Tag: Industry - Page 20
News Such Is Sony's Secrecy, Fans Hope New PlayStation Banners Mean Impending News
They probably don't
It’s been almost a year since the last major PlayStation press conference, and the company’s communication has come in waves over the past few months. There’ll be periods where we get plenty of updates from the organisation; there’ll also be periods where the firm disappears into the shadows, and leaves us with very...
News Typhoon Studios Reforms as Raccoon Logic, Regains Journey to the Savage Planet IP
Rise from the ashes
Earlier this year, you may recall that Google Stadia shuttered its development studios and ceased work on game projects. One victim of this mass closure was Typhoon Studios, the team perhaps best known for Journey to the Savage Planet. The well-received sci-fi shooter was thought to be lost in all the legalities that followed,...
News Focus Home Interactive Acquires Streets of Rage 4 Publisher Dotemu
Retro specialist has a new (Focus) home
Dotemu, especially recently, has been knocking it out of the park with its retro releases. The company is a publisher and development studio, and has helped bring about old-school titles such as Streets of Rage 4, Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap, and Windjammers, among many others. The awesome-looking Teenage...
Random New Team ASOBI Recruits Get a Rad Custom PS5 Controller
New hire 🔥
Team ASOBI has transitioned from small Japan Studio division to fully-fledged first-party studio, and it’s marking the occasion with a new website and a recruitment drive. There’s a novelty for successful applicants, however: a lovely welcome pack for all new employees. The set includes a t-shirt, postcard, and steel water bottle.
News Sony Is Absolutely Flying Financially Right Now
Bumps profit forecast
Ex-PlayStation boss Kaz Hirai has long since retired from his role as Sony CEO, but every quarter his work comes into focus a little bit more. For a man who has been memed for the last decade or so, he completely transformed the Japanese firm’s fortunes, and has set it on the positive path it’s currently on. No, it can’t...
News Former Sony Boss Fearful of Industry Consolidation
Studio buyouts not the right way to do things
It's been almost two years since former Sony worldwide studios chairman Shawn Layden very hurriedly left PlayStation, with nothing but a tweet marking his departure. There have always been questions asked about what happened in the time since, but today the businessman announces he has taken up a...
News Activision Blizzard Lawsuit Accuses Publisher of Harassment within Workplace
Alleges "toxic frat boy workplace culture"
Content Warning: Please note that the following article and the sources linked within detail topics such as discrimination, sexual harassment, and suicide. Activision Blizzard, the publisher of franchises like Call of Duty and Overwatch, is being sued over incidents of discrimination and misconduct in the...
News Netflix to Offer Mobile Games As Part of Subscription
No evidence of a partnership with PlayStation
It doesn’t sound like there’s much to those PlayStation assets discovered within the Netflix app’s source code: the streaming giant has announced plans to offer smartphone games as part of its existing subscription. This content will be provided at no extra cost, as the company attempts to retain...
News Tencent Tables $1.3 Billion Takeover of Sackboy Dev Sumo Digital
Offer acccepted
Chinese juggernaut Tencent has tabled a $1.27 billion bid for British developer Sumo Digital, which has been accepted. It means, assuming there are no unforeseen complications, the Sackboy: A Big Adventure maker will become a subsidiary of the WeChat app owner. This isn’t the conglomerate’s first foray into video games: it also...
News Police Raid Ukraine Warehouse Filled with 3,800 PS4 Consoles
It was a FIFA Ultimate Team bot farm
The police in Ukraine have raided a warehouse filled with 3,800 PlayStation 4 consoles, which it originally believed to be a cryptocurrency mining farm. It turns out, the undercover operation was instead grinding FIFA Ultimate Team, and selling accounts loaded with virtual currency and rare player cards. The...
News Netflix Allegedly Plotting Gaming Service, and PlayStation Could Be a Partner
Sony assets discovered in service's source code
Netflix appears poised to enter the gaming arena, after it announced earlier this week that it had hired ex-EA executive Mike Verdu to lead its expansion into the lucrative sector. While this could, potentially, be considered yet another headache for market leader PlayStation, it’s possible the...
News Sony 'Closely Monitoring' Nintendo Switch OLED as Industry May Look to Increase Prices
Costs going up
Nintendo Switch is a runaway freight train, seeing impressive success several years into its cycle. As you may be aware, the company recently announced a revised hardware model, the Nintendo Switch OLED, but despite including a better screen – similar to that employed by the PS Vita almost a decade ago – it’s leveraging the same...
News EA Renames DICE LA to Ripple Effect Studios, Expanding to Establish Own Identity
Cool logo
DICE LA, the developer of an as-of-yet-unannounced experience in Battlefield 2042, has been officially rebranded Ripple Effect Studios, as it expands and seeks to establish its own “identity”. In a press release, boss Christian Grass explained: “We’re so proud of our work as DICE LA and the DICE team will forever be a part of our...
News Sony Snapped Up Housemarque Before Someone Else Could
There were other interested companies
Every company is talking to other businesses at one stage or another about acquisitions, so it's no real surprise to learn that Sony wasn't the only firm sniffing around Returnal developer Housemarque. The PlayStation buyout is set in stone now, but it could easily have gone another way as an interview with...
News Japan Studio Has Officially Been Removed from Sony's Website
End of an era
Well, we knew Japan Studio had been disbanded, but here’s closure: the team has been removed from Sony’s official website – consider this the divorce papers at the end of a messy separation, perhaps. Astro’s Playroom developer Team Asobi has ta
News Bluepoint Stresses It's Fully Independent as Sony Acquisition Speculation Swirls
Developer updates profile in response to rumours
Earlier this week, when Sony officially announced its acquisition of Housemarque, an image mistakenly uploaded by PlayStation Japan seemingly confirmed Demon’s Souls developer Bluepoint as well. The picture – utilising the same style as the one for the aforementioned buyout – included Returnal
News Newly Minted PS Studio Nixxes Helped Guerrilla on Killzone: Shadow Fall
A history together
Dutch developer Nixxes is the latest team to join the PlayStation Studios family, where it’ll serve as a support group for first-party firms like Insomniac, Santa Monica Studio, and Naughty Dog. But despite having a close relationship with Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics, it’s also helped out Sony in the past – namely...
Random Hideo Kojima Uses a Hermen Hulst Mousepad
PlayStation Studios boss always on director's mind
In headlines we didn’t expect to ever type, Hideo Kojima has shared a photo of his office desk, which includes a Hermen Hulst mousepad. The PlayStation Studios boss famously handed the esteemed Metal Gear Solid director the source code to the Decima Engine when he worked as managing director of...
News Sony Acquires Dutch Developer Nixxes to Beef Up First-Party Tech Support
Long-time Crystal Dynamics collaborator joins PlayStation Studios
Sony has acquired Dutch developer Nixxes, a long-time Crystal Dynamics collaborator. Effective immediately, the Utrecht-based tech specialists will join the PlayStation Studios Technology, Creative & Services Group to “provide high quality in-house technical and development...
News Konami Confirms Partnership with Bloober Team, Fuelling Silent Hill Rumours
Teams will share "development of contents"
Konami has officially begun a partnership with Layers of Fear, Observer, and The Medium developer Bloober Team that will see the two companies share "development of contents and the exchange of know-how". Of course, this news only further fuels heavy
News Mass Effect Director Casey Hudson Announces New Studio
Humanoid Studios to work on all-new IP
Ex-BioWare bigwig and Mass Effect director Casey Hudson has founded a brand-new developer. Humanoid Studios – led by the aforementioned veteran – will maintain offices in Alberta and British Columbia, where it will work on an “all-new intellectual property”. Development will be conducted using the...
News Sony: We're Not Going Around Making Random Acquisitions
"We're very selective"
Sony’s overdue acquisition of Housemarque today has opened speculation of an imminent “arms race” between industry titans, but PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst doesn’t see things that way. Despite Microsoft’s relatively recent buyout of Bethesda, the Japanese giant believes today’s news is the natural...
News Sony Confirms Acquisition of Returnal Dev Housemarque
"We are so excited to finally join the PlayStation Studios family"
Sony has today announced the acquisition of Returnal developer Housemarque. Confirmed in a PlayStation Blog post, PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst explains how the studio is capable of making titles that resonate with the PlayStation community. "This addition enhances the...
News Insomniac Games Now Hiring for PS5 Multiplayer Project
A sequel to Fuse, anyone?
Insomniac Games truly stops for absolutely no one. After putting out Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart in the first eight months of the PlayStation 5's lifespan, the Burbank-based developer is now actively advertising job positions for one of its next projects: a multiplayer game. The...
News Bethesda Apologises to PS5, PS4 Fans 'P*ssed' at Exclusivity
"There's not a whole lot I can do about it"
Sci-fi role-playing game Starfield, announced last week as an Xbox Series X|S console exclusive, was in development at one point for the PlayStation 5 – heck, there were even rumours that Sony was trying to secure timed exclusivity for the title, similarly to Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo. Now, the game...
Reaction E3 Is a Relic Desperately Clinging to Relevancy
Let it go
E3 has been the event around which the video game industry revolves for nearly three decades now, but it’s time to admit it’s a relic that has long passed its sell-by date. There will be critics of this article that will point to the pandemic as justification for this year’s inept event, but such a response ignores the very real...
News Back 4 Blood, A Plague Tale: Requiem, More Will Be Full-Price on PS5, PS4
No extra cost with Game Pass on Xbox
Another batch of high-profile multiplatform games will be full-price on PlayStation 5 and, where available, PS4 – while Xbox owners will be able to play the releases at no added cost with Game Pass. While, as we’ve caveated in the past, the titles won’t necessarily stick around forever and do still require...
News Sony Bigwigs Congratulate Xbox for E3 2021 Showcase
"A great time to be a gamer"
In a show of corporate camaraderie, PlayStation executives like Hermen Hulst have congratulated Xbox for its E3 2021 showcase. Microsoft suit Phil Spencer is a big fan of social media, recently sending congratulatory messages to Insomniac Games for the stellar Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart reviews. And while we’ve...
News Actually, PlayStation Boss Jim Ryan Doesn't Hate Old Games
"Next time I'll keep my mouth shut"
“Why would anyone play this?” It’s a quote that will cling to Jim Ryan for his entire career – and now he’s actually addressed it. For those in desperate need of context, the PlayStation boss famously told Time about the occasion he attended a Gran Turismo event: “The PS1 and the PS2 games, they looked...
Reaction Partnerships Show PlayStation Empowering Creators, And Avoiding an Acquisition War
Sony's direction
On the eve of a Microsoft press conference, it’s hard not to be wary of the dreaded ‘a’ word if you’re a PlayStation fan: acquisitions. Oh, the dreaded acquisitions. Xbox’s well-publicised buyout of Bethesda changed everything; all bets are off when it comes to the Redmond juggernaut now, and it has the luxury of deep...
News Sony Announces Partnership with Deviation Games to Make New IP
But that's all we know
Sony has announced yet another partnership with a new developer to make a new IP under its wing for PlayStation consoles. Deviation Games is making a "brand-new original IP", and that's just about all we know. As part of a PlayStation Blog post, CEO Dave Anthony said: "While I can confirm development is already underway,...
News Insomniac Devs Say Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Was Made without Crunch
Industry has been under scrutiny
Crunch has become a common point of controversy in the games industry, with titles like The Last of Us: Part II and Cyberpunk 2077 coming under scrutiny for the intense environments in which they’re created. Many developers making high-profile games work long and difficult hours, which can result in health...
News PixelOpus Hiring for PS5 Exclusive in Collaboration with Sony Pictures Animation
Running on Unreal Engine 5
Yesterday's PlayStation Blog post on the future of Sony's first-party studios has sort of opened the floodgates a little for those in the earlier stages of development. Days Gone developer Bend Studio confirmed it's working on a new IP, Team Asobi was
News Almost Half of PlayStation Gamers Are Women
Girl power
Console ownership among females has increased dramatically since the PS1 days, significantly expanding the audience of Sony’s gaming brand. As part of a presentation to investors, the Japanese giant noted that approximately 41 per cent of PlayStation 5 and PS4 owners are women. Compare this to just 18 per cent on PS1, and clearly the...
News Sony's Targeting More Than 50 Per Cent Market Share with PS5
Company feeling bullish
While the competition certainly feels closer than ever – especially if you spend most of your time on enthusiast forums, including Push Square – the PlayStation 5 is actually crushing it right now. It’s selling faster than any format Sony’s ever released, and despite shipments exceeding even the PS4, the company...
News Warner Bros' Gaming Division Will Be Broken Up As Part of Merger
What a Joker
The future of Warner Bros gaming division has been plunged into uncertainty once more, as AT&T is unloading its media business as part of a $43 billion merger with cable company Discovery. The arrangement is complicated – and won’t be completed until mid-2022 should shareholders agree – but it will effectively see the...
News Ubisoft Commits to Full-Priced AAA Games Alongside Free-to-Play Offerings
The French publisher responds
Update: Ubisoft has sought to expand on the comments it made during yesterday's earnings call by committing to the sort of full-priced AAA titles it has produced for many, many years. In a statement shared with Eurogamer, a spokesperson said: "Our intention is to deliver a diverse line-up of games that players will love...
News Sega Wants Persona Dev Atlus to Do Simultaneous Worldwide Launches
Was worth it for Yakuza: Like a Dragon
The western world was made to wait almost seven months to play Persona 5 back in 2017 after it released in Japan in September of the previous year, and then another five months before Persona 5 Royal launched in European and US territories. And while localisation is a very necessary process, that's a long time...
News Sony Reiterates PS5 Stock Shortages Won't Go Away Anytime Soon
Sony predicts problems will persist through 2022
The PlayStation 5 is a hot commodity right now. It's been in high demand and low supply since its launch in November of last year, with complications caused by COVID-19 making it difficult to produce enough consoles. Unfortunately, Sony doesn't expect things to improve all that much in the foreseeable...
News Epic Games Offered Sony $200 Million to Bring PS5, PS4 Exclusives to Its Store
In demand
Epic Games tabled a deal with a minimum guarantee of $200 million for Sony to port four to six of its first-party exclusives to the Epic Games Store. As part of an internal memo dated September 2020 – published on ResetEra as part of the ongoing court battle between the Unreal Engine maker and Apple – the document notes that it was, at...
News EA Sports Acquires Super Mega Baseball Developer
Moneyball
EA Sports has acquired Metalhead Software, the Canadian team behind the Super Mega Baseball series. The publisher said in a press release that it intends to help grow the developer’s popular arcade baseball series, as well as develop new gaming and sports experiences. “We look forward to supporting and investing in the team so they can...
News Crossplay Controversy Shifts to Sony Being Only Company to Enforce Clause
Interesting clause sheds light on Sony's approach
Update: Now that social media has a better understanding of what the crossplay policy implemented by PlayStation actually means, the backlash has shifted to the fact that Sony is the only organisation to enforce it. To be fair, this is at least a better focal point for fans’ frustration – even if...
News Official PlayStation Magazine UK Canned, PLAY Branding Resurrected
The legend continues
The sole remaining official magazine in Britain has turned off the lights, as Official PlayStation Magazine UK is no more. The publication’s latest incarnation tallied 187 issues, with Returnal being the last ever cover star. Future Publishing shuttered Official Xbox Magazine UK in 2020, while Official Nintendo Magazine UK...
News Uncharted: The Lost Legacy Director Shaun Escayg Rejoins Naughty Dog
Old dog, new tricks
Shaun Escayg, the director on the critically acclaimed spin-off Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, has rejoined Naughty Dog. The industry veteran left The Last of Us maker to lead development on Marvel’s Avengers, but has announced on Twitter today that he’s returned to “the kennel” as a creative director and writer...
News Square Enix Categorically Denies Possible Acquisition Rumours
"We do not consider selling off the company"
Update: Publisher Square Enix has now put out a statement reading: "Bloomberg has reported today that there is interest from several buyers to acquire Square Enix. However, this report is not based on any announcement by SQUARE ENIX HOLDINGS CO., LTD. We do not consider selling off the company or any part...
News Sony Invests Another $200 Million into Fortnite, Unreal Engine Creator Epic Games
Unreal
Epic Games has raised a further $1 billion in funding, with Sony signing the cheque on another $200 million investment. You may recall the manufacturer pumping $250 million into the Fortnite maker less than a year ago – but now it’s followed that up with another nine figure sum. “[The investment] builds on the already close relationship...
News Ex-Sony Japan Studio Producer Forms a New Team with a Terrible Name
EPIGRAsm not the best
As the fallout from Sony’s disbanded Japan Studio continues to unfold, another team has been established. This time it’s the turn of long-time executive producer Masami Yamamoto, who’s worked on dozens of PlayStation exclusives, including – but not limited to – Bloodborne, Tokyo Jungle, and Soul Sacrifice. As...
News E3 2021's Digital Event Will Be Free for All After Reports Mooted Paywall
Publishers planning some support, but reportedly reserving main reveals
E3 2021 will be a free to attend virtual event – despite reports suggesting the event’s organisers, the Entertainment Software Association, was planning to put some aspects behind a paywall. According to publishing sources speaking with VGC, the firm was considering charging...
News Gravity Rush Character Designer the Latest Departure from Sony's Japan Studio
Kat's outta the bag
Another Japan Studio staff member is leaving the developer for pastures new. Today, Shunsuke Saito announced his departure from the steadily shrinking team. Saito is best known for his work on the Gravity Rush series, serving as character designer and animator on both games and as art director on Gravity Rush 2. He will have...
News Sony to Continue Investing in Dreams Developer Media Molecule
"Sony is really behind what we’re doing"
When many PlayStation fans lacking a business degree believe that Media Molecule's Dreams should be built into the PS5 user experience to ensure more people get to play around with it and thus generate some profit, it was always going to be the case that the complete opposite has been happening behind the...
