Business News, Business Features

Still work to be done

Sony gaffer Kaz Hirai has successfully steered the electronics giant back into the black. The company announced its first profit in five years earlier today, revealing a net income of ¥43 billion ($458 million). The figure certainly makes for pleasant reading compared to the enormous ¥456.7 billion ($4.6 billion) loss that...

Forecasts look bad for the struggling system

Sony as a whole may look in much better shape under the guidance of new CEO and former SCE president Kaz Hirai, but the outlook does not seem quite as good for the PlayStation Vita. Speaking as part of an earnings call earlier today, the firm revealed that it only expects to sell 5 million portable...

Platform holder not expecting big losses

Sony doesn’t expect the PlayStation 4 to nuke its bank balance to quite the same degree as the PlayStation 3. Those of you that were around at the start of the generation will recall the manufacturer’s current console almost crippling the company, even in spite of its exorbitant launch price...

Holding out for a Hirai

After years of reporting on Sony’s slumping sales, it looks like the company may finally be on the ascension. Games Industry.biz notes that the Japanese conglomerate has doubled its profit forecast for the fiscal year that ended on 31st March, raising the tally from ¥20 billion ($201m) to ¥40 billion ($403m). That’s a...

Gavel gazing

Death’s gigantic hammer has fallen on deceased publisher THQ’s remaining assets, deeming Nordic Games the new owner of Darksiders, Red Faction, and various other properties. The publisher paid a whopping $4.9 million for the assortment pack of IP, also grabbing MX vs. ATV, Destroy All Humans, and Marvel Super Hero Squad in the...

Final Fantasy maker down on its luck

John Riccitiello is not the only high-profile video game executive to be heading for the exit door, as Square Enix gaffer Yoichi Wada has been ousted from the company following a dire financial forecast for its current fiscal year. The outgoing boss had been in the job since 2000, but he’ll now be replaced by...

Brave new world

Sony chairman and former chief executive officer Howard Stringer has announced that he will retire from his position within the firm in June. The Welsh businessman announced his departure as part of a speech at the Japan Society in New York City last week, where he revealed that he will turn his attention to the healthcare and...

Pre-orders for the next generation platform performing extremely well

UK retailer GAME believes that the impending PlayStation 4 will successfully resurrect the nation’s troubled video game market. Chatting with VideoGamer.com, category director Charlotte Knight explained that pre-orders for the platform are “performing very well” at the...

Platform holder freeing up assets

As part of an ongoing effort to stabilise its financial footing, Sony has announced that it’s selling its shares in Japanese online gaming firm DeNA for around $440 million. Games Industry.biz reports that Nomura Securities are poised to snatch up the 17.72 million shares, which will add a few more zeroes to the...

Starting a new journey

Do you remember Ouya? The Android-powered console took Kickstarter by storm earlier in the year – and it’s just added a fairly high-profile name to its list of backers. Journey developer and thatgamecompany co-founder Kellee Santiago has signed up to lead developer relations, where she’ll be responsible for helping...

Pit stop

Gran Turismo developer Polyphony Digital's next game may not be for the PlayStation 4, but the Japanese team still had input into the development of the next generation console and the PlayStation Vita. Speaking in an interview with 4gamer, Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida talked briefly about the studio’s role in the...

Next generation's not going to break the bank

Sony Computer Entertainment America president Jack Tretton doesn’t believe that next generation games will cost more than $60. Speaking as part of an interview with CNBC, the likeable executive explained that software for the impending PlayStation 4 will cover a wide range of price-points, including...

Pinned down

Take-Two is half a tap away from taking control of the WWE license. A report published shortly after the untimely demise of former holder THQ had pegged the publisher as the new ringleader for the bizarrely popular franchise, but the firm's now issued an official statement confirming the news. "At this time, the agreement is pending...

Furrowed brows

Xbox only exists because of Microsoft and Sony’s heated relationship. That’s according to former executive Joachim Kempin, who was vice president of Windows Sales at the firm. Chatting with IGN, the outspoken suit explained that the computing company wanted to tackle PlayStation head-on due to the bad blood between the...

Ups and downs

It looks like the appointment of Kaz Hirai has worked wonders for Sony. The recently recruited president promised to decrease losses when he took over the role in April last year, and he’s done a decent job. The company as a whole recorded a net loss of ¥10.8 billion ($115 million) for its fiscal third quarter ending 31st...

Walking away

Despite the likelihood of a sequel seeming fairly high, Sony has confirmed that it has ended its relationship with PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale developer SuperBot Entertainment. The platform holder confirmed the news in a press release earlier this evening, adding that its Santa Monica studio will continue to support the release...

Rich man's world

Have you ever wondered how much a game like Grand Theft Auto V costs to make? We don’t have official figures, but Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia suspects that the sum is around $137.5 million. The forecaster deduced the enormous number via a “hypothetical probability model”, assuming that around 250 people worked on the...

Mickey mania

After the reportedly dire sales of Epic Mickey 2, it’s perhaps not surprising that Disney has decided to shutter developer Junction Point today – but that doesn’t make the news any easier to swallow. The publisher, currently wrapped up in the production of Disney Infinity, confirmed the closure earlier this evening, citing its...

Blood, sweat, and tiny pants

While the majority of THQ’s franchises found new homes yesterday, there’s still been no official word on the future of the WWE license. Early rumours suggested that EA had picked up the lucrative contract, but that’s been countered by an IGN report which claims that Take Two made a last minute bid for the series...