Tag: Industry - Page 15
News NGPX Post-Show Streaming Schedule Revealed, Featuring SNK, Atlus, SEGA And More
7 hours of deep dives and demos on Twitch
As announced last month, next week the New Game+ Expo digital presentation will showcase "dozens" of new games from a variety of major (mainly Japanese) publishers, including new title announcements. The presentation will be broadcast on Tuesday 23rd June followed by a 7-hour stream on Twitch, and the...
News Nintendo Shares Soar To Highest Point In More Than A Decade
Stock hasn't been this high since the Wii days
Nintendo's share price has risen to the highest point seen in more than a decade, with stock closing at 50,110 yen per share on Thursday, 18th June. As reported by CNBC, this is the first time that Nintendo shares have closed above the 50,000 yen mark since August 2008, a period in which Nintendo was...
News EA Play Live Goes Digital This June - Expect World Premieres, News And Much More
Update: It's now been postponed until 18th June
Update (Sat 6th Jun, 2020 06:00 BST): This year's EA Play was meant to take place next week on 11th June, but due to the current events happening in America and elsewhere, it's now been pushed back to the 18th June. Here's the official announcement from the Electronic Arts Twitter account: Original...
News Limited Run Games Has Postponed Its Upcoming Presentation
Will be broadcast at a "later date"
When this year's E3 was officially cancelled, physical specialists Limited Run Games was one of the first companies to confirm it would still be going ahead with its own digital conference (filled with announcements about upcoming physical releases). The show was scheduled to take place on 8th June, but will now...
News Konami Looking To Fund And Publish More Games Like Skelattack In The West
It's part of a long-term initiative
Earlier this week, Konami surprised many people when it published a brand-new game on the Nintendo Switch and other platforms called Skelattack. If you're still wondering how this came about, it's all part of the Japanese company's new strategy to strengthen its position within the western market. Senior...
News Kirk Scott Leaves Nintendo Of America After Five Years
"The past 5 years have brought incredible joy"
Quite a lot of people have left Nintendo of America over the past few years, and the latest individual to depart is the company's manager for publisher and developer relations, Kirk Scott. If you've tuned into Nintendo's Nindies Showcase in recent years, you've likely seen him promoting a lot of...
News Tech Journalist Teases "Revolutionary" Scoop In Next Week's Famitsu, Possibly Concerning Sega
"It’ll rile up the games industry"
If this new tease is to be believed, it looks like next week is set to bring with it a pretty significant announcement for the world of gaming. Japanese technology journalist Zenji Nishikawa has hinted at a "huge scoop" during a live stream on YouTube. The news is set to be published in the 4th June issue of...
Exclusive reveals, developer diaries, and more
E3 2020 might have been officially cancelled, but that doesn't mean there won't be any other announcements taking place. In its place this year are a bunch of online events. The latest one announced is the Indie Showcase by The Escapist, in partnership with GOG.com. This digital event will run from...
Tencent becomes the primary shareholder
Japanese developer and publisher Marvelous has announced that it is set to enter into a 'capital and business alliance' with Image Frame Investment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chinese tech giant, Tencent (thanks, Famitsu). The decision to team up with Tencent - the company which helped Nintendo to launch...
News New Game+ Expo To Feature 14 Publishers This June, Including SEGA, Atlus And SNK
Livestream event to include KOEI TECMO, AKSYS and Inti Creates
E3 may be skipping 2020, but other bodies are stepping up to fill the summer video game vacuum. There's Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest, which will be delivering news and announcements throughout a four-month window, but there's also a new Expo in town, and it's got some big names...
News Unreal Engine 5 To Support Current-Generation Consoles And Mobile Platforms
Full release planned for "late" 2021
Update: Digital Foundry's Richard Leadbetter shared his own thoughts (via Eurogamer) and believes UE5 will "run on anything" - including Switch, just don't expect it to be on par with the "next-gen" experience revealed: UE5 gets its first public release early in 2021 with franchise juggernaut Fortnite...
News Devolver Digital's 2020 Direct Is Happening, It's Just Not Sure When
"due to these uncertain times"
Devolver Digital has made a name for itself over the past number of years hosting pre-recorded parody presentations around the time of E3. Although the biggest gaming event of the year has been cancelled, the show will go on for the edgy and often over the top video game publisher. Following on from its update in...
News Ubisoft Forward Announced - A Brand New "E3-Style" Showcase Airing On 12th July
Expect news, reveals and more!
Following the cancellation of this year's E3, major first and third-party video game companies have decided to host their own events. Ubisoft - best known for series such as Assassin's Creed - has now announced its own digital conference. It's called 'Ubisoft Forward' and will take place on 12th July, which is a month...
News Tokyo Game Show 2020 Officially Cancelled, Will Be Replaced By An Online Event
Another one bites the dust
It's official, like every other video game convention before it, this year's Tokyo Game Show has been cancelled to help stop the spread of COVID-19. The show, which was scheduled to take place between 24th - 27th September, will now be replaced by an online event. Here's the official statement: Due to the outbreak of...
News Geoff Keighley Announces Summer Game Fest, Four Months Of News And Events
An "industry-wide celebration of video games"
Game Awards creator Geoff Keighley has announced the Summer Game Fest. It is a new "industry-wide celebration of video games" that runs from May until August. According to Geoff, it'll share news, in-game events, and playable content from the entire video game industry. There'll also be panels and...
Random Switch Fans React To EA's Partnership With Google Stadia
Will bring three games to the cloud service
Google's video game cloud service Stadia admittedly received a lukewarm reception when it launched in select locations last November. Since then, the search engine giant has revealed more than 120 games are on the way to the platform in 2020. Now, to add to this, EA has announced it's teaming up with...
Talking Point We Should Brace For A Huge Games Industry Knock-On Effect Following The CERO Shutdown
Down to CERO
Today's news that Japanese video game rating organisation CERO--that's the 'Computer Entertainment Rating Organization'--is closing temporarily in response the COVID-19 pandemic will likely have far longer lasting repercussions on the video games industry than recent cancellation of annual events such as E3 and GDC. Japan's response to...
News ESA Locks In The Dates For E3 2021, Will Take Place Next June
And this year's digital event seems unlikely
Following on from IGN announcing its own 'Summer of Gaming' event yesterday, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has locked in the dates for its next E3 conference. With this year's E3 officially cancelled, the next "reimagined" version of it will be taking place between 15th - 17th June 2021...
"we are charged up and full of talent"
Port specialist Virtuos has made quite a name for itself during the Switch generation - helping bring across games like Starlink: Battle for Atlas, Dark Souls: Remastered and L.A. Noire. The company's vice president of games, Elijah Freeman, has also previously told other developers not to treat Nintendo
News IGN Announces Its New 'Summer Of Gaming' Digital Event, An E3 Replacement Starting This June
Multiple third-party publishers involved
Last month, E3 2020 was officially cancelled due to "increased and overwhelming concerns" about the coronavirus outbreak. Various video game companies, such as Nintendo, responded to the news with official statements saying they would explore other ways to engage with fans and share new announcements. Now,...
News GameStop Is Temporarily Closing All Of Its Storefronts
Will continue to process orders digitally
The struggling video game retailer GameStop has tried everything possible to remain open during the COVID-19 outbreak, but as of 22nd March will be closing all access to physical stores across the US. An official PR explains how for all locations not already closed in accordance with state and local orders,...
News GameStop To Stay Open During COVID-19 Outbreak Because It Is 'Essential Retail'
"Due to the products we carry"
To help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the United States, stores across the country deemed non-essential are temporarily shutting up shop. According to IGN, struggling video game retailer GameStop has decided not to comply with these ordinances. Leaked internal memos, sent from GameStop corporate, inform stores to...
News GDC Organisers Reveal New Three Day Summer Event For August
The show must go on
At the end of February, this year's Games Developers Conference – scheduled to take place this month, in March – was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak. A statement on the GDC website said the plan was to host the annual event later on in summer. Everything has now been sorted and in place of the original conference...
News Square Enix "Exploring Other Options" To Share Its Games, Now That E3 2020 Has Been Axed
"More to come, stay tuned"
Square Enix put on quite an impressive show at last year's E3, so how is it going to back it up now that this year's expo has been officially cancelled? The Japanese publisher and developer has released a statement (via Twitter), saying how it is "exploring other options" to share its 2020 and next-gen line-up with fans...
News E3 2020 Is Officially Cancelled
Update: Statement confirms
Update (Wed 11th Mar, 2020 15:40 GMT): Well, that's it then... E3 2020 is officially cancelled. Event organiser Entertainment Software Association has issued the following statement confirming the news: "After careful consultation with our member companies regarding the health and safety of everyone in our industry –...
News Former Nintendo Of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé Joins GameStop's Board Of Directors
"The gaming industry needs a healthy and vibrant GameStop"
Former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé has been appointed to GameStop's board of directors. He'll be teaming up with Bill Simon and J.K. Symancyk. Simon has worked in retail executive roles over the past 30 years and Symancyk is the current president and chief executive of...
News Nintendo Scores Publisher And Platform Of The Year Awards At MCV/Develop 2020
Here are all the winners
Last night, Thursday 5th March, saw the MCV/Develop Awards 2020 take place at The Brewery in central London, UK. Dating back almost 20 years, the MCV and Develop Awards were combined this year into a single event, aiming to "bring together every aspect of our multi-faceted, multi-talented industry". Nominees for the awards...
News GDC 2020 Postponed Due To The Coronavirus Outbreak
"we fully intend to host a GDC event later in the summer"
After close consultation with partners and the game development industry and community, this year's Game Developers Conference – scheduled to take place in March – has now been postponed. A statement on the GDC website said the plan was to host the annual event later on in summer and...
News Animal Crossing: New Horizons Nintendo Talk Announced For GDC 2020
Presented by Hisashi Nogami and Aya Kyogoku
The Game Developers Conference has announced it will be hosting a special talk about the creation of Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Nintendo Switch. This session will be presented by the game's producer Hisashi Nogami and director Aya Kyogoku. Here's a brief description of what will be covered...
News The Witcher 3 Switch Dev Saber Interactive Snapped Up By THQ Nordic Parent Company
In a deal worth up to $525m
Embracer Group, the parent company of THQ Nordic, has bought Saber Interactive, the development studio behind Switch ports of games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Vampyr. The deal consists of an initial $150m fee with a maximum earn-out of $375m, depending on the fulfilment of agreed milestones. It also means that...
News Untitled Goose Game Grabs Game Of The Year At DICE 2020 Awards, Here Are All The Winners
Nintendo takes several awards, too
Overnight, the 2020 D.I.C.E. Awards (Design Innovate Communicate Entertain) took place with some of gaming's best titles being recognised for their tremendous achievements over the past year. Taking the most prized award of all - Game of the Year - was the one and only Untitled Goose Game. The honky little indie...
News Nintendo, Xbox And Multiple Third-Party Publishers Commit To E3 2020
After Sony and Geoff pull out
E3 2020 is expected to be slightly different this year, as it transforms into a "fan, media, and influencer event". Despite these changes, the show will go on. In a press release on its official website, the Entertainment Software Association has confirmed many of the major players – including Nintendo –
And 17% are currently working on one
Later this year, Microsoft and Sony are expected to launch their next-generation of video game hardware. It has raised questions about the future of the Nintendo Switch and while many analysts still believe it will be the best-selling system of 2020, there are some concerns about developers moving onto bigger...
News New Super Lucky's Tale Dev Playful Studios "Significantly" Reduces Full-Time Staff
"we've dared to dream big"
Last year was an exciting and busy time for Playful Studios, with the release of New Super Lucky's Tale on the Nintendo Switch. Unfortunately, though, we're sad to report the company has had to lay off a portion of full-time staff, effective immediately. In an open message on the Playful's website, founders Paul Bettner...
News GameStop Subsidiary EB Games Closing 19 "Unprofitable" Stores Across Australia
By the end of this month
It's been revealed the GameStop subsidiary EB Games will be closing the doors of 19 of 300 plus stores across Australia by the end of January. In a statement provided to Kotaku Australia, the nationwide video game retailer explained how it was "constantly evaluating its property portfolio" and "after careful consideration"...
News Level-5 Realises Fans Don't Like Delays, But Does It To Make Its Games Better
The president wants to "properly build up titles"
The developer and publisher behind series like Inazuma Eleven, Professor Layton and Yo-Kai Watch had a relatively busy year in 2019 – announcing and localising a bunch of games while experiencing some troublesome delays at the same time. In the late
News Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa Thinks Cloud Gaming Is "A Long Way Off"
Dedicated hardware isn't going away
Last month, Nintendo of America's former president Reggie Fils-Aimé predicted cloud gaming would take off over the next decade as technology steadily evolves and download speeds increase. Obviously, right now, the video game industry is still in the earlier experimental phases with projects like Microsoft xCloud...
News CD Projekt Signs New Deal With The Witcher Author Andrzej Sapkowski
Geralt is in safe hands
Although Netflix's new show The Witcher is making headlines around the globe right now, if it wasn't for CD Projekt's video game version of Geralt, the entire series based on Andrzej Sapkowski's novels might not even be as well-known or successful as it is today. With this in mind, it comes as a relief to hear the Polish...
News Dangen Entertainment CEO Steps Down After Harassment Allegations Surface
Update: Statement released by the new CEO
Update - Fri 20th Dec, 2019 04:00 GMT: Dangen Entertainment's new CEO Dan Stern has published a new statement on the company's website, explaining how Dangen plans to resolve its developer issues and move forward. Below is Stern's entire statement: As part of the transition following our statement on...
News Nintendo Of America Has 14 Internships Up For Grabs In Summer 2020
Have you got the chops?
If you've always dreamt of getting your foot in the door and working for your favourite video game company, Nintendo of America has a selection of internships open for applications on its careers website. As noted on reddit by user Jeezy1296, the 14 available positions are predominantly at the firm's Redmond, Washington...
News The Game Awards GOTY Is Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
A surprising outcome
The Game Awards has just concluded for another year. So who won? Well, it wasn't Death Stranding or Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as predicted. In the end, the action-adventure game Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC took out the title. Here's a video replay of this "spectacular" win:
News Luigi's Mansion 3 Wins Best Family Game Of 2019
Nintendo dominated the category
Unsurprisingly, a Nintendo game won the best family game award at the 2019 Game Awards. The company filled every slot in this particular category, and in the end, Luigi's Mansion 3 took out the title. It beat Ring Fit Adventure, Super Mario Maker 2, Yoshi's Crafted World and the best-fighting game award-winner,
News Fire Emblem: Three Houses Crowned Strategy Game Of The Year
A critical hit
It's been a great year for the Nintendo Switch, with many top tier games released just about every month. One of the biggest highlights was Fire Emblem: Three Houses, developed by the talented team at Intelligent systems. We praised the game itself when it arrived in July and we're glad to say it's now been recognised at this year's...
"The same general game, but now it's version five or six"
Reggie "The Regginator" Fils-Aimé, former Nintendo of America President, has been discussing - among many other things - how Nintendo believed that before the Wii the games industry was in trouble, with stagnation setting in and increasing complexity in games blocking growth. Speaking with...
News Codemasters Acquires Project CARS Dev Slightly Mad Studios
Racing ahead
During the Wii U generation, London-based developer Slightly Mad Studios was working on a game called Project CARS. It was meant to be the definitive racing sim for Nintendo's system at the time but got cancelled in 2015. The final release (on other platforms) was well-received and a sequel followed in 2017. Fast forward to earlier...
News CD Projekt Red Not Worried About VR, As It Remains A "Very Small" Market
Senior VP of business development says it's extremely niche
Virtual Reality has been touted as the next big thing in the video game industry. There are high-end headsets available for PC, and on the console front, Sony has released a more affordable experience for the PlayStation 4. Even Nintendo had some fun with this idea earlier this year when it...
News Chinese Video Game Giant Tencent Wants To "Create Console Games With Nintendo Characters"
And appeal to players overseas
Earlier this year in April, Tencent was given the approval to start selling the New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe Switch bundle in mainland China. The news saw Nintendo's shares increase by more than 13 percent and Tencent followed this up by forming a "Nintendo cooperation department" to help manage the launch. Since...
News Hamster Corporation Is Now 20 Years Old
Getting better with age
If you love old school video games, you're probably a fan of Hamster Corporation. In recent years, the talented emulation experts at this company have spent their time re-releasing classic titles on modern systems, under the 'Arcade Archives' banner. As of yesterday, the Japanese publisher turned 20 years old. To celebrate...
News The Overwatch 2 Leak Was Extremely Demoralising For The Development Team
"You feel totally deflated"
Like many other BlizzCon 2019 announcements this weekend, the Overwatch 2 one was leaked ahead of the opening ceremony. In a follow-up interview with Kotaku Australia, Overwatch lead designer Jeff Kaplan expressed how leaks can be "extremely demoralising" for developers and explained how lack of context can often result...
News It Looks Like AlphaDream's Last Project Was Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games
Before filing for bankruptcy
Last month, it was discovered the Japanese developer AlphaDream filed for bankruptcy after the development costs of its projects got the better of it. The company was best known for its Mario & Luigi RPG series and had most recently released Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey on the...