Tag: Industry - Page 19
News Voice Actors Union Authorises Strike Action With Landslide 96.52 Percent Vote
Strike likely to go ahead unless agreement can be reached
Last month we reported that The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA for short) in the US was holding a vote to see if its members would support strike action in order to improve the working conditions of voice actors in the video game sector...
News Climate "Not Healthy" For Dedicated Handheld Games Consoles, Says Sony's Shuhei Yoshida
"People have mobile phones and it's so easy to play games on smartphones"
With the Wii U failing to match the original Wii in terms of commercial success Nintendo has, to a certain extent, relied on its current handheld platform, the 3DS, to balance the books. However, even that system has struggled to replicate the performance of its immediate...
News Analysts Wonder If Super Mario Can Save Nintendo
"I do think that Super Mario will be a driver for mobile revenue"
American business publication Fortune has recently asked the big question 'Can Super Mario save Nintendo from itself?' and to answer that question has consulted the wisdom of several analysts including Nintendo Life reader favourite Michael Pachter. With Super Mario Maker seemingly...
News This Is The Last Real Console Cycle, Proclaims Industry Analyst Michael Pachter
"The console installed base is as big as it's ever going to get"
We could see the end of dedicated games hardware in the near future, states Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter. Speaking at DICE Europe last week, the outspoken industry expert tackled the issue of the end of the console era, and pointed out that in terms of pure sales figures, this...
News 3DS Can Last For Another Two To Three Years In The West, Says NIS America Boss
Takuro Yamashita thinks Nintendo's current handheld still has time left
The next-gen console race is now in full swing, but NIS America president and CEO Takuro Yamashita thinks that the current pair of handheld systems - 3DS and Vita - have some time left before they need replacing. Speaking to MCV at Gamescom, Yamashita said he felt it was the...
Rumour Nintendo NX Shipping This Time Next Year, 20 Million Sales Targeted In First 12 Months
Foxconn rumoured to be manufacturing the system
It is being reported that Nintendo's next games console - currently known as the Nintendo NX - will launch in July 2016. The source of the report is Taiwanese site DigiTimes, which is claiming that manufacturer Foxconn has won the contract to produce the console. However, it is thought that rival firm...
News Former Nintendo "Gamemaster" Howard Phillips Joins Mobile Studio GameDuell
The bow tie is gone, but the magic remains
Howard Phillips - one of the most recognisable figures in Nintendo's history - has a new job. Phillips - who was once given the nickname "Gamemaster" at Nintendo and was responsible for overseeing many of the hit titles that were released for Nintendo's NES console - has joined Berlin-based GameDuell and...
News Nintendo Is A Slave To Its Past Success, Says Gearbox President Randy Pitchford
Japanese company needs to reach new customers
During this year's E3, a whole bunch of industry veterans met at the Lunch with Luminaries event. In this yearly talk Gaikai and Shiny founder Dave Perry invites big names for a in-depth discussion about the games industry, and this time around we had Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford, Boss Key...
News Nintendo of America's Newest Recruit Is Bowser
But not the one you're thinking of
Nintendo of America has a new Vice President of Sales with a name that will be instantly familiar with fans of Mario. Before you get your hopes up, it's not who you think. Doug Bowser - not that Bowser - joins Nintendo from Electronic Arts, where he was employed as Vice President of Global Business Planning. He...
Talking Point Is Konami About To Exit The Console Game Business?
Nintendo's old ally could be leaving the industry it helped to grow
Konami has been in the headlines a lot lately. First up were those troublesome rumours regarding the impending departure of Hideo Kojima, creator of the Metal Gear series and arguably the Japanese company's most valuable and famous employee. It would appear that Kojima is set to...
"My belief is that Nintendo is looking for a blue ocean"
Nintendo caused quite a stir when it announced its partnership with Japanese mobile firm DeNA and that it was working on its next hardware platform, dubbed "Nintendo NX". This double-whammy of news was greeted with a positive reaction, not only from the
"Unique software can always be realized with unique hardware"
The Wii U's commercial struggles and the massive rise in popularity of smart devices has seen many within the industry predict that Nintendo will go multi-platform sooner rather than later, but Shigeru Miyamoto has poured a large bucket of cold water all over such prophecies in a recent...
News Shigeru Miyamoto Confidently Outlines Nintendo's Move From Casual To Core
"People take games for granted now"
The Wii and DS consoles were systems which achieved incredible global success and marked Nintendo's shift from "core" players to a much larger market, dubbed "casual gamers". Titles like Wii Sports, Wii Fit and Brain Training made gamers of people who had historically never taken any interest in interactive...
News You Can't Count Nintendo Out, Says Activision CEO
"They've been through rough hardware cycles before"
We all know the Wii U is struggling right now, but Nintendo still has plenty of tricks up its sleeve — yesterday's Mario Kart 8 DLC announcement being proof of that — and it would appear that the wider industry feels the same way, too. Speaking to Examiner, Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg has...
News Wii U Purchasing Intent Increases By Half In The Wake Of Strong E3 Showing
Another spin on the "Nintendo wins E3" debate
A recent survey commissioned by IHS in partnership with Gamer Network has revealed that Nintendo's strong showing at E3 caused a massive spike in purchasing intent for the Wii U. Around a thousand core gamers were quizzed on various purchase intentions before and after the event. The Wii U began E3 as...
News Rare Co-Founder Tim Stamper Is Back In The Games Industry
Listed as a director of UK studio FortuneFish
As any self-respecting Nintendo fan will know, Chris and Tim Stamper are the siblings who formed famous UK studio Rare. Once part of the Nintendo family and responsible for such hits as Donkey Kong Country, GoldenEye 007 and Banjo Kazooie, Rare is now under the wing of Microsoft — and the Stampers have...
News Sony: PS4 Is "Welcoming Back" Wii Owners Who Skipped PS3 And 360 Last Gen
Remastered PS3 classics are tempting Wii owners, says Sony's Andrew House
Wii owners who decided against buying a PS3 or 360 are flocking to the PS4 in droves, according to Sony Computer Entertainment boss Andrew House. Speaking to Eurogamer at the recent Develop conference in the UK, House echoed recent statements made by Sony Worldwide Studios...
Titles like Splatoon offer an alternative
Sony's president of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida has always had good words to say about Nintendo — he owns not one but two Wii U consoles, after all. He shows no sign of giving up his amiable relationship with the Kyoto firm, and has made some very positive noises in a recent interview with
Shigeru Miyamoto - "Human beings have an instinctual love of games"
While a number of Nintendo gamers and observers will have reacted to Nintendo's Quality of Life platform announcement earlier this year with curiosity and wondered what it could mean, there was a substantial group that expressed concern. The reasoning was simple — if Nintendo was...
News Nintendo Highlights Hundreds of Developers Working on Games for Wii U and 3DS
The Wii U eShop is strongest in the US
As you may be aware, Nintendo recently hosted The 74th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, in which company management provides presentations to its shareholders and answers a number of questions — Satoru Iwata was unable to attend. The official transcript of that meeting has been published, which...
News Iwata's Approval Rating Rises While Miyamoto's Drops Slightly
Small shifts across the board
The results from Nintendo's AGM are in, and as we already know, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata isn't going anywhere — his approval rating has actually risen over the past year by 3 percent. Last year, his rating was 77.26 percent, but this year's figure is a slightly better 80.64 percent. However, this rise was...
News EA Explains Why It's Abandoning Dedicated Handhelds For Smartphones And Tablets
"You have to make some hard calls when you've got only so many people"
EA's support for Nintendo platforms is pretty lacking in general right now, but the 3DS and Wii U aren't the only systems the publisher is turning its back on — it has all but retreated from the dedicated portable console market, instead choosing to put its efforts into the...
News Miyamoto Thinks That Nintendo Are in a Genre of Their Own
“I really think there needs to be a Nintendo genre"
Legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto recently did an interview with the LA Times where he discussed Nintendo's focus on creating games which entertain, as opposed to simply trying to be "cool". He even went on to say that Nintendo should have a genre of their own. Nintendo isn’t one...
News Satoru Iwata Reigns Supreme in Annual Shareholders Meeting
Business as usual
Nintendo's 74th annual general meeting (AGM) for shareholders took place today in Japan and we can confirm that Satoru Iwata has retained his position as Nintendo's president. Iwata of course was not present at today's meeting due to his recovery from recent surgery. We are yet to learn what this year's investor approval rating...
News Nintendo Looking To Grow Wii U Audience To Tempt Back Third Parties
"We're in for the long haul in gaming"
One of the most common complaints we hear from Wii U owners is the lack of third party support for the system — aside from a handful of publishers, most of the big names working in the industry have all but abandoned Nintendo's system, presumably due to the lack of earning potential. Nintendo is aware that...
News Nintendo Executive Suggests Wii U is at a "Tipping Point" Towards Success
"We have a lot of great content that is about to be released"
The Wii U, it's fair to say, is currently enjoying its most positive spell of coverage and attention since it launched, with strong sales numbers for Mario Kart 8 combining with an excellent E3 showing to deliver some serious buzz. Perhaps unsurprisingly it's all about first-party games...
News Nintendo Needs To Cut Wii U Cost To Capitalise On Mario Kart 8 Success, Says Ubisoft CEO
"Nintendo has to perform this year, otherwise they will have less games"
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has passed judgement on the Wii U's future in an interview with CVG, stating that the Japanese firm needs to get more machines into homes if it wants to remain a key player in the market. Guillemot — whose company has supported the Wii U perhaps...
News Capcom Could Be Up For Sale After Shareholders Reject Anti-Takeover Plan
Yoshinori Ono also resigns from Capcom Vancouver
Since 2008, Japanese developer Capcom has had a takeover defence plan in place to stop the company from being bought out by other parties, and this has been renewed every two years since. It outlined several options for the company should it be faced by a potential large-scale share investor, and one...
News Developers Weigh In On The Way Forward For Wii U
"The system plays host to a bunch of great, very unique games"
Following Nintendo's E3 exploits, we now have a greater idea of what content is coming to the Wii U in the remainder of 2014 and beyond. It was an event with some genuine surprises, combined with expected details, and laid out the path for the system — GamePad included — for the...
News Infinity Ward Merges With Neversoft To Form Super Studio, Retains Infinity Ward Name
Still no official word on Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare on Wii U
Neversoft, the developer behind the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series, has merged with Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward to form a brand new "super studio". A memo written by CEO of Activision Publishing Eric Hirshberg — and subsequently obtained by Giant Bomb — outlines the deal:...
News GameStop Plans to Close Around 120 Stores in the Coming Year
Moving into a "GameStop 3.0" era, apparently
Earlier this week GameStop hosted its 2014 Investor Day, at which it outlined some core business plans for the coming year. What does that mean for gamers? Less stores, basically. It's not a mass closure, but the company is clearly looking to streamline its business — it's planning to close 120-130...
News Capcom Investing $80 Million in Two New R & D Buildings
All part of boosting internal development
Capcom may have enjoyed another smash hit with Monster Hunter 4 in Japan, with hopes of the Ultimate release achieving success worldwide, but it's had a hit-and-miss period in other areas. Just recently the company cut its profit projections by 50%, citing investment, an underperforming mobile sector and...
News Disney Interactive Cuts Around 700 Jobs, A Quarter of Global Staff
Mobile and Disney Infinity likely to remain as priorities
In news surprising for its scale if not, unfortunately, its occurrence, the Disney Game and Internet Division — better known as Disney Interactive — has laid off around 700 employees today. The strong performance of Disney Infinity last year helped improve the financial performance of the...
News Nintendo and Retro Studios Speak on Resistance to Going Mobile
"I want Nintendo games to be played on Nintendo hardware."
Some Nintendo fans may be sick of hearing about it, but talk of Nintendo's potential if it decided to shift some work to iOS and Android devices still perks the ears of a number of investors. The jury is asked to consider the financier who suggested a model where players would pay 99 cents...
News Zero Escape Series Director Struggling to Find Funding for Third Title
Takes to Twitter for help
The Zero Escape series, which features the puzzle-based visual novels 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors on the DS and Virtue's Last Reward on the 3DS and Vita, has always included the carrying of hope in desperate times as a theme. Series director Kotaro Uchikoshi is now finding himself trying to maintain a similar...
News Nintendo President Satoru Iwata "Has Earned The Right To Fail", Says David Jaffe
Nintendo's "ups and downs" are what make the company great
Yesterday, Nintendo revealed that it was slashing its hardware projections for this financial year and that it expects to make a loss — not the kind of news that under-fire president Satoru Iwata will have wanted to impart to investors and shareholders, we're sure. Iwata himself has...
"We are thinking about a new business structure"
The news that Nintendo has reduced its hardware sales projections for this financial year and expects to make a loss has come as quite a blow to dedicated followers of the company, and has led some critics to repeat claims that the firm needs to move away from making its own hardware and embrace rival...
News Nintendo Has "Great Games" But Is Facing A "Structural Problem", According To Industry Analysts
"The first step to recovery is to acknowledge the problem"
Today's somewhat dismal financial results have given Nintendo fans plenty of food for thought, as well as providing the company's critics with all the ammunition they need. Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Asset Management Co. in Tokyo, feels that Nintendo needs to...
News Iwata Accepts Responsibility For Poor Financial Results, Ignores Calls To Resign
No management shake-up expected
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has taken responsibility for the poor financial results posted earlier today but has insisted that he will remain in charge in order to steer the Japanese company through these testing times. Nintendo's latest report reveals that it expects to sell less Wii U and 3DS consoles by the...
News Microsoft's Phil Spencer Can't Say Enough Nice Stuff About Nintendo
Thinks Nintendo's first party content is an "amazing asset"
Remember the good old days when video game firms used to say all kinds of nasty things about their rivals to get the upper hand? It would seem the days Genesis does what Nintendon't are long past, as modern companies appear to be increasingly keen to praise one another. Microsoft and Sony...
News Tech Site The Verge Thinks The Wii U's Failure Won't Change Nintendo
Console a "bad idea," but software-only rumors are ridiculous
As should be well known by now, plenty in the media have not looked favorably upon the Wii U's performance to date. Yet while some say Nintendo should throw in the towel when it comes to hardware or dive headlong into the new hotness of mobile games, Sam Byford on The Verge holds a...
News Reggie Fils-Aime: Petitions Don't Affect Nintendo's Decisions
“100,000 signatures doesn’t mean 100,000 sales”
Movements like Operation Rainfall demonstrate a community’s interest in seeing certain games or features become accessible; in Operation Rainfall’s case, advocates eventually saw their wishes granted by Nintendo, but was that a direct result of their efforts? According to Nintendo of America...
News The Financial Post Thinks Wii U And 3DS Could Be The "Best Bets" This Christmas
At last, some positive mainstream reporting
There's a lot of Nintendo-related doom and gloom floating around at the moment — some of which we feel it is our duty to report — but today we've got a little bit of positive news. The Financial Post has stated what we knew all along: Nintendo's two systems are the best option for prospective buyers...
News Epic Vice President Mark Rein Remains Unconvinced By Second Screen Gaming
“I think we’ve yet to see the real value of the second screen idea"
The Wii U has taken quite a beating in the last few days — first being outsold by Xbox One and PS4 — and then Super Mario 3D World under-performing at retail despite critical acclaim. With the PS4 and Xbox One currently doing rather well, what exactly is the Wii U doing...
News Former Naughty Dog And THQ Head Jason Rubin Says Nintendo Is "Irrelevant" In The Hardware Arena
Feels "it's a crime" that Nintendo doesn't publish on other platforms
Nintendo may make some of the best games in the world, but it also creates some of the finest piece of gaming hardware, too. However, the industry as we know it is changing. The traditional console makers are now competing with the likes of Apple and Google. In addition to this,...
Less than a week after saying the company was facing "the end"
Investment site The Motley Fool — which recently painted a rather dismal picture of Nintendo's future — has performed a complete about-face by claiming that Nintendo could end up being the big winner this holiday season. The opinion piece points out that although the Wii U has...
News Norwegian Cruise Line extends partnership with Nintendo, now offering Wii U
It’s no Daisy Cruiser
Nintendo is linked to baseball teams, love hotels, and even Mahjong sets, so it should come as no surprise it has other unique partnerships helping to expand the brand name globally. With this in mind, US cruise ship operator Norwegian Cruise Line has announced a partnership expansion with Nintendo to offer brand new Wii U...
News Nintendo Stock Value Rises After Buying Stake In Mobile Web Company Dwango
Embracing the mobile market
Mobile gaming is something Nintendo reportedly has no plans of participating in anytime soon. President Satoru Iwata previously made it clear Nintendo would lose its identity if it were to make such a move. On other occasions, he has said this field of games and software development is under absolutely no consideration...
News Sony Worldwide Studios President Shuhei Yoshida Wants The Wii U To Succeed
So much so, he's bought two of them
We've known that Sony's Shuhei Yoshida is a fan of the Wii U for some time — he has previously revealed that he owns Nintendo's current home console — but in a chat with IGN's Greg Miller, he has spoken a little more of his desire to see the console become a success. During the interview, Yoshida mentioned...
News Disney Interactive Co-President Resigns
Other co-president will assume full control
Disney Interactive has seen its fortunes turning around as of late, thanks largely to the release of Disney Infinity, but that doesn’t mean the division still isn’t doing some restructuring. According to the New York Times, Disney Interactive Co-President John Pleasants announced