Tag: Industry - Page 58
News Japanese Hardware Sales Do The Ol' Sony One-Two
Sony's took the top two spots once more in Japan, with the Playstation 3 and Playstation Portable topping the Japanese hardware charts
Sony's home console managed 38k sales, where their portable hit the 37k mark. The consoles were followed up by a bunch of Nintendo SKUs, with the PSPgo still floundering at the bottom of the charts. Hit the jump for...
News SEGA Confirms San Francisco Studio's Closure
SEGA's confirmed this morning that their San Francisco studio - responsible for the Iron Man and Golden Axe: Beast Rider games on the PS3 - has been shut down
SEGA issued a statement to IndustryGamers offering condolences to those employees whom are now unemployed. "Sega of America is sad to announce the closure of Sega Studios San Francisco...
News Blu-Ray Discs Are A-Getting Bigger
Blu-Ray discs are pretty huge
Traditionally they hold from 25-50GB on a single-layer, and 50-100GB on a dual-layer. Their size makes content such as God Of War III possible. But what if they were to get bigger? Well, they are. New 128GB BDXL discs are ready to go, but only for commercial usage. They won't work in your current PS3 because, well, the...
News Sony Account For 17% Of GameStop's New Product Puchased In Fiscal '09
Americans bought a lot of new games in 2009, but specifically, you guys over the pond bought a lot of new Sony products
According to an SEC filing for the past year, Sony products accounted for 17% of "new product purchases" from American games retail juggernaut GameStop in fiscal '09. Nintendo won the stakes with 23%, while Microsoft, EA...
News Japanese Game Market Shrinks By 0.6% In Fiscal '09
Today's date is March 31st
That means businesses everywhere stop talking about future endeavours, and start talking about... Past endeavours. That's right, the fiscal year has ended, specifically in Japan where publication Famitsu is reporting that the market in the East has shrunk by 0.6%. The publication reports that while software sales were up,...
News Former SCEE Executive David Reeves Joins Capcom Europe
Blimey - Capcom Europe's announced that they've appointed former SCEE exec of 15 years David Reeves as their COO
Reeves, who left Sony last year, starts his new position as of tomorrow. We don't think this is an April Fools joke.I established a close working relationship with Capcom during my time at Sony and have always admired its commitment to...
Rumour Insomniac Games To Go Multiplatform
It's never more than a few months before the Insomniac Games rumours jump to the forefront of the industry
The independently owned company have long maintained a strong partnership with Sony, but once again industry bumblings and anonymity are hinting that Insomniac will go multiplatform. Sony own both the Ratchet & Clank and Resistance...
News Square Enix Start Work On A Next-Gen Engine, Use Cloud Strife To Promote It
Square Enix has started work on a next-gen engine, and they've used an image of Cloud Strife to announce it
Take from that what you will. Check out Square Enix's recruit page to see the promotion. The company recruitment form reads: "At Square Enix, in anticipation of the appearance of next generation platforms, we've started development on a...
News GDC 10: Playstation Move Has A Very Low System Footprint
Waggle time
Perhaps opening the door for "optional" Playstation Move controls in a range of different content, and certainly suggesting that Playstation Move games can look as good as their DualShock counterparts, Sony has announced that Move takes just 1-2mb of the PS3's memory to run. The tiny amount of processing was announced as part of Sony's...
News GDC 2010: Sony Announce PhyreEngine Is Expanding To The PSP
Sony's today an announced an update concerning their free to use middleware application the PhyreEngine
The application, which was first announced in 2008, was originally designed to help smaller developers bring their games to the PS3, and has since found success with Critter Crunch, flower and Shatter. Today's update brings compatibility to the...
News Activision Practically Kill Call Of Duty In A Sweep Of Announcements
Remember Call Of Duty? Yeah it was a big deal for a little while
It'll continue to be a big deal for a while longer. But it kinda sounds like the franchise is done. In a whole pile of drama starting yesterday, Activision has fired the Infinity Ward bosses Vince Zampella and Jason West. Activision's also filed a document citing a human resources...
News Sony Strengthen European First-Party, Acquire Media Molecule
Media Molecule and SCE has today announced that they're getting hitched
That is — Sony has acquired Media Molecule making them an official first-part studio under the SCE Worldwide Studios banner. Obviously, if you didn't know, Media Molecule made the brilliantly innovative LittleBigPlanet.Since they burst onto the gaming scene, Media Molecule...
News Terrible News: Sony Computer Entertainment No Longer Called Sony Computer Entertainment
Update @ 11:18GMT: In light of further press releases and what-not we're actually really bloody confused
But what we understand is that Sony Computer Entertainment will become SNE, then the Playstation business will be separated back out into a new company called, erm, Sony Computer Entertainment. Ridiculous, right? That's what appears to be the...
News Playstation Portable Lineup To Be "Robust" In 2010
Remember the PSP? Yeah, there's not been so much great content on the system early this year, but it had a rip-roaring lineup in 2009
Sony's Rob Dyer reckons players shouldn't worry, as the PSP will be getting a pretty "robust" lineup in 2010. He told IndustryGamers:I think we had a great lineup last year, said Dyer. The biggest...
News Valve "Reconsidering" Playstation 3 Development At Long Last
We've been very vocal about Valve and their refusal to develop on Playstation 3
But thing have changed since Valve last shot their mouth off. Sony essentially re-marketed the Playstation 3 in the backend of last year, and the console has since emerged as a worthy contender in the console war, rather than a straddler. That's not totally changed...
News Playstation 3 To Bounce Back Strongly In 2010 Predict Industy Professionals
Industry boffins reckon that the Playstation 3 will have more success in 2010 than rival consoles the XBOX 360 and Nintendo Wii
It sounds like a bold claim, but a poll conducted by industry professionals on GamesIndustry.biz saw 34 per cent of boffins backing Sony's powerhouse, citing major releases such as Gran Turismo 5, Heavy Rain, God Of War...
News Ubisoft: Online Multiplayer Assassin's Creed Announced, New Driver On The Way
Ubisoft are finally set to put more resources into big budget Playstation 3 games, according to reports
They can start by announcing Splinter Cell: Conviction for PS3. With an operating loss predicted in the 2010 fiscal year, Ubisoft are to change their strategy for 2011's business year starting April 1st. They have a line-up of "major"...
News EA: "Innovative" Madden, Dead Space 2 & Need For Speed In The Coming Fiscal Year
EA's John Riccitiello was keen to offset further financial woes last night with news of a solid games line-up in the coming fiscal year
The boss said consumers could expect a great new version of Medal of Honor, a revitalized Need for Speed, Sims on console, FIFA in a World Cup year, an innovative and new take on Madden, Dead Space 2, Crysis an...
News Wives Of Rockstar Employees Accuse The Company Of Poor Working Conditions
Pissed off wives of Rockstar San Diego employees have formed a coalition to educate the public on the company's strenuous work hours and mistreatment of workers
"Initially, as work pressure in the office increases, so do the stress levels of employees. Recently, with the amount of stress that has been built up, there have been physical...
News Sony Are Increasing The Storage Capacity Of Blu-Ray Discs
If you're a developer planning on sticking more cut-scenes in your game, then rejoice
Sony and Panasonic have announced that they are planning to increase the storage capacity of the blu-ray disc from 25GB to 33.4GB. The report from Nikkei states the technology "assumes inter-symbol interference, which makes it difficult to base optical disc...
News Capcom Kinda Ditch The Wii, Claim "The Future Is Playstation & XBOX 360"
Capcom France's head-honcho - Antoine Seux - has declared a cull on the Wii after his company's light-gun shooter, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, did kinda rubbish at retail
The game only mustered 16,000 units in the three weeks since its launch back in November.This is the year of the emergence of so-called new console generation,...
News Jaffe Calls Out Sensationalist Headlines
Blah, blah, blah
To cut a long story short, we posted a story earlier this week about how David Jaffe had broken his long self-sanctioned silence in order to speak out against the ridiculous Australian ratings board. In that piece, we were keen to make note that it was good to see Jaffe back and to hear someone with some balls speak out against the...
News Traveler's Tales: PSPgo Will Die If Content Does Not Become Cheaper
According to Traveler's Tales founder John Burton, Sony's new PSPgo could die if the content does not get cheaper
"I own a PSP Go but don't want to buy LittleBigPlanet, for instance, as I can get it 20-percent cheaper on UMD from Amazon and could resell it once I'm finished with it," Burton explained. "But if I download it, I get no...
News EA Set To Cut Title Roster By 20% Next Year
EA release a lot of games
A lot of games. But with recent disruptions in the work-place, their output is set to change. EA's boss, John Riccitiello told Reuters that "quality" is increasingly the focus for EA, announcing plans to release just 40 games next year compared to the 60 in 2008. Furthermore, Riccitiello also predicted t
Can you Adam 'nd Eve it - Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare 2 is still top of the UK sales charts
Blimey! Try to contain yourselves, won't you. In other Modern Warfare 2 sales news, ELSPA have offered the game their prestigious Diamond award for whopping sales throughout the UK region. As you should well be aware reader, Modern Warfare 2 has sold lots...
News Analyst: Wii Bubble "Deflating," PS3 Poised To Dominate The Holidays
In an interview with Gamasutra, Cowen Group analyst Doug Creutz has placed his money firmly on Playstation 3 dominance this holiday season
According to Creutz, the "Wii bubble could be deflating," with the system's core audience holding off on video game purchases compared to last year.While we believe the Wii is likely to be a drag on...
A little earlier today, a slide on a Sony business presentation seemed to suggest that the company planned to start charging subscriptions for the Playstation Network
Kaz Hirai (via VG247) quashed these reports, ensuring that the PSN is to remain free to use, with subscriptions for "premium content" to be introduced.SCE will further...
News Sony Shoots For Catch-All Playstation Network Service
Sony said a while back that they planned to make all their products compatible with the Playstation Store
The company have further reinforced that aim today, with further details of a united Sony Online Service. According to a Sony presentation delivered this morning, Sony plan to use the same core infrastructure as the Playstation Store to deliver...
News Sony To Bring 3D Gaming To Playstation 3 By 2011
A stealthy announcement discovered in the latest Sony press release (via the Examiner) hints that Sony are to introduce fully featured 3D gaming to the Playstation 3 by 2011
The press release, which details Sony's 3D plans, hints at "3D gaming on PlayStation 3 in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011." It seems like the industry, and...
News Modern Warfare 2 Makes Activision Lots & Lots Of Money
It doesn't matter that DJ Hero was a flop because Activision are now wiping their bottom with cash
Why? Mainly because Modern Warfare 2 managed to earn the company a whopping $550million in five days. Apparently it trumps a number of huge entertainment launches such as The Dark Knight and Harry Potter.
News Confirmed: Pandemic Studios Closed Down, Brand To Live On
A tinge of sadness in the air this evening as EA confirm they have closed doors on Pandemic Studios, as rumoured this morning
According to an internal EA memo, "a core IP team" will move to Electronic Arts' Los Angeles office."I want to make it clear that the Pandemic brand and franchises will live on," Nick Earl, EA Games Label...
News Bobby Kotick Scoops A Cool $20 Million In Modern Warfare 2 Launch Week
The video game executive that every gamer loves to hate - Activision's Bobby Kotick - has made a cool $20million after selling 2million shares in the firm this week
The outrageous profit comes after shrewd business from Bobby on the week of Modern Warfare 2's launch. Is it possible to hate this man any more?
News October NPD: Uncharted 2: Among Theives Tops Charts, Playstation 3 Beats Out XBOX 360
Another NPD results post, another month, another fanboy war (we assume)
America's console and games sales charts are in. And they make for minor interesting reading. The Playstation 3's sales are down this month (after a mammoth month in September, that's to be expected) but Sony's high-definition system still managed to beat out Microsoft's XBOX...
News SURPRISE: Activision Planning More Call Of Duty & Guitar Hero For Next Year
Take that shocked look off your faces, people
We know it's extremely hard to believe but, yo, guess what - Activision are planning more Call Of Duty and Guitar Hero games for next year. The company that are never afraid to saturate the market stated in their Q3 financial report last week that we will see more Guitar Hero and Call Of Duty within the...
News Fancy A DualShock Table In Your Living Room?
Designer Stephane Perruchon loves the DualShock controller, reckoning it has "excellent ergonomics"
He didn't own a Playstation 3 until the new cheaper, slimmer system came around, reminding him how much he loved the DualShock design. So he decided to make a table in honour of it. We wonder if it will ever go into production.
News Randy Pitchford Calls Out Valve Over Playstation 3 Stance
Gearbox's Randy Pitchfod thinks Valve are "foolish" to not support Playstation 3 development
I noticed something on the net not too long ago. Doug Lombardi had to take a swipe at the PS3 again, and I thought it was foolish, Pitchford told OPM. I read it the same way I read fanboys. Like theres a guy who bought the Sony platform and hes a...
News Sony Reckon "New IP Is The Lifeblood Of The Industry"
Rehashing old IP is something that doesn't interest Sony at all
Of course, we'll always see sequels to popular Playstation franchises, but more than any other publisher this generation, Sony has also championed new IP in the likes of the Uncharted, Resistance and Motorstorm franchises. SCEE's vice president, Michael Denny thinks new IP is massively...
News Analyst: "The Wii Has Saved Sony"
So, Sony didn't make the Wii
They made the Playstation 3 instead. The Wii has been an absolute runaway success. So what in the world leads analysts DFC Intelligence to the conclusion that the Wii saved Sony. It's quite simple really - by keeping Microsoft's XBOX 360 in touch."The main danger Sony faced was that the Xbox 360 would become...
News Nintendo's Satoru Iwata: Wii & Playstation 3 Going Neck & Neck In Japan
Battle on
Chalk this down to a phenomenal turn-around in fortunes for SCE worldwide, or a drop in demand for Nintendo's wildly popular Wii system — Nintendo's president Satoru Iwata reckons that in their current climates the Wii and Playstation 3 are "neck and neck" in Japan. "A notable dip can be seen in sales of Wii this year; which is...
News Playstation 3 Sales Jump, PSP & PS2 Down
The divisions devoted to Sony's Playstation and VAIO businesses are reporting a 24
2 percent decrease in sales over the period ending September 2009 when compared to last year's figures. "This decrease," states Sony, "was mainly due to lower VAIO PC and game sales." Sony also claimed that lower PS2 sales alongside the...
Rumour PAIN Developer Idol Minds Lays Off More Than Half Its Staff
Kotaku have reported that Idol Minds, the company best known for developing PAIN, have laid of more than half their staff
Apparently, the original team of 46 has been scaled back right down to just 20 employees. Kotaku reports that the lay-offs may be because of budget cuts from Idol Minds' long time publisher partners, Sony. To be fair, we've seen...
News Need For Speed Franchise Sells 100,000,000 Games
100,000,000 games are a lot of games
In fact, if you stacked them all on top of each other, they'd reach the moon. We're actually not sure about that, but it sure as heck sounded good! Since 1994 (that's 15 years folks!) 15 games have been released in the Need For Speed franchise. They've launched in 22 languages in over 60 countries. Players have...
News Sony: Third Parties Are Not Required To Publish PSP Games On The Playstation Store
This is bemusing
We'd assumed post the release of the PSPgo, on October 1st, all companies would have to ready a Playstation Store compatible version of any PSP game they launch. Not so according to Sony's Eric Lempel, in an interview with Joystiq. Apparently it's up to each publishers discrestion."It's up to individual third parties to decide...
News Crytek's CryEngine 3 Is Totally Available Now
If you're a game developer type, you're probably really excited that Crytek's CryEngine 3 games engine is totally available now
Aside from offering cutting edge next-generation graphics, CryEngine 3 is able to simultaneously test games on PC, PS3 and XBOX 360; so even if you don't know how to develop for the PS3's Cell - the CryEngine 3 will...
News Ready At Dawn's New Engine Supports All Console Systems
When we spread the news that Ready At Dawn had developed a new video games engine, we didn't know the technology stretched as far as the Wii aswell
And even after Joystiq went straight to the source to find out, we're still unclear. Ready At Dawn's president Didier Malenfant wouldn't ouright mention the Wii, just support for all console systems...
News Ready At Dawn Readying Ready-Made Cross Platform Engine
Ready At Dawn are responsible for some of the best PSP games: namely God Of War: Chains Of Olympus and Daxter
They also handled the Wii port of Okami. Now they've made their own engine for the Playstation 3, PSP and XBOX 360. It's craftily titled: Ready At Dawn Engine. The engine is said to offer a one-stop shop for cross-platform game development...
News Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime Will Not Be Buying A PSPgo
Nintendo of America's front man, Reggie Fils-Aime has confirmed he has absolutely no interest in anything Sony do once again
Following on from his, "it's hard to say to say something nice about the PS3" quote from earlier in the year, Fils-Aime has claimed Sony's PSPgo has a "fundamental concept problem". Never one to shy away...
News Timothy Bender Joins SCEA Ahead Of Sony's "Most Aggressive Holiday Season" Yet
The dude behing LiveScribe and LeapFrog, Timothy Bender, is to join SCEA
Raise your glasses folks! Tim has been appointed the role of Senior Vice President of Sales for Sony Computer Entertainment America, meaning his job is to make sure everyone knows how downright awesome the Playstation brand is. His boss, CEO Jack Tretton, had some nice things...
News Insomniac Games Are Named One Of The Best In California
Insomniac Games have consistently ranked as one of the "top ten places to work in California"
At time of writing though, they're one of the top five, thanks to a poll based on employee feedback. Who wouldn't want to work for the team behind Resistance and Ratchet & Clank mind? Oh, and they're hiring.
