Tag: Industry - Page 19
News Toys-To-Life Newcomer Thinks We're Growing Bored Of Pieces Of Plastic
"When something doesn't change, you just get tired of it"
Nintendo has enjoyed great success with sales of amiibo figures since they first began to appear on store shelves in late November 2014 alongside Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. However, the toys-to-life market has become a bit saturated since that time with amiibo battling in the same...
News Nintendo UK Staffs Up Following High Ranking Departures
Matthias Hempfling and Kalpesh Tailor take on senior roles
Nintendo UK has had a pretty busy period in terms of staff changes. Leading figures such as marketing boss Shelly Pearce, head of PR Jo Bartlett, brand manager Roger Langford, product manager Vanisha Kavia, community manager Jonathan Town and Junior PR manager Emily Wooliscroft have all left...
News Carnegie Mellon Professor Thinks Nintendo Is Working On A Fully-Mobile Virtual Reality Headset
"Imagine if you strapped a DS to your face"
Virtual Reality is set to go big this year, with challengers like the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR all entering a market which is predicted to be worth hundreds of millions over the next few years. Despite tentatively dipping a toe into this sector two decades ago with the ill-fated Virtual...
News Ubisoft Battling To Resist Hostile Takeover From Media Giant Vivendi
Boss Yves Guillemot blasts "unsolicited and unwelcome" attempt
Assassin's Creed studio Ubisoft is in danger of being taken over by mass media conglomerate Vivendi, claims boss Yves Guillemot. Vivendi - which has history in the games industry with companies like Activision Blizzard and Sierra - has been aggressively seeking a controlling stake in...
"Nintendo will not be acquired, I think that much is certain"
Nintendo has had something of a rollercoaster year as far as its share price is concerned. Speculation surrounding the NX as well as the expectation (and subsequent delay) of the company's first smartphone app Miitomo have resulted in value of its shares dropping and
News Koei Tecmo's President Seems To Think NX Is A Home Console First And Foremost
"Nintendo announced a new 'machine' called the NX"
2016 is the year that Nintendo reveals more about the NX, which - it has been rumoured - could unify the company's handheld and domestic console markets. Despite the chatter, no one really seems to know what the console is all about let alone have any idea about a potential Nintendo NX release...
"Nintendo has a history of doing things its own way"
Next year we're going to hear a lot more about Nintendo's next console, currently codenamed NX. The system has been shrouded in secrecy since it was first announced earlier this year, but rumours are circulating that it could be a console/handheld hybrid which effectively unites the two markets...
News Code Of Princess And Yumi's Odd Odyssey Studio Agatsuma Is No More
Dissolved as of today, liquidation happening next year
Japanese firm Agatsuma Entertainment has revealed that it is closing its doors. The publisher of Code of Princess and Yumi's Odd Odyssey, Agatsuma has been officially dissolved as of today. Liquidation will occur on March 31st, 2016. The firm was perhaps best known for assisting with...
News DeNA Cuts Staff At Singapore Studio Ahead Of Pivotal 2016
Restructuring ahead of its Nintendo adventure?
Nintendo's smartphone gaming partner DeNA appears to be restructuring its Singapore office ahead of what could be the biggest year in its history. DeNA is working with Nintendo on a host of smartphone games which it hopes will rake in $25 million a month in revenue. The first games will be released in...
"It really depends on third-party support"
Michael Pachter - the industry analyst that all Nintendo fans love to hate - has been sounding off about the company's next console, currently dubbed NX. While Pachter has some harsh words to share, he's also looking on the positive side with his predictions for NX. According to the Wedbush Securities...
News More North American Women Own A Games Console Than Men
Smartphone and tablet use on the rise, too
A new study in the US has revealed that more women own games consoles than men, flying in the face of the common perception that the hobby is dominated by male players. Conducted by the Pew Research Centre, the research indicates that 42 percent of US women own a games console, compared to 37 percent of...
News SNK Playmore Ditches Pachinko Machines To Focus Entirely On Video Games
You know, just like it used to
SNK Playmore has announced that it is abandoning the manufacture of Pachinko machines in favour of focusing totally on video games and smartphone titles. The company began making Pachinko units when it was acquired by Aruze in 2000, a company famous for its Pachinko machines. SNK would file for bankruptcy in 2001 but...
News Nintendo Is Unique, Different And Does Its Own Thing, Says Xbox Marketing Boss
"I guess we'll react to that when we know more"
Nintendo has a reputation of innovation within the games industry which runs all the way back to the '80s, when the company blazed a trail with its Game & Watch series - the first hardware to showcase the now-commonplace D-pad. Since then, we've seen the company embrace cutting-edge tech ahead of...
News Video Game Industry in Scotland 'Could Eclipse Oil Boom'
And then be argued over during Independence referendum
It's widely acknowledged that the broader video game industry, encompassing both dedicated systems and smart devices, is now statistically and definitively one of the most powerful entertainment industries in the world. In recent years its profile has increased a great deal, making gaming...
News Voice Actors Union Authorises Strike Action With Landslide 96.52 Percent Vote
Strike likely to go ahead unless agreement can be reached
Last month we reported that The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA for short) in the US was holding a vote to see if its members would support strike action in order to improve the working conditions of voice actors in the video game sector...
News Climate "Not Healthy" For Dedicated Handheld Games Consoles, Says Sony's Shuhei Yoshida
"People have mobile phones and it's so easy to play games on smartphones"
With the Wii U failing to match the original Wii in terms of commercial success Nintendo has, to a certain extent, relied on its current handheld platform, the 3DS, to balance the books. However, even that system has struggled to replicate the performance of its immediate...
News Analysts Wonder If Super Mario Can Save Nintendo
"I do think that Super Mario will be a driver for mobile revenue"
American business publication Fortune has recently asked the big question 'Can Super Mario save Nintendo from itself?' and to answer that question has consulted the wisdom of several analysts including Nintendo Life reader favourite Michael Pachter. With Super Mario Maker seemingly...
News This Is The Last Real Console Cycle, Proclaims Industry Analyst Michael Pachter
"The console installed base is as big as it's ever going to get"
We could see the end of dedicated games hardware in the near future, states Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter. Speaking at DICE Europe last week, the outspoken industry expert tackled the issue of the end of the console era, and pointed out that in terms of pure sales figures, this...
News 3DS Can Last For Another Two To Three Years In The West, Says NIS America Boss
Takuro Yamashita thinks Nintendo's current handheld still has time left
The next-gen console race is now in full swing, but NIS America president and CEO Takuro Yamashita thinks that the current pair of handheld systems - 3DS and Vita - have some time left before they need replacing. Speaking to MCV at Gamescom, Yamashita said he felt it was the...
Rumour Nintendo NX Shipping This Time Next Year, 20 Million Sales Targeted In First 12 Months
Foxconn rumoured to be manufacturing the system
It is being reported that Nintendo's next games console - currently known as the Nintendo NX - will launch in July 2016. The source of the report is Taiwanese site DigiTimes, which is claiming that manufacturer Foxconn has won the contract to produce the console. However, it is thought that rival firm...
News Former Nintendo "Gamemaster" Howard Phillips Joins Mobile Studio GameDuell
The bow tie is gone, but the magic remains
Howard Phillips - one of the most recognisable figures in Nintendo's history - has a new job. Phillips - who was once given the nickname "Gamemaster" at Nintendo and was responsible for overseeing many of the hit titles that were released for Nintendo's NES console - has joined Berlin-based GameDuell and...
News Nintendo Is A Slave To Its Past Success, Says Gearbox President Randy Pitchford
Japanese company needs to reach new customers
During this year's E3, a whole bunch of industry veterans met at the Lunch with Luminaries event. In this yearly talk Gaikai and Shiny founder Dave Perry invites big names for a in-depth discussion about the games industry, and this time around we had Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford, Boss Key...
News Nintendo of America's Newest Recruit Is Bowser
But not the one you're thinking of
Nintendo of America has a new Vice President of Sales with a name that will be instantly familiar with fans of Mario. Before you get your hopes up, it's not who you think. Doug Bowser - not that Bowser - joins Nintendo from Electronic Arts, where he was employed as Vice President of Global Business Planning. He...
Talking Point Is Konami About To Exit The Console Game Business?
Nintendo's old ally could be leaving the industry it helped to grow
Konami has been in the headlines a lot lately. First up were those troublesome rumours regarding the impending departure of Hideo Kojima, creator of the Metal Gear series and arguably the Japanese company's most valuable and famous employee. It would appear that Kojima is set to...
"My belief is that Nintendo is looking for a blue ocean"
Nintendo caused quite a stir when it announced its partnership with Japanese mobile firm DeNA and that it was working on its next hardware platform, dubbed "Nintendo NX". This double-whammy of news was greeted with a positive reaction, not only from the
"Unique software can always be realized with unique hardware"
The Wii U's commercial struggles and the massive rise in popularity of smart devices has seen many within the industry predict that Nintendo will go multi-platform sooner rather than later, but Shigeru Miyamoto has poured a large bucket of cold water all over such prophecies in a recent...
News Shigeru Miyamoto Confidently Outlines Nintendo's Move From Casual To Core
"People take games for granted now"
The Wii and DS consoles were systems which achieved incredible global success and marked Nintendo's shift from "core" players to a much larger market, dubbed "casual gamers". Titles like Wii Sports, Wii Fit and Brain Training made gamers of people who had historically never taken any interest in interactive...
News You Can't Count Nintendo Out, Says Activision CEO
"They've been through rough hardware cycles before"
We all know the Wii U is struggling right now, but Nintendo still has plenty of tricks up its sleeve — yesterday's Mario Kart 8 DLC announcement being proof of that — and it would appear that the wider industry feels the same way, too. Speaking to Examiner, Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg has...
News Wii U Purchasing Intent Increases By Half In The Wake Of Strong E3 Showing
Another spin on the "Nintendo wins E3" debate
A recent survey commissioned by IHS in partnership with Gamer Network has revealed that Nintendo's strong showing at E3 caused a massive spike in purchasing intent for the Wii U. Around a thousand core gamers were quizzed on various purchase intentions before and after the event. The Wii U began E3 as...
News Rare Co-Founder Tim Stamper Is Back In The Games Industry
Listed as a director of UK studio FortuneFish
As any self-respecting Nintendo fan will know, Chris and Tim Stamper are the siblings who formed famous UK studio Rare. Once part of the Nintendo family and responsible for such hits as Donkey Kong Country, GoldenEye 007 and Banjo Kazooie, Rare is now under the wing of Microsoft — and the Stampers have...
News Sony: PS4 Is "Welcoming Back" Wii Owners Who Skipped PS3 And 360 Last Gen
Remastered PS3 classics are tempting Wii owners, says Sony's Andrew House
Wii owners who decided against buying a PS3 or 360 are flocking to the PS4 in droves, according to Sony Computer Entertainment boss Andrew House. Speaking to Eurogamer at the recent Develop conference in the UK, House echoed recent statements made by Sony Worldwide Studios...
Titles like Splatoon offer an alternative
Sony's president of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida has always had good words to say about Nintendo — he owns not one but two Wii U consoles, after all. He shows no sign of giving up his amiable relationship with the Kyoto firm, and has made some very positive noises in a recent interview with
Shigeru Miyamoto - "Human beings have an instinctual love of games"
While a number of Nintendo gamers and observers will have reacted to Nintendo's Quality of Life platform announcement earlier this year with curiosity and wondered what it could mean, there was a substantial group that expressed concern. The reasoning was simple — if Nintendo was...
News Nintendo Highlights Hundreds of Developers Working on Games for Wii U and 3DS
The Wii U eShop is strongest in the US
As you may be aware, Nintendo recently hosted The 74th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, in which company management provides presentations to its shareholders and answers a number of questions — Satoru Iwata was unable to attend. The official transcript of that meeting has been published, which...
News Iwata's Approval Rating Rises While Miyamoto's Drops Slightly
Small shifts across the board
The results from Nintendo's AGM are in, and as we already know, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata isn't going anywhere — his approval rating has actually risen over the past year by 3 percent. Last year, his rating was 77.26 percent, but this year's figure is a slightly better 80.64 percent. However, this rise was...
News EA Explains Why It's Abandoning Dedicated Handhelds For Smartphones And Tablets
"You have to make some hard calls when you've got only so many people"
EA's support for Nintendo platforms is pretty lacking in general right now, but the 3DS and Wii U aren't the only systems the publisher is turning its back on — it has all but retreated from the dedicated portable console market, instead choosing to put its efforts into the...
News Miyamoto Thinks That Nintendo Are in a Genre of Their Own
“I really think there needs to be a Nintendo genre"
Legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto recently did an interview with the LA Times where he discussed Nintendo's focus on creating games which entertain, as opposed to simply trying to be "cool". He even went on to say that Nintendo should have a genre of their own. Nintendo isn’t one...
News Satoru Iwata Reigns Supreme in Annual Shareholders Meeting
Business as usual
Nintendo's 74th annual general meeting (AGM) for shareholders took place today in Japan and we can confirm that Satoru Iwata has retained his position as Nintendo's president. Iwata of course was not present at today's meeting due to his recovery from recent surgery. We are yet to learn what this year's investor approval rating...
News Nintendo Looking To Grow Wii U Audience To Tempt Back Third Parties
"We're in for the long haul in gaming"
One of the most common complaints we hear from Wii U owners is the lack of third party support for the system — aside from a handful of publishers, most of the big names working in the industry have all but abandoned Nintendo's system, presumably due to the lack of earning potential. Nintendo is aware that...
News Nintendo Executive Suggests Wii U is at a "Tipping Point" Towards Success
"We have a lot of great content that is about to be released"
The Wii U, it's fair to say, is currently enjoying its most positive spell of coverage and attention since it launched, with strong sales numbers for Mario Kart 8 combining with an excellent E3 showing to deliver some serious buzz. Perhaps unsurprisingly it's all about first-party games...
News Nintendo Needs To Cut Wii U Cost To Capitalise On Mario Kart 8 Success, Says Ubisoft CEO
"Nintendo has to perform this year, otherwise they will have less games"
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has passed judgement on the Wii U's future in an interview with CVG, stating that the Japanese firm needs to get more machines into homes if it wants to remain a key player in the market. Guillemot — whose company has supported the Wii U perhaps...
News Capcom Could Be Up For Sale After Shareholders Reject Anti-Takeover Plan
Yoshinori Ono also resigns from Capcom Vancouver
Since 2008, Japanese developer Capcom has had a takeover defence plan in place to stop the company from being bought out by other parties, and this has been renewed every two years since. It outlined several options for the company should it be faced by a potential large-scale share investor, and one...
News Developers Weigh In On The Way Forward For Wii U
"The system plays host to a bunch of great, very unique games"
Following Nintendo's E3 exploits, we now have a greater idea of what content is coming to the Wii U in the remainder of 2014 and beyond. It was an event with some genuine surprises, combined with expected details, and laid out the path for the system — GamePad included — for the...
News Infinity Ward Merges With Neversoft To Form Super Studio, Retains Infinity Ward Name
Still no official word on Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare on Wii U
Neversoft, the developer behind the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series, has merged with Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward to form a brand new "super studio". A memo written by CEO of Activision Publishing Eric Hirshberg — and subsequently obtained by Giant Bomb — outlines the deal:...
News GameStop Plans to Close Around 120 Stores in the Coming Year
Moving into a "GameStop 3.0" era, apparently
Earlier this week GameStop hosted its 2014 Investor Day, at which it outlined some core business plans for the coming year. What does that mean for gamers? Less stores, basically. It's not a mass closure, but the company is clearly looking to streamline its business — it's planning to close 120-130...
News Capcom Investing $80 Million in Two New R & D Buildings
All part of boosting internal development
Capcom may have enjoyed another smash hit with Monster Hunter 4 in Japan, with hopes of the Ultimate release achieving success worldwide, but it's had a hit-and-miss period in other areas. Just recently the company cut its profit projections by 50%, citing investment, an underperforming mobile sector and...
News Disney Interactive Cuts Around 700 Jobs, A Quarter of Global Staff
Mobile and Disney Infinity likely to remain as priorities
In news surprising for its scale if not, unfortunately, its occurrence, the Disney Game and Internet Division — better known as Disney Interactive — has laid off around 700 employees today. The strong performance of Disney Infinity last year helped improve the financial performance of the...
News Nintendo and Retro Studios Speak on Resistance to Going Mobile
"I want Nintendo games to be played on Nintendo hardware."
Some Nintendo fans may be sick of hearing about it, but talk of Nintendo's potential if it decided to shift some work to iOS and Android devices still perks the ears of a number of investors. The jury is asked to consider the financier who suggested a model where players would pay 99 cents...
News Zero Escape Series Director Struggling to Find Funding for Third Title
Takes to Twitter for help
The Zero Escape series, which features the puzzle-based visual novels 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors on the DS and Virtue's Last Reward on the 3DS and Vita, has always included the carrying of hope in desperate times as a theme. Series director Kotaro Uchikoshi is now finding himself trying to maintain a similar...
News Nintendo President Satoru Iwata "Has Earned The Right To Fail", Says David Jaffe
Nintendo's "ups and downs" are what make the company great
Yesterday, Nintendo revealed that it was slashing its hardware projections for this financial year and that it expects to make a loss — not the kind of news that under-fire president Satoru Iwata will have wanted to impart to investors and shareholders, we're sure. Iwata himself has...