Tag: Industry - Page 40
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...
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...
News Sony Data Shows Digital Sales Continue to Grow on PS4
PlayStation Store taking over
The transition to digital storefronts like the PlayStation Store on consoles is gradually growing every year, and it won’t be long now before its sales eclipse physical ones. New data from Sony’s latest financial report shows that in the quarter that ended 31st March, 2018, an impressive 43 per cent of the...
News PS4 Closes in on PS3 with 79 Million Units Shipped Worldwide
Sony targets 95 million by this time next year
The PlayStation 4 will soon surpass the PlayStation 3’s install base just over four years into its lifespan, as Sony’s latest financial report has revealed that it’s shipped 79 million units of its current console worldwide. The number is accurate as of 31st March, with the platform holder...
Report Quantic Dream Suing French Media Over Work Condition Reports
Round two?
Detroit: Become Human launches next month, but developer Quantic Dream is in the eye of a storm. Reports from French media earlier in the year documented the purported “toxic” culture at the company, which the studio has since denied. Bosses David Cage and Guillaume de Fondaumière had threatened to sue the likes of Le Monde
News Valve Acquires Firewatch Developer Campo Santo
In the valley of Gaben
Valve has acquired acclaimed indie developer Campo Santo, the team behind vibrant walking simulator Firewatch and the upcoming In the Valley of Gods. While the studio will relocate to Bellevue, it’ll continue to operate autonomously, meaning that it will still be making its own games on its own terms. Presumably it’ll just...
News Housemarque Teases New Game Reveal Ahead of Industry Talk
What could it be?
You may recall that, a little while back, Housemarque declared it was done with arcade games following poor sales. This is a massive shame, as the Finnish developer has delivered some absolutely stellar shoot-em-ups -- Resogun and Nex Machina, take a bow -- over the years. This news left us wondering what it could possibly be...
News PlayStation's Relationship with Amazon Worsens As PSN Codes Are Dropped
Update: PSN codes back in USA
What started with God of War going out of stock on Amazon UK seems to have escalated over the past few days, as now it’s impossible to purchase PlayStation Network vouchers from the popular retailer in the USA as well. The cards – which are delivered instantly via email – are available in various monetary...
News Sony Is Creating a New Game Development Team in San Diego
And it could be working on Uncharted
Sony insinuated recently that it intends to “concentrate” on first-party production moving forwards, strengthening its output of PlayStation exclusives. And it sounds like the first stages of those plans have been put into motion, as job listings suggest that it’s creating a new development team in...
News PS5 Is a Long Way Away, Or So Sources Say
Developers weigh in on recent rumours
The next PlayStation will release later this year, one ambitious rumour claimed recently. But according to a Kotaku report penned by the ever-reliable Jason Schreier, that’s extremely unlikely to be the case – in fact, we may be waiting until at least 2020 for the so-called PlayStation 5, just like
News NIS America Apologises for Comments About PlayStation
President had insinuated Sony doesn't care about company
NIS America president Takuro Yamashita probably said a touch too much in his interview with MCV, where he claimed that Sony isn’t “friendly with small publishers like us”. The suit has issued a public apology to both SNK and PlayStation, retracting the comments in a hasty attempt to...
Soapbox A Love Letter to Video Game Developers and Artists
Gabriella puts forward her argument for games as art
I’m an hour into replaying Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, a game that captivated me in 2017. I meander through the streets, enthralled by its ridiculous attention to detail and bask in its marvellous colours. I put my controller down for a minute, and I’m suddenly struck by the realisation...
News Grand Theft Auto V Has Made More Money Than any Other Entertainment Product Ever
Crime does pay
We already know that Rockstar's mega-hit crime-'em-up, Grand Theft Auto V, is the best selling game of all time, but a new report from MarketWatch reveals that it's comfortably the most profitable game ever. In fact, it's made more cash than any film, album, or other entertainment product in history. Across all p
News NIS America: Sony Isn't Friendly with Small Publishers Like Us
"They just care about big Japanese companies"
NIS America, the publisher of franchises such as Disgaea and Danganronpa, does not appear to be all that happy with Sony at the moment. Speaking with MCV about a range of subjects – including its partnership with Nintendo on SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy – president Takuro Yamashita...
News Legendary Sony E3 2015 Press Conference Could Have Been Even Better, Says Adam Boyes
Woah!
We're all in agreement that Sony's E3 2015 press conference was the company's best, at least in recent years, right? The golden trifecta of The Last Guardian, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and Shenmue III absolutely brought the house down, and it's a feat that we're not sure the Japanese giant will ever be able to top. Interestingly, however, it...
News Hajime Tabata's Luminous Productions Is Monkeying Around on More Than Just Games
Evolution
Remember a few days ago when we reported that Square Enix has a new studio headed by Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata? Well, it appears this new studio, Luminous Productions, is working on more than just games. On the NHK website, as spotted by Kotaku,
News Final Fantasy XV Director Hajime Tabata to Lead New Studio within Square Enix
Luminous Productions
In a news release published today, Square Enix has announced the formation of a new studio based in Tokyo, Japan, with Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata tasked with leading it. Tabata is famous for having come in and steered what was then called Final Fantasy Versus XIII to safety after a tumultuous development...
News After Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt Red Plans to Release Another 'AAA RPG' By 2021
Big time
It feels like we've waited an age to see something more of Cyberpunk 2077, but developer CD Projekt Red is already looking past its upcoming project and into the unknown future beyond. Obviously this is the kind of long term planning that companies need to consider, but it still makes for some interesting reading. Indeed, the studio's...
News THQ Nordic and Nickelodeon Join Forces to Revive Old Titles
"I'm ready"
Here's something we bet you weren't expecting to read this afternoon: THQ Nordic has just announced a new partnership with Nickelodeon. Together, the companies aim to bring back a bunch of old games based on Nickelodeon's shows. Here's the full list of game titles as provided by THQ Nordic: Avatar: The Last Airbender Back At The...
News Ubisoft Fights Off Vivendi Vultures Once and for All
Flawless boardroom victory
Ubisoft has countered Vivendi’s attempted hostile takeover with a flawless boardroom victory that will see it buy back a whopping 30,489,300 shares. The move will see Tencent invest in the French publisher, as it attempts to leverage the firm’s intellectual property in its native China. More importantly, Vivendi will...
News CD Projekt Red Opens New Studio to Help with Cyberpunk 2077
Consists of 18 "industry veterans"
The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red has announced that's opened a new studio in south-western Poland. Dubbed CD Projekt Red Wrocław, the team consists of 18 "talented industry veterans" at its core. Previously, the outfit was known as Strange New Things. "Wrocław is one of the biggest and most...
Soapbox Sony Has Become Far Too Quiet
Enjoy the silence?
Actions speak louder than words, but I still can’t help feeling that Sony’s become far too quiet over the past few years. At the start of the PlayStation 4 era, this was a company that was firing on all cylinders when it came to community outreach; Worldwide Studios executive Shuhei Yoshida was one of the biggest names on...
News A Way Out Developer Hazelight to Receive All Profits, EA 'Not Making a Single Dollar'
"All I've got is support from EA"
The man leading development on A Way Out, Josef Fares, is notorious for his outspoken nature. He's certainly an entertaining and charismatic figure, but he clearly isn't shy when it comes to speaking about the business side of things. Fares has been touring A Way Out for previews recently, and an interesting quote...
News Classic FM and PlayStation Join Forces for Live Orchestral Concert
Music to our ears
Classic FM, the UK's specialist classical music radio station, is teaming up with PlayStation to bring to life an orchestral concert in celebration of video game music. According to GamesIndustry.biz, the event, known as PlayStation in Concert, will feature music from across PlayStation's history, including PSone, PS2, PS3, and...
News The Last of Us' Neil Druckmann Promoted to Vice President of Naughty Dog
Game Directors and Lead Designers for The Last of Us 2 announced
Naughty Dog veteran Neil Druckmann has been promoted to the position of Vice President at the Californian developer. According to President Evan Wells, this is in recognition of Neil’s “expanded role, contributing on critical, studio level decisions”. The former programmer will...
News Valve Promises to Start Shipping Games Again
We're GLaDOS to hear it
Valve used to be one of gaming’s most acclaimed developers, shipping series like Half-Life and Portal on PlayStation. However, over the past decade it’s increasingly turned its attention to PC-based digital storefront Steam and its roster of competitive multiplayer titles like DOTA 2. But speaking at a press event...
News Ubisoft Is Breaking Ground with AI That Helps Game Developers Fix Bugs
The future is now
Well this is interesting, isn't it? As reported by Wired, Ubisoft's research and development division has unveiled an artificial intelligence that helps game developers catch bugs. The AI is called Commit Assistant, and it's basically designed to spot potential issues before programmers finalise their work. Apparently,...
News Ubisoft Buys Blue Mammoth Games, Makers of Popular Free-to-Play Fighter Brawlhalla
On the up
Blue Mammoth Games, the relatively small studio behind hit free-to-play fighting game Brawlhalla, has been acquired by mega publisher Ubisoft. According to the press release, Blue Mammoth Games is made up of just 21 team members, so Ubisoft's certainly going for quality over quantity here. It's an interesting story because these days the...
News Sony Doubling Down on PlayStation Exclusives in Corporate Reshuffle
First-party more important than ever
Sony has reiterated its commitment to first-party franchises as part of an organisational reshuffle that will see some of its most forward-facing executives promoted up the corporate ladder. Shawn Layden, who will continue to front Sony Interactive Entertainment America and act as the Chairman of Worldwide...
News The Bartlet Jones Supernatural Detective Agency Shuts Up Shop
Drawn to Death developer is done
David Jaffe is in the process of shutting down The Bartlet Jones Supernatural Detective Agency, which developed the divisive Drawn to Death. You may remember earlier in the year there was a project cancellation which prompted a “vast majority” of the staff to be laid off. Now the organisation is no more. A
News ESRB Adding 'In-Game Purchases' Label to Games Following Loot Box Outcry
Box to box
Microtransactions and loot boxes have become an increasingly hot topic over the last... Well, for what feels like a very, very long time. Governments have had their say, gambling commissions have weighed in on the situation, and the internet's obviously been going ballistic. There's been a lot of noise, then, but has anything...
News Bethesda Softworks Was 2017's Best Publisher, According to Metacritic
Rating by numbers
Media score aggregate site Metacritic has unveiled some new statistics this week, revealing its list of publishers that performed the best in 2017. To calculate this, it's taken all of a publisher's games released last year and averaged their scores, and figured out the percentage of games that have received what Metacritic...
News New Study Suggests Only 6% of People Don't Spend Money on Microtransactions
69% are fine with cosmetic stuff
Well here's a study that makes for some interesting reading. A report entitled Gaming Today, which is based on an online discussion held by figures from across gaming and technology, suggests that the most people really don't care all that much about microtransactions in their video games. Based on one particular...
News CD Projekt Red Wades in on Loot Box Debate
Meanwhile, a U.S. Senator calls for investigation
After Hawaiian politician Chris Lee proposed government action against loot boxes earlier this week, the ongoing debate surrounding them has showed no signs of stopping. Now, CD Projekt Red has voiced its opinions on the subject. Marcin Iwiński, co-founder of the beloved Witcher developer, said in...
News Mafia III Developer Hangar 13 Hit With Job Cuts
2K reduces staff
A new report from Kotaku states that Hangar 13, the studio behind 2016's Mafia III, has suffered a significant number of layoffs. Publisher 2K told Kotaku that staff reductions have been made at Hangar 13 "in order to ensure that the studio’s resources are properly aligned with its long-term development plans". Their statement...
News THQ Nordic Now Owns Metro, Dead Island, Saints Row, More in New Acquisition
Publisher purchases Koch Media
THQ Nordic has felt like a bit of a B-team player for a while, re-releasing a lot of its back catalogue and slowly accumulating more and more IPs. It seemed that no one was really paying them much attention, but that may be about to change; the publisher has just made a serious acquisition in the purchase of Koch Media...
News Hawaii's Government Proposes Action Against Loot Boxes
Loot out
Everyone's probably tired of hearing about it, but it seems like we still haven't seen the end of the Star Wars Battlefront 2 loot box controversy's consequences. In what is a landmark for laws regulating games - something scarce in most countries until now - Representative Chris Lee of Oahu has proposed two bills to the Hawaii State...
News Capcom Chops Back Vancouver Branch as Dead Rising Sequel Is Dialled Down
Unannounced game cancelled
As many as 50 employees have been laid off at Dead Rising 4 developer Capcom Vancouver, according to a Kotaku story citing sources and social media reports. The cutbacks include the cancellation of a project believed to be set in an alternate reality New York, as well as changes to the next Dead Rising title, which had...
News PlayStation Profits Soar as PS4 Reaches 76.5 Million Units
It prints money
Sony has released its financial results from the quarter ending 31st December, and it's showing some impressive numbers once again. PlayStation 4 hardware sales were actually down year-on-year, from 9.7 million to 9 million, but the total number of units is now at 76.5 million. The console enjoyed its best ever calendar year, moving...
News Sony Management Shifts See CEO Kaz Hirai Stepping Down
Will become Chairman
In a recent press release, Sony has announced a few changes to its management structure. CEO Kazuo Hirai, who has been in the top seat for six years, will be replaced by current CFO Kenichiro Yoshida. Kaz will instead adopt the roles of Director and Chairman. These changes are effective from 1st April 2018. Hirai-san led the...
News Ridiculous Rumour Suggests Microsoft Is Eyeing Up EA
Unlikely acquisition seems very unlikely
In arguably the most bizarre rumour we’ve read since Shenmue III and Final Fantasy VII were being touted as potential announcements at E3 2015, there’s bonkers talk of Microsoft lining up an acquisition of Electronic Arts – the publisher of FIFA and Madden. The actual basis for the...
News Hyper Light Drifter Designer Leaves Square Enix Montreal After Game Cancellation
"The business strategy of the studio shifted"
Former Hyper Light Drifter designer Teddy Diefenbach today announced on his personal website that he has voluntarily vacated Square Enix Montreal after the publisher terminated his team's project. He describes in his post that it was a "dream role", but that the "business strategy of the studio shifted"...
News Twisted Metal Maker David Jaffe's Studio Struck with Layoffs
Project cancelled
David Jaffe’s verbose indie studio The Bartlet Jones Supernatural Detective Agency has been struck with layoffs following the cancellation of an unannounced project. The team is perhaps best known for Drawn to Death which, shall we say, divided public opinion. To be honest, we’re probably the only publication on the planet that...
Talking Point Could Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass Model Work on PS4?
Disruptive business strategy could change games forever
At a time where Bethesda is putting out commercials to celebrate single player games, a new business model from Microsoft threatens to disrupt the industry as we know it today. The Redmond firm has announced an update to its Xbox Game Pass subscription service, which will see all of its...
News 'People Ask for Story-Based Games, But Don't Necessarily Buy Them'
Uncharted creator Amy Hennig weighs in
The cancellation of Amy Hennig’s single player Star Wars title last year caused controversy regarding the state of story-driven, single player games. Many hardcore gamers argued that they’re starting to feel left behind, as multiplayer releases become increasingly prominent. The climate even prompted...
News Activision Boss to Leave Company After 8 Years in March
He's had a good run
Eric Hirshberg, Activision's talkative CEO, will be leaving the publisher this March following eight years of service. Hirshberg has been in charge of overseeing some of the company's biggest properties, including Call of Duty, Destiny, and Skylanders. Fair to say that he's been an important part of the business for a while...
News Sony's Third-Party Relations Chief Exits After a Year
Revolving door
The replacement for Adam Boyes in one of PlayStation’s most important positions has left the company after just a year, according to a Games Beat report. Ex-Harmonix chief Florian Hunziker was recruited in January 2017 as Head of Third-Party Developer Relations to fill the shoes of the aforementioned charismatic suit, but has...
News A New Alien Shooter Is in Development for PS4
Fox expanding gaming focus
FoxNext Games is the gaming branch of 20th Century Fox, and it's expanding the scope of its game development. The company has acquired developer Cold Iron Studios, and will be putting it to work on an all-new shooter in the Alien universe. Details on the game itself are virtually non-existent, but it's certainly...
