News Bandai Namco to Distribute Cyberpunk 2077 in Europe
Partners with CD Projekt Red once more
And apparently it was their choice
Industry - News
October2018
News Sony Wants 100 Per Cent of Its US Operations to Be Powered by Renewable Energy
And it's aiming for 2030
We all need to be thinking about conserving energy, but it’s especially crucial that companies run their operations responsibly and in a more environmentally friendly manner. Sony was recently given a very poor D-rating by Greenpeace in a tech report, after it relied on just five per cent renewable energy to power its...
News Bandai Namco to Distribute Cyberpunk 2077 in Europe
Partners with CD Projekt Red once more
As we know, CD Projekt Red has partnered with Warner Bros to distribute its highly anticipated RPG, Cyberpunk 2077, in North America. Now, it's been announced that Bandai Namco will cover the same duties in 24 European countries. This was a fairly safe bet, as the Polish developer made the same moves for The...
And apparently it was their choice
So a big stink was raised early this week when news came out about Rockstar employees working 100 hours a week in order to finish Red Dead Redemption 2. As is always the case here on the world wide web, everyone immediately lost their minds over a small quote that, according to the developer, didn't necessarily...
News Rockstar Worked 100 Hour Weeks to Get Red Dead Redemption 2 Done
Life on Marston
Ever wondered what it takes to get a game like Red Dead Redemption 2 finished? According to Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser, it’s a lot of hard work. The company, infamous for its extended periods of crunch, was working “100 hour weeks” multiple times in 2018 in order to get the Spaghetti Western out of the door. That...
News Sony Hiring for Next Generation Marketing Campaign
High PS5
Sony basically confirmed the PlayStation 5 last week, and now it’s recruiting a Senior Product Manager to help plot out the roadmap for its next generation console. The role – spotted by ResetEra on career focused website
News SEGA Wants Simultaneous Worldwide Release Dates for Its Games
About time
Over the last few years Japanese publishers in general have gotten a lot better at localising their games in a more timely manner. It's still far from perfect, with recent titles like Dragon Quest XI coming to mind, but advancements have certainly been made this generation. That said, SEGA seems to know that there's room for further...
News Sony Looking to Crank Up Communication with Fans
Time for talk
If there’s any criticism of Sony at the moment, it’s that the company is far too quiet. The manufacturer was very vocal at the beginning of the generation, but it has let its products do the talking in recent months. While it’s hard to complain about the quality of the PlayStation 4 – especially with both cross-play and name...
News Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Is More Anticipated than Red Dead Redemption 2, Says Report
Blackout
Analytical data company Nielsen has published a list of the year's most anticipated holiday games. The list is based on a survey completed by around 6000 people, but takes into account a number of factors, such as general awareness, purchase interest, and consumer rating. Brand recognition and a few other things also feed into the results...
News Obsidian Entertainment Likely to Leave PlayStation Behind
Microsoft's sniffing
Obsidian Entertainment, the studio perhaps best known for Fallout: New Vegas, looks like it will be leaving PlayStation behind, as reports suggest that it’s about to be acquired by Microsoft – although nothing, as yet, has been signed. Ironically, the developer’s been in financial trouble for a fair few years, after...
News European Commission Reveals New Games from Tequila Works, Zoink
Brexit means Brexit
You may have seen the European Commission’s logo during the loading screen of several games, and that’s because it makes contributions to various indie developers in order to help get their projects off the ground. As part of a new document which details the dozens of releases it will be co-financing in the future, the...
News Guerrilla's Recruiting Rainbow Six: Siege Talent for a Secret Project
Online shooter on the way?
Guerrilla Games has been quietly hiring some of the top talent behind Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege for a super-secret project. Simon Larouche – who previously spent three years at the Dutch developer working on Killzone 2 – served as the game director on Ubisoft’s smash tactical shooter, and has been working on...
News Retained Telltale Staffers Now Also Made Redundant
Skeleton crew axed
There were reports today that Telltale Games was looking for a new company to re-hire former staff in order to finish up the final two episodes of The Walking Dead, which was wild in its own rights. However, this is a story that keeps escalating by the day, and now it’s emerged that
News Media Molecule Doesn't Crunch, Reckons It's Too 90s
Work hard, play hard
We’ve been made to wait for Media Molecule’s Dreams, which the gaming community revels in pointing out at any given opportunity. To be fair to the Guildford-based developer, there’s no blueprint for what it’s doing here: its PlayStation 4 exclusive is truly unique, and while its roots can be traced back to...
News This RUSSIA 2055 Trailer Shared by Hideo Kojima Is Suspicious
Created by Joakim Mogren?
Death Stranding director Hideo Kojima shared a trailer for a game called RUSSIA 2055 on social media today, and it’s being developed by a studio that we’ve never heard of before. Ordinarily we’d shrug and move on with our lives, but this is the same guy who created a f
News Cyberpunk 2077 Will Be Distributed by Warner Bros in North America
Pledged for PS4 once again
Much like The Witcher III: Wild Hunt before it, Warner Bros will be responsible for the distribution and promotion of Cyberpunk 2077 in North America. Obviously getting games into store shelves takes a lot of effort and manpower, and Polish developer CD Projekt Red will be entrusting that task to the experts at the...
Soapbox Publishers Want You to Pay to Play Early, And It's a Worry
Sammy on the dangers of double release dates
If you’ve ever lived in Europe, you’ll know the pain: the eternal wait for release dates, while the rest of the world gads about in the next great game. It wasn’t so bad during the PSone era: the Internet was less established in those hazy mid-nineties days, and so magazines were the main source of...
September2018
News Player Data Paints Damning Picture of Telltale's Efforts
Downward spiral
Telltale Games’ effective closure came as a shock to us all last week, but data shows that it’s been on a big decline since breakout hit The Walking Dead: Season One all the way back in 2012. The creators of True Trophies and True Ac
News Fortnite Players on PS4 Can Now Login on Other Consoles
Full-scale account merging coming in November
It’s all change on the cross-play front, with Sony launching a Fortnite beta that will eventually open the doors for more PlayStation 4 games to interact with the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. Of course, one of the big issues with Epic Games’ behemoth Battle Royale back at E3 2018 was that fans who...
News Sony: Cross-Console Play a Major Policy Change
Looking to open up the platform
Sony wasn’t deflecting when it said it was exploring ways to support cross-console play on the PlayStation 4 – it was telling the truth. PlayStation president John Kodera has taken to the PlayStation Blog to announce an extended Fortnite beta which will allow you to play Epic Games’ gargantuan hit across the...
News Sony Bringing Cross-Console Play Beta to Fortnite Today
Play with Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, more
Sony said that it was “confident” of a cross-console play solution on the PlayStation 4, and it genuinely wasn’t lying. PlayStation president John Kodera has taken to the PlayStation Blog to announce an open beta for Fortnite, which will allow “cross-platform gameplay, progression, and commerce...
News The Walking Dead's Clementine Voice Actor Signs Off with Heartfelt Message to the Fans
"A lot of hearts were broken, including mine"
Over the weekend, news broke out that Telltale Games, the studio famous for narrative adventure games like The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us, was laying off almost its entire staff, effectively shutting down. This has left hundreds of people out of work, and all future projects have been cancelled...
News Reports Say Telltale's The Walking Dead Final Season Is Also Cancelled Following Layoffs
No more episodes
Earlier this evening, news broke that Telltale Games has laid off 285 employees, effectively closing the developer down. However, initial reports suggested that a "skeleton crew" was being kept on to finish up the final season of The Walking Dead, but now new reports are saying that isn't actually the case. Sources have told
News Telltale Games Effectively Shuttered After Enormous Layoffs
The Wolf Among Us 2, Stranger Things seemingly canned
Telltale Games has laid off 285 employees, effectively ending the episodic developer’s operations. The studio is retaining 25 staff to complete the final season of its The Walking Dead adaptation, but online scuttlebutt suggests that its in-production Wolf Among Us and Stanger Things series...
News Square Enix Partners with Deck Nine on New Title
Before the storm
Square Enix has extended its external development partnership with Life Is Strange: Before the Storm creator Deck Nine. The pair will collaborate on a new title, although it’s keeping the nature of the project under wraps for the time being. Our assumption? It’ll have something to do with DONTNOD’s teen series. “The...
TGS 2018 PS Vita Production to Cease Next Year in Japan, Says Sony Boss
Vita means life?
We all knew it was coming. Sony's ill-fated handheld has been winding down slowly, but the PS Vita has continued to sell relatively well in Japan. However, in 2019, the platform holder will be pulling the plug on production in Japan. This comes from a report issued by Famitsu, which Gematsu has translated. Sony Interactive...
News THQ Nordic's Spending Spree Expands to Alone in the Dark
It Carnby true
THQ Nordic is a company with a lot of cash, and it’s buying every dormant intellectual property it can get its greedy little hands on. Next up: survival horror Alone in the Dark, which it’s clawed away from the clutches of Atari Europe for an undisclosed fee. The company also picked up real-time strategy series Act of War, which...
News God of War Creator Reveals Why Sony Is Killing It Right Now
David Jaffe chimes in
It's common knowledge that Sony has been knocking it out of the park this generation, with a steady stream of exclusive titles for PS4, which has been a runaway success. However, what we sometimes lack is the view from the inside. What is it that's giving Sony the edge? God of War creator and infamously outspoken developer...
News Dead Rising Developer Capcom Vancouver Closes Down
Chop till you drop
The developer of the more recent Dead Rising games, and Capcom’s flagship Western studio, has been shut down. In a statement sent to Kotaku, the Japanese publisher said that the decision to shutter the branch was made after a review of its in-production projects. Essentially, it’s opted to bin the lot and “concentrate...
News PlayStation Beats Nintendo and Xbox By Some Distance in UK, US Brand Recognition Surveys
#4ThePlayers and all that
It's really common sense, but mind share counts for a lot when it comes to big business. You obviously want your brand to be as recognisable as possible, and it looks like PlayStation's currently doing a great job placing itself in the public consciousness. According to Prophet's Brand Relevance Index for 2018, PlayStation...
News FIFA Ultimate Team Card Packs May Have EA in Trouble with the Law
Belgium launches investigation
As you may or may not have heard, Belgium declared loot boxes in video games a form of gambling earlier this year. Basically, if a game allows players to spend real money on randomised in-game items, then it has to be categorised as gambling and highlighted as such. However, unlike other publishers, EA apparently...
News Kingdoms of Amalur Remaster Isn't Guaranteed, Despite THQ Nordic Buying IP
EA still owns it as publisher
Last week, everyone got hyped because it looked like Kingdoms of Amalur could be making an eventual comeback. Publisher THQ Nordic announced that it had acquired the rights to the property, immediately conjuring images of a remaster or even a sequel. Reviving Kingdoms of Amalur may not be as straightforward as we...
News Hope for a New Kingdoms of Amalur Game Revived as THQNordic Acquires IP
Yes please
Publisher THQNordic has announced that it's acquired the rights to Kingdoms of Amalur, sparking hope in the hearts of those who have been eager for another game in the series -- ourselves included. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning was an action role-playing game that launched on the PlayStation 3. While it wasn't a gigantic hit or anything,...
News God of War Director Suggests Sony First Party Devs Get Together for a Video, and Now We Want It
'Dinner with the Directors'
Whenever we see industry types congratulating each other on their successful projects, it's hard not to crack a smile. Bryan Intihar, the creative director of Marvel's Spider-Man, expressed his relief and gratitude in light of the positive response to Insomniac's latest game, and Shuhei Yoshida jokingly asked if he...
August2018
News EA to Support Jacksonville Victims' Families with $1 Million Donation
Livestream planned next week
EA has pledged a $1 million contribution to the families of the victims involved in the shooting in Jacksonville last week. For those of you who don’t know, players had gathered to play Madden NFL 19 as part of a qualifier event for the publisher’s Madden Classic series when a gunman fired off shots, killing two...
News European Ratings Board PEGI to Introduce In-Game Purchases Warning on Physical Game Boxes
In place by the end of 2018
Microtransactions are becoming more and more common these days, and they aren't just limited to free-to-play games anymore. Many AAA titles have been criticised for asking consumers to fork out for a full price tag, only to find that you then need to spend more to get ahead of the pack. Of course, not all games with...
News David Cage Offers Behind the Scenes Look at Detroit: Become Human's Complex Branching Narrative
Endless possibilities
Making any game is a massively complicated undertaking, but have you ever wondered what goes into a game like Detroit: Become Human? Quantic Dream's branching narratives have huge scripts, but what about on the technical side? The studio's main man, David Cage, has given us a brief glimpse into how its myriad possible outcomes...
News Xbox Gamers Are More Hardcore Than PlayStation, Says Microsoft
You filthy noobs, you
Microsoft’s getting stomped globally by the PlayStation 4, but it believes that “hardcore gamers” gravitate towards the Xbox One ahead of Sony’s system. Aaron Greenberg, one of the marketing bigwigs at the Redmond firm, told IGN Italia at Gamescom 2018 that he believes the most engaged players prefer to game in green...
News Onrush Director Joins Project CARS Dev Slightly Mad Studios
Safe landing
Following a bout of layoffs at the Codemasters studio responsible for Onrush, the ill-fated game's director, Paul Rustchynsky, has revealed where he's heading next. In short, he's sticking to what he knows, as he begins work on a new game at Slightly Mad Studios, the team behind the Project CARS series. Rustchynsky was game director...
News Shuhei Yoshida was 'Horrified' When He First Played God of War on PS4
First prototype didn't impress
President of Sony's Worldwide Studios, the lovable Shuhei Yoshida, was apparently very unimpressed by God of War when he played an early version for the first time. Cory Barlog recounted the tale during his talk at Devcom, and it's pretty amazing to hear the Shu was so negative about a game that would become a huge...
News PS5 Will Launch Late 2019, Says Japanese Analyst
Unless production snags prevent it
Predictions are all over the place as to when Sony's follow-up to the PS4 will be released. Some were initially predicting late 2018, which obviously isn't happening, while others think the PS5 is further away, in 2020 or 2021. The latest on this subject comes from Japanese firm Ace Economic Research Institute,...
News Sounds Like It's Time for TimeSplitters 4 as Koch Media Acquires Licence
Future perfect
The TimeSplitters series was beloved back on the PlayStation 2, but it sadly fell by the wayside as Free Radical Design began to struggle. The licence for the franchise has rested with Crytek for some years, but nothing has been done with it, despite vocal fans calling out for it, and even attempting to forge remake themselves...
News Electronic Arts Executive Patrick Söderlund to Exit
The legend leaves
Patrick Söderlund, the somewhat scary Electronic Arts executive who you will almost certainly recognise from various press conferences over the years, has decided to depart his role as Chief Design Officer at the publishing giant. The Swedish suit got his start as CEO at developer DICE, but eventually worked his way up the...
News Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Dev The Chinese Room Bought by Sumo Digital
Sumo expanding
The studio behind the PS4 walking simulator Everybody's Gone to the Rapture has been purchased by Sumo Digital. The Chinese Room, which only consists of its co-founders Dan Pinchbeck and Jessica Curry after last year's layoffs, will become a new studio within the group, which is going through a period of growth. Pinchbeck will stay...
News Crystal Dynamics Expands with New Studio, Hires God of War's Lead Combat Designer
Named after Kanye and Kim's kid
Crystal Dynamics’ upcoming Avengers is probably going to have some pretty bad ass Thor gameplay, as the Square Enix subsidiary has just opened a brand new studio and hired God of War’s lead combat designer Vincent Napoli. The all-new satellite studio is based in Bellevue, Washington, and has been imaginatively...
News Bethesda Backtracked on Its Controversial Review Policy
10/10 backtracking
Some time ago, you may remember reports coming out on Bethesda's overhauled review policy. The publisher essentially stopped dishing out review code early to gaming sites like Push Square, effectively eliminating any reviews of its games before they released. By many, this was viewed as an anti-consumer act, since people looking...
News Shadow of the Tomb Raider's Devs Not Worried About Spider-Man
"Only one game has Lara Croft"
In a year that’s already been packed to bursting point with big games, September will seriously up the ante with a sequence of huge releases. Two major titles, Marvel’s Spider-Man and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, are scheduled to deploy within days of each other – a harrowing prospect for publisher Square Enix and...
News Bethesda Defends Legal Action Against a Man Who Tried to Resell a Game
Used and abused
A strange story started circulating on Polygon overnight involving a man who attempted to resell a sealed copy of The Evil Within 2 as a “new” product on Amazon Marketplace. Bethesda’s law firm Vorys took issue with the listing, and threatened legal action against the individual. The company’s view is that there’s no way to...
News Streaming Devices Will Kill Traditional Consoles Within the Next 10 Years, Says EA
Here we go again
Games and streaming, two words that a lot of people don't seem to want to see in close proximity -- but the conversation about streaming services eventually replacing traditional video game consoles is only going to grow over the next few years and beyond. Just a couple of months ago, Ubisoft caused a bit of an uproar when it said...
News Capcom Knew Monster Hunter Would Be a Hit in the West 'On the Right Platform'
And it was correct
Monster Hunter: World's gigantic success is well documented by this point. The seriously addictive action role-playing title has been crowned Capcom's best selling game of all time, but before it launched earlier this year, some doubted that it would leave a mark here in the West, with many long time fans of the series...
News Capcom Wants 'Games That Get 9s But Sell Less' Over the Likes of Resident Evil 6
Capom's chasing quality
Capcom's tact has certainly changed over the last few years, and many would argue for the better. The company is currently riding a wave of unprecedented profit thanks to hugely successful titles such as Monster Hunter: World, and the Japanese publisher has said that it wants to continue pushing for high quality games...
News New Chinese Game Console Rivals the Power of the PS4 Pro
Power trip
A brand new machine is entering the console arms race -- in China, at least. AMD, the electronics company who produces the PS4's Jaguar CPU, has partnered with Zhongshan Subor to build a console for the Chinese market, and the details released so far put it on a level with the PS4 Pro, possibly even surpassing it. All the information...
July2018
News PS Plus Subscribers Dip Slightly Compared to Previous Quarter
Retention detention
Sony lost around 300,000 PlayStation Plus subscribers in the quarter ending 30th June, with 33.9 million users maintaining an active membership, compared to 34.2 million earlier in the year. It’s not exactly a significant decrease, but considering one of the company’s primary goals is to retain subs, it won’t be overjoyed...
News Capcom's Having a Great Year Off the Back of Monster Hunter: World's Huge Success
Roarsome
Capcom's in a pretty good place right now, going by the company's latest financial report. The publisher's operating income is up a rather staggering 550 per cent year-over-year, while net sales are up 46 per cent. In other words, Capcom's raking in some significant dosh -- and Monster Hunter: World is the main reason why. Launching...
News Indie Devs Are Finding Their Feet with Cheap Platinum Trophies
"A lot of people will buy it"
There’s no doubt that the PlayStation 4’s audience is changing, and indie developers are finding it harder than ever to ensure their games stand out against both AAA blockbusters and their many contemporaries. This is particularly problematic for new studios, who don’t have a major hit to their name or an existing...
News Quantic Dream Loses Employment Case Amid Photoshop Scandal
First of several cases to rule in employee's favour
The controversy surrounding Quantic Dream rumbles on, as the Parisian developer has lost a court case against a former employee, who quit their job following an image manipulation scandal
News The West Likes Yakuza Because It Doesn't Pander to Western Tastes, Says SEGA
Preach
SEGA has come a long way since the days of removing parts of Yakuza 3 because western audiences wouldn't "get it". Speaking to GameIndustry, SEGA Europe boss John Clark says that Yakuza has found its footing here in the West because it doesn't shy away from its Japanese roots. "We're not turning every Yakuza title into an open-world...
Interview From Psygnosis to Persistence - Reassembling Studio Liverpool into Scouse Scares
We fire up Firesprite's studio history
In our third article following Push Square’s visit to Firesprite, we sent one of our retro enthusiasts who was particularly eager to learn more about the links between its studio’s history with Psygnosis and Studio Liverpool. In time for the launch week of the sci-fi horror game The Persistence we also...
News Amazon UK to Stop £2 Prime Discount on Game Pre-Orders
Less bang for your buck
One of the benefits of an Amazon Prime membership was a small discount when pre-ordering games, but it seems that will be ending very soon. In an email sent to all Prime members, the giant online retailer stated that it will be putting a stop to the £2 discount. We would now like to inform you that we will no longer offer...
Feature How Sony's First-Party Turned Critical Success into Commercial Success
On the up
It’s almost been ten years since LittleBigPlanet released, a PlayStation 3 exclusive that would record a 95 on Metacritic and eventually go on to sell around 4.5 million units as of 2010. It was a success, but like so many of Sony’s games at the time, its numbers didn’t really match its reception. Uncharted 2: Among...
News The Culling 2 Flopped So Badly That It's Been Scrapped After a Week
And the dev's returning to work on the original game
The Culling 2 released on the PlayStation 4 last week, and it’s been removed from the PlayStation Store this week. The game, a kind of Battle Royale, was basically a disaster – and developer Xaviant Games has been forced to address its community on YouTube. In a refreshingly frank video,...
News Horizon: Zero Dawn Dev Guerrilla Expanding, Moving to New Five-Floor Office
Studio targeting 400 full-time employees
Guerrilla Games has always been one of Sony’s most important developers, but with the release of Horizon: Zero Dawn its stocks have risen dramatically. The studio is now one of the most recognised games companies in the world, working on one of the most promising new intellectual properties. The problem? It...
News Germany Bans Pre-Orders for Games that Don't Have a Set Release Date
A good thing?
This is a pretty interesting story. Over in Germany, products that don't have a set release date -- including video games -- are no longer allowed to be pre-ordered. This means that, for example, you can't go ahead and pre-order something like The Last of Us: Part II, since it has a vague "coming soon" release date attached. The...
News Sony Completes Turnaround with 10 Year Stock High
The biggest electronics maker in Japan
Kaz Hirai will probably be remembered by most for his goofy E3 presentations, but in truth the ex-Sony CEO proved his business credentials by transforming the encumbered organisation back into a global juggernaut. A new article from Hollywood Reporter reveals that the conglomerate’s stocks have hit a 10 year...
News PSN Credit Is Inexplicably Unavailable Again at Amazon
Saga rumbles on
Amazon’s spat with Sony appears to be rumbling on, as for the second time this year, PlayStation Network credit is unavailable at the popular online retailer. This includes all denominations of the virtual currency, although the issue appears to be limited to the United States branch for now;
News Shuhei Yoshida Wishes Sony Was More Successful at Making Multiplayer Games
Forever alone
Shuhei Yoshida has been in Brighton recently to pick up the Develop Legend Award for his achievements in the industry. While he was there, he spoke at Develop:Brighton with editor of Edge magazine, Nathan Brown. When asked about Sony finding success with its large single player games as the industry trends towards multiplayer, Shu...
News Shawn Layden Shares the Highs and Lows of a 30 Year PlayStation Career
Ups and downs
Shawn Layden may be the “suit” you see on stage at E3, but the executive has a 30 year history with PlayStation, spanning multiple roles across various different continents. The current Worldwide Studios chairman previously spent time as the head of SIEJ, and also worked in London for a while as well. It means that the...
News We're Making a Huge Bet Every Time We Start a New Project, Reveals Sony
Each title feels too big to fail
Big-budget blockbuster games are a massive risk these days. With development budgets soaring and expectations rising ever higher, it’s amazing that games like God of War and Horizon: Zero Dawn see the light of day at all. And as part of an interview with MCV, Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida has revealed...
June2018
News Amy Hennig Leaves EA, Goes Independent
"Ragtag" Star Wars game now open world
With EA closing Visceral Games last year and its Amy Hennig-fronted Star Wars game, codenamed "Ragtag", being handed over to EA Vancouver, it appeared that the future of the project was in doubt. Now, in an interview with Eurogamer at this year's Gamelab conference, Hennig has announced that she left EA in...
News PUBG Corp Withdraws Copyright Lawsuit Against Epic Games and Fortnite
Victory royale
About a month ago, we reported that PUBG Corp, the company behind PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, had issued a copyright violation lawsuit against the creators of Fortnite, Epic Games. Well, the studio now seems to have suddenly dropped all legal action. PUBG Corp has been making a case against Epic since January 2018, and planned to...
News Friday the 13th: The Game Slashes All Future Content
Ongoing lawsuit means no content can be added
A few weeks ago, Friday the 13th: The Game developer Gun Media announced that it was involved in a copyright lawsuit between the director of the original Friday the 13th movie, Sean Cunningham, and the film's writer, Victor Miller. Since the lawsuit is ongoing, no new Friday the 13th products can be...
Talking Point How Much Does Cross-Play Matter to You?
Your say
Okay, let’s do it. The games industry is completely dead in the aftermath of E3 2018, with everyone except us apparently gorging on Turkey Twizzlers at all-inclusive holiday resorts. In fact, it would appear the only people left over are those running the Nintendo and Xbox social media accounts, who are so gleefully fellating each...
Soapbox Games Are Allowing Players to Be More Expressive, And It's Ace
You're in control
What was the story of E3 2018 apart from cross-play and an abundance of amazing late-generation games? For me, it was player choice. This is nothing new, of course – the promise that you can “play your own way” has been a buzzword espoused by developers for eons, and it was a particularly prevalent selling-point in last...
News Check Out The Swanky Offices of Sucker Punch Productions
Fetching
It's always fun to get a peek behind the curtain when it comes to game studios. With much of game development still shrouded in mystery, it's very interesting when a company opens its doors to give us a glimpse inside. A corporate focused website named 425 Business had the chance to venture inside Sucker Punch Productions, which we know is...
News Why Ninja Theory's Leaving PlayStation
In its own words
If there was one thing at Microsoft's E3 2018 press conference that stung most for PlayStation fans, it was the announcement that Ninja Theory – the cult favourite developer of Heavenly Sword, Enslaved, and Hellblade – had become part of Microsoft Studios. Despite over a decade of games on Sony hardware, this...
News There's Only 362 Days Until E3 2019 Gets Underway
Mark your calendars
Would the Push Square team please look away now? The Electronic Software Association has announced that E3 will return on 11th June, 2019. This means that there are 362 days until next year’s show gets underway. It sounds like a long way away, but you know how the old adage goes: time flies when you’re having fun. So what...
Soapbox Why Don't We Hear from Sony Executives Anymore?
Off limits
You can brand me a big fat nerd if you want to, but I genuinely look forward to the executive interviews you get around E3 time. I used to anticipate Jack Tretton joining Geoff Keighley, his Hollywood smile only eclipsed by the sweltering Los Angeles sun. And then for a while it was Shuhei Yoshida’s turn to take the spotlight, the...
Soapbox E3 2018 Demonstrates the Disconnect Between Gamer Demands and Development Realities
You can't flip a switch
Depending on where you look, Hideo Kojima is getting ripped today. Death Stranding got its first gameplay demonstration during Sony’s E3 2018 press conference, and it looked early – I agree. Now you can criticise the platform holder for announcing the game too early if you like – clearly the ex-Konami man was desperate...
E3 2018 Ninja Theory Will No Longer Make PS4 Games
Microsoft acquires Hellblade developer
Microsoft’s always indicated that it wants its own Naughty Dog, and so after Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice launched first on PlayStation 4 – it’s just bought developer Ninja Theory. The acquisition does make sense: it’ll presumably allow the Cambridge developer to work on much bigger games, without...
News PS5 Will Be the Last Console Before Streaming Takes Over, Says Ubisoft Boss
Next-gen, last-gen?
Never one to shy away from reasonably bold claims, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot reckons that the next console generation will be the last of its kind. Once it's done and dusted, Guillemot expects hardware to shift towards streaming services. "I think we will see another generation, but there is a good chance that step-by-step we...
Talking Point Do We Really Need E3?
Industry celebration, or shouting contest?
E3 is widely considered to be the biggest week in the gaming calendar, but is that actually true anymore? In just over ten days, publishers and platform holders will descend upon Los Angeles to reveal to the world their biggest wares – well, assuming they haven’t already leaked on Walmart’s website...
May2018
News Ex-Naughty Dog Dev is Now Senior Game Designer on a Secret Sony PS4 Project
Mysterious
Last year, Quentin Cobb left Naughty Dog to work on Just Survive, a PC-only zombie survival shooter, in the role of Senior Game Designer. 12 months later, and he's now back under the Sony umbrella under the same job title, but where he's working - and what he's working on - remains unknown. When asked which studio Cobb is now working...
News PUBG Corporation is Taking Epic Games to Court for Copyright Infringement
The real battle royale
Uh oh. PUBG Corporation, the developer of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Epic Games for the similarities between its game and the explosively popular Fortnite. This can only end well. PUBG Corp. is a subsidiary of the Korean games company Bluehole Studio. A representative...
News Sony Improving and Increasing First-Party Production
Exclusives for everyone
Sony’s first-party games are doing extraordinarily well both critically and commercially at the moment, and that’s convinced the company to double down on exclusives. Speaking as part of a recent investors relations day, president John Kodera said that the company is planning to enhance its exclusive output, and added...
News Sony: We're Exploring What Our Customers Want from Portable Gaming
Good luck with that
The last time Sony talked about handheld gaming, former PlayStation president Andrew House ruled out the possibility of a PS Vita successor, while Worldwide Studios bigwig said that the “climate was not healthy” for portable gaming. While we still believe that statement to be generally accurate – the Nintendo Switch is a...
News Sony Is Thinking About a PSone Classic Console
Yes please
SNK announced recently that it would be producing a NeoGeo Classic Edition to celebrate its 40th anniversary, and rumours are rife regarding a potential Nintendo 64 Classic Mini. These micro-consoles have proven to be vastly popular, and naturally, we've pondered whether Sony would ever produce an equivalent for the PSone. According to...
News Sony Commits Support to PS4 Through 2021
And probably beyond
While the PlayStation 4 may be entering the final phase of its lifecycle, Sony intends to support the system through 2021 and potentially beyond. The platform holder pledged support to the platform as part of a mid-term corporate strategy report, which spans now through 31st March, 2021. Realistically, the console will probably...
News PS4 'Entering Final Phase of Its Life' Says Sony CEO
Beginning of the end
The PlayStation 4 is nearing the end of its life cycle, according to Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO John Kodera. Speaking at the company's latest investor meeting, Kodera's statement comes as no real surprise. After all, the PS4 will turn five years old this November. The question, then, is how long will this "final phase"...
News PlayStation VR Is Growing, But Virtual Reality Is Stumbling
Company keeping expectations realistic
PlayStation VR is doing well, but virtual reality as a whole is stumbling. Former PlayStation president Andrew House talked about this prior to his departure; Sony is absolutely dominating the fledgling medium, but the company needs growth across the entire sector for it to properly take off. In other words,...
News Sony Promises More First-Party PlayStation Exclusives
Doubling down
Sony is having a huge amount of success with its first-party exclusives this generation, and in promising news for us PlayStation fans, the company’s hinted that it will be doubling down on this area of the business. Speaking at an investors relations day overnight, CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said that the company aims to strengthen its...
News Best Buy Locks Up Popular Gamers Club Initiative
No more deep discounts on new games
All good things must come to an end, and for fans of Best Buy’s popular Gamers Club Unlocked, this particular news will be tough to swallow. Many enjoyed the annual subscription for the 20 per cent discounts it offered on brand new games, but it was clearly putting the company out of pocket, because it’s been...
News Sony Will Still Make Physical PS Vita Games in Japan
Vita means life
Earlier this week, it was reported that Sony will stop manufacturing PlayStation Vita game cartridges in the future. However, a new story originating from Japanese site GameSpark indicates that not all territories will be following suit -- SIE Japan will continue to produce physical games for the handheld. Translated by
News The Division 2 Due Before April 2019, Alongside The Crew 2 and Unannounced Ubisoft Title
All of them 'AAA'
In the latest earnings report from Ubisoft, the French publisher lets slip some of its plans for the relatively near future. For starters, the report states that The Division 2 -- announced but not shown back in March -- is due out this fiscal year. In other words, it'll launch at some point between now and April 2019. The shooter...
News Sony to Cease Production of Physical PS Vita Games
The end is near
In a message to developers, Sony has stated that it plans to stop producing PS Vita game cartridges, according to a report from Kotaku. The company says that this will happen by the end of the fiscal year 2018, which translates to 31st March 2019. Sony also stipulates that all requests for Vita product codes be presented by...
News Horizon Developer Guerrilla Games Recruiting for New Game
A new Horizon
Gee, wonder what this could be? Dutch developer Guerrilla Games has started a hiring spree, suggesting that its next project is decided and is about to enter full production. We wonder if it could be a sequel to the studio’s massively popular breakout hit, Horizon: Zero Dawn? The mind truly boggles. Perhaps a more interesting...
News LawBreakers Developer Boss Key Productions Shuts Down
Cliffy B releases statement
Boss Key Productions "is effectively no more" according to Cliff Bleszinski, who co-founded the studio in 2014. The developer's only PlayStation title, LawBreakers, launched in August of last year, and although the team-based shooter was quite well received, it struggled to retain a sizeable player count. In what...
News PS4 Is Way Ahead of Xbox One in Total Console Sales, Says New Data
EA spills the beans
As we've known for some time now, Microsoft no longer publicly shares Xbox One sales figures. Meanwhile, Sony's been more than happy to spread word of the PlayStation 4's success on numerous occasions, with the company's most recent statement claiming that the current-gen console has moved close to 80 million units. It's always...
News Dragon Ball FighterZ Hits 2.5 Million Copies, Closing In on Tekken 7 Already
Super
According to Bandai Namco's latest financial presentation, Dragon Ball FighterZ has done rather well for itself since it launched back in January of this year. The superb brawler has shifted 2.5 million copies in under four months, making it one of the fastest selling fighting games of this generation. The publisher also notes that...
News EA 'Pushing Forward' with Loot Boxes, Working to Protect Revenue Stream
Wilson weighs in
The various Ultimate Team modes in EA’s sports games now generate more income than brands like The Sims and Battlefield, so it’s no surprise to see the publisher double-down on lucrative loot boxes – despite the threat of government regulation. Both Belgium and the Netherlands recently declared the divisive “card...
News Capcom Looking to Release Two 'Major' Games By April 2019
But what could they be?
According to the company's latest financial report, Capcom has plans to release not one, but two "major" titles before the end of this fiscal year. That's by the 31st March, 2019, for those out of the loop. Of course, this news has already led to plenty of speculation across the 'net. With E3 2018 fast approaching, it...
April2018
Game changer
Christopher Judge is the man who took over from Terrence C. Carson as Kratos for the latest God of War, but when he received the script for the first time, he thought it was for a blockbuster movie. Speaking with BBC Newsbeat, the actor, also famous for his role in Stargate SG-1, had "no clue" the script was for a game when it was first...
Industry - Features
Forum Topics
1,497 replies |
Ten Forward - The Star Trek Topic
211 replies |
705 replies |
1,127 replies |
1,626 replies |
1,864 replies |
2,998 replies |
Most Read
news Rockstar Worked 100 Hour Weeks to Get Red Dead Redemption 2 Done
news Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Is More Anticipated than Red Dead Redemption 2...
news Obsidian Entertainment Likely to Leave PlayStation Behind
news PS5 Will Be the Last Console Before Streaming Takes Over, Says Ubisoft Boss
news Only a Handful of Senior Employees Worked 100 Hour Weeks on Red Dead Red...
news SEGA Wants Simultaneous Worldwide Release Dates for Its Games
news This RUSSIA 2055 Trailer Shared by Hideo Kojima Is Suspicious