Tag: Industry - Page 18
News Nintendo Embraces Opportunity To Share New Games At E3 2019 As Sony Opts Out
Business as usual
Sony has surprised the rest of the video game industry, with the confirmation it will not be attending E3 2019. Despite the absence of the Japanese tech giant, the official press release notes how "industry momentum" will drive next year's show to new heights. On the Nintendo front, there's nothing to worry about. In the same PR,...
News Strategy Guide Publisher Prima Games Is Shutting Down After 28 Years
End of an era
It has been revealed that Prima Games, the largest video game strategy guide publisher in the US, will be closing down after 28 years. The announcement comes from Prima Games' parent company DK, which has shared its "extremely difficult decision" to no longer commission guides and its intention of discontinuing all Prima Games...
News Square Enix Reports $33 Million Loss After New Studio Shifts Focus
Declines across the board
Following the success of Octopath Traveler on Switch, the latest financial results for Japanese publisher Square Enix have revealed things aren't as rosy as they might appear to be. The company reported a $33 million loss (¥3.73 billion) which was primarily linked to the new studio - Luminous Productions - shifting focus...
News EA Has More Than 1,000 Employees And "Dozens Of Studios" Working On A Cloud-Based Future
"We're calling this Project Atlas and we believe in it so much"
Big-name video game companies are beginning to experiment with cloud-based gaming on a regular basis. Although the required technology and infrastructure might not be available in every location, that hasn't stopped publishers like Ubisoft from testing the waters with special Japan-only...
News Amid Closures And The Decline Of Print Media, Raspberry Pi Is Launching A New Games Mag
Say hello to Wireframe
The world of print video game journalism is in a pretty rough place right now, with companies like Future Publishing shutting down long-running mags as readership dwindles in the face of online competition. However, one company is bucking this trend by launching a new magazine. Wireframe is a fortnightly publication that will...
"We must keep releasing new software"
While many positives can be drawn from Nintendo's recently published quarterly results, analyst estimates had predicted slightly higher earnings. The Japanese gaming giant reported an operating profit of 30.9 billion yen during the quarter, which was below the estimated 37.9 billion yen, and quarterly revenue...
News Epic Games Closes $1.25 Billion Investment Deal Thanks To Success Of Fortnite
Money maker
If it wasn't already evident, the free-to-play title Fortnite has a been a huge success for Epic Games. In the latest news, Epic has closed a $1.25 billion investment deal with a group of private equity backers. KKR, ICONIQ Capital, Smash Ventures, aXiomatic Gaming, Vulcan Capital, Kleiner Perkins and Lightspeed Venture Partners are now...
News UK Gaming Magazines GamesMaster and GamesTM Set To Close Next Month
Staff will be "redeployed"
British magazine publisher Future plc has revealed that both GamesMaster and GamesTM will release their last issues next month. Between them, the two magazines have spent over 40 years gracing the UK's shelves, with GamesMaster being around since 1993, and GamesTM launching a little more recently in 2002. Both magazines...
News Skybound Games Expects Episode 3 Of The Walking Dead: The Final Season To Be Released This Year
Miracle workers
Earlier this week, Skybound Games announced it would be hosting a Reddit AMA focused on The Walking Dead: The Final Season. Now that it’s wrapped up, here’s what we found out. According to the company’s CEO Ian Howe, production of episode three and four is at a standstill. New release dates for the episodes will be announced...
News Skybound Games Hosting Reddit AMA For The Walking Dead: The Final Season
Ask anything
Following the news of mass layoffs at Telltale last month, Skybound Games announced it had acquired the rights to publish and develop the remaining episodes of The Walking Dead: The Final Season. The Walking Dead: Season Two and
News New Study Suggests That Playing Violent Video Games Leads To Increased Physical Aggression
Asks for more investigation
The analysis looking at more than 17,000 adolescents across 24 previously conducted studies has found that violent video games cause players to become more physically aggressive. The "metaanalysis" was published earlier this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, looking into video game players aged...
News Vivendi Set To Sell All Shares In Ubisoft By March 2019
Safe for another day
Vivendi has revealed that it will sell all of its shares in Ubisoft by 5th March 2019, finally putting an end to the power struggle that has been taking place between the two firms over recent years. Ubisoft has been fending off an "unsolicited and unwelcome" takeover bid from Vivendi for some time now; back in 2015, the mass...
News Former Telltale Employee Takes Legal Action Following Mass Layoffs
No surprises here
Telltale Games has now been hit with a class-action lawsuit. A disgruntled former employee is suing the San Francisco-based company on behalf of himself and his fellow laid-off workers. In the filed complaint, Vernie Roberts said Telltale let go of the employees without cause and without providing them advanced notice in writing...
News Sony Will Step Away From The Handheld Games Business In 2019, Leaving It All To Nintendo
2004-2019
Sony has now been in the handheld video game business for 15 years. It first began with the release of the PlayStation Portable in 2004 - a device created to tap the Nintendo dominated market and appeal to older audiences with additional features such as the ability to play music and movies. This eventually followed with a revised and...
News Telltale Games Offered Lifeline, Might Allow The Walking Dead To Be Completed
A new hope
Telltale Games hasn't entirely closed up. Although it dismissed hundreds of staff last week, there are still 25 people who have stayed on to fulfill contractual obligations linked to a Minecraft: Story Mode project for Netflix. Other series like
News Telltale Games Voice Actor Posts Message About Incomplete Projects
"You, the fans, will not get to see Clem's journey through to the end"
A few days ago, Telltale Games revealed it had laid off hundreds of employees, with only 25 staff members remaining. The skeleton crew was reportedly staying on to fulfill contractual obligations, which allegedly includes work on a Minecraft: Story Mode project for Netflix. With...
News Happy 129th Birthday, Nintendo
129 years young
Nintendo is today one year older. It's now been 129 years since entrepreneur Fusajiro Yamauchi originally founded the Japanese company. Established way back in 1889 as a Hanafuda playing card manufacturer, Yamauchi opened his first shop "Nintendo Koppai" in Kyoto. Eventually, he was succeeded by his son-in-law Sekiryo Kaneda...
Video The "Completely Insane" Policies Of Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi
Saving the day with his draconian ways
Nintendo's third president, Hiroshi Yamauchi, was famously disinterested in video games, preferring to play more traditional Japanese board games. Despite this, he's also known for modernising Nintendo and transforming the video game market. Although we've heard plenty about Yamauchi's life previously, in...
News Telltale Games Begins Majority Studio Closure With Mass Layoffs
Multiple projects reportedly axed
Telltale Games shot to video game fame working on multiple well-known IP including The Walking Dead, Minecraft, Batman and even Game of Thrones. Last month, a Telltale representative said the
News Terraria Publisher 505 Games Expands Coverage To Japan And South Korea
World domination
Publisher 505 Games - a subsidiary of the Italian company Digital Bros. - is reportedly expanding its horizons by opening a new branch in Toyko. According to Japanese publication Famitsu, this office will also cover South Korea. The new office is said to specifically focus on intellectual property management and licensing. Digital...
News Sega Of America Appoints Ian Curran As New President
A shift at the top
Sega of America has announced the appointment of Ian Curran as the company's new Chief Operating Officer (COO) and President, effective from today. In this new role, Curran will be responsible for "utilising all resources available to maximise the profitability of the publishing and Sonic business units within the Americas and...
News NPD Predicts Switch Will Be 2018's Best-Selling Console Despite PS4's Current Lead
Top 10 games predicted, too
If you're into your gaming charts and sales figures, you'll likely have your own idea as to which console might end up sitting at the top of the pile come the end of the year. 2018 looks to be another stellar year for gaming with the likes of God of War and Shadow of the Colossus already receiving universal praise,...
News Nintendo's Share Price Falls Yet Again With A Lack Of Game Announcements Possibly To Blame
Investors have more concerns
Today has seen yet another significant drop in Nintendo's share price, falling by 5.27% by the end of the trading day in Japan. We've seen several fluctuations in share price over the last few weeks, with the most recent drop seemingly being linked to Nintendo's E3 presentation. It was suggested that the drop was...
News Rising Star Games Joins Indie Game Development Supergroup Thunderful
All under one roof
The Thunderful Group, which is already made up of development studios Image & Form and Zoink Games, has announced that it has now acquired publisher Rising Star Games. The Sweden-based group was established in December 2017, by Bergsala Holding (the sole distributor of Nintendo products in the Nordic region),...
"The next big thing"
The idea of playing video games across multiple devices via a stream might still be a bit of a pipedream, but that won’t stop Ubisoft CEO, Yves Guillemot, from dreaming about what might be in years to come. During a recent YouTube Q&A at this year’s E3, the well-known face of Ubisoft took some time out to answer...
Rumour Google Is Creating A Gaming Platform To Rival Switch, PS4 and Xbox
With a plan to acquire dev studios
While the Switch is still relatively new to the gaming scene, the PS4 and Xbox One have both been around since 2013; if recent console generation trends are anything to go by, this means we could be seeing replacements for those consoles within the next couple of years. Interestingly, though, Sony and Microsoft...
News US Research Analyst Believes Gaming Could Become 100% Digital By 2022
A very bold claim
Research analysts from Piper Jaffray, a US-based investment bank and asset management firm, have revealed that they believe gaming could become an all-digital affair from as early as 2022. With the relatively recent evolution of digital storefronts across all major gaming platforms, a shift from physical purchases to the...
News Nintendo Is Happy That Sony And Microsoft Pay Less Attention To Younger Audiences
"It’s been an incredibly important market"
Sony and Microsoft both offer games that cater to younger audiences, just like Nintendo offers a selection of games aimed at more mature fans, but their focus is very much geared towards older consumers. A quick glance at the content shown during E3 this year provides a clear picture of this, with...
News Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aimé Hits Back At Analysts After Recent Share Price Drop
"There’s a lot more up our sleeve"
Immediately after Nintendo's E3 Direct earlier this week, the company's share value took quite a hit, dropping over 6% in a single day. The main concerns were reportedly related to a lack of new and exciting content being shown, and worries over how Nintendo will continue to please and surprise gaming fans over...
News Nintendo's Share Price Plummets In Response To E3 Direct
Ups and downs
Nintendo's share value has been all over the place just recently; a large jump in price was seen after the Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! reveals, followed by an equally large drop after rep
News Ubisoft CEO Believes The Next Generation Of Consoles Will Be The Last
Streaming to take over
The future of video games is always an interesting debate to have; the industry is one of the fastest evolving environments in the world today and it's almost impossible to predict where we might be ten or twenty years from now. Ubisoft's CEO Yves Guillemot has one idea on the matter, though, and it's quite the...
News Nintendo Share Drop Due To Concerns Over E3 And Switch Online Services, Claim Analysts
"They’re years and years behind on the network business"
Yesterday, we reported that Nintendo's share value had sunk amid reports that its mooted 'Quality of Life' project had been scrapped. However, we're now hearing reports that the two-day drop - the biggest Nintendo stock has experienced in 18 months - is also related to a lack of confidence...
News Nintendo Is The "Cheapest Game Stock In The World" – But Not For Long
Analysts believe operating profit could more than triple in two years
On Thursday, Nintendo posted their financial results for the fiscal year ending in March 2018 – predictably outlining the Switch’s phenomenal performance, which resulted in an over 500% increase in profits for the videogame giant. However, Nintendo was conservative with its...
Events Birmingham City University To Celebrate The Impact Of Rare And Other Midlands Games Studios
A certain bearded Nintendo Life staffer is going to be there, too
The Midlands might not be the most exciting area in the UK but it has a rich video gaming history; not only is it the birthplace of Rare, one of the most iconic NES, SNES, Game Boy and N64 developers of all time, but it is also home to the likes of Codemasters, US Gold, Core Design,...
Feature A Memorial For Hidenori Shibao
Game historian John Szczepaniak pays tribute to a talent taken too soon
Arcade clerk, translator, book author, game design educator, manga collaborator, magazine journalist, prolific strategy guide writer, movie script writer, and developer of numerous games including Paladin's Quest, its sequel Lennus II, Legend of Legaia, and the FEAR. Hidenori...
News Former Nintendo Of Europe Staffer Ed Valiente Joins Thunderful
Star of the November 2015 Nintendo Direct jumps ship
Thunderful - the new company formed by Swedish studios Image & Form and Zoink! Games - has made a key hire in the shape of Ed Valiente, who joins from Nintendo of Europe. You might remember Ed from the November 2015 Nintendo Direct, where he was brave enough to step in front of...
News The Games Industry Reacts To The White House's Violent Games Showreel
"Everyone associated with those games should be ashamed of themselves"
Last week, U.S. president Donald Trump held a meeting with industry executives to discuss the issue of violence in video games, a meeting which was viewed by many as a way of scapegoating interactive entertainment in relation to the recent spate of school shootings in the...
News White House Meeting With Industry Execs Focuses On Violence In Video Games
"This is violent, isn’t it?"
Yesterday, U.S. president Donald Trump held a meeting with video game executives regarding the issue of violence in video games, an event which was triggered by a recent series of high school shootings in the country. Trump himself has stated the opinion that the shooting in Parkland, Florida could have...
News Switch Is A "Fantastic Platform" For Indie Developers, Says Curve Digital
"The Switch community is absolutely thriving"
The Switch's incredible commercial performance has not only given Nintendo a much-needed boost; it has also created opportunities for publishers and developers of all shapes and sizes, too. The console's eShop is packed with indie titles and we're seeing a number of those getting released in...
News Nintendo Switch Helped UK Games Market Grow More Than 12 Percent In 2017
Market was worth £5.11 billion
The UK games market grew 12.4 percent in 2017 to £5.11 billion, thanks in part to the incredible success of the Nintendo Switch. The introduction of Nintendo's new console saw hardware sales jump 29.9 percent. Sales of physical software rose 3.1 percent, but the pre-owned market fell by 15.1 percent, a...
News THQ Nordic Acquires Deep Silver Owner Koch Media In $150 Million Deal
Former THQ brands all united under one roof
Publisher THQ Nordic is set to acquire Koch Media in a deal understood to be worth €121 million ($149.6 million). The deal is for the entirety of Koch's business, which includes the video game publisher Deep Silver. Deep Silver oversees franchises such as Saints Row, Dead Island and Metro, and is acting...
Previous recipients include Howard Lincoln and Satoru Iwata
Genyo Takeda may not be a household name in quite the same way as Shigeru Miyamoto, but he's been an incredibly important staff member at Nintendo for the past few decades and his contribution to the games industry in general is being recognised by The Academy of Interactive Arts &...
Biggest third quarter operating profit for eight years
Nintendo has released its Third Quarter Results for this financial year, and the big headline is that in less that a year on sale the Switch has managed to surpass the lifetime sales of its forerunner, the Wii U. The figures show a company in rude health, with net sales up 175.5 percent...
News Image & Form And Zoink! Games Join Forces Under New Company Thunderful
Both will continue to create their own games, though
Swedish studios Image & Form and Zoink! Games have joined forced to create Thunderful, a new entity which will wholly own both companies. They're not going away, however; the two Gothenburg-based studios will "continue to develop games with existing and new IPs under their respective...
News THQ Nordic Is Currently Working On Two Nintendo Switch Titles
"We are excited for Nintendo Switch"
THQ Nordic - the company formally known as Nordic Games - has confirmed that it has a pair of Nintendo Switch titles in development. CEO Lars Wingefors revealed the news during an announcement regarding the company's latest IP acquisitions. THQ Nordic now owns the rights to Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy, War...
News Capcom Reaffirms Commitment To Resurrecting Its Vast Catalogue Of "Dormant IP"
Looking to "enhance corporate value" via "its library of rich content"
Capcom's library of games is arguably the envy of the industry, thanks in part to the company's prolific coin-op output during the '80s and '90s. During this period the firm pumped out classics like Strider, 1942, Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Captain Commando, Street Fighter, Darkstalkers...
News EA Had Plans To Create Its Own Pokémon Competitor
PokEAmon?
Even long before Pokémon GO, rival games companies looked on enviously at the Pokémon franchise and wanted to get a slice of the action for themselves. Who can forget Invizimals on the Sony PSP? OK, bad example! Australian indie developer Nic Watt, from Nnooo which has published multiple Nintendo eShop titles, recently revealed on the...
News Late Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi Inducted Into 2016 Consumer Technology Hall Of Fame
As "Video Game Futurist"
Former Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi has been inducted into the 2016 Consumer Technology Hall of Fame. Yamauchi - who relinquished his presidency in 2002 to Satoru Iwata and sadly passed away in 2013 - has been recognised in the "Video Game Futurist" category. He joined Nintendo in 1949 and oversaw the company's...
News SNK Playmore Rebrands As Plain Old SNK
What once was old is new again
SNK Playmore has announced that it is dropping the "Playmore" from its name and will once again be known as SNK. Founded in 1978 as Shin Nihon Kikaku, the company produced arcade hits like Ikari Warriors and Alpha Mission before creating its own coin-op standard in the form of the Neo Geo system. Titles like King of...
News PlatinumGames CEO Tatsuya Minami Has Resigned
Star Fox Zero studio to be helmed by Kenichi Sato
The head of Japanese studio PlatinumGames has stepped down, according to a report by GamesBusiness.jp. CEO Tatsuya Minami resigned at the end of March and has been replaced by Kenichi Sato. As part of the reshuffle, Seigo Tabira and Atsushi Inaba join the management as company directors. Minami...