 3rd 2023, 09:15 BST]: Nintendo has released a statement on its Japanese website to confirm that the joint venture company 'Nintendo Systems Co., Ltd' has now been formally established with DeNA. Loosely translated, the statement reads: "Today, April 3, 2023, "Nintendo Systems Co., Ltd.", a...
News Konami Files Trademark For Mysterious 'Project Zircon'
"What is your business here?"
Konami has filed a trademark for 'Project Zircon'. Spotted yesterday by Gematsu and filed on 7th March, we know absolutely nothing about what this means, but it's got some people thinking. As Gematsu mentions on Twitter, zircon has very few connections to the company in general, but there is one that'll be of interest...
News Bowser Defends $70 Zelda Pricing, Nintendo Still "Very Bullish" About Switch
"It’s exciting to see that demand is still there"
While the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom might just be the most highly-anticipated video game of all time, the announcement that the title would cost $70 on release opened up the conversation about how much we are all willing to pay for a game in 2023. Doug Bowser, the head of...
News The Pokémon Company Is Looking To Hire Someone With NFT Knowledge
Porygon-B
The Pokémon Company International opened up a new job listing for a Corporate Development Principal a few days ago, and it looks like the position requires the candidate to have a grasp of Web3, including blockchain. The listing was spotted on TPCi's Greenhouse page (via LinkedIn) where all of the company's job listings are posted, and...
News Looks Like Square Enix Is Still Planning To Release Multiple Blockchain Games
Caught in an NFTrance
Square Enix has today released its Outline of Financial Results Briefing, which was held on 3rd February 2023, and from the sounds of a comment from current CEO and president Yosuke Matsuda, blockchain is still very much in the company's future (via Wario64, Stephen Totilo). In response to the question about sustainable growth...