Tag: Industry - Page 48
News Sony: The Economics Don't Work for Blockbuster Vita Games
Gulp
Despite seeing a strong year-over-year improvement in Japan, the PlayStation Vita continues to find itself in a weak position overseas. The system is incredibly popular among the few that own it – culminating in an outrageous software attach rate – but it’s failed to break into the mainstream, prompting major publishers to back away and...
News Believe It or Not, People Are Actually Joining Naughty Dog
Much wow
In perhaps the most over publicised instance of employee rotation, Naughty Dog has been painted as a doomed developer over the past few months. However, for every high-profile departure
News How's Sony Doing Financially Now That the PS4's Out?
Well, the only way is up
There’s good news for Sony overlord Kaz Hirai: the PlayStation 4 is selling spectacularly. Not even the most optimistic of industry analysts could have predicted that the next-gen system would sell over seven million units in its first six or so months on the market, but that’s exactly what it’s achieved, and it’s...
News The Last of Us' Lead Character Artist Michael Knowland Has Left Naughty Dog
Goodbye and good luck
In a series of events that's beginning to look as weird as the plot from a David Lynch film, yet another Naughty Dog staffer is packing up their bags and jumping ship. Michael Knowland, the incredibly talented lead character artist on The Last of Us, has reportedly left the studio. He's yet to reveal where he plans to peddle...
News Dark Souls Developer From Software Bought by Kadokawa
You are not dead
Niche developer From Software has been purchased by Japanese publisher Kadokawa, according to a report on Siliconera. The latter will apparently acquire 80 per cent of the Dark Souls studio’s stock, as part of a deal that’s set to be completed on 21st May. It’s unclear yet how much money has exchanged hands, but we’re...
News Sony Very Nearly Disbanded Its Entire First-Party Development Division
Sucker punched
Sony’s internal development efforts have always been good, but it wasn’t until the latter half of the previous generation that it really started to transform its first-party products into major selling points. Titles such as Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and God of War III were not just great games, they were genre defining – and...
News PlayStation Maker Ken Kutaragi Complimented Shuhei Yoshida Twice
And that was more than most
Ex-PlayStation president Ken Kutaragi may be the ‘Father of PlayStation’, but he had a tenuous relationship with his employees at best. Speaking as part of a question and answer session conducted by PlayStation 4 architect Mark Cerny, Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida recalled the discussion that preceded his...
News There's an Entire Team Working on PS4 Shooter The Division's Guns
Secret weapon
Ubisoft is known for its gigantic global development operations, but the recruitment of Red Storm to PlayStation 4 shooter Tom Clancy’s The Division is a little bit ridiculous. According to an official blog post on the French publisher’s website, the legendary Rainbow Six creator has been enlisted to design the ambitious online...
News First Mover's Advantage Key to Sony's Indie Lead, Says Curve Studios
A curve that sets things straight
The list of Curve Studios games available on PlayStation hardware is really quite impressive. So impressive, that we're about to demonstrate it to you in list form: Velocity Ultra PS3, Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark, Thomas Was Alone, Lone Survivor: Director's Cut, and
News It's Time to Start Making Plans for This Year's EGX London
Start queuing for The Order: 1886 now
With the indie titles of EGX Rezzed now little more than a distant memory – and a list of scribbled thoughts on this editor’s rather grubby notebook – our friends over at Eurogamer.net are already turning their attention to EGX London, the next major event hosted by the Gamer Network. Set to take place in...
News Ubisoft: We Will Continue to Support PS3 for Foreseeable Future
Life in the old dog yet
Assassin’s Creed: Unity, the next entry in Ubisoft’s stab happy series, will climb over current generation consoles. The sequel – which was announced last week – will be exclusive to systems such as the PlayStation 4, meaning that those who haven’t upgraded yet will miss out on the romp during the French Revolution...
News You Should Expect to See More British Developed Games in the Future
God save the games
When you think of British developers, studios such as Grand Theft Auto's Rockstar North and the Batman Arkham series' Rocksteady pop into mind. However, in the near future, the development of more AAA titles from this land of rolling green hills and royalty may not be so uncommon following tax breaks announced last week. Games...
News Uncharted PS4's Director Justin Richmond Departs Naughty Dog
Could the last one please turn out the lights?
Whip out your Sony studio boss bingo sheet, as yet another high-profile developer has bit the dust. The latest in the long line of executives to exit the manufacturer is Justin Richmond, who was acting as Uncharted PS4’s game director. His departure follows in the footsteps of Amy Hennig, who worked...
News High Profile Designer Seth Killian Has Resigned from Sony Santa Monica
Dropping like flies
Get out a pen and a mug of Horlicks – it's time to play Sony developer departure bingo. Most recently, Sony Santa Monica staffer Seth Killian has decided to jump ship, confirming the news mere weeks after the studio was ravaged with dismissals. The designer was famously involved w
News DriveClub Developer Evolution Studios Struck by Layoffs
Two other UK teams affected
We’re approaching the end of the fiscal year, which means that Sony’s still going through the process of downsizing some of its teams. Following redundancies at God of War developer Sony Santa Monica earlier in the month, the platform holder has now confirmed that there have been casualties at three of its British...
News The Lead Designer of inFAMOUS: Second Son Has Left Sucker Punch
Another one bites the dust
It's been a tough few weeks for Sony's Worldwide Studios. With the recent departures of several high profile developers, including Uncharted series director Amy Hennig, we're starting to notice a bit of a worrying trend. And it seems that yet another creative has joined the causality list, as Jaime Griesemer – the lead...
News Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Director Koji Igarashi Exits Konami
Whipping up a new studio
Koji Igarashi, the legendary developer best known for his work on the Castlevania franchise, has parted ways with his long-term employer Konami. According to an IGN report, the luminary’s last day with the Japanese company was on 15th March. He now intends to start his own studio, with a Kickstarter campaign no doubt...
News In Some Parts of the World, the PS4's Price Is Increasing
Going the wrong way
Price drops are common in this industry. It’s becoming increasingly regular for new releases to be discounted – both physically and digitally – shortly after launch, with patient players often rewarded with a bargain. Moreover, console cost adjustments frequently factor into a manufacturer’s hardware marketing roadmap,...
News SCEA President Jack Tretton Won't Be Dropping the Mic At Any More Sony Pressers
Goodbye old friend
Sony may have hit a homerun with the PlayStation 4 over the past few months, but it's undergoing a bit of an employment overhaul at the minute. Hot on the heels of layoffs at Sony Santa Monica and the departure of Uncharted creator
News Uncharted Franchise Director Amy Hennig Leaves Naughty Dog After 10 Years
The Last of Us author to take on the mantle
Long time Naughty Dog staffer Amy Hennig has recently left the Californian developer after 10 years of service, Sony has confirmed. Notable for her role as director and writer on all three Uncharted games, the storied scribe vacated her position on 3rd March. Thankfully, the Japanese giant was quick to...
News God of War Studio Sony Santa Monica Slashed by the Blades of Corporate Chaos
By Zeus' beard
Sony Santa Monica has been hit by layoffs today, the studio has confirmed. In a statement issued to IGN, the platform holder revealed that the move is a result of “resource re-alignment” and is a decision which it “hasn’t taken lightly”. The firm added that it has offered any affected employees “outplacement services and...
News There Are More Developers Working on PS4 Than Any Other Console
Teacher's pet
This week just keeps getting better and better for the PlayStation 4. With Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima proclaiming that the system is the "best console" currently available and Sony revealing that it has already sold over five million units, figures have now been released that show that a whopping one-in-five developers are...
News Ken Levine Closes the Booker on Irrational Games
BioShock studio caught in the Rapture
Irrational Games, the legendary developer best known for the BioShock franchise, is no more. Writing on the company’s official website, founder Ken Levine has confirmed that the studio is shutting down after an incredible 17 years of development. The outfit’s last ever release will be the second episode of...
News SCE London Studio Is Hastily Hiring For a New PlayStation 4 Exclusive
Listings of a vehicular variety
SCE London Studio has recently posted a job listing for a senior artist position in a team hard at work on an unannounced PlayStation 4 exclusive. The advertisement calls for an applicant capable of "the creation of environments and vehicle assets to a superb level of quality”, as well as the ability to "solve the...
News Virtue's Last Reward Sequel Sunk by Japanese Investors
Seek a way out
Kotaro Uchikoshi, the creator of Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward, opened a personal Twitter account for his English fans this week. Sadly, the reasoning behind this spelled bad news for the series' future. Despite the PlayStation Vita murder mystery and its Nintendo DS predecessor 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors being...
News UK Retailer GAME to Tackle Pre-Owned Market with GAMEtronics Stores
Fresh shops will still sell new goods, too
Focusing on pre-owned software, GAME has re-launched two of its stores under the new name GAMEtronics. The move will see the retailer lock horns with popular pre-owned outlet CEX. However, GAMEtronics will still sell new gaming hardware and software. The first two cities to secure the re-branded stores are...
News The Developer of Strider's PS4 Reboot Just Got Bought by, Er, Amazon
What the blades?
Double Helix Games is a developer that’s on the rise. Or at least, it was. Having dallied around with awful movie tie-ins such as G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra and Battleship, the company – made up of former Foundation 9 employees – got the opportunity to flex its creative muscles with Microsoft’s recent Killer Instinct reboot...
News PS4 Propels Sony Back to Profitability, but Kaz Hirai Vaporizes Vaio
All change in the television business, too
Oh no, it’s not financials day, is it? This disgruntled editor may have studied business for several years, but can’t seem to bring himself to look at a balance sheet these days. Nevertheless, our favourite electronics manufacturer has dropped a bit of a humdinger today, confirming that it’s dumping...
News Unannounced Need for Speed Title Canned as Focus Turns to Battlefield
Not fast enough
With the multi-million selling first-person favourite Battlefield standing toe-to-toe with genre juggernaut Call of Duty, EA has chosen to focus its efforts on the modern military brand – but not without some casualties. Ghost Games UK, which aided production on Need for Speed: Rivals, has been hit by layoffs over the past few...
News Sony Santa Monica Aiming to Encourage Collaboration in Colossal New Office
Expanding workforce in the process
The sunny Californian city of Santa Monica may be right at the heart of God of War creator Sony Santa Monica’s name, but the first-party developer has outgrown its current home and is moving south to Playa Vista this summer. The news comes on the back of a massive recruitment drive, which the studio hopes will...
Weirdness Sony Plans to Buy a Factory That Produces Parts for the Wii U
Wii U expecting that?
Sony has recently finalised its plans to purchase a new semiconductors factory, reports Japanese national TV channel NHK. What makes this acquisition slightly more interesting, however, is that the plant in question is most notable for producing the DRAM chip for the Nintendo Wii U. Our beloved Japanese giant plans to plonk ¥7...
News Investment Firm Encourages You to Steer Clear of Sony's Stock
Downward spiral
Sony’s no stranger to bad news of late, but investment firm Moody’s has published a humdinger for former PlayStation president Kaz Hirai to mull over while he tucks into his early morning porridge. Much like fellow credit ratings agency Fitch, the firm has cut the com
News Can UK's Broadband Cope with PlayStation Now?
Bandwidth bottleneck
With the recent announcement of the PlayStation Now cloud streaming service, the question that has been lingering in the air is whether our broadband connections can actually handle it. We've already been informed that a recommended speed of 5Mbps will be demanded in North America, but can the average consumer in the UK even...
News Want More PlayStation Vita Games? Thank the Skies for Unity
Join hands in joy
The tired old sentiment that the PlayStation Vita has “no games” has long been disproved, but even more software is never a bad thing. Fortunately, the system could be about to enjoy a healthy injection in its content catalogue, as Unity has announced that the latest version in its entry-level cross-platform game development...
News Hello Games Won't Delay No Man's Sky in the Wake of Flood
Reach for the stars
Indie developer Hello Games is back up and running at "full speed" after a flood devastated the studio on Christmas Eve. Despite the ordeal, its latest game – the hugely ambitious No Man's Sky – will not see a delay. "We won't let that happen," said managing director Sean Murray. "At times recently I've wanted to be...
News Wait, Japan Almost Got the PlayStation 4 First?
Missed it by that much
A few days ago, we reported on a decidedly average Japanese advertisement for Sony's next-gen marvel. Apart from its patently ho-hum premise, the biggest problem with the commercial was that it almost seemed to antagonise the long suffering Japanese public over the fact that they won't be getting the shiny black box until 22nd...
News Star Wars 1313's Creative Director Plots a Course for PS4
Not a Wookiee
Dominic Robilliard, the creative director on LucasArts’ unreleased Star Wars 1313, has fired up his jetpack and returned to Sony’s first-party fray. The developer – whose previous credits include London Studio’s underrated The Getaway games – has been working with the platform holder for over seven months now, though it’s...
News The Studio Behind Joe Danger and No Man's Sky Flooded on Christmas Eve
An unfortunate misfortune for Hello Games
Hello Games, the four-man developer behind Joe Danger and the recently announced No Man's Sky, has revealed on Twitter that its studio in Guildford has flooded. This was caused due to intense storms on the night of Christmas Eve, which broke the bank of a river close by. In a series of tweet
News 10 Per Cent of All Twitch Streams Since November Have Been from PS4
Stream and shout
Do you like arbitrary and potentially useless statistics? No? Well too bad, as a recent PlayStation Blog post has revealed a veritable treasure trove of bizarre PlayStation 4 facts, mostly pertaining to the console's robust social offerings. Truth be told, we think that after such an absurdly successful launch, Sony probably...
News Sony's Studio Liverpool Rises from the Ashes as Firesprite
They Liverpool
The closure of Studio Liverpool, formerly Psygnosis, came as a nasty and sudden shock to the wider video game community. Spearheading the much loved WipEout and Colony Wars franchises, it was undoubtedly one of Sony's most beloved first-party developers. We've not heard a great deal from the defunct company's former staffers, and...
Talking Point PS4 Proves That Consoles Are Alive and Kicking
On the pulse
We relish bad news like a kitten does catnip. As a species, it’s deep coded into our genetic makeup to pay utmost attention to the darkest parts of life and brush the positives under the carpet. Newspapers lead with murders rather than acts of bravery, television bulletins push cheerful clips to the tail-end of their schedules, and...
News Graphics Coder Corrinne Yu Dumps Microsoft for Naughty Dog
Already loving PS4
Programmers rarely ever take centre stage in the games industry, but Corrinne Yu has enormous pedigree behind the scenes. Having cut her teeth as an elite programmer on the classic adventure title King’s Quest for the Apple II, she adopted many game development roles before eventually winding up as the Director of Technology at...
Rumour PS4 Production Impaired by Poorly Treated Employees
So says one forum poster
If you’ve ever purchased an electronics product, chances are you own something that was manufactured by Foxconn. The colossal Taiwanese electronics giant employs over one million people, and has clients including Apple, Nintendo, and Sony. One of its current contracts includes the PlayStation 4, a product an intern has...
News PlayStation 3 Smashes 80 Million Worldwide Sales
Like hotcakes
Sony has announced in a press release today that, as of November 2nd, the PlayStation 3 has reached a total of over 80 million combined worldwide sales. That's right, our beloved black box has finally caught up to its competitor; the Xbox 360 reached this momentous milestone last month. Not content to rest on its 80 million laurels,...
TGS 2013 Western Publishers Are More Prepared for PS4, Says Sony
Platform holder explains console's delay in Japan
Sony’s making history with the PlayStation 4 by launching it in Western regions before its home territory. All previous prominent PlayStation launches – aside from the PSPgo – have deployed in Japan first, but the platform holder has decided to push the next generation console back until 22nd...
News Wait, So SEGA Now Owns Persona Developer Atlus?
Yes, it does
SEGA has tossed a big pile of cash at the feet of troubled holding group Index Corporation, and purchased Persona developer Atlus in the process. The company’s been sniffing around the flagging firm for some time, but won an auction to buy the bankrupt company in a deal estimated at around ¥14 billion ($140 million). According to the...
News There Was Very Nearly a World without Grand Theft Auto in It
Like nailing jelly to kittens
While we’re all chomping at the metaphorical bit to play Grand Theft Auto V, ex-DMA Design (now Rockstar North, of course) employees have revealed that the original PSone game almost didn’t make it to market. Chatting with The Guardian, producer and creative director Gary Penn explained that the project was a mess...
News You Shouldn't Worry About Sony's Relationship with EA
Best friends forever
EA may have given the impression that it’s jumped out of camp PlayStation over the past six months, but that couldn’t be further from the truth according to SCEE president Jim Ryan. While the North American giant has partnered with Microsoft and the Xbox One for virtually the entirety of its upcoming portfolio, that...
News David Cage: Microsoft Didn't Understand Our Goals with Heavy Rain
Quantic Dream pitched the title to Xbox maker
Heavy Rain could very well have soaked the Xbox 360 to its circuits, but Microsoft decided to pass on the project due to its child abduction plotline. Speaking as part of a BAFTA event in London overnight, Quantic Dream’s founder David Cage explained that the French studio actually pitched the project...
News Sony Prefers to Partner with Third-Party Titles That Are 'New and Fresh'
The company's Destiny
Take a quick glance at the Xbox One’s lineup, and you’ll see timed exclusive content coming out of the console’s ears. Microsoft has partnered with titles such as Battlefield 4, FIFA 14, and Call of Duty: Ghosts, whereas Sony has been a little quieter in this department. That doesn’t mean that it’s not out striking...
