Tag: Industry - Page 8
News The Pokémon Company Needs Someone To Help Archive Pokémon History
Update: Looks like the vacancy has been filled
Update: Aaaand it looks like the position has been taken already, according to this message that pops up when you visit the careers page: Sorry folks! Okay, this must be a dream job for someone out there, right? The Pokémon Company International is looking for someone to help them create an...
News UK Government Warns It "Will Not Hesitate To Consider Legislation" Against Loot Boxes
"Video games companies and platforms must do more"
Loot boxes have long been a contentious topic of conversation in the gaming industry, and the UK government has warned companies that restrictive legislation may be enforced in the future if the culture surrounding these purchases doesn't change. The Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport...
Random Turns Out Elite Beat Agents Predicted 'Nintendo Pictures' Years Ago
The Agents were right on the money
Having acquired Dynamo Pictures — the production company behind the Pikmin Short Movies — Nintendo recently announced its intention to rebrand, with the studio formally becoming 'Nintendo Pictures Co., Ltd.'. While the name change will be a surprise to many, eagle-eyed fans of Elite Beat Agents may have seen...
News Nintendo To Acquire Dynamo Pictures, Will Rename It 'Nintendo Pictures'
Previously known for its work on the Pikmin Short Movies
Nintendo has entered an agreement to fully acquire the visual production company Dynamo Pictures, Inc., known previously for its work on the Pikmin Short Movies. Completion of the acquisition is expected to close on October 3rd, after which Dynamo Pictures will be known as 'Nintendo Pictures...
News Nintendo Formally Acknowledges Same-Sex Marriage, Despite Japanese Law
Enabling employees to "fully realize their talents"
Update: It has been highlighted that this particular addition to Nintendo's CSR first appeared when it was updated last year, and is therefore not a new addition to the document. We apologise for the error. Bearing in mind we haven't previously reported on it, we've decided to keep the story live...
News Bandai Namco Confirms Ransomware Attack, Investigating "Scope Of The Damage"
Update: Publisher is "identifying the status about existence of leakage"
Update [Wed 13th Jul, 2022 13:45 BST]: Bandai Namco has confirmed reports that its servers were hacked. In a statement provided to VGC, the publisher has said it is currently assessing the scale of the attack and states that the leak of customer information is a "possibility"...
News Devon Pritchard Becomes Nintendo Of America's Newest Executive
Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Communications
Nintendo of America has put out a press release via Business Wire naming Devon Pritchard as the company's Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Communications. Devon Pritchard, Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Communications at Nintendo of America Since...
News Respawn Working On Single-Player FPS Set In Apex Legends Universe
The battle royale could be expanding...
Respawn Entertainment's free-to-play battle royale Apex Legends doesn't always get as much credit in certain corners of the internet, but it's actually generated more than $2 billion in earnings since its arrival in 2019. With this in mind, Respawn appears to be developing a new solo first-person shooter...
News GameStop Staff Layoffs Are Announced As Chief Financial Officer Leaves
In an aim to reduce costs
Reports have emerged that GameStop is replacing its Chief Financial Officer and will begin laying off "a number" of staff. In a memo acquired by Axios' Stephen Totilo, GameStop CEO Matt Furlong reportedly wrote that the layoffs are to allow the company to strive for "sustained profitability". Mike Recupero, current CFO,...
News Overwatch 2 Dev Blizzard "Committed" To Reviving BlizzCon In 2023
The live event will return
It's the time of year when all sorts of video game conferences are broadcast, or at least get announced. Blizzard - the developer behind series like Diablo, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft hasn't held its own in-person event in a while, but it seems this will be changing next year. Speaking to the Los Angeles Times...
News E3 2023 Will Be "A Return To Form", Promises New Production Company
The ESA teams up with PAX and New York Comic Con organisers
It has been confirmed that E3 2023 is definitely happening and will be run by events company ReedPop as part of a new partnership with the Entertainment Software Association. As detailed in a press release, E3 will be returning in the second week of June next year as an in-person event...
News NPD Group Predicts Switch Will Sell Most Units In North America In 2022
Game spending to drop almost 9%
The first few months of 2022 have seen the video game industry struggle with sales, with a drop in figures month-on-month. Now the NPD Group has officially reported that this trend looks to continue, although there's some good news for Nintendo in the midst of this. NPD analyst Mat Piscatella predicts that the Switch...
News Kazuki Takahashi, The Creator Of Yu-Gi-Oh!, Has Died
Celebrated manga artist was 60
Update: Thu 7th Jul, 2022 17:25 BST: The official Twitter page for Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Games from Konami Europe has tweeted out its condolences in relation to the passing of Kazuka Takahashi, pledging to carry on the Yu-Gi-Oh! legacy with the love and care it deserves. Original Article: Thu 7th Jul, 2022 12:05 BST:...
News Nintendo Switch Sales See 24% Increase In June In The UK
And sales are steadily increasing
It's good news for hardware sales in the UK for Nintendo for June. After a few quiet months in hardware and game sales, Nintendo has seen a bit of a boost — as have Sony and Microsoft. Switch hardware sales have increased by 24% on the previous month, gameindustry.biz's Chris Dring shared on Twitter. The Xbox...
News Microsoft Renews Trademark For Rare's Classic N64 Game Blast Corps
Viva Piñata, too
Video game trademark renewals are always happening, and while they don't necessarily mean something is on the horizon, they do tend to create some excitement whenever it's a classic game or series we haven't heard about for some time. The latest ones, as highlighted by Game Rant, are tied to iconic British developer Rare - owned...
News Ubisoft Forward Returns September 10th, Expect News, Gameplay, Reveals & More
Save the date
It's that time of year where video game companies normally host their own 'Direct-like' presentations - revealing new and upcoming projects. The French publisher and developer Ubisoft announced last month it wouldn't be hosting its usual E3-style presentation in June and would wait until "later this year". Now, in an update, it's been...
News Yuji Naka Erases Former Co-Worker And Sonic Creator Naoto Ohshima From Team Photo
Update: Naka adds more detail
Update: Naka has posted some tweets which appear to give a little more insight into the altered photo: It would seem that Naka is referring to the fallout surrounding the release of the much-derided Balan Wonderworld, which was created alongside Ohshima. Original Story [Tue 5th Jul, 2022 21:30 BST]: Things are...
News Bandai Namco Forms New Studio With Pokémon Developer ILCA
Will deliver "high-quality content" including Ace Combat
The Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl developer ILCA is working on the next entry in the long-running Ace Combat series, and as part of this, it's established a new company with Bandai Namco known as Bandai Namco Aces. It's headquartered in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. Bandai Namco owns...
News Developers Don't Take Kindly To EA's Single-Player Gag On Twitter
Joining in on a meme
The new meme on the block has been making the rounds on Twitter recently, with everyone weighing in and joining in on the tag. Born out of a game on Tiktok, They're a 10 but is meant to be a lighthearted joke where you bring up one flaw about someone who is otherwise perfect. All in good faith of course — no one real! Gaming...
News Slay The Spire Team MegaCrit Games "Working On Next Game"
👀👀👀
As spotted by an eagle-eyed Redditor, the MegaCrit Twitter account has edited their bio to add the message "Working on our next game!" It's hardly surprising, given that Slay The Spire came out in early access in 2017, and then as an official release in 2019, but it's always nice to get confirmation. Before now, the most information we...
News Here's How Much Nintendo's Directors Made This Year
It's modest, but still a lot
Nintendo's executives are known for taken home fairly modest sums of money in comparison to their western counterparts. We reported last year that the top three directors at Nintendo - Shuntaro Furukawa, Shigeru Miyamoto, and Shinya Takahashi - between $1.75 - 3 million each when converted from yen to dollars. Compared...
News Nintendo Appears To Be Stockpiling Raw Materials, Doubles Its 2019 Spending On Supplies
Making hay, or something else?
In the 2021/22 financial year, Nintendo spent more than double its previous highest Switch-era annual expenditure on raw materials and supplies, according to figures from shareholder disclosure documents. While the company hosted its 82nd AGM of shareholders on 29th June (and will soon publish translated notes on the...
News Pokémon GO Dev Niantic Axes Four Projects, Cuts 8% Of Workforce
Company is facing "a time of economic turmoil"
Pokémon GO has been an incredible success for developer Niantic, but the American company appears to be facing some struggles - with the cancellation of four projects and staff cuts of 85 to 90 people. In an email to employees (reviewed by Bloomberg), the company's CEO John Hanke revealed Niantic was...
News Blizzard Entertainment Acquires Spellbreak Developer Proletariat
To help with World of Warcraft development
Less than a day after the shock announcement that magic-based battle royale Spellbreak will be shutting down early next year, it's been announced that Blizzard Entertainment has snapped up the game's developer, Proletariat. VentureBeat reports that the 100-strong team at Proletariat wil
News Bobby Kotick Has Been Re-Elected To Activision Blizzard's Board Of Directors
Investigations into company misconduct are ongoing
Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, has been successfully re-elected to the company's board of directors for another year. The decision was made as a result of the company's annual shareholder meeting on June 21st, the outcome of which you can read in full right here. Activision Blizzard has...
News Cities: Skylines Has Reached An Incredible 12 Million Sales
The sky's the limit
Publisher Paradox Interactive has announced that Cities: Skylines has now sold 12 million copies across all platforms, doubling its previous milestone of 6 million toward the start of 2019. Originally released in 2015, the game eventually made its way to the Switch three years later. Although it retained a lot of the same...
News Sega Is Teasing A New Game, Reveal Happening Soon
It's a "special Sega game"
Update [Thu 23rd Jun, 2022 02:55 BST]: IGN's 'Summer of Gaming' event has revealed the new Sega published title is Hyenas. It's a new multiplayer sci-fi FPS by Creative Assembly and is coming to Xbox, PlayStation and PC. Original article [Wed 22nd Jun, 2022 03:00 BST]: IGN's 'Summer of Gaming' continues tomorrow and...
News Treasure Is Apparently Working On A "Highly Requested" Title
What has the iconic Japanese developer got planned?
Treasure — the famous Japanese developer known for titles like Gunstar Heroes, Sin and Punishment and Ikaruga — has just celebrated its 30th anniversary this week. Yes, although we haven't seen a new game from the company since 2014, it's still alive and well. Apparently, it's even got plans...
News Devolver Digital Shares Plummet After Company Downgrades Sales Expectations
Lowest share price since joining AIM
Devolver Digital saw its share price plummet in the wake of revised sales expectations after a slower than predicted start to the year. First reported by GameIndustry,biz, the company's share price currently sits at 59.90 GBX at the time of writing. Although Devolver's share price has been steadily decreasing...
News Streets Of Rage 4 Developer Lizardcube Is Hiring For A New Action Game
#ThirdGame
Lizardcube — one of the developers behind the excellent revival beat 'em up Streets of Rage 4 — has revealed that it's hiring for a brand new project. Sharing the job listing on Twitter, the company is looking for a senior game/level designer to join its little team of seven in Paris to create a "new action game". Exciting!...
News Pokémon Sword & Shield's Art Director Announces New Game Studio
Called 'All Possible Futures'
Pokémon artist James Turner — art director for Pokémon Sword & Shield and designer of fan favourites such as Gigantamax Gengar, Shadow Lugia (from Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness), and Sinistea/Polteageist — has announced that he's left Game Freak and is opening up a brand new game studio. Turner has already...
News Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund Acquires $1 Billion Stake In Embracer Group
Becomes the second largest owner with 8.1% of the company's shares
Following a series of video game company acquisitions made by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund recently, the state-run wealth fund has now spent $1.05 billion to purchase an 8.1% stake in Embracer Group. That stake will make the PIF's Savvy Gaming Group the second-largest...
News EA Has "Some Surprises" You Apparently Won't Want To Miss
Stay tuned
Electronic Arts, one of the game publishers partnered with Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest event, has shared an interesting message on social media ahead of the opening showcase on 9th June. In the tweet, EA says it has "some surprises" that fans of the company - known for series like Need for Speed and Battlefield - apparently won't...
News E3 Will Return In 2023, Assures ESA President
"We're excited about coming back"
It's June, which means we should be celebrating E3 right now. But we're not, as it was cancelled for the second time in three years back in February. That doesn't mean we're not getting any video game news though, as we're being fed a glutton of gaming presentations, spearheaded by Geoff Keighley's Summer Game...
News LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Holds The Top Spot For May's Charts
It's been a quiet one, folks
May was a quiet month for the video game industry. With no major game releases (Nintendo Switch Sports just got ahead on April 29th - yeah, we thought that was a May title, too!), overall sales were down by 22%. In terms of hard figures, 100,000 games consoles were sold, 1.63 million games (both digital and physical),...
News Capcom's Next Street Fighter Game Won't Be A PlayStation Console Exclusive
It's a win for gamers
Nintendo systems and Street Fighter games have a long-running history, but the last time we actually got a proper mainline game was Street Fighter IV 3D Edition for the 3DS. The situation hasn't just been tough for Nintendo fans, either. Xbox players missed out on Street Fighter 5 last generation due to Capcom doing a deal with...
News Ubisoft Won't Be Hosting An E3-Style Presentation This Month
Mario + Rabbids update when?
It appears Ubisoft won't be hosting its usual E3-style presentation this year. A story over on Axios reveals the publisher likely won't host another event until later on in 2022. Ubisoft had held E3-timed showcases annually in June for years, but a company rep tells Axios the publisher won't have another until "later...
News Take-Two CEO Urges Caution Against Betting On The Metaverse
"There will be failures"
The metaverse is a concept that seems to be gaining ground with each passing day. With multiple companies betting big on the idea of a persistent and evolving metaverse, along with the likes of Reggie Fils-Aimé stating that the concept is something "we're all marching to", it seems almost inevitable that it will eventually...
News Junichi Masuda Leaves Game Freak For New Role At The Pokémon Company
"I appreciate your continued support in my new role"
Junichi Masuda, one of the founders of Game Freak, current Managing Director, and long-time composer of the Pokémon series — among many, many other roles at the company — is stepping down from his role for pastures new. Masuda has been with Game Freak since it was formed in 1989, and has...
News Life Is Strange Devs DONTNOD Announce Rebrand, Plus A Peek At Their New Games
We've been saying it wrong this whole time
French video game developer DONTNOD — who you may know from games like Life is Strange, Tell Me Why, and Life is Strange 2 — have officially changed their name as of today, May 31st. Except it's less of a name change, and more of a "you people have been saying it wrong" change. As part of a massive...
News New Indie Game Funding Initiative, 'Bright Gambit', Introduces Its First Five Recipients
Including our fave, Lonesome Village!
A new indie funding initiative is on the rise: Bright Gambit, a collective of industry veterans that have come together to provide financial and industry support to indies that need it. Their announcement today covers the first five indie games to receive funding, and here's what Bright Gambit had to say about...
News Geoff Keighley Shares Hype Message Ahead Of Summer Game Fest
"I'm getting psyched"
June is always a busy time of year in terms of video game announcements, and even without E3, it's expected to be a big one. Sony, Xbox, and (probably) Nintendo will all be hosting something, and in addition to this is the Summer Game Fest - run by game journalist and presenter, Geoff Keighley. Ahead of the "big live showcase...
News Dark Dungeon-Crawler 'Mistover' Being Removed From Sale At End Of June
Misty eyed
KRAFTON's 2019 roguelike dungeon crawler Mistover is being removed from sale, the developer has announced. This news has come from both the developer of the game and renowned fighting game developer Arc System Works, who has published the game in some territories. Arc System Works revealed in a press release that revealed the company's...
News Reggie Fils-Aimé Says We're All "Marching To" The Metaverse, With Games In The Lead
The metaverse singularity
The metaverse discourse is back, and now Reggie's in on it. Former COO and President of Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aimé, thinks the metaverse — the network of 3D worlds that is purported to eventually replace or enhance real-life socialisation — is the future of gaming, and maybe even just the future in general,...
News Reggie Shares Thoughts On How Nintendo Can Prepare For The Switch's Successor
"The content pipeline needs to be there"
The Reggie Fils-Aimé book tour train just keeps on chugging away! Last week, the former president of Nintendo of America sat down with GamesIndustry.biz's James Batchelor for a chat following the release of his book, Disrupting the Game, to talk about not just the book but various industry issues and the...
News Masahiro Sakurai Recently Had A Meeting With HAL Laboratory
New game when?
Although Masahiro Sakurai is now done with Smash Bros. Ultimate, it seems like he may not be slowing down any time soon. In a bit of an update on social media, the director of Nintendo's all-star Smash Bros. series revealed how he recently had an online meeting with his former employer, HAL Laboratory. He had no need to necessarily...
News Geoff Keighley Hypes Upcoming Showcase, Says There'll Be Fewer Third-Party Shows This Summer
Certain companies will likely feature at bigger shows
According to journalist and presenter Geoff Keighley, this year there'll be fewer third-party video game showcases. In a Twitter Spaces audio session, Geoff explained how these publishers and developers have apparently reconsidered their approach after a somewhat negative response last year to...
News Ex-NoA President Reggie Fils-Aimé Addresses Reports Of Worker Mistreatment At Nintendo
"I do believe it is the role of company leadership to set a culture"
Early in April 2022, reports of poor working conditions at Nintendo of America surfaced, accusing the company and a third-party hiring firm of “concerted activities” and “coercive actions” to prevent unionisation, and the struggles of part-time workers and contractors to...
News Ubisoft Reportedly Wants Its Share Price To Improve Before It Sells
At least €60 a share is its target
With ongoing consolidation occurring within the gaming industry, rumours of a potential Ubisoft sale continue to persist. Although the most recent reports suggest that the company is looking to block potential takeovers with a partnership of their own, the latest report suggests that Ubisoft may in fact be...
News Reggie Talks About Nintendo's Slow Adoption Of Online Play
"Culturally, the company didn’t see a huge opportunity in online."
Reggie has been doing the rounds lately, hasn't he? The former president of Nintendo of America has been promoting his new book, Disrupting the Game, since its release in North America earlier this month. And along the promotional trail, Reggie Fils-Aimé has been dropping tons of...