Tag: Industry - Page 25
News PlatinumGames' Third Reveal Is a New Studio Focused on Games as a Service
Based in Tokyo
Off the back of The Wonderful 101 Remastered's Kickstarter and the reveal of Project G.G., PlatinumGames has unveiled the third of its four planned announcements. It's not a video game, however. In fact, it's an entirely new development studio named PlatinumGames Tokyo which will focus on making experiences we have given the title...
News A Member of the Dreams Community Has Already Had a Job Offer in the Games Industry
Making it
Due to the nature of Media Molecule's titles, you hear about members of the community being headhunted for video game jobs every now and again. LittleBigPlanet was responsible for many people going pro, and we're starting to hear about similar stories with Dreams on PlayStation 4. It was inevitable that this would happen at some stage, but...
News Facebook Kills Chances of Sly Cooper Sequel from Sanzaru Games with Acquisition
To develop VR games
If Sony ever does decide to bring the Sly Cooper franchise back from the dead, it won't be doing it alongside Sanzaru Games anymore. That's because the developer of PlayStation 3 exclusive Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time has just been bought by Facebook for an undisclosed fee. In a move similar to that of Beat Games, the studio will...
News How Did Dreams on PS4 End Up with an ESRB T Rating?
An age rating nightmare?
Dreams is out on PlayStation 4, and it's wonderful. We're still very much in love with Media Molecule's PS4 exclusive, swapping between building things ourselves and playing a delightfully unpredictable collection of user-made stuff. We've yammered on about the game enough, but we haven't been able to get one particular...
News Microsoft Confirms 12 Teraflops for Xbox Series X, 120 FPS, Quick Resume
Backwards compatability support
It was a seemingly quiet Monday afternoon when all of a sudden Microsoft dropped a bucket load of new details for its next-generation console, the Xbox Series X. The team in green has confirmed that the system will boast of 12 Teraflops, support for 120 frames per second, DirectX Raytracing, and a Quick Resume feature...
News Sony Cancels GDC 2020 Appearance Amid Coronavirus Concerns
That makes two
After scrapping its plans to attend PAX East in Boston later this month, Sony has now confirmed that it won't be attending GDC -- once again citing the coronavirus as the reason why. Facebook joins the company in skipping the show while Oculus has announced that its announcements will take place online. In a statement given to Gam
News THQ Nordic Parent Company Acquires World War Z Dev Saber Interactive
Starting at $150 million
If you thought that the ever-growing THQ Nordic was done snapping up developers after it decided to set up its own team in the form of Nine Rock Games, then you might want to reconsider. Embracer Group, the parent company of the publisher, has acquired World War Z developer Saber Interactive for an initial $150 million. The...
Guide All DICE 2020 Award Winners
Worthy winners
The D.I.C.E. Awards (Design Innovate Communicate Entertain) took place overnight, awarding the best video games of 2019 with worthy trinkets for the teams' mantelpieces. Each category is arranged and voted on by industry professionals, so taking the top spot is a fairly prestigious honour. The likes of Control and Death Stranding were...
News Quantic Dream to Self-Publish Future Projects, Take Full Advantage of PS5
Uncaged
Detroit: Become Human developer Quantic Dream may have become a household name due to its collaborations with Sony, but the French studio is now planning a future where it will self-publish. As part of a blog post celebrating its 23rd anniversary, the studio suggested that it’ll be looking to support other companies, in addition to...
News One-Of-a-Kind Nintendo PlayStation Prototype Could Be Yours
If you can afford it
Remember that ultra-rare Nintendo PlayStation prototype that was a thing of legend until someone discovered it a few years ago? Well, you can own it, as it’s been put up for auction. The bidding concludes on 27th February, but unsurprisingly it’s already up to $48,000 – expect that figure to rise much higher over th
News Disney Wants to Empower Game Developers to Leverage Its Intellectual Property
Going for the kill
Marvel’s Spider-Man and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order have been gigantic hits for both Sony and EA respectively, and the success has encouraged Disney to “empower” more developers to leverage its enormous stable of intellectual property. Considering the company commanded an eye-watering 35 per cent of the film industry as of...
News Ubisoft Revives Prince of Persia, But Not As You Hoped
At least it's not a smartphone game
There are only two franchises we want out of Ubisoft right now: Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia. The former’s looking unlikely right now, while the latter’s making a comeback – as a virtual reality Escape Room experience. To be fair, Prince of Persia: The Dagger of Time sounds neat: you’ll work...
News Yet Another Blow to E3 as Presenter Geoff Keighley Skips Show for First Time in 25 Years
Ain't what it used to be
E3 is not the juggernaut event that it once was -- that much is becoming abundantly clear. Sony skipped the convention last year and it's doing so again in 2020. But if there's anything that truly points towards the show's decline, it's the absence of Geoff Keighley. The man behind The Game Awards has participated in E3 for...
News Criterion to Get Need for Speed Franchise Back on Track
Ghost Games to become support team
The Need for Speed series has had a rocky road lately, and that's no secret. Need for Speed Heat was an improvement, but it wasn't quite the comeback the franchise sorely needed. Not since the days of Criterion's take on Hot Pursuit and Most Wanted has the franchise been truly great. Developer Ghost Games, which...
News E3 2020's First Press Conference Announcement Comes From the Most Unlikely Source
#LimitedRunSavesE3
When we think of E3 press conferences, our minds immediately turn to the likes of Sony, Ubisoft, Bethesda, and EA. Some of those publishers will be attending E3 2020 with their live show announcements surely planned for the next couple of months, but they've all been beaten to the punch by a completely different company. That's...
News 2K Silicon Valley Now Named 31st Union, Working on a New IP
Expands to Spain, too
2K Games has officially announced the new name of one of its youngest development studios. What was once known as 2K Silicon Valley is now named 31st Union. The studio was founded last year and is headed up by Michael Condrey, previously of Sledgehammer Games. In 2K's statement, Condrey seems pretty excited about the company's...
News Sony Reportedly Paid $229 Million in Insomniac Games Acquisition
Is it a bargain?
Sony set social media alight when it completely overshadowed Gamescom Opening Night live 2019 with the acquisition of Insomniac Games, to the point where even Geoff Keighley felt the need to address it live on stage. It was a memorable moment, but until now, we have had no knowledge of how much the Japanese giant actually paid the...
News THQ Nordic Opens Up New Studio to Make a Shooter in the Survival Genre
Nine Rock Games
Instead of acquiring a developer, THQ Nordic has actually gone and set one up itself. The publisher has gained a bit of a reputation for purchasing smaller studios putting out big games over the past few years, but this move could signal a change in approach for the Austrian company. Nine Rock Games is the name of its new team with...
News Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Doesn't See Sony As Competition Going Forward
Convenient
Enthusiast forums may be focused on the ongoing battle between Sony and Microsoft, but Xbox boss Phil Spencer sees Amazon and Google as its big competitors moving forwards. The talkative executive dropped the soundbite during an interview with Papers Owl, in which he dismissed PlayStation’s ability to implement a cloud-based...
News Sony Shuts Manchester Studio Before It Ships a Game
Gone too early
Sony has shut down Manchester Studio before it even had the opportunity to announce a game. The virtual reality-based developer was formed in 2015 and was working on an unannounced project, but the Japanese giant has decided to call time on the team “as part of our efforts to improve efficiency and operational effectiveness”...
News PSone Crushed the N64 Because of Depressing Games and Lonely Players
According to late Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi
Many factors have been attributed to Sony’s success with the PSone, from the format’s financially friendly CD-ROMs through to the manufacturer’s guerrilla marketing tactics. However, according to Hiroshi Yamauchi, the Nintendo president of the time, the platform outpaced the Nintendo 64...
News PSN Earned $12.48 Billion for Sony in 2019
That's a lot of money
How big is the PlayStation Network? Well, it’s $12.48 billion big, according to data crunched by ResetEra via Sony’s latest sales report. The Japanese giant raked in an eye-watering $9.28 billion in 2019 through the PlayStation Store, with the sale of full games, add-ons, and microtransactions. It then made a further
News Astro Bot Rescue Mission Director to Head Up SIE Japan Studio for PS5 Generation
It's in safe hands
The folks over at Sony Interactive Entertainment's Japan Studio have had a leadership shakeup which sees Astro Bot Rescue Mission director and producer Nicolas Doucet step into the leading role. Word of what happened to former head Allen Becker hasn't gotten out just yet, but the change will mean that Doucet now leads Sony's group...
News Taipei Game Show 2020 Called Off Following Coronavirus Outbreak
Postponed to summer
The annual Taipei Game Show (which takes place in Taipei, Taiwan), was set to begin next week on the 6th February -- but the event has been cancelled and pushed back to an unspecified date in the summer of 2020. According to organisers, this is due to the recent outbreak of the coronavirus -- the potentially deadly illness that...
News Microsoft NieRly Stopped Platinum from Developing on PS4
Xbox was looking to buy Japanese dev
Platinum Games recently acquired significant investment from Chinese juggernaut Tencent, securing the Japanese studio’s future as it explores self-publishing. However, the outcome was almost very different, as Microsoft was allegedly looking to buy the Bayonetta developer last year. This tidbit comes courtesy...
News E3 2020 Will Be 'a New and Revitalized Experience' Filled with Celebrities and Insiders
New security firm for sign-ups
Remember when it sounded like E3 2020 would be drastically changing its image following a rebrand to a fan, media, and influencer festival? Well, it looks like that's exactly what's happening. The ESA (Entertainment Software Association) has issued a statement detailing its plans for this y
News Former SIE Chairman Considers Insomniac Purchase One of His Best Achievements at PlayStation
Shawn Layden weighs in
We're most likely never going to find out the reasoning behind Shawn Layden's departure from Sony last year, but at least we can rest easy in the knowledge that the two parties parted ways on good terms. The former chairman of PlayStation Worldwide Studios has consistently tweeted about Sony's efforts since his surprise exit,
News Ex-Splinter Cell Director Reportedly Returns to Ubisoft
A hint of things to come?
The idea of a modern Splinter Cell game has been flying around for what feels like an eternity. The series has been MIA since Blacklist on PlayStation 3, and that released nearly seven years ago. Aside from a surprising cameo appearance in Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Sam Fisher has been out of action for the whole PS4...
News NHS Wants Devs to Think of the Children as Loot Boxes Prep Kids for Gambling Addiction
Never-ending story
The loot box back-and-forth rumbles on, with British health organisation NHS urging game developers to think more carefully about so-called “surprise mechanics” which could lead children into gambling addictions. A strongly worded statement from mental health director Claire Murdoch called for a crackdown on loot boxes in...
News Even More Sony Bigwigs Spotted in San Francisco as PS5 Reveal Nears
All good in the neighbourhood
Update (18th January): In addition to the executives outlined in the original article, Naughty Dog staffers Arne Meyer and Scott Lowe have also been spotted at PlayStation HQ, as the Japanese giant is clearly holding a summit ahead of the PS5's reveal. Original Article: Excuse us while we go gossip colum
News Ubisoft Wants to Avoid Its PS5 Games Playing Like Copy and Pastes
Shake up at French firm
While you can rarely fault the final products, many criticise the building blocks that go into each Ubisoft release. The French firm’s distinctive approach to open world design may be effective, but it can be difficult to ignore the similarities that its various series share – whether it’s Assassin’s Creed or The...
News Google Stadia Will Pay to Postpone 10 Games on PS4
Searching for subscribers
Google Stadia’s not got off to the greatest of starts, and the search engine giant appears to appreciate that it has its work cut-out. As part of a press release today revealing a roadmap for the platform, the organisation has admitted that it plans to release 10 timed exclusives by July 2020, meaning it’ll pay...
News Sony Scraps Annual Destination PlayStation Trade Event with PS5 Reveal Looming
Distributor will host instead
It sounds like Sony has scrapped plans to host its annual behind-closed-doors trade event Destination PlayStation, with speculation suggesting that its eyes are firmly focused on the PlayStation 5’s reveal event instead. According to journalist Mike Futter, the manufacturer will allow a “major distributor” to take...
News It's Pretty Obvious PlayStation Has Beef with E3's Organisers
Not seeing eye to eye
Sony will not be at E3 2020 in any capacity, but it will still attend hundreds of gaming conventions around the globe. Plans are currently underway for its presence at Taipei Game Show, while you can expect to find the platform holder present in some capacity at the likes of Paris Games Week, EGX,
News Sony Suggests E3 2020 Is Not the Right Venue for PS5
Still has great respect for organisers
Ever since ex-PlayStation boss Shawn Layden went hard on E3 a few years ago, Sony’s seemed to be dead against the convention. Now it’s pulled out of the show entirely for a second year running, the platform holder is beginning to twist the knife on organisers, the ESA. It’s unclear exactly what the issue...
News Death Stranding, Control Dominate DICE Game of the Year Nominations
Days Gone, Concrete Genie also present
For a game that’s apparently quite divisive, Death Stranding sure has been scooping up plenty of awards nominations. The console exclusive Kojima Productions developed transportation simulation has topped the number of nods for the 23rd annual DICE awards, sharing the acclaim with Remedy’s third-person...
News Microsoft Says Sony Is Doing a 'Fantastic Job' with PlayStation
Xbox tries to avoid head-to-head bouts
Microsoft’s public relations has changed significantly from the Xbox 360 generation, and it’s not afraid to compliment its competitor anymore. Chatting with MCV as part of a wide-ranging interview, Xbox Game Studios boss Matt Booty said that PlayStation’s doing a “fantastic job” and that he tries to...
News Microsoft's Xbox Series X Exclusive Game Strategy May Play Into Sony and PS5 Hands
No "true" exclusives for a year
It's been clear for a while that Microsoft is adopting a different approach when it comes to Xbox. From the rise of Game Pass to the unveiling of the Xbox Series X late last year, the company is keen on forging a fresh path, but this latest story from MCV has got people questioning Microsoft's next-gen strategy...
News Insomniac Games Is Starting 2020 Strong with a Swanky New Office
Moving up
It isn't very often we get an inside look at our favourite video game studios, so it's a fun treat when we do. We've seen glimpses into the premises of Insomniac Games, the latest addition to Sony's fleet of first-party developers, but the California studio has recently moved into a new space. Thankfully, it's not being shy about sharing...
News Random Twitter Account Claims Sony Is About to Reveal a 'Major Studio Acquisition'
Don't believe his lies
The thirst for new information on the PlayStation 5 is at an all-time high, to the point where even a random Twitter account posting complete nonsense can make its way to the top of a Reddit page. A tweet from a user named @foxygames_uk claims that Sony is on the verge of revealing "a major studio acquisition" to the world,...
News Platinum Games Receives Investment from Chinese Tech Giant Tencent
Partnership will aid self-publishing
The ever-busy Platinum Games always seems to be spinning lots of plates. Right now it's working on Babylon's Fall as well as the Switch exclusive Bayonetta 3, and it's also releasing remasters of both the original Bayonetta and Vanquish next month. It's partnering with various publishers for all these titles,...
Soapbox We Need to Talk About Font Sizes in Games
See here
Considering I’ve spent roughly half my life in dark rooms staring at blisteringly bright screens, my eyesight is decent. Do you know what’s making me feel like I’m going blind, though? Video games. This isn’t a case of my peepers slowly withering away and losing their clarity – all other aspects of my life remain unaffected and...
News Sony's 'Target Microsoft from Day One' Strategy Will 'Probably' Work for PS5
Former Sony boss weighs in
At this point we could probably guess at Sony's PlayStation 5 strategy and not be too far from reality, but in an interesting new GamesIndustry article, former boss of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Chris Deering, provides some insight into how the company handles the PlayStation brand from behind the scenes. Said...
News Respawn Boss Vice Zampella to Take Control of DICE LA
Developer will be rebranded
DICE LA, the studio formerly known as Danger Close Games, has a new leader in the form of Respawn boss and former Infinity Ward chief Vince Zampella. The executive – who will continue to "head coach" the Titanfall developer simultaneously – will rebrand his new team, as an attempt to shun the “support” moniker...
Feature The Biggest Trends of the PS4 Generation
How the way we play (and pay) has changed
Six years have passed since the PlayStation 4 launched, and even the most optimistic PlayStation fan may not have anticipated how good the generation was going to be. The PS4 has been home to an incredible array of console exclusives, and while there have been some stumbles along the way with things like...
News As The Witcher Rules Netflix, CD Projekt RED Signs New Deal with Author
Bewitching business
CD Projekt RED has signed a new deal with The Witcher creator Andrzej Sapkowski, which will no doubt see the author get paid. The announcement follows the release of the Netflix show, which is taking the world by storm right now. As it stands, the Polish developer will now maintain full control of the intellectual property as it...
News Some European Developers Feel Like PlayStation Is Leaving Them Behind
US contact is much better
A few months back, it was reported that numerous European PlayStation employees had been laid off as part of a company-wide restructuring in an effort to centralise the business in the US. We've heard conflicting reports of whether this is actually true or not in the time since then, but for some developers and publishers...
Green with envy
One of the big points of forum discussion in recent years is how Microsoft plans to improve its first-party output. The organisation has responded by purchasing a bunch of previously independent teams, such as Ninja Theory and Obsidian. Many of these studios seemed on the precipice of financial ruin, so the Redmond firm’s...
News Job Listings Suggest a Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Sequel Is Already In Development
Another trilogy?
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order has been out on PlayStation 4 for just over a month now, and it's done pretty well for itself. Not only is it one of the best Star Wars games around, it's been breaking sales records and garnering a lot of love from players and critics alike. It's still early days, but what are its chances at a sequel?...
Random Guerrilla Gives Kojima Productions the Cheesiest Gift of All Time
Gouda vibes
If there was ever any doubt as to where Guerrilla Games is based, look no further than its gift to Kojima Productions. The Death Stranding studio is celebrating its fourth anniversary, and Guerrilla has given the team a huge wheel of cheese. This is maybe the most Dutch thing the studio has ever done. Even better? The 30-pound chunk of...
