Tag: Industry - Page 6
Feature How Do Game Developers And Artists Feel About The Rise Of AI Art?
Should we all be worried, or is it just a fad?
If you've had your ear to the ground for the past couple of years, you'll have heard at least some of the rumbles of debate over the ethics and impact of AI art. You may have even heard the names of some tools used to create AI art, like Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and DALL-E. But you may also be...
News Yuji Naka Has Now Been Formally Indicted Over Insider Trading Offenses
Developer was previously arrested twice
Update [Wed 28th Dec, 2022 12:15 GMT]: Following on from the arrests of Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka and former Square Enix employee Taisuke Sazaki, the two have now been formally indicted over alleged insider trading offenses. As reported by NHK (thanks, VGC), the two were charged for conducting insider...
News Smash Bros. Creator Masahiro Sakurai Supposedly Confirms He's "Semi-Retired"
"He is 52 after all"
In a recent interview with Denfaminicogamer, the legendary video game developer Masahiro Sakurai apparently confirmed he is now semi-retired. He elaborated on this, mentioning how he worked on the Super Smash Bros. series for around nine years between the 3DS/Wii U and Switch release, along with the DLC updates. Sakurai feels...
News 75% Of Public Comments On Microsoft's Acquisition Of Activision Were Positive
Microsoft recently announced 10-year deal with Nintendo
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recently announced that over the course of a two-week window, it received a total of 2,100 public emails regarding Microsoft's planned acquisitiion of Activision Blizzard, of which around 75% were positive. The regulator laid out a high-level...
News The Pokémon Company Takes Crypto Company To Court Over NFT Game
Cease and desist
The Pokémon Company has taken an Australian crypto company to court over the unauthorised use of characters from the Pokémon franchise in an NFT game. As reported by Vooks, an Australian company called 'Pokémon Pty Ltd' (also known as Kotiota Studios) had set up a website advertising an upcoming NFT title called PokéWorld. In...
News Epic Games To Pay $540 Million Over Allegations Of Privacy Violations And Unwanted Charges
Fortnite developer used 'dark patterns' to force unintentional purchases
Epic Games, the developer behind the massive online shooter Fortnite, has agreed to pay a total of $540 million to settle allegations made by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In a post on the official FTC website, the agency confirmed that the developer will pay a $275...
News Former God Of War Ragnarok Gameplay Producer Joins Nintendo
Will help drive Nintendo's third party relationships
One of the video game highlights of 2022 was Santa Monica Studio's PlayStation exclusive God of War Ragnarok. The game arrived last month, and now that it's been released to fans around the globe, it seems there's some movement within the studio. God of War Ragnarok and God of War (2018) gameplay...
News The Game Awards GOTY For 2022 Is Elden Ring
Nintendo also took out a bunch of awards
The Game Awards has just concluded for another year and FromSoftware's Elden Ring has been crowned Game of the Year. It was up against A Plague Tale: Requiem, God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West,
News Sega Of America Opens New Office In California
New office will house Sega and Atlus' publishing departments
Sega of America has announced that it has opened a new office in Irvine, California, with the intention to house Sega and its subsidiary Atlus' internal publishing departments in one space. The news comes via GamesIndustry, who states that one of the goals of the new location is to...
News Microsoft Enters "10-Year Commitment To Bring Call Of Duty To Nintendo"
Xbox's Phil Spencer confirms
Microsoft Gaming CEO and Xbox head Phil Spencer has mentioned in recent times how he would love to bring Activision's Call of Duty franchise to platforms like the Nintendo Switch once the Activision Blizzard merger is finalised. Well, today Phil has shared some absolutely massive news - revealing how Microsoft has...
News Reggie Fils-Aimé Returns To The Game Awards As A Presenter
007 actor Daniel Craig will also be in attendance
If you would like to see more of the former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé, you might want to tune into The Game Awards later this week. For the ninth year in a row, the big man is back! He'll once again be presenting an award. Reggie even shared a message on social media mentioning...
News Former Retro Studios Dev Reveals "Rejected" Wii Pitch Metroid Tactics
"It's basically XCOM"
It seems the Metroid Prime series wasn't the only Metroid series being worked on at Retro Studios. Did You Know Gaming has been able to uncover one of the developer's other projects that never saw the light of day. Metroid Tactics was a concept pitched internally by Paul Tozer - a member of the Metroid Prime team. This...
News Nintendo Publishes Job Listings For Newly Acquired 'Nintendo Pictures'
Picture the scene
Back in July it was announced that Nintendo would be fully acquiring Dynamo Pictures - the production company behind the adorable Pikmin Shorts - and would be immediately undergoing a rebrand, naming the company 'Nintendo Pictures'. Well, after launching its website last month, it appears that the studio is on the hunt for...
News Team Ninja Denies Ninja Gaiden & Dead Or Alive Reboot Rumours
Update: Excitement over
Update [Tue 22nd Nov, 2022 16:15 GMT]: Having heard of the reports surrounding potential reboots for Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden, Team Ninja has stepped forward to say that there are no such plans as of yet. Speaking to VGC, the studio's creative director, Tom Lee, made clear that last weekend's keynote presentation at...
News Cooking Mama IP Holder Sues Planet Entertainment For Sale Of Cooking Mama: Cookstar
Mama is not happy!
Remember the ongoing dispute between Cooking Mama: Cookstar publisher Planet Entertainment and the series' rights holder Office Create dating back to 2020? Well, in an update, Planet has now been sued by Office Create. There was actually a fallout between the two parties before the game's release in 2020, but Planet Entertainment...
News Games Market Expected To Decline 4.3% Globally This Year, According To Newzoo
"Our long-term outlook for the games market remains positive"
Games market research group Newzoo has published its latest report which forecasts a year-on-year decline of 4.3% for the global games market in 2022, following two years of "exceptional" growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the report (thanks, GamesIndustryBiz), the firm estimates...
News Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Leads Nintendo's Nominations At The Game Awards 2022
Neon White, Sifu, and Tunic all net 3 noms each
The nominations are out for Geoff Keighley's yearly glamorous advertising and awards event, The Game Awards, which will be broadcast on Thursday, December 8th. Now, we're all well aware by this point that Nintendo's representation on these lists is usually pretty lacking until you get to the indies...
News Disco Elysium Creators Clash With Studio Owners Over Dismissal
Both parties present conflicting statements
In a significant escalation of the legal battle between Disco Elysium's ousted creators and the development studio ZA/UM, both parties have presented conflicting statements regarding the dismissal of Robert Kurvitz, Aleksander Rostov, and Helen Hindpere. In an online message posted by Kurvitz and Rostov,...
News Nintendo Highlights The Environmental Benefit Of New Switch Packaging
Smaller boxes are on their way
A lot of the statistics contained in the recent Nintendo financial report covered how successful the company had been in business terms, but equally important is what it is doing to combat climate change and its negative impact on the environment. Fortunately, the follow-up presentation outlined the steps that the...
News Nintendo Says It Won't Raise Switch Prices, But Will Continue To Monitor The Situation
Any increases would be carefully considered
Sony recently increased the price of the PlayStation 5 in select markets around the world. Since then, fans of certain other platforms have also questioned if it will happen to their own system of choice. Nintendo has already ruled out the idea of possible Switch price increases on a few occasions in...
News Nintendo To Merge Its European Subsidiaries Into One Big Organisation
Say hello to Nintendo of Europe SE
As part of its latest financial report, Nintendo has announced that it will be merging its European subsidiary companies, including Nintendo France S.A.R.L, Nintendo Benelux B.V, and Nintendo Ibérica, S.A, into one organisation under the title Nintendo of Europe SE. Currently, these subsidiaries, in addition to...
News Pokémon Dev Job Listing References R&D For Next-Generation Hardware
What is Creatures Inc. up to?
It seems the Pokémon developer Creatures could already looking toward the future of the long-running series. A new job listing at the Japanese company for a 3DCG modeler references "research and development for other next-generation hardware". The same application also mentions the use of Unity and Unreal Engine for...
News Switch Sales Have Only Now Surpassed The Xbox One In The UK
Wait, you mean it didn't already?
We don't need to tell you that the Nintendo Switch has proven to be a remarkable success since its launch over five years ago. The numbers speak for themselves; as per the last official announcement from Nintendo, global sales for the console have surpassed 111 million (although we should have some fresh figures for...
News Streaming Giant Netflix Acquires Cozy Grove Dev, Its "Sixth In-House Games Studio"
Spry Fox released the first game on Switch last year
Spry Fox, the Seattle developer behind the Cozy Grove games, has revealed it's joined Netflix to become the streaming giant's sixth "in-house games studio". Cozy Grove was an Animal Crossing-inspired title released on the Nintendo Switch in April last year, and will be followed by a second game,...
News Konami's Earnings Report Reveals A Substantial Profit Drop In The First Half Of 2022
Bring on Silent Hill
Konami has revealed its earnings report for the first six months of the year and the results aren't pretty. Despite the release of some titles with which we have had a lot of fun - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection doing a lot of lifting on the 'some' there - the company reported a 34.4% drop in earnings...
News Sega Thinks Its "Super Game" Could Bank Over $600 Million USD
"Targeting release by fiscal year ending March 2026"
Japanese video game giant Sega has provided an update on its "super game" in its integrated report for 2022, reaffirming the company's commitment to the project and claiming it'll be out by fiscal year ending March 2026. In a section of the report about the company's "long-term targets", it's...
News EA Announces "Long-Term" Marvel Deal For Consoles And PC
First title will be a single player Iron Man game
Electronic Arts has officially announced a new long-term "multi-title collaboration" with the comic juggernaut Marvel to develop at least three brand new action adventure games for both console and PC. The exact platforms have not been confirmed yet. These games will come with their "own original...
News Sonic The Hedgehog's Lifetime Sales Speed Past 1.5 Billion Units
And he's not slowing down
It's been a pretty big year for Sonic the Hedgehog. From the commercial success of his second movie back in April to the impending release of the much-anticipated Sonic Frontiers in November and the new Sonic Prime Netflix series in December, it is getting pretty difficult to miss SEGA's speedy lil spike ball. According to...
News EA Says It Isn't Ending Physical Sales In Certain Countries, Following "Inaccurate" Reports
"We have not stopped physical distribution of our games"
Earlier this afternoon, a report surfaced online suggesting that EA GmbH was planning to cease physical distribution of its games across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Scandinavia due to the market's increasing shift to digital downloads and the subsequent impact on sales development...
News Sega Veteran And Industry Legend Rieko Kodama Has Passed Away
Known for RPGs like Skies of Arcadia & Phantasy Star
There's some incredibly sad news coming out of Japan today - with Sega confirming the legendary game developer Rieko Kodama passed away earlier this year in May. She was just weeks out from her 59th Birthday. No other details have been shared out of respect for her family's privacy. Sega producer...
News Bandai Namco Renews Trademarks For Pac-Man, SoulCalibur & More
Konami also filed one
Every now and then you'll hear about companies renewing trademarks and today is one of those days. As spotted by Gematsu, Bandai Namco has filed renewals for the classic and long-running series Ace Combat, Pac-Man, SoulCalibur, and Tekken. Tekken 8 was officially revealed last month. It's also mentioned how Konami has fil
News Bayonetta's OG Voice Actor Responds To Online Backlash In Ongoing Dispute
"Some people are calling me a liar and a golddigger"
In the latest development regarding voice actor Hellena Taylor's pay dispute with PlatinumGames, the former Bayonetta star has now responded to reports disputing her account of negotiations with a Twitter thread, saying she feels "a need to defend myself and my reputation in the industry." First,...
News TMNT: Shredder's Revenge Helped Publisher Dotemu Net A Bodacious $22 Million In Revenue
Totally tubular, dude!
Note. After receiving a statement of correction from Dotemu, we've updated the headline and the article below to clarify that this revenue figure relates to the publisher's global revenue in total, from all its activities, not to the total revenue generated from just this game. For many of us, this summer's gaming was...
News A New Bayonetta 3 Report Features A Differing Account Of PlatinumGames' VA Pay Offer
New report says "Taylor asked for a six-figure sum"
Over the weekend, a series of videos posted by former Bayonetta voice actor Hellena Taylor accused developer PlatinumGames of offering an "insulting" sum of $4,000USD to reprise the role in the upcoming third entry, Bayonetta 3, although
News Bayonetta's New Voice Actor Jennifer Hale Issues Statement About Bayonetta 3
"My reputation speaks for itself"
PlatinumGames revealed earlier this month the prolific voice actor Jennifer Hale would be replacing Hellena Taylor as the voice of Bayonetta in the upcoming Switch exclusive, Bayonetta 3. Following the weekend drama, Hale has now issued her own statement - mentioning how she's not really at liberty to speak about...
News Nintendo Updates Repair Regulations To Protect Staff From Customer Harassment
Hint: It's good to be a decent person
Unless you are the kind of person to read through all updated terms and conditions with a fine-tooth comb, the below tweet from the Nintendo Japan's customer support team my have passed you by (don't worry, it did for us too). However, as pointed out by Sora News 24, the latest update actually makes some pretty...
News Bayonetta's OG Voice Actor Asks Fans To "Boycott" Third Game After PlatinumGames Wage Fallout
"$4000 USD...this is an insult to me"
Earlier this month, PlatinumGames confirmed Hellena Taylor would not be returning as the voice of Bayonetta in the third outing Bayonetta 3 due to "various overlapping circumstances". In an update, the voice actor has now directly responded to this - taking to social media to explain in her own words why she...
News Former Playtester To Receive Settlement Payment From Nintendo Hiring Agency
Update: Brief statements from both parties shared
Update [Thu 13th Oct, 2022 20:00 BST]: Nintendo of America and Clifton have both shared statements with Axios earlier today. Nintendo of America has said that it is "thankful that a resolution was reached", and that it would be making sure that the company's "work environment remains welcoming and...
News Mortal Kombat Celebrates 30 Years Of Fatalities, Friendships And Flawless Victories
"Thank you to all of the fans"
The fighting genre is about to enter the next generation with games like Tekken 8 and Street Fighter 6. One other series, in particular, that's played a huge part in evolving the scene over the years is the violent and bloody Mortal Kombat. It also led to the formation of the ESRB in the US, which saw age ratings...
News Fandom Has Acquired GameSpot, Giant Bomb, GameFAQs, And Metacritic In $55m Deal
Aiming to "super serve entertainment and gaming fans"
The latest big-company-acquires-other-big-company news for once doesn't concern Embracer or Tencent — instead, it's all about Fandom, a for-profit wiki hosting service covering news and information from a huge range of media, in an acquisition that seems to have surprised many. In a post on...
News Disco Elysium's Creative Talent Is No Longer At Developer ZA/UM
Developers apparently left 'involuntarily'
It's been confirmed that key creative figures behind the remarkable RPG Disco Elysium are no longer employed at developer ZA/UM. The news initially broke via Martin Luiga, a founding member and Secretary of the ZA/UM cultural association, who announced in a blog post that the cultural association would be...
News Nintendo Launches Official Website For Newly Acquired 'Nintendo Pictures'
Company previously known as 'Dynamo Pictures'
Earlier this year, it was announced that Nintendo would be acquiring the visual production company 'Dynamo Pictures, Inc.' and subsequently rename it 'Nintendo Pictures'. Well, it looks like the acquisition has now been finalised and Nintendo has launched an official website for its new branch. As...
News Fired Nintendo Worker Comes Forward With An Account Of Their Dismissal
Claims they asked Doug Bowser a "downer question"
After filing a complaint against Nintendo of America and recruitment firm Aston Carter earlier this year which alleged "concerted activities" and "coercive actions", the former contractor who filed that complaint with the NLRB has come forward, revealing their identity and offering further details...
News E3 Returns On June 13th, 2023 With A Vision "To Reunite The Industry"
Will have separate 'business' and 'gamer' days
Back in July, it was confirmed that, following some uncertain years, E3 2023 would definitely be happening, and now we know the exact dates of the show: Tuesday 13th to Friday 16th June 2023. The once-annual event is now being run by ReedPop, which is behind other popular events such as PAX East and...
News Video Game YouTuber Dunkey Launches His Own Indie Publishing Company
"I'm sick of all the spam"
YouTuber Jason 'Dunkey' Gastrow has announced his very own indie game publishing company called Bigmode. In a five-minute upload on his YouTube channel, Gastrow explained how he felt he had been sitting on the sidelines for too long, waiting for "great games" to appear, and now wanted to leave a mark on the industry by...
News Yacht Club's New Game Engine Is Powering An Unannounced 3D Project
Mina the Hollower is also running on it
We've heard before about the Shovel Knight developer Yacht Club Games working on a "new 3D project" and now it seems to have come up again during an interview Ars Technica. Yacht Club's game designer Alec Faulkner has revealed how the Mina the Hollower engine is also powering a new "unannounced 3D game":...
Random Miyamoto Had Some Sage Advice On Game Industry Success In 1989
Still relevant today
Shigeru Miyamoto is probably the most recognisable name in the game industry today. He's essentially the "father" of Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, and Pikmin — the latter of which he thoroughly enjoyed representing in last week's Nintendo Direct. But even back in the NES days, Miyamoto was full of sage advice, as revealed in a...
News Sonic Team Unveils New Animated Logo
Get used to it
Sonic Frontiers is out soon, and as part of this, developer Sonic Team has come up with a fresh new animated logo. It revealed this via social media, and in an English post over on the official Sonic Channel website in Japan. This logo is intended to be used for not only the latest video game project but also other forms of Sonic...
Random Game Development Lecturers Are Already Showing Off Sakurai's Videos
Class is now in session
Masahiro Sakurai's YouTube videos are causing quite a stir in the video game community. With short, snappy delivery and easy-to-understand fundamentals, they're proving a hit with both industry veterans and newcomers alike. Now, as expected, it appears as though Sakurai's videos are already being utilised in game development...
News Xenoblade Chronicles Studio Monolith Soft Helped Out With Splatoon 3
Returning for the third time
Monolith Soft has become one of Nintendo's top developers working on huge IPs like Xenoblade Chronicles and also assisting as a support team on multiple other projects. If the release of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 wasn't already impressive enough this year, it seems the Japanese studio has provided assistance with Splatoon...