Tag: Industry - Page 22
News PAX Australia is Sold Out
No more tickets available for the July event
PAX Australia will be taking place this Winter between 19th and 23rd July in Melbourne and if you haven't picked up a ticket yet you might be a bit disappointed to hear all passes have been sold. This comes from the event's official Facebook page, which stated the expo is now a sell out and no more...
News Tecmo Koei Slices Team Ninja in Two
The company is reorganising after big profits
Tecmo Koei has been doing pretty well for itself recently. Last year it recorded a net profit of $27.9 million (£17.7 million) between the beginning of October and the end of December, which was a staggering 291.7% increase on the previous quarter. Now the company has announced it is reorganising its...
News EA CEO John Riccitiello Resigns
Decision made after poor financial results
Electronic Arts' John Riccitiello has handed in his letter of resignation and will be stepping down from his position as chief executive officer on 31st March 2013 after being in charge of the company for six years. Larry Probst, who was the publisher's CEO from 1991 to 2007, will be the man in charge...
News Nintendo of America Reorganising its Operations
New York employees heading to Redmond
Nintendo is reorganising its operations in North America by moving some of its employees from the Park Avenue offices in New York to those in Redmond, Washington. A much smaller office will soon open up in New York, where a few staff will remain. For those of you who are worried, the Nintendo World Store isn't...
News Former Assassin's Creed Creative Director Patrice Désilets Returns To Ubisoft
Back at Ubi after THQ's bankruptcy
Former Assassin's Creed lead developer Patrice Désilets has joined Ubisoft — the company he left in 2010 — after the French publisher acquired THQ Montreal, where he was employed as creative director. The studio was up for sale following THQ's recent bankruptcy. Désilets was working on two previously...
Talking Point Nintendo's Stock Jump Bodes Well for the Value of Potential
History and pedigree in the industry are vital weapons
This week brought some interesting and, perhaps, unexpected news. Nintendo's stock jumped a little over 7% on the Osaka Stock Exchange, a boost attributed to factors such as a weakening Yen being a benefit against trade in the U.S., while positive economic news from the big N's most valuable...
News Pachter: Wii U Will Sell Between 30 to 50 Million Units During Its Lifetime
Will "Probably" Be Nintendo's Final Home Console
Industry analyst Michael Pachter has been speaking at the ongoing SXSW Interactive 2013 festival in Austin, and has delivered some dismal predictions for Nintendo's Wii U console. During his presentation, Pachter addressed the future of home consoles, and gave some proposed figures for the big three...
News Nintendo's Stock Price Jumps Higher than Mario
Happy shareholders spotted smoking cigars and drinking expensive brandy
Sometimes relatively obscure financial news can bring rather nice vibes for Nintendo and its fans, such as today's confirmation of a fairly meaty jump of over 7% in share price, to 10,330 Yen — roughly $110 / €85 / £73. While it'd be nice to think that this surge in value...
News Pikmin 3 Aims to "Simply Go Deeper" Than Previous Experiences
Miyamoto believes players need to play Wii U before grasping "how fun it is"
As part of an extensive interview that's been published by GameSpot, we've already been given an idea of Shigeru Miyamoto's perspective on Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon's role as "lighter fare" on 3DS. Naturally a big topic raised with the executive producer was an upcoming...
News Ubisoft Is "Optimistic" About Wii U, But Would Like a Price Cut All The Same
"We think that Wii U will find its public at some point"
Ubisoft’s executive director for EMEA territories Alain Corre has added his voice to the those calling for a Wii U price cut. When asked by Edge Online if he would welcome a reduction in price, Corre said: Always. We always want the hardware to be at a low price because we want as many...
News Lead Designer On Watch_Dogs Has Parted Company With Ubisoft
Jamie Keen has joined EA
It has been reported that Watch_Dogs lead game designer Jamie Keen has left Ubisoft and is now working at EA Gothenburg — also known as Ghost Games. VideoGamer.com found the information in Keen's
News Crytek CEO: "The Notion Of A Single Player Experience Has To Go Away"
Wants to see Connected Single-Player or Online Single-Player instead
There's been a lot of talk about what the future holds for the video game industry and how games will be distributed in the coming years. Mobile gaming is becoming more popular, and retail games are starting to become more readily available through online stores. Free-to-play...
News Cliff Bleszinski Sees A Future Where Nintendo Is Out Of The Hardware Business
"It's like the Super Smash Bros. of business right now, and I want to see if Peach or Mario wins"
Ex-Epic Games director Cliff Bleszinski has been reflecting on what he feels could be the future of the video game industry, and has admitted that one day Nintendo may be forced to leave behind hardware manufacturing to focus purely on software...
News Ubisoft "Satisfied" With Wii U Launch, But Notes Low Software Tie-In Ratios
CEO Yves Guillemot talks business with investors
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has stated that his company is satisfied with the launch of the Wii U and happy with its own market share in both North America and Europe, but also noted the impact of "low tie-in ratios" on software. During Ubisoft's investors call last week, Guillemot had the following...
News Activision's Bobby Kotick Is Disappointed With The Launch Of The Wii U
"We're concerned about the install base for 6-11 year-olds"
It seems that people just can't stop hating on the Wii U. Activision boss Bobby Kotick is the latest to knock Nintendo's new console, suggesting that the machine has been a commercial flop and is struggling to find favour with youngsters - a key demographic in today's market. During the...
News Microsoft Almost Purchased Sega In Order To Compete With Nintendo And Sony
How different things could have been
A former Microsoft executive has revealed that the company was considering buying Japanese video game veteran Sega before it decided to create the Xbox console. Speaking to IGN, Joachim Kempin said: There were three companies at that point in time, I think this was , Sega and Nintendo. There was always talk...
News U.S. Download Sales Increase, But Physical Games Drop in Popularity
Downloads get closer to overtaking physical retail
The times are definitely changing in the video game retail industry, as the latest NPD figures covering 2012 sales in the U.S. emerge. In general the results reflect the trends reported by Nintendo in its financial results, but the figures also show just how vital the download gaming market is...
News Square Enix Laments "Increasingly Difficult" Console Market
5.7 billion yen loss rocks Dragon Quest publisher
Japanese publisher Square Enix has recorded a 5.7 billion yen loss for the nine months ending 31st December 2012. This comes despite the news that sales have risen to 102.7 billion yen. The firm has placed the blame on the tricky nature of the console market, stating that poor game sales were to...
News Nintendo Plans To Make It Easier For Developers To Share Their Assets Between Platforms
Expanding developer capabilities with technology like Unity, JavaScript and HTML5
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata recently held a financial briefing with investors that wasn't exactly brimming with good news for the company. Iwata-san revealed that Nintendo recorded an operating loss of 5.85 billion Yen in the nine month period and spoke about a...
News Latest Figures Show The Video Game Market Is Contracting
Satoru Iwata briefs investors and reveals many challenges for the industry
Nintendo is certainly having a good old time in Japan. The 3DS is dominating hardware sales in the region, so much so it has already surpassed the 10 million sales mark. However, things aren't looking as rosy in the overseas markets, namely the US and Europe, where Nintendo's...
News GoldenEye Creator Explains N64 Title's Role In Bringing "Real" Guns to the Virtual World
Brand names weren't licensed, which has changed in modern games.
With gun control and related violence a topical subject in the U.S. and among interested parties and spectators worldwide, the role of video games has faced its own level of scrutiny. Major publishers had a meeting with vice-President Joe Biden as part of his gun control task-force...
News Wii U Price Cut Isn't in Nintendo's Plans
Iwata: "I would like to make this point absolutely clear"
Following the announcement of the latest financial results for Nintendo, Satoru Iwata addressed a number of issues in a subsequent briefing, some of which we've already reported. Naturally, Wii U was a major part of the presentation, with data presented by the Nintendo President that showed...
News Iwata Implies That He Could Step Down Over Sluggish Sales Performance
"We feel greatly accountable for this severe outlook"
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has hinted that he will step down if goals for the next fiscal year are not met. Speaking in a Corporate Management Policy Briefing, Iwata addressed the thorny issue of two consecutive years of losses and recent financial troubles: We feel greatly accountable...
News Warren Spector: "I'm Sad But Excited For The Future"
Former Junction Point chief is proud of the studio's achievements
Yesterday Disney announced that it was closing Junction Point Studios indefinitely, resulting in around 160 people sadly losing their jobs. Warren Spector was the man who headed up the operation at Junction Point, and because of the closure he too has left Disney Interactive. In a...
Talking Point Nintendo's Lower Expectations Are No Surprise
Nintendo isn't doomed, though
Today Nintendo issued its third quarter financial results, showing where the company stands in terms of profits and sales. To get the positive out of the way and to avoid any confusion, the company is now projecting a net income profit of 14 billion Yen - over $150 million dollars at the time of writing. In summary,...
News Nintendo's Financial Results Bring Operational Losses But Overall Profit
Wii U sales to date pass three million
Nintendo has today published its quarterly financial results, which cover the nine months up to the end of December. In terms of the baseline figures that concern shareholders the outcome is disappointing if not a disaster, while sales of hardware seem to be in reasonable shape. Wii U is reported to have...
News Disney Confirms That Junction Point Has Been Closed
Warren Spector's studio closes its doors
It has emerged today that Junction Point Studios, the developer behind the Epic Mickey series, has closed its doors and in the process made its employees — of which there were around 160 in early 2012 — redundant. Rumours were circulating yesterday about the studio's demise, and now a Disney...
News So, How Is The Wii U Doing In The UK?
Could do better?
Although those who have purchased the Wii U - us included - are perfectly happy with the system, experts and analysts want cold, hard numbers to prove how well a new piece of hardware is doing. And sadly, in the case of the Wii U, those figure are a little on the depressing side. Eurogamer has conduced its own investigation into...
Rumour Has Junction Point Hit A Dead End?
Troubling tales regarding Warren Spector's studio
Various reports have been circulating around the internet in the past couple of hours saying that Warren Spector's Junction Point has been suffering some problems, with the development studio being closed down by Disney. A tweet originating from Roberts Space Industries sparked the chatter, but it...
News Pinball Games Contribute to a Revival of Real Tables
A new generation is getting interested
While it's often easy for veteran gamers — some of which are part of the Nintendo Life team — to bemoan the loss of some video game traditions, there are occasions where modern trends are good for those with old-fashioned sensibilities. We see old titles given new life on download platforms, for example,...
News Pokémon Black and White 2 Claims Top Spot for Japan in 2012
A year to remember for Nintendo's handheld business
Media Create, the most trusted source for the weekly hardware and software charts in Japan, has released details of the top selling games in the region for the whole of 2012. As anyone who follows our regular posts on the weekly Japanese chart will know, Nintendo's been having a good time in its...
News Silent Hill Producer Joins WayForward Technologies
Tomm Hulett leaves Konami for pastures new
A new director has been appointed at WayForward Technologies in the form of Tomm Hulett, the former Konami producer behind Contra 4, Rocket Knight and the more recent Silent Hill games. Konami and WayForward Technologies have worked together before, with the publisher releasing Silent Hill: Book of...
News THQ President: Lack Of Vigil Buyer Is A "Travesty"
There's still some hope for Darksiders
This week saw the sad end of THQ, as the publisher sold off its assets at auction and closed its doors for the last time. SEGA, Koch Media, Crytek, Take-Two and Ubisoft all gathered around for the sale, taking with them most of its IPs and studios. One development team that unfortunately didn't get picked up...
News FIFA Brand Passes £1 Billion in UK Sales
Mario is third, but results are only from 1996 onwards
When it comes to the UK software sales charts, FIFA is often King. While some like to pick on Nintendo's fairly regular entries from Mario, for example, FIFA is an annual affair that, from year to year, promises revolutionary improvements to shake up the series. FIFA 13 did represent a genuine...
News Nintendo Comes Out On Top In Consumer Experience Poll
Beating Apple, Sony and Microsoft
A recent poll has seen Nintendo top the list for best customer service, outranking Apple, Sony, Samsung and Microsoft - among others. The findings were charted by Forrester, an independent market research firm that specialises in the tech sector. 7,500 US participants in the survey were asked: “How well did they...
News Platinum Games Is Interested In Acquiring The Darksiders Franchise
A match made in heaven?
Yesterday, we reported that THQ's time was up and the company's studios were being sold off to the highest bidders. One of the shocks of the process has been the fact that nobody has come forward to purchase Darksiders II studio Vigil Games. However, it would seem that there are interested parties out there. Platinum Games...
News Game Over For THQ As Assets Are Purchased By Rival Publishers
Sega, Crytek, Take-Two and Ubisoft pick apart troubled company
2013 hasn't had the best of starts for veteran video game publisher THQ. After buying some time at the end of 2012, the firm slid into bankruptcy just a few days later and as the new year dawned found itself in the position of having its assets - the studios and IPs it owns, essentially...
News Ralph Nader Targets Violent Video Games and Their Developers
Refers to "electronic child molesters"
After the shocking violence of the Sandy Hook massacre, a lot of political debate in the U.S. has focused on the implications of what happened, along with debates about existing gun laws and the potential causes of such violent behaviour. It's a complex issue with arguments about gun control and mental health...
Talking Point The Trends and Inconsistencies of Localisation
Predicting releases is getting tougher
Yesterday brought the news that Project X Zone is being localised and released in PAL regions and North America this summer. To many that would arguably be a surprise, as the title has endured a relative failure in Japan, culminating in a major price-cut. Yet recent years have taught us that predicting...
News HMV Debt Acquired by Hilco
Gift cards are being honoured once again
HMV, one of the UK's foremost entertainment media retailers in the UK, and by extension a major part of the video game presence on the high-street, has been in administration since last week. It's been announced today that the company's debt has now been acquired by Hilco, a retail restructuring firm that...
Reaction Gunman Clive Provides a Positive Example of eShop Success
A boost for controlled licensing
The video game industry is in the middle of, arguably, its most unstable period — the landscape is evolving almost too quickly to track. Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are currently sticking to the course as constants, in general maintaining well-worn business practices while attempting to adjust to new challenges...
News Atari's U.S. Division Files For Bankruptcy
A bid for freedom from its parent company in France
While filing for bankruptcy in the U.S. is typically an act taken by companies in significant financial trouble, it's being adopted as an escape mechanism by the U.S. divisions of Atari. Atari Inc, Atari Interactive Inc, Humongous Inc and California US Holdings Inc have all collectively filed in...
Talking Point The Blurred Lines of "Collectables" and On-Disc DLC
Are Skylanders and Disney Infinity pulling a Capcom, with toys?
Yesterday, before a maelstrom of date reveals and other news, the pricing emerged for Disney Infinity, which put parents and their bank managers on alert. It also instantly raised comparisons with the Skylanders series, now two games old, which despite differences in approach to the...
News Sony and Kevin Butler Actor Settle Lawsuit Over Wii Appearance
No more Mario Kart Wii for Jerry Lambert
Last year we reported the peculiar news that Sony was taking 'Kevin Butler' actor Jerry Lambert to court over an appearance in a Bridgestone advert in which he was part of a Wii promotion. The Kevin Butler character was, for a significant period, the figurehead of Sony's advertising for PlayStation 3 and...
Talking Point The Future Role of High Street Games Retailers
Tough times ahead?
The past twelve months have shown just how volatile the current market is for retailers. With the global recession taking its toll, several high street businesses are finding it difficult to compete. This week alone saw both HMV and Blockbuster slip into administration in the UK, putting thousands of jobs at risk. Video game...
News Nintendo Unifying Handheld and Console Divisions in Business Restructure
$340 million being invested in a new development facility
While many of us focus exclusively on our latest Nintendo consoles and what games are coming up, it's easy to forget that Nintendo's a rather large corporation that's always evolving and seeking a business edge. While it may crush any perceptions that Nintendo's facilities are populated by...
Talking Point Wii U's Beginnings and Challenges For 2013
Convincing sceptics is one
Recent sales figures and industry conversations have given us a fair old glut of analytical articles focused on Wii U in recent days. For a system that's barely a couple of months old, there's been a temptation in some quarters to either predict doom and a major loss of market share, or to put faith in Nintendo's...
News Analyst Firm Concerned That Wii U Will "Lack Broad Appeal"
Believes Sony and Microsoft successors are due this year
Last week saw the annual tech hoopla of Consumer Electronics Association (CES) 2013, with a number of gadgets such as the Nvidia Project Shield handheld unveiled. Although not all major technology companies were in attendance, it was an opportunity for various contacts to be made and for...
News Zen Studios: Wii U eShop is an "Amazing Development for Nintendo"
"The doors are wide open for other small studios"
Best known for its pinball titles — though it has dabbled in other genres — Zen Studios earned a starring role in the final Nintendo Direct broadcasts of last year when Zen Pinball 2 was announced for the Wii U eShop. Initially expected in December, it's been pushed back from that original target...
News Satoru Iwata: Customers Understanding The Wii U "Will Take a Little Time"
"We aim to leave a smile on our customer's faces"
With a New Year and Nintendo's upcoming announcement of its Q3 financial results, Satoru Iwata and his team have plenty to think about. 2013 will be an important year to continue momentum on 3DS with big releases, and more importantly to grow the Wii U audience as much as possible. Speaking to...
