Tag: Industry
News Saudi Public Investment Fund Considering Increasing Its Stake In Nintendo
Will make investments in a "friendly" way
The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund is considering increasing its stake in Nintendo and other gaming firms, it has been revealed. Speaking in an interview with Japanese new agency Kyodo News, Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, vice chair of the PIF's gaming unit, revealed the desire to expand...
News Ubisoft's Disastrous 2024 May Lead To The Company Going Private
It lost half of its market value this year alone
Tencent and the Guillemot family are reportedly considering taking Ubisoft private as part of efforts to stabilise the company amid a tumultuous 2024. Acording to Bloomberg, both parties have reportedly been speaking with advisors on how best to bolster Ubisoft's value after multiple gaffs ov
News Mario + Rabbids Director Davide Soliani Launches New Studio, Working On Original IP
With the help of former Red Dead Redemption lead designer
Back in July, the Mario + Rabbids creative director Davide Soliani announced he would leave Ubisoft after 25 years, with 11 of those years dedicated to his Nintendo-exclusive series. Now, in an update, it’s been announced he’ll be opening a brand new studio called Day 4 Night alongside...
News Dragon Quest's Creator Criticises 'Mistranslation' Of DQ3 Remake Costume Comments
It continues
Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii and former Shonen Jump editor Kazuhiko Torishima, co-hosts of radio show KosoKoso Hōsō Kyoku, have addressed the recent controversy surrounding comments made by the pair on a talk show appearance during Tokyo Game Show 2024. According to the statement, the pair's comments — which focused on...
News Dragon Quest Creator Chimes In On Characters Showing Less Skin In Upcoming HD-2D Remake
"I really wonder, who's even complaining about this?"
Ahead of the release of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake this November, series' creator Yuji Horii has addressed the changes to the female characters in the game, who are now showing less skin than the original version of the game. Speaking during an interview at the Tokyo Game Show (and translated...
News Nintendo Patents Filed After Palworld's Release Suggest Lawsuit Prep Started Months Ago
Pika your battles
Last week, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company announced that they were filing a patent infringement lawsuit against Palworld developer Pocketpair. While the latter studio claimed it was "unaware of the specific patents we are accused of infringing upon," online speculation soon began to throw out various plausible-sounding submis
News Californian Law Dictates Storefronts Be Honest About Digital Game Ownership
A license to kill your purchase
A new Californian law will come into effect in 2025 that will effectively force digital storefronts to disclose that buyers don't actually own their digital puchases, but rather simply licensing the content. Naturally, we suspect that most of our audience will already be aware of this, but it's entirely possible that...
News Indie Publisher Merge Games Closes Down After 15 Years
Update claims it's actually been "integrated within Maximum"
Another video game company has announced its closure this week. This time it's Merge Games, who is apparently "closing down" after a 15 year run. In a now-deleted post, it was mentioned how the indie-focused team was made up of "incredible" people who "worked their hardest". "Starting...
News PlatinumGames Gains 'The Wonderful 101' Trademark From Nintendo
How wonderful
Developer PlatinumGames has gained full ownership of the trademark for The Wonderful 101 from Nintendo after a document was spotted detailing the transfer. The document in question was picked up by Joseki100 on Reddit and relayed by the folks over at
News Analyst Is Certain Nintendo Will Win Its Lawsuit Against Palworld Developer
"Nintendo took its time to really build the case"
While everyone is patiently awaiting news from Nintendo regarding its upcoming Switch successor, the company made another, undoubtedly more surprising, announcement. Months after Palworld's release, Nintendo has now filed a patent lawsuit against developer Pocketpair, claiming that Palworld...
News Ex-Nintendo President Reggie Fils-Aimé Is Keen To Discuss The State Of The Industry
"Let’s talk"
It's safe to say that the games industry is in somewhat of a volatile state at the moment. Projects are taking longer to complete, budgets are becoming unsustainable, and development staff worldwide are being made redundant left, right, and centre. Indeed, it seems as though Nintendo is really one of the only major companies...
News Penny's Big Breakaway Dev Downsizes Due To "Volatile Market Conditions"
"It is now an unavoidable reality for us"
It's been a tough week in the video game industry with Microsoft announcing another round of layoffs at its Xbox division and staff resigning at Annapurna Interactive. Now, to unfortunately add to this, Penny's Big Breakaway developer Evening Star has announced it's had to
News All Annapurna Interactive Staff Resign Following Failed Spin-Off Negotiations
Entire workforce followed executive departure
The entire workforce of publisher Annapurna Interactive has resigned following a dispute with owner Megan Ellison. As reported by Bloomberg, the publisher had been in negotiations with its owner to spin the gaming arm into an independent entity. Ellison reportedly walked out of these talks, leading to...
News New AI Model Can Recreate Super Mario Bros. Footage, But It's Full Of Glitches
Let's-a not!
Researchers from tech company Virtuals Protocol have published a paper on a new text-to-video AI model, MarioVGG, which can simulate Super Mario Bros. footage via some basic text inputs (thanks, ArsTechnica). The model was fed over 737,000 Mario Bros. frames,
News Bayonetta Star Jennifer Hale On The SAG-AFTRA Strikes: "AI Is Coming For Us All"
"Now you’re using technology to take away our ability to feed our kids.”
The topic of AI is seemingly becoming more and more heated as time goes on at the moment, with creatives in particular speaking out against the technology as coporate big wigs look to streamline their operations and, ultimately, line their pockets. One actor who recently...
News Mario + Rabbids Producer Leaves Ubisoft Milan After "16 Incredible Years"
Following the creative director's exit in July
It seems to be the end of an era for Mario + Rabbids, with producer Cristina Nava announcing her departure from Ubisoft Milan. This follows the exit of the series creative director David Soliani, who announced in July he would "embark on a new adventure'. Nava spent "16 incredible years" at Ubisoft and...
News Mario Party Dev NDcube Has Officially Changed Its Name
No, not to GameCube
Long-time Nintendo subsidiary NDcube, the studio behind Mario Party since Mario Party 9, F-Zero: Maximum Velocity, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, and Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics, has changed its name. In a statement posted on its website, the company revealed that from 1st September, it will be officially known as
News Nintendo Of Europe Announces Leadership Changes As President Resigns
Welcome, Mr. Pereña
Nintendo of Europe has announced a few changes to its management structure after Stephan Bole stepped down from his role as President. Bole served as President for NoE for six years after succeeding Satoru Shibata in 2018, and has being an employee at the company for more than 35 years. According to the announcement, Bole has...
News Capcom's Hideaki Itsuno Leaves After 30 Years, Starts New Role In September
"I will start developing a new game in a new environment"
The Japanese video game director Hideaki Itsuno has announced he'll be leaving Capcom after "30 years and 5 months" and it's effective immediately. In a brief message on social media, he thanked fans for their long-term support of the games and characters he's been responsible for over the...
Guide Gamescom 2024 Opening Night Live: Everything You Need To Know - Date, Time, Where To Stream
It's that time again
It's the middle of August, which means it's time for another glimpse at the future of video games with the upcoming Gamescom 2024. As always, the festivities will kick off with the Gamescom Opening Night Live showcase in Cologne, Germany, during which regular host Geoff Keighley will reveal new trailers and information for some...
News Yes, Gamescom Opening Night Live Will Include "New Game Announcements"
Last year's event was more focused on existing announcements
Gamescom kicks off next week and ahead of Opening Night Live, the show's host and producer Geoff Keighley has reassured everyone it will definitely include "new game announcements". Yes, apart from existing announcements like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Monster Hunter Wilds and Sid Meier's...
News Tango Gameworks Survives, Reviving The 'Hi-Fi Rush On Switch' Dream
Krafton saves the day
Tango Gameworks, the acclaimed studio behind the likes of Hi-Fi Rush, The Evil Within, and Ghostwire: Tokyo, lives to see another day. After being unceremoniously shut down by Microsoft earlier this year, the Japanese studio has been swooped up by South Kore
News Sega's Gamescom 2024 Line Up Includes 'Global Premier' Of Unannounced Project
Sonic X Shadow Generations will also be playable
Sega has announced its video game line up for this year's Gamescom, which is taking place in Germany later this month. It will lead with the October 2024 release Sonic X Shadow Generations. This game will be publicly playable in Europe for the first time and is being joined by the Atlus fantasy RPG...
News Sega Profits Boosted By Angry Birds Creator Acquisition
Video game sales are up while net sales are down
Sega has released its Q1 financial report for the three months ending 30th June 2024, and while net sales are down 3.2% year-on-year, the company's entertainment division (which includes video games) is up 34% (via GamesIndustry.biz). A large part of this increase has been attributed to
News Warner Bros. Is Reportedly Looking To Sell A Stake In Its Games Business
In an effort to reverse tumbling share price
Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly looking to sell a stake in its video game business. As relayed by VGC, sources speaking to Financial Times claim that the media conglomerate is considering offloading smaller assets of its business in an effort to reverse its falling share price since the merger of...
News Nintendo's Share Price Tanks Amid Fears Of A US Recession
Nikkei 225 index fell by more than 12%
Nintendo's share price has tanked by more than 15% on Monday morning amid global fears of a US recession and rising tensions in the Middle East. As highlighted by Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of industry consultancy Kantan Games, almost every major Japanese gaming company saw a drop in share price as Japan's Nikkei...
News Iconic Publication Game Informer Is Closing Down After 33 Years
Damn
Game Informer has announced that it is closing down after 33 years. The publication, owned by US retailer GameStop, started back in August 1993, but has announced its closure via a short post on social media. It states, "After 33 thrilling years of bringing you the latest news, reviews, and insights from the ever-evolving world of gaming, it...
News Nintendo Of Europe Completes Plan To Merge Subsidiaries
All hail NoE SE
In addition to its usual financial shenanigans, Nintendo has announced that its plan to merge its European subsidiaries under one banner is now complete. The merger - the details of which were originally divulged back in November 2022 - saw the likes of Nintendo France, Nintendo Benelux, and Nintendo Ibérica effectively cease to...
Random Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Sold Better Than Tears Of The Kingdom Last Quarter
Showing the youngsters how it's done
Well, we weren't expecting this. After crunching some of the numbers from Nintendo's latest financial report, it turns out that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - which was a launch game in 2017, mind - actually sold better than its direct sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, during Q1 of FY2025 (cheers, Mr. Jon...
News Nintendo Notes A Rise In Research And Development Costs As 'Switch 2' Looms
Whatcha working on?
File this one in a box labelled "Huh, makes sense", because Nintendo has confirmed that its selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses rose by 2.4% year-on-year during its latest financial report. "Okay, so?", you might ask, and it's a fair question. While certainly not a particularly noteworthy announcement on its...
News Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door And Luigi's Mansion 2 HD Both Surpass One Million Sales
A good day for Mario and friends
Nintendo has published its financial results for the first quarter of FY2025 and we have a couple of first-party titles that have crossed their first major milestone. If the headline hadn't given it away already, Luigi's Mansion 2 HD and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door have both surpassed one million sales...
News Here Are The Top Ten Best-Selling Nintendo Switch Games As Of June 2024
Change may be afoot
Nintendo has published its latest financial data for Q1 of FY2025, and as part of that, we've got an updated look at the top ten best-selling games list for the Switch. The order stays the same with some minimal additions to the total sales figures, but there may be a shift in the coming months. Take a look at Zelda: Tears of...
News Nintendo Switch Sales Hit 143 Million As Hardware And Software Figures Decline
The TOTK and Mario Movie effects take their toll
Nintendo has published its financial results for the first quarter of the 2024/25 fiscal year, revealing that Switch hardware sales now stand at 143.42 million units sold (as of 30th June 2024). This is up from 141.32 million as reported in May, with Nintendo selling 2.1 million consoles across the...
News Pokemon Developer Game Freak Seeking New Talent For Future Projects
Pokémon Legends: Z-A is due out in 2025
The famous Pokémon developer Game Freak is gearing up for a new era with titles like Pokémon Legends: Z-A, and with this in mind, it appears to be on a recruitment drive. As highlighted by DenFamiNico Gamer (thanks, Siliconera), the developer is holding a new recruitment campaign on 30th August 2024. Some...
News All Humble Games Staff Reportedly Laid Off As Publisher Announces "Restructuring"
Insists it is "not shutting down"
The entire staff of Humble Games, the publisher behind such games as Unpacking, Slay the Spire, and Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus, has been the subject of a mass layoff, according to LinkedIn posts from affected staff members. The news came to light after staff posted announcing that their time with the studio has come...
News Warner Bros. Games Acquires 'MultiVersus' Developer
Following reports of NetherRealm layoffs
It's been a challenging year for the games industry and following last week's story about potential Mortal Kombat studio layoffs, Warner Bros. Games has now announced it's acquired Player First Games. This studio might not necessarily be a household name, but it released its first game MultiVersus in May...
News Mortal Kombat Studio NetherRealm Is Reportedly Facing Layoffs
Following mobile team being shut down
NetherRealm Studios, the developer behind the Mortal Kombat series, is reportedly facing multiple layoffs after select staff members from the studios' mobile team shared posts on LinkedIn announcing that they have been put out of work (thanks, Eurogamer). The NetherRealm mobile team seems to be the most...
News GoldenEye 007 And Perfect Dark Artist Brett Jones Has Died
An absolute legend
Former Rare artist Brett Jones, who worked on the classic N64 games GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark, has died. Jones' work on the classic first-person shooter was wide-ranging and included concept art and character creation, model rigging, animation, and texturing. He would go on to do much of the same work on Perfect Dark,...
News Nintendo's Miscrediting Practices Are "Ridiculous", Say External Translators
"I felt robbed, but in an all too familiar way"
Multiple external translators who worked on games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Super Mario RPG and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom say that Nintendo's miscrediting policies have become "ridiculous" after the company repeatedly failed to credit their work. This is according to a new...
News Riot Games Reportedly Cancels Smash Bros. Style Fighter Codenamed 'Pool Party'
"A platform fighter in the vein of Super Smash Bros. Melee"
The Super Smash Bros. series is the king of brawlers and many other companies have attempted to recreate this magic with certain other franchises over the years. With this in mind, Riot Games (the same team behind League of Legends) has apparently cancelled its own "unannounced" Super...
News Square Enix And Nintendo Co-Dev Reports Losses After Multiple Projects Cancelled
Tose has worked on series like Final Fantasy and Paper Mario
2024 has been a challenging year for the video game industry and it seems Japanese developer Tose (a team that's worked on countless Nintendo projects since the Famicom era and also helped out Square Enix over the years) has experienced some financial losses due to multiple projects being...
News Tales Of Kenzera: Zau Studio Is Reportedly Facing Layoffs
Game launched on Switch earlier this year
Update: Surgent Studios has released its own statement on Twitter: Original Story: Surgent Studios, the developer behind the recent Metroidvania Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, is reportedly facing layoffs after staff members were spotted posting messages on LinkedIn that indicate their time at the studio has...
News Capcom Announces Summer Showcase 2024, Airing Next Week
It will focus on three upcoming releases
In some industry-related news, Capcom has today announced it will be hosting a 'Capcom Next - Summer 2024' showcase on 1st July 2024. This broadcast will run for 25 minutes and will focus on three titles - the newly announced Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster,
News Bandai Namco's Smash Bros. Studio "No Longer" Advertising Select Roles For Nintendo Projects
"They probably filled them"
Remember last year when Bandai Namco announced a new in-house development team 'Studio 2 & Studio S' for commissioned projects - with Nintendo series like Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart seemingly a big part of the plans? After advertising for multiple roles, it appears there's been a small development. As spotted...
News FromSoftware Boss Wouldn't Allow Studio Layoffs To Happen, Cites Satoru Iwata
Nintendo's former president famously took a pay cut
The former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata had an incredibly positive impact on the video game industry during his lifetime, and it seems FromSoftware's current president (and Elden Ring game director) Hidetaka Miyazaki has drawn from the teachings of this Nintendo legend. Speaking to
News Summer Game Fest Will Return To Los Angeles In June 2025
Geoff Keighley confirms
Summer Game Fest had all sorts of surprises this year and if you're wondering about the future of this event, Geoff Keighley has already confirmed it will return to Los Angeles in June 2025. In a brief post on social media, he mentions the event will continue to help "build what's next" alongside the games industry: In...
News Nintendo Is Seeking More Talent To Help Run Its Switch Online Service
It wants to create a "lasting relationship" with consumers
The Switch Online service will seemingly be carried over in some way or form to the next hardware generation, and as we get closer to the reveal of a "successor" system at some point this fiscal year, Nintendo is now seeking recruits in Japan to help sustain its subscription-based offering...
Guide Summer Game Fest Conference Schedule 2024: Dates, How To Watch, Everything You Need To Know
Another round
It really feels like Summer Game Fest 2023 only just ended, yet here we are gearing up for another look at what Geoff Keighley has up his sleeves for Summer Game Fest 2024. The opening showcase is today, and in this guide we'll be going over exactly when you need to tune into the various showcases over the Summer months, plus which...
News Shiver Entertainment Has Updated Its Website After Being Acquired By Nintendo
The studio will continue to port and develop games for "multiple platforms"
Last month, Nintendo announced it had "entered into an agreement with Embracer Group" to acquire the Miami, Florida-based team Shiver Entertainment. It seems no time has been wasted, with the Shiver Entertainment website already receiving a few updates to its home page...
News Ubisoft Toronto Joins Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time 'Remake' Project
"We're excited to rewind time"
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake has bolstered its development with Ubisoft Toronto joining the project. Here's what this developer had to say in a brief message on social media: "We’re excited to rewind time and bring our studio’s creativity, expertise and updated tech to refresh this beloved classic...
