Tag: Industry - Page 16
News GDC 2020 Postponed Due To The Coronavirus Outbreak
"we fully intend to host a GDC event later in the summer"
After close consultation with partners and the game development industry and community, this year's Game Developers Conference – scheduled to take place in March – has now been postponed. A statement on the GDC website said the plan was to host the annual event later on in summer and...
News Animal Crossing: New Horizons Nintendo Talk Announced For GDC 2020
Presented by Hisashi Nogami and Aya Kyogoku
The Game Developers Conference has announced it will be hosting a special talk about the creation of Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Nintendo Switch. This session will be presented by the game's producer Hisashi Nogami and director Aya Kyogoku. Here's a brief description of what will be covered...
News The Witcher 3 Switch Dev Saber Interactive Snapped Up By THQ Nordic Parent Company
In a deal worth up to $525m
Embracer Group, the parent company of THQ Nordic, has bought Saber Interactive, the development studio behind Switch ports of games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Vampyr. The deal consists of an initial $150m fee with a maximum earn-out of $375m, depending on the fulfilment of agreed milestones. It also means that...
News Untitled Goose Game Grabs Game Of The Year At DICE 2020 Awards, Here Are All The Winners
Nintendo takes several awards, too
Overnight, the 2020 D.I.C.E. Awards (Design Innovate Communicate Entertain) took place with some of gaming's best titles being recognised for their tremendous achievements over the past year. Taking the most prized award of all - Game of the Year - was the one and only Untitled Goose Game. The honky little indie...
News Nintendo, Xbox And Multiple Third-Party Publishers Commit To E3 2020
After Sony and Geoff pull out
E3 2020 is expected to be slightly different this year, as it transforms into a "fan, media, and influencer event". Despite these changes, the show will go on. In a press release on its official website, the Entertainment Software Association has confirmed many of the major players – including Nintendo –
And 17% are currently working on one
Later this year, Microsoft and Sony are expected to launch their next-generation of video game hardware. It has raised questions about the future of the Nintendo Switch and while many analysts still believe it will be the best-selling system of 2020, there are some concerns about developers moving onto bigger...
News New Super Lucky's Tale Dev Playful Studios "Significantly" Reduces Full-Time Staff
"we've dared to dream big"
Last year was an exciting and busy time for Playful Studios, with the release of New Super Lucky's Tale on the Nintendo Switch. Unfortunately, though, we're sad to report the company has had to lay off a portion of full-time staff, effective immediately. In an open message on the Playful's website, founders Paul Bettner...
News GameStop Subsidiary EB Games Closing 19 "Unprofitable" Stores Across Australia
By the end of this month
It's been revealed the GameStop subsidiary EB Games will be closing the doors of 19 of 300 plus stores across Australia by the end of January. In a statement provided to Kotaku Australia, the nationwide video game retailer explained how it was "constantly evaluating its property portfolio" and "after careful consideration"...
News Level-5 Realises Fans Don't Like Delays, But Does It To Make Its Games Better
The president wants to "properly build up titles"
The developer and publisher behind series like Inazuma Eleven, Professor Layton and Yo-Kai Watch had a relatively busy year in 2019 – announcing and localising a bunch of games while experiencing some troublesome delays at the same time. In the late
News Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa Thinks Cloud Gaming Is "A Long Way Off"
Dedicated hardware isn't going away
Last month, Nintendo of America's former president Reggie Fils-Aimé predicted cloud gaming would take off over the next decade as technology steadily evolves and download speeds increase. Obviously, right now, the video game industry is still in the earlier experimental phases with projects like Microsoft xCloud...
News CD Projekt Signs New Deal With The Witcher Author Andrzej Sapkowski
Geralt is in safe hands
Although Netflix's new show The Witcher is making headlines around the globe right now, if it wasn't for CD Projekt's video game version of Geralt, the entire series based on Andrzej Sapkowski's novels might not even be as well-known or successful as it is today. With this in mind, it comes as a relief to hear the Polish...
News Dangen Entertainment CEO Steps Down After Harassment Allegations Surface
Update: Statement released by the new CEO
Update - Fri 20th Dec, 2019 04:00 GMT: Dangen Entertainment's new CEO Dan Stern has published a new statement on the company's website, explaining how Dangen plans to resolve its developer issues and move forward. Below is Stern's entire statement: As part of the transition following our statement on...
News Nintendo Of America Has 14 Internships Up For Grabs In Summer 2020
Have you got the chops?
If you've always dreamt of getting your foot in the door and working for your favourite video game company, Nintendo of America has a selection of internships open for applications on its careers website. As noted on reddit by user Jeezy1296, the 14 available positions are predominantly at the firm's Redmond, Washington...
News The Game Awards GOTY Is Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
A surprising outcome
The Game Awards has just concluded for another year. So who won? Well, it wasn't Death Stranding or Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as predicted. In the end, the action-adventure game Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC took out the title. Here's a video replay of this "spectacular" win:
News Luigi's Mansion 3 Wins Best Family Game Of 2019
Nintendo dominated the category
Unsurprisingly, a Nintendo game won the best family game award at the 2019 Game Awards. The company filled every slot in this particular category, and in the end, Luigi's Mansion 3 took out the title. It beat Ring Fit Adventure, Super Mario Maker 2, Yoshi's Crafted World and the best-fighting game award-winner,
News Fire Emblem: Three Houses Crowned Strategy Game Of The Year
A critical hit
It's been a great year for the Nintendo Switch, with many top tier games released just about every month. One of the biggest highlights was Fire Emblem: Three Houses, developed by the talented team at Intelligent systems. We praised the game itself when it arrived in July and we're glad to say it's now been recognised at this year's...
"The same general game, but now it's version five or six"
Reggie "The Regginator" Fils-Aimé, former Nintendo of America President, has been discussing - among many other things - how Nintendo believed that before the Wii the games industry was in trouble, with stagnation setting in and increasing complexity in games blocking growth. Speaking with...
News Codemasters Acquires Project CARS Dev Slightly Mad Studios
Racing ahead
During the Wii U generation, London-based developer Slightly Mad Studios was working on a game called Project CARS. It was meant to be the definitive racing sim for Nintendo's system at the time but got cancelled in 2015. The final release (on other platforms) was well-received and a sequel followed in 2017. Fast forward to earlier...
News CD Projekt Red Not Worried About VR, As It Remains A "Very Small" Market
Senior VP of business development says it's extremely niche
Virtual Reality has been touted as the next big thing in the video game industry. There are high-end headsets available for PC, and on the console front, Sony has released a more affordable experience for the PlayStation 4. Even Nintendo had some fun with this idea earlier this year when it...
News Chinese Video Game Giant Tencent Wants To "Create Console Games With Nintendo Characters"
And appeal to players overseas
Earlier this year in April, Tencent was given the approval to start selling the New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe Switch bundle in mainland China. The news saw Nintendo's shares increase by more than 13 percent and Tencent followed this up by forming a "Nintendo cooperation department" to help manage the launch. Since...
News Hamster Corporation Is Now 20 Years Old
Getting better with age
If you love old school video games, you're probably a fan of Hamster Corporation. In recent years, the talented emulation experts at this company have spent their time re-releasing classic titles on modern systems, under the 'Arcade Archives' banner. As of yesterday, the Japanese publisher turned 20 years old. To celebrate...
News The Overwatch 2 Leak Was Extremely Demoralising For The Development Team
"You feel totally deflated"
Like many other BlizzCon 2019 announcements this weekend, the Overwatch 2 one was leaked ahead of the opening ceremony. In a follow-up interview with Kotaku Australia, Overwatch lead designer Jeff Kaplan expressed how leaks can be "extremely demoralising" for developers and explained how lack of context can often result...
News It Looks Like AlphaDream's Last Project Was Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games
Before filing for bankruptcy
Last month, it was discovered the Japanese developer AlphaDream filed for bankruptcy after the development costs of its projects got the better of it. The company was best known for its Mario & Luigi RPG series and had most recently released Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey on the...
News Ubisoft's Goal Is To Make All Of Its PvP Games Support Cross-Play
And it's "well on the way"
As cross-platform play becomes increasingly popular, more third-party companies are starting to make it a standard feature within their games, as it's a great way of sustaining and uniting communities. Ubisoft's free-to-play arena fighter Brawlhalla is one of the latest titles to add cross-platform multiplayer support...
News Reggie Inducted Into Video Game Hall Of Fame With Life Time Achievement Award
A living legend
The former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé – who was replaced by Doug Bowser earlier this year – has received the prestigious "Walter Day Life Time Achievement Award" from the International Video Game Hall of Fame. Triforce, who "was always first in line" at Nintendo's launch events, put forward the nomination...
News Port Specialist Virtuos Advises Other Devs To Not Treat The Switch "As A Secondary Platform"
"Switch is a great way to invest in the future"
In the same interview with GameIndustry.biz, Virtuos' vice president of games Elijah Freeman advises the video game industry to not treat the Nintendo Switch as a secondary platform, as it is an investment in the future and in many cases can rejuvenate brands. The first thing we recommend is not...
News Virtuos Only Interested In Offering Switch Players The Best Ports Possible
"we view 'bespoke' versions as tailored versions"
One of the best port specialists in the video game industry right now is Virtuos. On the Switch front, it has helped bring games like Starlink: Battle for Atlas and Dark Souls: Remastered to the hybrid platform, and most recently assisted with The Outer Worlds. In an interview with G
News Mario & Luigi RPG Dev AlphaDream Files For Bankruptcy
After finding itself 465 million yen in debt
AlphaDream, the Japanese game development studio behind the Mario & Luigi RPG series and several other titles on Nintendo platforms, has filed for bankruptcy. The news comes from Yahoo! Japan, which reports that the company's revenue has been disappointing as of late with development costs...
News Australia's National Film And Sound Archive To Preserve Locally Made Games
Game saver
Now that the digital age has arrived, video game preservation is arguably more important than ever. Fortunately, steps are slowly being taken around the world to ensure this industry's rich history lives on for the benefit of future generations. Down under, the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia has announced it will begin to...
News Nintendo Shares Rise To Highest Point In 15 Months As Switch Lite Launch Nears
Happy times ahead?
Shares in Nintendo climbed to the highest point seen in over 15 months yesterday, just days ahead of the release of its latest hardware revision, the Nintendo Switch Lite. Nintendo's stock ended Tokyo trading at ¥42,390 on Wednesday, after peaking at ¥42,570 just hours before. According to VGC, this is the highest close seen...
News E3 Reportedly Set To Be Rebranded As A "Fan, Media And Influencer Festival" Next Year
With "queuetainment" and 10,000 more attendees
The Entertainment Software Association is set to make some rather significant changes to the annual gaming trade event, E3. Starting from E3 2020, it hopes to turn the event into a "fan, media, and influencer festival". The news comes from an E3 2020 planning document, as reported on by GameDaily.biz...
News Ubisoft Won't Be Moving Away From Open-World Game Design Anytime Soon
Top priority
During an interview with GameIndustry.biz recently, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot spoke about how the company wanted to expand on its open-world game design, present in series such as Assassin's Creed, Watch Dogs and even the recent release Starlink: Battle for Atlas. He was asked if there was any chance a game series like Assassin's...
News Nintendo Files Lawsuit Against ROM Website Offering Nearly 300,000 Switch Downloads
And "more than 500,000" 3DS downloads
Nintendo's crackdown on piracy continues, with its American branch filing a lawsuit against the owner of a website called RomUniverse on 10th September. The pirated games on this website allegedly show "counterfeit copies of Nintendo's trademarks" and reportedly infringe the copyright of the real works...
News GameStop Set To Close 180 - 200 "Underperforming" Stores This Fiscal Year
With more closures to come
American gaming retailer GameStop has revealed that it plans to close "between 180 and 200 underperforming stores globally by the end of this fiscal year". The news comes from the company's Q2 earnings call, where CFO James Bell noted that GameStop wishes to "de-densify" its chain despite 95% of its 5,700 worldwide stores...
News Nintendo Wins Another War Against Piracy As Court Ruling Sees Offending Sites Blocked
Sites found to be "unlawful"
Nintendo has taken another positive step towards fighting the piracy of Switch games, with the UK High Court employing an injunction which will block access to offending websites. Five of the UK's top internet service providers - BT, EE, Sky, Talktalk and Virgin Media - will be required to "block, or at least impede...
News Nintendo UK Teams Up With Digital Schoolhouse To Bring Play-Based Learning To Pupils
And a Smash Ultimate Team Battle experience
Nintendo UK has announced that it has joined the Digital Schoolhouse programme as its new lead partner, a collaboration which will see the gaming giant bring play-based learning to thousands of pupils throughout this academic year. Digital Schoolhouse is a not-for-profit programme delivered by the UK...
News Konami Plans To Work With More "Globally Known IPs" In The Future
Game development on consoles is still the top priority
Konami – known for video game series like Metal Gear Solid, Castlevania, and Pro Evolution Soccer – has plans to work with more "globally known IPs" for consoles. During an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Konami Europe president Masami Sa
News Director Of Dragon Quest Builders Series Leaves Square Enix
Looking forward to a "new development environment"
With Dragon Quest Builders 2 now available on the Switch, series director – Kazuya Niinou – has decided to move on from Square Enix. After "about seven years" at the company, he's now looking forward to a "new development environment", having worked on two Dragon Quest games in a row. Niinou is...
News Nintendo's Chinese Subsidiary iQue Shifts Focus To Games Development
Changing times
Remember the iQue Player? It was released in China during the nationwide video game ban and bypassed the laws at the time due to its plug and play design. To this day, the company behind it is still a Nintendo-owned subsidiary. As Nintendo and Tencent are now gearing up for the release of the Switch in mainland China, iQue appears to...
News Epic Games Opens New Studio With Factor 5 Founders At The Helm
The makers of Turrican return
Fortnite developer Epic Games has announced the opening of a new studio located in Cologne, Germany in partnership with the founders of German developer, Factor 5. Both Julian Eggebrecht and Achim Moller have joined Epic Games at the new studio, taking on 'Director of Online Technology' and 'Cologne Studio Director'...
News TimeSplitters Co-Creator Joins THQ Nordic To "Plot The Future Course" Of The Series
Future perfect
When Rare was acquired by Microsoft back during the beginning of the GameCube era, fellow UK studio Free Radical stepped in and released TimeSplitters 2 on the new Nintendo system within the same year. It looked, played and felt like a Rareware first-person shooter and that's because Free Radical was founded by former Rare employees...
News Nintendo, Sony And Microsoft Will Disclose Loot Box Odds
Update: Nintendo issues statement
Update 11/08: Nintendo has now provided Eurogamer with the following statement: At Nintendo, ensuring that our customers can make informed choices when they play our games is very important. As part of our ongoing efforts in this area, Nintendo will require disclosure of drop rates in Nintendo Switch games that...
News UK Spends £1.56 Billion On Video Games In First Half Of 2019, Digital Sales On The Rise
Video game sales dwarf music and video
UK consumers spent £1.56 billion on video games during the first half of 2019, the Entertainment Retailers Association has reported. The figure is a 1% increase from the total spent during the same period in 2018, which reached £1.54 billion. Digital spending rose from £1.34 billion to £1.37 billion,...
News Hand of Fate Studio Defiant Development Throws In The Towel
"That is a risky way to make games, and we knew that"
Australian studio Defiant Development hasn't exactly been a prolific publisher on Nintendo platforms over the years, but we really loved Hand of Fate 2 when it popped on to the Switch eShop last year – we gave it a coveted 9/10 in our review. Fusing the basic premise of a deck-building card...
News Sumo Digital Announces "New Projects" With Publisher 2K
"details of the projects in due course"
Sumo Digital, best known in recent times for developing Team Sonic Racing, has announced it is working on "new projects" with the global game publisher 2K. While there are no details about the games just yet or the platforms they will be released on, it has been revealed development will take place at Sumo...
News Switch Lite Reveal Sees Nintendo Shares Soar To Highest Point In Nine Months
“This device will be a mega hit"
Whatever your opinion on Nintendo's new console reveal, the Switch Lite appears to have investors of the company rather excited. According to the Financial Times, the Switch Lite reveal caused stock to rise by as much as 4.5% today, reaching ¥41,780 at its peak. This leaves Nintendo's shares at a nine-month high...
News Panic Button Ex-Director Adam Creighton Reveals New Dev Studio, Enduring Games
Making games for current and upcoming consoles
The ex-director and co-owner of Switch port wonder studio Panic Button has revealed his latest project, a brand new development studio called Enduring Games. Adam Creighton, who had been involved with Panic Button since 2011, revealed that he was moving on from the company earlier this year. Where he...
News Nintendo Reportedly Exploring Production Alternatives Outside China
Joins other electronics manufacturers looking at alternatives
Video games consoles can be expensive at the best of times and proposed tariffs on Chinese goods by the current US administration have the potential to drastically increase the cost of hardware of consumers. Recently, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft penned a joint open letter highlighting...
News Nintendo Has No Plans To Censor Video Games Like Sony
The official systems are already in place
Although Sony is clamping down on saucy content in PlayStation games, Nintendo appears to be quite happy to leave any censorship decisions to rating systems. The Japanese company recently reaffirmed this during its 79th Shareholders meeting, when president Shuntaro Furukawa was reminded about "other...
News Sony Doesn't See Nintendo As A Major Rival, More Worried About Microsoft Next Generation
And the potential threat of Google
The Wallstreet Journal has published a detailed report about Sony's next-generation PlayStation. According to the source, the company's aim is to target hardcore gamers and double down on big exclusives and publishers. In regards to market competition, a Sony representative explained how Microsoft was seen as its...