Industry - News
June2019
News EA Believes Loot Boxes Are Ethical, Deems Them Surprise Mechanics
Surprise, surprise
EA is undoubtedly at the heart of the ongoing loot box row, but the publisher is pleading innocence when it comes to intervention. Speaking with politicians in the UK this week, the publisher’s VP of legal and government affairs Kerry Hopkins likened loot boxes to blind-packed toys, and explained that internally the organisation...
News Some Fans Think Remedy and PlayStation May Be Partnering
Quantum repair
There’s a strange story doing the rounds that PlayStation may be partnering with Max Payne developer Remedy on a new game. It’s worth noting that the platform holder has already been fairly pally with the Finnish studio since it signed marketing rights to upcoming third-person shooter Control, but some feel that the
News PS5 Is 'Hard to Get Excited About', Says Platinum Boss
"It's okay"
Unsurprisingly, we’re pretty hyped for the PlayStation 5 here at Push Square Towers – but Platinum Games boss Atsushi Inaba isn’t sharing our enthusiasm. Speaking with VGC at E3 2019, he told the site that it’s “hard to get excited about” Sony’s next-gen console when it sounds like “more of the same”. He added that...
News Sony Was the Third Most Popular Publisher at E3 2019, Despite Never Being There
Talking itself into third place
Sony skipped E3 2019 completely, and yet it still managed to be the third most talked about publisher at the show. As Hollywood Reporter reveals, the Japanese giant made it on to the podium alongside Xbox in second and Nintendo first. It surely has to be chalked up as a pretty major success for the company, who
Soapbox Are We to Blame for the Lack of Gameplay at E3 2019?
Sammy reckons outrage culture may have played a part
I’ve been thinking a lot about the lack of gameplay at E3 2019, and I’m starting to wonder if we’re to blame. Do you remember ‘Puddlegate’ at all? It was a ridiculous controversy that marred the launch of Marvel’s Spider-Man, driving thousands of views to our website – even though we...
News E3 Will Return for at Least Another Year, 2020 Dates Confirmed
9th-11th June
Alright then guys and girls, let's get the E3 2020 tag rolling! Yes, we're all questioning whether the Electronic Entertainment Expo is still relevant in today's online world, but the show will return for at least another year in 2020. Snapped by Twiter user Lucas Patricio, attendees can catch sight of a banner as they leave the Los...
E3 2019 Sony Acknowledges E3, But Keeps Its Cards Close to Its Chest
PlayStation sticks to its guns
Sony repeatedly stated that it would not have anything to announce at E3 2019, but even as late as the start of this week there was some hope from core gaming communities that it would show something. Well, the curtain is about to close on the Los Angeles convention, but it’s looking like PlayStation will stick to...
Talking Point Is E3 Still Relevant?
The burning question
There were huge question marks over the purpose of E3 last year, when Sony’s tentpole showcase failed to meet expectations and the other publishers were unable to pick up the slack. This year has been immeasurably worse: whatever your thoughts on the various press c
E3 2019 Square Enix Wants Its Entire Library to Be Digital, But Can't Always Find the Code
Hide and seek
Square Enix has been bringing lots of its classic games to the PlayStation 4 lately, and apparently it’s part of a company-wide ambition to make its entire library digital. Speaking with Game Informer, president Yosuke Matsuda revealed that the publisher has launched a “dedicated project” internally to port these titles – but...
E3 2019 Phil Spencer: I Wish Sony Was at E3
Xbox boss says the trade show isn't the same without its rival
Sony has famously skipped E3 2019, and while some would argue that it made the right decision, it's clear that some would've liked to have seen something from the platform holder. It may have had nothing to show, and it's obviously pursuing a direct-to-consumer approach with its State of...
Reaction Sony Bailed on E3 2019, And Took Gameplay Demos with It
Show surprisingly light on in-game footage
At the time, Sony’s unconventional E3 2018 press conference was dubbed a disaster due to a lack of surprises and an awkward intermission. On the strength of this year’s show so far, though, it would have honestly been refreshing. We’ve sat through close to six hours of media briefings over the past...
E3 2019 Double Fine Acquired by Microsoft, But Psychonauts 2 Still Coming to PS4
That's going to Schafer
Microsoft’s still busy buying up any developers on the brink of financial ruin, with Double Fine the latest team recruited to its spunky new first-party unit. As with previous purchases, the in-development Psychonauts 2 will still release on the PlayStation 4, but that’ll be the last you see from Tim Schafer and his team...
News We Don't Know if PS5 Will Be Our Last Console, Admits PlayStation Boss
"People told us PS4 was going to be a terrible failure"
There’s a common view that time is running out for the humble console. While Sony’s already announced its next-gen system, many feel that we’re moving towards a future of streaming and services, and that means the PlayStation 5 could be the last of its kind. Of course, PlayStation boss...
News Google Stadia Attempts to Beat the E3 Hype with Dedicated Stream This Week
Another PlayStation competitor enters the fray
Remember Google Stadia? That's a genuine question, by the way -- we'd almost completely forgotten about it until we saw this announcement. Google's game streaming platform was revealed back in March, and we've heard very little about it since. Billed as the next step in gaming's evolution -- supposedly...
May2019
News Remember Ouya, the 'PlayStation Killer'? Well Now It's Dead
Almost dead, anyway
Ouya? More like Ounah! Right, guys? Ouya, the little console that couldn't, is now officially dead. You wouldn't be blamed for thinking it's been dead for years because the device itself was discontinued back in 2015, but now its digital game store is set to be closed next month, on the 25th June. The final nail in the coffin...
News Apex Legends Revenue Has Reportedly Dropped Off a Cliff
Analyst estimates huge decrease in earnings
It feels like Apex Legends has been on a decline for a little while now, and new evidence sadly backs that up. The free to play battle royale shooter launched with a bang, attracting 25 million players in its first week. Nowadays, though, interest seems to have fallen dramatically, in part due to
News Worldwide Studios Head Shuhei Yoshida Has Paid a Visit to Housemarque
But it's probably nothing
Update (23rd May 2019): Sony XDev Europe, a support team within Worldwide Studios, has added a little fuel to the fire. Retweeting the below post from Shu, it appears to be hinting at something. It's only a couple of emojis, but it could potentially be a teensy bit more evidence to suggest Housemarque is working together...
News Sony: We Empower Our Studios to Push the Boundaries of Gaming
The results speak for themselves
Not every game in Sony’s first-party portfolio is a smash hit, but between projects like Dreams and God of War, it’s clear that the company gives its studios an unparalleled sense of freedom. Speaking at the Collision conference in Toronto yesterday, Worldwide Studios chairman Shawn Layden touched upon this a...
News THQ Nordic Acquires Piranha Bytes, Along with Gothic, Risen, and Elex IP
Euro jank gets a boost
Another week brings another THQ Nordic acquisition. It really does feel like it happens this often now, doesn't it? This time around, the publisher has purchased Piranha Bytes and IPs the developer has worked on. This means that along with the studio itself, THQ Nordic now owns the rights to the likes of the Gothic, Risen,...
News Sony Music Artists Will Bring Original Songs to First-Party Games
Company also keen on PSVR crossover content
Sony is still eager to unify its various divisions, with PlayStation Productions an example of this. The new media-focused unit is part of Sony Interactive Entertainment, but it will leverage experience from Sony Pictures to bring PlayStation properties to both the small and big screen. According to...
News PlayStation's Future Will Be 'Immersive' and 'Seamless'
Sony lays out its vision
Sony’s settled upon two buzzwords which it will refer to when considering the future of PlayStation: immersive and seamless. Announced as part of an investor relations presentation, the company confirmed that these adjectives will determine the direction of its business moving forwards. It pointed to the processing speed...
Rumour PlayStation Productions Is Working on a Twisted Metal TV Series
Sweet Tooth is back
Sony's overnight investor meeting included a Q&A portion, and according to one thread over on ResetEra, it was announced that the recently formed PlayStation Productions is working on a Twisted Metal TV series. Apparently revealed by Tony Vinciquerra on-stage, the project recently began production - meaning we probably won't...
News Sony to Invest in First-Party Studios 'Through Organic Growth and Acquisitions' for PS5
More purchases along the way
It's a tactic that Microsoft has found great success in during previous E3 conferences, but it looks like Sony is once again stepping up its act when it comes to first-party acquisition. At last night's investor meeting, Jim Ryan stated that PlayStation is planning on investing in its line-up of first-party studios...
News Sony Establishes New Unit to Adapt Games for Film and TV
Inspired by Marvel Studios
It would appear that PlayStation’s fed up with Sony Pictures, as it’s launched its own division designed to adapt games to film and television. The aptly named PlayStation Productions will be led by Asad Qizilbash and overseen by Worldwide Studios chairman Shawn Layden, and has already started work on its first slate...
News PlayStation Team Was 'Caught Off-Guard' by Sony's Tech Partnership with Microsoft
"Managers had to calm workers"
Sony's recent announcement of a tech deal with Microsoft that will see the two companies come together on research of future cloud solutions took a lot of people by surprise, even those who work at PlayStation itself. In a report from Bloomberg, it is stated that talks between
News Shrug Your Shoulders at Quantic Dream's New Logo
Okay..?
Is this really worth drawing any amount of attention to? Who knows, but at least it proves that Push Square isn't just a raving fansite for upcoming masterpiece Dreams. David Cage's dev team, Quantic Dream, has a brand new logo. Check it out above. Best known for its recent work on
New best friends?
Well here's an interesting announcement: Sony and Microsoft have revealed that they're working together on a variety of tech-related ventures. The two companies are obviously competitors in the gaming console space with PlayStation and Xbox, but that hasn't stopped them from forming what they call a "strategic partnership". "The...
News Far Cry 5 and Rainbow Six: Siege Are Both Absolute Monsters, Ubisoft Reaffirms
Top seller and billion dollar earnings respectively
It's no secret that Ubisoft has some absolute juggernauts this generation. Far Cry 5 smashed sales records for the franchise and was one of last year's best selling games, while Rainbow Six: Siege has been slowly gathering momentum for over three years. In a recent earnings call, the publisher has...
News Square Enix Financial Forecasts Suggest Final Fantasy VII Remake Won't Launch Before March 2020
The Avengers, too
After having seen new gameplay from Final Fantasy VII Remake last week, many hopeful onlookers were wondering whether the game might actually release later this year. It is, after all, going to be chopped up into multiple instalments, and it's confirmed to be at E3 2019
News Ubisoft Has Three Unannounced Blockbusters Lined Up
Watch Dogs 3 will be one
Ubisoft will release three unannounced games during the fourth quarter of its current fiscal year, meaning that it’s planning a trio of AAA titles between the beginning of January and the end of March. The ginormous French publisher confirmed the tidbit in a slide to investors, also acknowledging
News PS5 May 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...
News Raising Kratos, the God of War PS4 Documentary, Is Available to Watch Now on YouTube
Grinding axes
Santa Monica Studio's hotly anticipated making of documentary has just debuted on PlayStation's YouTube channel. Raising Kratos is a two-hour look behind the scenes of God of War, one of PlayStation 4's biggest and best exclusive games, and it's available to watch now. You can watch it above. Expect to see lots of motion capture...
April2019
News Sony Just Had Its Best Financial Year Ever, PlayStation at the Heart of Success
Games easily biggest earner for tech giant
We all know that the PlayStation 4 has been an immense success for Sony, and it seems that hasn't slowed down over the last 12 months. The platform holder has just posted its results for the financial year 2018, and ultimately, it was the best in the company's history in terms of profit, and that's largely...
News PS4 Is Closing in on 100 Million Units Sold, and It's Inline with the All-Conquering PS2
It's at 96.8 million, Sony says
The PlayStation 4 has been a beast since its launch in 2013, and it's still pretty much flying off the shelves. The now five-year-old console just had a great quarter (January to March 2019) and its total sales are now edging extremely close to the hallowed 100 million mark. This info comes from Sony's latest...
News Sony Wants to Give Devs Time to Adjust to PS5's Capabilities
Studios already have devkits
Sony surprisingly announced the official existence of the PlayStation 5 today, outlining various details about the next-gen console. And tucked away in Wired’s article is confirmation that developers already have access to the device – and that the company is ramping up the deployment of devkits in order to ensure...
News Sony's Censorship Guidelines Tackle Sexually Explicit Depictions of Underage Characters
Company concerned about global reputation
As has been obvious for some time, Sony is cracking down on sexually explicit material as it pertains to questionably aged characters. While the specifics of its regulations remain underwraps, a Wall Street Journal report on the recently introduced policy reveals that the Japanese company has become...
News Sony Has Been Building PS5 for Four Years Already
Much more than a "mere upgrade"
Sony has been working on the PlayStation 5 for the past four years, meaning that work got underway at some point in 2015 – little over a year after the PlayStation 4 launched. According to a new Wired article, the system is not being built as a “mere upgrade” like, say, the PS4 Pro before it. Instead, the...
News People Are Panicking Over Ghost of Tsushima's Progress
Job listing leaves fans in a frenzy
Sucker Punch is looking for a narrative writer to help flesh out Ghost of Tsushima’s open world, and it’s got some fans in a frenzy. The Seattle-based studio is after a scribe who can write “high quality dialogue under tight deadlines for a diverse cast of characters who live in the world of 13th century...
News Guerrilla Appears to Be Making a Multiplayer Game
Studio spearheading Sony's online push?
Guerrilla Games may have etched its name into the top game developer stage with single player role-playing title Horizon: Zero Dawn, but its back catalogue is packed with online multiplayer experiences. And with Sony suggesting that it’d like to do a little more in the online space, it looks like Dutch...
News DONTNOD and Focus Home to Join Forces Again Following Vampyr's One Million Sales Milestone
Let's go again
It feels like DONTNOD's vampiric adventure game Vampyr flew way under the radar last year, but in a new press release, it seems like it did pretty well for itself. One million sales is certainly nothing to sniff at, and it's a huge success for publisher Focus Home Interactive. No wonder the two companies are partnering once again on...
News Bluepoint's Next Project a Re-Envisioning Beyond Shadow of the Colossus
Will it touch our Souls?
Bluepoint’s sublime Shadow of the Colossus remake is one of the finest games you can play on the PlayStation 4, but with its next project, the Austin-based outfit is looking to push itself even further. Speaking as part of a GDC presentation, the studio shed a little more light on what it’s up to, describing its new...
News Half of Video Game Software Bought in the UK Last Year was Digital
UK games market now worth nearly £6 billion
UKIE, the trade body that provides us with sales and chart information for the UK games industry, has conducted extensive research into the value of the country's games market. It's produced some pretty interesting results, showing that digital accounted for about 50 per cent of gaming software spending...
March2019
Soapbox Sony's Server Shutdown Strategy Is Making the Publisher a Laughing Stock
Sammy's dismayed by the DriveClub debacle
If our gaming future is to exist largely online, then I’m becoming increasingly sceptical of whether Sony deserves my money. The company has built the PlayStation Store into an unparalleled empire, but it’s about to gut popular racing game DriveClub and wipe it from its servers. If you already happen to...
News Saviour of Sony and King of Memes, PlayStation Legend Kaz Hirai Announces Retirement
End of an era
Kazuo Hirai is retiring. The 58-year-old has been the director and chairman of Sony for roughly a year, after he stepped down as CEO back in April 2018. Perhaps most commonly known for all the internet memes -- something that Hirai himself acknowledged during a press conference in 2016 -- it's very likely that Sony wouldn't be the...
News Senran Kagura Producer Quits, Largely Blames Rise in Gaming Censorship
A bum note
Although he'll continue to finish up titles still in development, Senran Kagura producer Kenichiro Takaki has left Japanese developer Marvelous. Takai was a veteran at the company, with his career there lasting a lengthy 13 years. However, Takai didn't just quit because he fancied a crack at something else -- he was apparently growing...
News Sony Renews Patent That Hints at Digital Game Trading for PlayStation Users
That growing digital maket
What's all this, then? A US patent that Sony first filed back in 2015 has been renewed, and it's already sparked a load of speculation across the web. The patent's wording is rather technical, but the gist of it is that Sony has been investigating the possibility of digital game trading. Supposedly, this could even work...
News EA Makes 350 Redundant As It Aims to Be World's Greatest Games Company
"We're not there right now"
EA is laying off an eye-watering 350 people in its marketing, publishing, and analytics departments. Kotaku managed to obtain an internal email from marketing chief Chris Bruzzo, in which he said that the staffing adjustments were designed to improve the publisher’s customer support, and optimise its global strategies...
News Sony to Cease Selling Full Game Digital Download Codes at Retail
PSN credit going no where, though
Sony will pull full game digital download codes from retail beginning 1st April, a leaked GameStop memo has revealed. This means that you’ll no longer be able to purchase the digital versions of full games from brick and mortar stores, although shops will continue to sell PlayStation Network credit in various...
Poll Do You Think Google Stadia and Streaming Are the Future of Video Games?
Check that connection
Is streaming the future of video games? Google certainly wants you to think so. Earlier this week, the company revealed its plans for Stadia, a streaming platform that, in theory, allows for the instantaneous streaming of big, AAA, modern video games through any device supported by Google. On paper it's an impressive concept...
News Ex-PlayStation Executive: Google Stadia Starts Inevitable Shift Away from Consoles
Phil Harrison believes the end is near
There was some speculation prior to Google Stadia’s announcement this week that the tech giant was preparing a console that would compete directly with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. As it happens, it revealed a product potentially more threatening: a cloud-based service running on top of YouTube, which will...
News Quantic Dream's Detroit: Become Human Heading to PC
Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls also lined up for Epic Games Store
Humanity has a price, and Epic Games is willing to pay it. Quantic Dream’s trilogy of ex-PlayStation exclusives are coming to the PC, which means that Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls, and Detroit: Become Human will no longer be tethered solely to Sony’s systems. Controversially, the...
News PlayStation Could Have Fresh Competition in Stadia, Google's New Game Streaming Platform
The power of the cloud
Google just announced Stadia, its new streaming platform for playing video games. In a lot of ways, this could be our first real look at a next-gen console -- except it's not actually a console. The gist of it is that with Stadia, you'll be able to play full games, like Assassin's Creed Odyssey, immediately through the power...
Talking Point PS Now's Delivering Our Streaming Future, So Why Is Sony the Underdog?
Every cloud and all that
PlayStation’s history is pocked with missed opportunities. Sony was first to the casual game boom with PlayStation 2 party games like SingStar and Buzz, but it allowed Nintendo to waltz in with the Wii and take that audience away. It was doing controller-less gaming long before anyone at Xbox had even uttered the words...
News Google Poised to Announce Potential PlayStation Competitor
A new challenger approaches
Google will make a gaming announcement at the Game Developers Conference tomorrow which could rock the industry to its core. Of course, it could also turn out to be another footnote in the tech giant’s list of failed experiments, but there’s no doubt that the top brass at Sony will be tuning into the organisation’s...
News Sony Says There's No Truth in Take Two Acquisition Rumours
Hostile takeover out of the equation
Sony was apparently in advanced board level discussions to acquire Take Two this week, which would grant it ownership of blockbuster franchises such as Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, and BioShock. Of course,
Rumour Sony in Advanced Board Level Discussions to Acquire Take Two
Push square to doubt
There’s eff all happening in the games industry at the minute, so how about a hot rumour to rustle your jimmies this evening. Market Watch is reporting that stock in Take Two interactive is up following speculation that Sony is in “advanced board level discussions to acquire in a mostly cash deal”. This kind of purchase...
News Ex-Uncharted Movie Writer Joe Carnahan Calls Neil Druckmann a 'Jerkoff'
Says he "stole credit" for Naughty Dog series
The history of the Uncharted film is a long, rocky road. The adaptation has been in the works for such a long time, and various people have come and gone from the project. One such person was Joe Carnahan, a Hollywood writer on action flicks like Smokin' Aces and The A-Team. He hopped aboard the...
News Guerrilla Games Has Doubled Its Women Workforce in a Year
Aloy's influence
Guerrilla Games has doubled the number of women under its employment since last year’s International Women’s Day, meaning that there are more talented ladies within the Amsterdam studio’s ranks than ever before. Managing Director Hermen Hulst revealed the tidbit on Twitter, alongside a photograph of some of its team members...
News Sony Spotlights Some of Its Top Talent on International Women's Day
A look behind the curtain at Worldwide Studios
As part of International Women’s Day, Sony has released a pretty cool trailer peeking behind the curtain at several of its first-party teams. The inspirational clip, which naturally focuses on ladies, spotlights employees from a variety of different disciplines, including programmers, artists,...
News God of War Was Almost Called Something Totally Different, Says Creator David Jaffe
Title was luck of the draw
Say what you want about outspoken game designer David Jaffe, but he was one of the key creators behind what is now a series synonymous with PlayStation. God of War was a hit from the very start, with gorgeous visuals, a larger than life story, and blood-soaked gameplay. The latest game in the series, the PS4 exclusive...
News THQ Nordic Issues Apology for Asinine AMA with 8chan
Publisher regrets ridiculous incident
It’s been almost a week since THQ Nordic bafflingly hosted an AMA on ethically questionable website 8chan, prompting an unprecedented backlash due to the forum's connections with racism, hate speech, and, unthinkably, child pornography. The organisation apologised at the time, claiming that it was unaware of...
February2019
News THQ Nordic Did Something Crazy, And It Didn't Involve an Acquisition
Publisher hosts AMA on site banned from Google
Just when you thought the games industry couldn’t possibly get any dumber, THQ Nordic hosted an AMA (or Ask Me Anything) on infamous website 8chan. For those of you who don’t know, the site’s “infamous” because it’s been delisted by Google due to its suspected inclusion of child pornography...
The game... Is fun
Reggie Fils-Aimé, one of the most well known figures in modern gaming, has announced his retirement. Reggie has been at Nintendo since 2003, working his way up to the position of President of Nintendo of America. He may be leaving, but we'll always remember the memes. Jokes aside, Reggie has long been an inspiration to just...
News Former EA Boss Details New Studio, Gives Early Look at Co-Op, Free-to-Play Sci-Fi Title
Embark on something new
Patrick Söderlund, former EA executive who left the publisher last year, has dropped some details on what he's doing right now -- and they make for quite an interesting read. Upon leaving his position at EA, Söderlund created a new studio based in Stockholm, Sweden. The developer is named Embark, and since its inception...
News THQ Nordic's Studio and IP Buying Spree Won't Be Slowing Down any Time Soon
Publisher raises huge money for future acquisitions
Nordic Games merged with THQ in 2013 as a result of a mass buyout of the deceased publisher and its games, and the company has gone from strength to strength ever since. Over the years, it's slowly been amassing an enormous catalogue of intellectual properties and development teams, but the...
News Sony: Nintendo's Doing Wonderful Things with the Switch
Platform holder doesn't subscribe to the console war
Shawn Layden may be underfire in the media for his comments on console cross-play this week, but he’s got nothing but good things to say about PlayStation’s competition. Asked about both Microsoft and Nintendo during his DICE keynote, the Worldwide Studios chairman was refreshingly...
News THQ Nordic's Spending Spree Continues with Kingdom Come: Deliverance Dev
Also acquires Australian publishing partner
THQ Nordic’s making Xbox boss Phil Spencer look like a cheapskate, as it continues to flash its chequebook in the general direction of, well, anyone it sets its eyes on. A bit like Unicron from Transformers: The Movie, the publisher has been gobbling up independent developers like there’s no tomorrow...
News Enormous Lay Offs Leave Hundreds at Activision Blizzard Out of Work
Entire organisation struck
Activision Blizzard has notified hundreds of employees that their services will no longer be required today. The cull is rumoured to affect around eight per cent of the organisation’s enormous 9,600 workforce, so will render hundreds of staffers redundant. The cuts span the entire organisation, including Activision,...
News Sony Says Devs Only Have to Ask for Console Cross-Play, Studios Say It's Lying
This is getting spicy
A couple of studios, including Gaijin Entertainment and Hi-Rez Studios, recently suggested that Sony was blocking it from joining the PlayStation 4’s ongoing console cross-play beta – but speaking with Game Informer this week, Worldwide Studios chairman Shawn Layden said that’s absol
News Sonic Mania Developers Form New Game Studio, Evening Star
Star light zone
After the success of Sonic Mania, many have been wondering what the team behind the game would do next. Using Christian Whitehead's Retro Engine technology and years of cumulative experience with the character, the fellows who brought 2D Sonic back are surely making a follow up, right? Well, there's still a question mark over that,...
All change at the top
He’s best known for a
News German Retailers Continue Purge of Fallout 76 Stock, Giving It Away with PS4 Hard Drives
Please take it
You may recall the recent discovery that GameStop Germany is giving away copies of botched online shooter Fallout 76 with purchases of second-hand controllers. Well, it seems that's not the only way the country's retailers are ridding themselves of unwanted stock. A new Reddit post shows a copy of Bethesda'
News More Studios Call Out Sony's Console Cross-Play Beta
"Stop playing favourites"
Sony may have thought that its console cross-play beta – which currently supports Fortnite and Rocket League – would buy it some time, but it looks like that’s running out. Hot on the heels of War Thunder developer Gaijin Entertainment – who says it’s in regular contact with the Japanese giant about adding console...
News Insomniac Games Celebrates 25 Years of Great Games
Still awake
If we asked you to list your five favourite game developers, we suspect Insomniac would pop up a lot. The studio launched Marvel’s Spider-Man to critical acclaim last year, but we think everyone expected it to be good the moment it was announced – that’s what past pedigree does for a team. Whether it’s Ratchet & Clank,...
News CD Projekt Red Set to Compensate The Witcher Author Following Legal Dispute
He's not getting $16 million, though
Back in October of last year, we reported on a bit of a kerfuffle between The Witcher video game developer CD Projekt Red and author of The Witcher books Andrzej Sapkowski. Basically, Sapkowski wasn't happy with how much money he'd received from the studio in order to use his work as the basis for its games. A...
News Disney Happy with EA's Work on Star Wars
Companies have a good relationship
If we’re all honest with ourselves, EA’s done a terrible job with Star Wars to date. The first game in its mammoth contract with Disney, the multiplayer-only Star Wars Battlefront, was perfectly adequate but felt undercooked. Its successor, though, Star Wars Battlefront 2, prompted one of the biggest backlashes...
News Microsoft Plans to Bring Xbox Live Support to All Other Platforms Except PlayStation
Sony missing from new Xbox initiative
This is an interesting story. As reported by GamesIndustry, Microsoft has scheduled in a talk at GDC 2019, set to take place next month, and it highlights the corporation's plans to spread Xbox Live beyond its own platforms. The talk is titled 'Xbox Live: Growing & Engaging Your Gaming Comm
News There Are 36.3 Million PlayStation Plus Subscribers
You do the maths
Sony’s making more revenue from the PlayStation Network than Nintendo is in its entirety, which demonstrates the scale of the juggernaut that the Japanese giant has created. Of course, a huge hunk of change can be attributed to PlayStation Plus, the subscription service which allows PlayStation 4 owners to download a selection of...
News Sony Doesn't Believe Cloud-Based Gaming Will Render Consoles Obsolete Yet
Not in the near-future anyway
There’s a lot of talk about cloud gaming at the moment, and despite Sony being the only platform holder to offer an online-based streaming service in the form of PlayStation Now, the perennial underdog is commonly considered to be behind the curve. But speaking during a financial call about threats to the immediate...
News PSN Alone Generated More Revenue Than the Entirety of Nintendo in 2018
Online network also bigger than Microsoft's entire gaming division
How big is the PlayStation Network these days? The answer: very big. Sony’s online storefront generated an eye-watering ¥1,373 billion yen (~$12.5 billion) of revenue in 2018, which is more than the entirety of Nintendo during the same period. To put this in perspective: the...
News PS4 Was the World's Best-Selling Console in 2018
Sony edges out Switch in fifth year
Contrary to common opinion, the PlayStation 4 was once again the world’s best-selling console in 2018 – despite it celebrating its fifth anniversary in November. Sony shipped 8.1 million consoles globally during the three month period ending 31st December, bringing its overall total for the calendar year up to...
News Sony Enjoys Record Quarter As Entertainment Divisions Boom
The only way is up
Sony, best known for its electronics, is gradually becoming an entertainment organisation – and its record third quarter results, spanning the three month period ending 31st December, reflect that. The company registered operating income of ¥377 billion (~$3.5 billion), with PlayStation once again leading the charge – despite...
News Metacritic Dubs Capcom the Best Publisher of 2018
Sony at number 6
Aggregate site Metacritic doesn't just average out review scores -- it holds a lot of interesting information across various types of media. Each year, the site crunches the numbers to determine which game publisher performed the best in terms of the number of games released and how they fared critically. For 2018, it's Capcom that...
January2019
News Sony First-Party Studios Now Mostly Focused on PS5
The future's happening
It comes as no real surprise to hear, but most of Sony's first-party studios have now shifted their focus to the PS5. This is according to industry analyst Daniel Ahmad, also known as ZhugeEX. Ahmad's been a reliable source of inside information for years now, so we've got little reason to doubt his claims over on
News Quantic Dream Focusing on PS5 After Investment from NetEase
But going multiformat
Chinese giant NetEase has purchased a minority stake in French developer Quantic Dream, as the Detroit: Become Human maker turns its attention to the “development and creation of next-gen games”. The independent Parisian outfit has been a close partner of PlayStation for over a decade now, but
News EA Buckles Under Microtransaction Pressure in Belgium
Someone call Jim Sterling
Put the publisher under enough pressure and it seems that EA will buckle eventually. The company has announced that it plans to stop selling FIFA Points in Belgium, after the government declared loot boxes to be a form of gambling last year. For those of you who don’t know, FIFA Ultimate Team is an extremely popular mode...
News Cyberpunk 2077 Creative Director Leaves for Blizzard, Sparks Speculation
But of course
After spending six years working on Cyberpunk 2077 -- and almost 13 years at developer CD Projekt Red -- creative, narrative, and setting director Sebastian Stepien has moved on to pastures new. The veteran has left the company to join Blizzard in order to work on a currently unspecified project. It goes without saying that this...
News Sony's Not-So Secret Unannounced Studio Attracts More Talent
Team yet to be confirmed
Sony’s not-so secret San Diego studio – which is expected to be continuing the Uncharted series – has been bulking up for a good few months now, and Senior Game Designer Quentin Cobb tweeted about a new addition this week. James Martinchek is joining the team as Lead Animator, having previously worked on Uncharted 4: A...
News EA: 'We're Fully Committed to Making More Star Wars Games'
Just not that open world one
Yesterday, Kotaku reported that EA Vancouver's open world Star Wars title had been cancelled by the infamous publisher. Three sources claimed this to be true, and the project, codenamed Orca, has apparently been shelved in favour of something on a smaller scale. In response to these reports, EA has sent out a statement...
News Hitman Developer IO Interactive Opening New Studio in Malmö
Zlatan approves
Hitman 2 may not have set cash registers on fire, but Danish developer IO Interactive is expanding to Sweden with a new studio. Based in Malmö – the birthplace of LA Galaxy striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic – the fresh team will “strengthen IO Interactive’s commitment to deliver exceptional content to the Hitman franchise,...
News Indie Studio Behind Underrated Aer: Memories of Old Set to Shutdown
Old to new
Forgotten Key, the small indie developer behind 2017's Aer: Memories of Old is sadly shutting up shop in the very near future unless there's a "dramatic turn of events". "It’s with a heavy heart we have decided to prepare a shutdown of Forgotten Key, the place we have called home for the last 7 years," studio head Robin Hjelte writes...
News Rockstar and Real World Pinkerton Agency in Legal Dispute over Red Dead Redemption 2
Detective mode
In case you weren't aware, Pinkerton Consulting & Investigations is a real life detective agency, founded all the way back in 1850. Then known as Pinkerton National Detective Agency, the company was apparently very active in tracking down real outlaws at the time, and the name has become more or less synonymous with Western media...
News PS4 Has a Very High Software Attach Rate, Average Player Owns Around Ten Games
That's a lot
About a week ago, Sony posted a press release containing a whole bunch of impressive numbers. The PS4 has sold 91.6 million units as of 31st December 2018, while Marvel's Spider-Man has sold a staggering 9 million copies since its September launch. However, something that passed us by was the overall situ
Talking Point Could Sony Lease Out Its Dormant Franchises?
Want you back
Unlike its competitors, Sony reinvents itself with each subsequent generation. There are franchises that have stood the test of time, but generally we see the platform holder evolve as it transitions from console to console. Aloy, for example, will very likely be the poster child of the PlayStation 5 – a household name who only got...
News Destiny Devs 'Cheered and Popped Champagne' as Bungie Announced Break Up with Activision
Light without dark?
Bungie's broken up with Activision, if you haven't already heard. Coming to the conclusion that it was in the best interest of both parties not to continue their agreed contract over Destiny -- which saw Activision publish the property -- it's Bungie who now owns the sci-fi shooter. In other words, when it comes to Destiny,...
News Bungie Splits from Activision, Takes the Rights to Destiny
The light returns?
Destiny's ups and downs have been well documented, and judging from this breaking news, neither Activision nor Bungie were happy with how things were going. The publisher and developer have decided to put an end to their contract, with the rights to the Destiny property being transferred over to Bungie. Wow. "We have enjoyed a...
News THQ Nordic's Buying Spree Continues, Purchases Outcast IP
Not an outcast anymore
THQ Nordic spent a lot of time last year buying up studios and intellectual properties, and that trend looks set to continue in 2019. The latest purchase by the relentless publisher is Outcast, a cult hit adventure game that saw a PS4 remake a couple of years ago, named Outcast: Second Contact. The company acquired the...
News Gran Turismo Sport Shown at 8K on New Sony TV at CES 2019
4K is so 2018
Television manufacturers often play a demo reel on their brand new displays in order to best show off their products to the public. You know the ones -- there's usually footage of glitzy cityscapes, swimming polar bears, and fields of flowers, all of it beautifully crisp to entice shoppers. Well, Sony has been using Gran Turismo Sport...
News Sony Acquires Audio Engineering Firm Behind Multiformat Middleware Wwise
A Wwise decision?
Sony is purchasing Audiokinetic, the company behind the multiformat middleware technology Wwise. While you’re unlikely to have heard of this software, you will have seen its logo when booting up games before as it’s very popular. Despite the buyout – which will be completed by 31st January – the company will continue to...
News Sony: We'll Bring More Enhanced Experiences and Highly Anticipated Games in 2019
Company will continue to evolve
Sony’s plans for 2019 are pretty much shrouded in secrecy so far. We know that the company won’t be attending E3 2019 and we also know that it’s got Days Gone coming out in the near future, but beyond that – well, your guess is as good as ours. Among various pieces of corporate backslapping overnight, new...
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