Tag: Industry - Page 32
News Video Games Become the Biggest Entertainment Medium in UK
Take that, movies
At times being a gamer can still be a taboo subject: saying that you're a gaming enthusiast may cause others to raise their eyebrows. Though video games are arguably still trying to earn the same cultural respect as films and music, when it comes to earning cold, hard cash, games are on top. According to the ERA (Entertainment...
News Keiji Inafune Gives Rallying Call to Japanese Developers
'It must happen now'
It seems that the Japanese game industry has become a notable topic at this year's Game Developer's Conference. As we reported yesterday there was some controversy around comments made by indie developer Phil Fish, yet some would agree that, despite the bluntness and innacuracy of saying that Japanese game 'suck', there are...
News Indie Developer Phil Fish Says Japanese Games 'Suck'
Clearly hasn't been playing much Nintendo
The Japanese game industry is undoubedly facing challenges, and in the opinion of some is losing its influence as the homeland of gaming: as Keiji Inafune said at the Tokyo Game Show in 2009, for example, 'Japan is over'. That said, a comment made by indie developer Phil Fish at a GDC (Game Developer's...
News Rising Star Games To Open American Office
Rising in the West
Popular European publisher Rising Star Games has revealed it's to open an office in California. The company has also formed Rising Star Games Digital, a — wait for it — digital publishing division for the ever-growing download market. RSG hasn't revealed any digital plans for Nintendo formats, but said recently it will...
News Nintendo Expects To Make a Loss in FY 2011
It's tough out there
Even though the 3DS has hit 15 million sales worldwide, it's not been enough to help Nintendo post a profit, with the company expecting to post an operating loss of 45,000 million Yen in this financial year. Nintendo revised its financial expectations this morning as follows: Net sales — revised down from 790,000m Yen to...
News Dawn Paine to Leave Nintendo UK
Fond farewell
Nintendo UK's long-serving marketing director Dawn Paine is leaving the company. Paine has served ten years at Nintendo, during which she oversaw the marketing campaigns for Wii, DS and 3DS, as well as games phenomena including Wii Fit Plus and Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training, among others. Paine leaves Nintendo to join Universal...
News Industry Analysts: 3DS is Bouncing Back
But there's still work to be done
We may only just be embarking on a new year, but reports are already surfacing that the 3DS enjoyed a positive holiday period, particularly with the news that over four million 3DS consoles have been sold in the United States. With the recent boom of sales in Japan, it's clear that the handheld is enjoying its most...
News Millions of Wii Games Pirated in 2011
Mario left all at sea
The Wii may be in its twilight years, but a large number of its retail titles are still being being downloaded and played illegally. Website TorrentFreak compiled figures of downloads in 2011 from a number of sources and trackers, providing results for three major formats, though these are estimates rather than official...
News Nintendo Faces More Calls to Embrace Mobile
Everyone's in on the act
Andy Payne, chairman of UK Interactive Entertainment — the UK's games industry trade association — is the latest in a long line of industry notables to call on Nintendo to create games for smartphones. Speaking at Liverpool's Develop conference, Payne spoke in response to an audience statement that platform exclusivity...
News Investors Urge Nintendo to Develop for Smartphones
If further alienation is something it wants to avoid
It's taken just several months for Nintendo to issue the 3DS's first price-cut since the console's launch; a move which Nintendo is hoping will play a part in giving the console a much-needed boost after sales have been less than expected. According to investors, there's another move that Nintendo...
News Cliff Bleszinski Thinks Wii U Naysayers Will Still Buy It
Gears of War creator sounds confident
The Wii U has got a lot of people excited and Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski is no exception. Speaking to IndustryGamers, he spoke confidently on Nintendo's ability to sell the Wii U to gamers ― even the ones who aren't convinced with Nintendo's upcoming home console. Regarding the naysayers who dismiss...
News Amoebattle Featured in Indie Showcase Top Ten
Only Nintendo game nominated
Real-time strategy game Amoebattle is evolving onto DSiWare later this year, and it's already lined up in a high-profile indie games showcase this month. The Develop Expo's Indie Showcase highlights the best independent studios in the world, with Intrinsic Games featuring alongside nine other teams. Amoebattle is also...
News Iwata: "Difficult to Launch Hardware Close to Its Announcement"
The timing of the 3DS and Wii U is certainly debatable
Everyone loves a bit of gossip, and what better gossip is there in the video game industry than what new consoles are capable of? That appears to be one of Nintendo's main problems when it's in the process of unveiling new hardware. Like the company and its products or not, many are interested...
News Nintendo Invests 16 Billion Yen in Kyoto R&D Building
Got to spend money to make money!
Japanese news publication Nikkan has recently reported on Nintendo's new Kyoto, Japan facility and the amount of investment the company has put into the project. As translated by Andriasang, Nintendo is investing ¥16billion (approximately $204million or £127million) into the new building which will be situated at...
News Yasumi Matsuno's Gaming Skills Have Reached Level-5
Just the right kind of experience
This week's issue of Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu contains an interview with Yasumi Matsuno, a former staff member at Square Enix who now finds himself under the employment of Professor Layton studio Level-5. As translated by Andriasang, the video game designer with acclaimed titles such as Vagrant Story,...
News WayForward Founder Speaking at Westwood College on 25th June
Voldi leads the Way
WayForward is one of the most prolific producers of games for Nintendo handhelds, from licensed titles like Thor on DS to downloadable gems like Shantae: Risky's Revenge and Mighty Milky Way. The studio's founder and Tyrannical Overlord, Voldi Way, is set to speak at California's Westwood College on 25th June, and all for free...
News Sony President Thinks 3DS is Just an Updated DS
Aside from the 3D, same old same old, apparently
It seems Sony executives still don't appear too wowed by Nintendo's 3DS, despite both sides acknowledging that different demographics are being targeted by each company's handheld system. Is this a lack of sportsmanship, or a genuine lack of excitement? Sony Computer Entertainment president Shuhei...
News How Retro Studios Achieved Backing from Nintendo
Simple in theory, anything but in practice
Nintendo has a brand image that's as solid as a rock, so what does it take for an independant studio to get backing from the company and the opportunity to develop games based on its IPs for its consoles? Retro Studios president Michael Kelbaugh highlights a few qualities needed to do just that. During a...
News 16-Shot Legend Takahashi Meijin Leaves Hudson
No parting shots
Takahashi Meijin, known to many as Master Higgins or as the master of rapid fire button-tapping, has announced he is leaving Hudson after nearly 30 years at the company. Joining the company in 1982, Takahashi rose to prominence for his ability to fire 16 shots per second in Hudson's Star Soldier, a skill that led to the creation of...
News Are We Nearing the End of Consoles? Nintendo Thinks Not
Nintendo's director of PR thinks consoles are too unique to die off
Fox News recently ran a story in which it suggests the traditional home console may soon be losing its place in our home as consumer demands evolve and smartphones provide deeper gaming experiences . Well, it starts off with a rather bold statement claiming that "the end is near"...
News Iwata Expresses Regrets About the Way the Wii was Marketed
In future, things will be done differently
The Nintendo Wii is approaching its fifth year on the market now, enough time has passed in that Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata can now reflect on how the console has performed and how he wishes its future performance will play out. Speaking to investors and analysts, Iwata expressed his regrets towards the way...
News PlatinumGames President Saddened by Decline of New Ideas
Pledges to bring smiles back
Japanese developer PlatinumGames has been responsible for some pretty innovative games over the past five years: Wii gorefest MadWorld and DS space RPG Infinite Space for Nintendo's formats, as well as the superlative Bayonetta and Vanquish for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Five years in and not a sequel in sight,...
News Konno: 3DS Won't Compete with Mobile Gaming Prices
Project leader distinguishes the two separate markets
With development costs for 3DS software as much as triple that of DS games, does mobile gaming pose a threat to Nintendo's business plans? Following Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata's comments on mobile phone manufacturers and popular social utility networks
News Iwata Hits Out at Smartphone and Social Network Game Developers
GDC comments draw critics from industry
For all the praise that Nintendo got from its appearance at the Game Developers Conference this year, it seems President and CEO Satoru Iwata came away from his keynote (which was streamed live) with as many satisfied fans as he did disgruntled critics. During his speech, he made several comments on the...
News Nintendo Names Cynthia Gordon New Corporate Affairs VP
Denise Kaigler's replacement commences next month
As Nintendo's range of hardware expands, so too does its family of employees. The company has announced the hiring of Cynthia Gordon, a strategic communications professional with over two decades of consumer-brand experience, as Nintendo of America's Vice President of Corporate Affairs. Gordon will...
News Super Mario Galaxy 2 Collects 4 BAFTA Nominations
Whereas DS games dominate the Handheld category
We recently brought you word that Super Mario Galaxy 2 was nominated for the GAME Award of 2010 at this year's British Academy Video Game Awards. As the only category voted by the public, our readers showed a lot of support for the rotund plumber which should hopefully help him snag the recognition. If...
News Iwata: 3DS and NGP will Appeal to Different Target Audiences
"The customers will decide which is correct"
Nintendo isn't the only company with new portable hardware coming out soon as Sony has recently announced details of its follow-up to the PSP range of models in the form of the Next Generation Portable (NGP). Speaking to Bloomberg, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata spoke about the upcoming Sony handheld device...
News Nintendo Praises Sony and Microsoft's Contributions to Gaming Industry
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer
Gone are the days when you could call Nintendo a big fish in a small pond. Modern gaming has undoubtedly expanded the size of the waters, and there are once again, several big fish that inhabit said pond. Speaking at the Learning Without Frontiers conference yesterday in London, General Manager of...
News EA: Nintendo Needs to Drop Wii Price, Help Third Parties
Just a couple of suggestions from John Riccitiello
Whether it's the top priority or not, Nintendo is undoubtedly looking to pick up declining profits with the upcoming 3DS. However, in response to the Move and Kinect peripherals for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 respectively, launching new hardware might not be the only answer if Nintendo is to...
News Research Shows More Consumers are Choosing Their Phones for Gaming
Whilst gaming on the DS/PSP are on the decline
With the technological capabilities of modern smartphones on the increase and the popularity of digital games from outlets such as the Apps Store, it's no wonder Nintendo has been as vocal as it has about how companies like Apple are the real enemy in relation to their own console sales. In recent...
News Don't Expect Announcements From Nintendo at CES 2011
What exactly is the purpose of attending, then?
First, there was the exciting news that Nintendo would be attending the Consumer Electronics Show for the first time in 16 years. Then, there was the disappointing mix-up that mistakenly listed Nintendo as an exhibitor with a public display. Now, hopes of announcements ― even behind closed doors ―...
News 3DS Development Could Cost Triple That of DS Software
Will the extra cost be passed onto consumers?
Earlier this year, Satoru Iwata stated 3DS games may cost as much to develop as Wii titles, something that has now been backed up by Japanese studio Marvelous Interactive who's given some frightening figures for studios wanting to get into this potentially explosively lucrative market. The studio...
News Fils-Aime: Nintendo's Biggest Current Threat is Apple
Could Nintendo be taking Sony and Microsoft too lightly, or over-reacting to Apple?
It's strange that Nintendo would see Apple and its range of iOS devices as more of a threat than Sony or Microsoft and their stake in the home console and handheld markets. Reggie Fils-Aime, President at Nintendo of America has echoed the concerns of Satoru Iwata and...
News n-Space CEO Describes the Games Industry as a Mess
"n-Space is down, but definitely not out"
It seems n-Space – the company behind several DS instalments of home console titles – is one of the latest development studios that's resorted to reducing its staff numbers due to the pressure of the economic climate of the last several years. Last Friday's undisclosed number of lay-offs has had the...
News WiiWare Devs Call for More Advertising From Nintendo
Service needs more promotion, awareness, money
Although Nintendo UK has just started on a high-profile advertising campaign to draw more awareness to the Wii's online features and WiiWare titles, for many developers it's something that should have happened years ago. Until now, Nintendo's efforts to promote the Wii's online capabilities have been...
News Electronic Arts Less Than Happy With Wii Sales
Veteran publisher laments "weak" third party sales performance on Nintendo's console
In case you hadn't noticed, EA is pruning its workforce with gay abandon at present, hacking away 1500 jobs in order to reduce its running costs. The fact that many of its Wii titles have underperformed (Dead Space Extraction has reportedly sold a pitiful 9,000...
News Square Enix Prez Stares Into Crystal Ball; Sees New Wii in 2011
Thoughts also passed on motion control
Square Enix president Yoichi Wada has opened his mouth and allowed various predictions to spew forth, some of which were collected and bottled during an interview with The Financial Times. Wada has foretold that Nintendo's successor to the Wii will be available in 2011, and is likely to be closer to the PS3/360...
News Nintendo Sales Drop as Global Economy Goes Down the Crapper
Even The Big N is susceptible to to the downturn
Nintendo has just released its financial statement for the previous quarter and the results make for interesting reading. Despite the fact that the manufacturer is beating away all competition from rivals such as Sony and Microsoft, net sales were down down by 40% compared to the previous year. Net...
News Sega Not Giving Up On Mature Wii Titles Just Yet
Recent retail disappointments haven't dented Sega's confidence
As much as we loved Madworld and House of the Dead: Overkill, neither title sold particularly well, which has led many 'industry experts' to suggest that mature, hardcore games just can't find an audience on Nintendo's console. In the light of two high-profile commercial bombs you'd...
News Factor 5 Being Sued By Ex-Employees
Lawsuit reveals a Rogue Squadron Wii game was in the works.
A few months back San-Rafael-based Factor 5 (the studio behind the popular Star Wars: Rogue Squadron series) was declared bankrupt with between $1 million to $10 million in unpaid debts. In addition to this, the company was also faced with 69 claims for unpaid wages totaling more than...
News Molyneux: Nintendo Made Rare Too Secretive
Lionhead boss intends to give the UK developer an "identity"
Lionhead boss and newly appointed creative director of Microsoft Europe Peter Molyneux has been speaking exclusively to Gamesindustry.biz about his role in assisting Microsoft's internal development teams - with Rare being one of them. Molyneux - who founded legendary UK software house...
News Sony And Microsoft Suffering From Wii-nis Envy?
Copycat motion control systems don't impress industry analyst
Where would we be with expert analysts telling us what to think, eh? Take Wedbush Morgan chappie Michael Pachter, for example. Following Microsoft and Sony's recently unveiling of motion control systems at this year's E3, Pachter has waded in with his own viewpoint on all this...
News Sony Expects Wii Owners To Upgrade To PS3
Another overconfident prediction from the creator of Betamax
For those of you that have any interest in this kind of thing, Sony Europe boss David Reeves stepped down recently and was succeeded by a fellow called Andrew House. This year's E3 was House's first as president of Sony Europe, so it's unsurprising that he wasted no time in chiming in with...
News EA is Rewarded For Embracing The Wii
Sales nearly doubled on last year's total
When the Wii was released super-publisher EA caught a bit of flak for not giving the format the respect it deserved. Thankfully the company has changed its attitude and has been duly rewarded with a massive jump in sales. According to EA's financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2009, 14% of...
News Peter Moore at MI6 Conference: Capturing the Wii Audience with Original Content
Encouraging words from EA...do they finally get it?
During the conference keynote address EA Sports head Peter Moore spoke about EA Sports' current philosophy towards the Wii stating that "You can't simply take what you're doing on the PS3 or Xbox 360 and port – that's a dirty word – down to the Wii." New titles like Grand Slam Tennis...
News Nintendo Looking to "Re-energize" Game Market
Could a slowing market and a boost in "core" game sales have us swimming in great releases this year?
Wii and DS sales are slowing down in Japan causing an uncomfortable disturbance in the force that is Nintendo's cash flow. This has also highlighted a boost in “hardcore” game sales there. Does this mean that to get the more “hardcore”...
News Analyst Reckons Wii Investment is "Fools Gold"
Warning for third parties looking to make a quick buck
The Nintendo Wii recently became the fastest selling console of all time and is generally perceived to be doing pretty well right now. However, analyst Doug Creutz from Cowen & Company has commented that third parties looking to make easy money by sinking cash into Wii development may be...
News Wii Manufacturing Cost Reduced by 45%
These are tough times for many people, but apparently not for Nintendo.
According to Credit Suisse analyst Koya Tabata, the cost of manufacturing a Wii console has gone down by 45%. If this number is accurate, that would mean each Wii sold is bringing in nearly twice the profit as in previous years. And yes, the Wii most definitely brings in profit...
News NoA President Talks DSiWare
Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime distances the DSi from the iPhone, and lets a few tidbits drop as well.
In a recent Q&A with Wired, Reggie Fils-Aime made a point of distinguishing the DSi's downloadable titles from the iPhone's. Specifically: "We are taking a film-festival approach — high-class content done by...
News House Of The Dead: Overkill has Aussie watchdogs baying for blood
Sega's gore-filled blaster causes aggro down under
In what seems to be a daily occurence in Australia, the recent classification and release of Sega's pulp-horror lightgun bloodbath House Of The Dead: Overkill has been met with outrage from one of the country's most vocal family lobbyists. Today's Melbourne Herald Sun newspaper reports that Angela...
