Tag: Industry - Page 37
News Oddworld's Lorne Lanning: Consoles Lasting 7 Years Is Becoming Less Viable
It's an odd world
While there are conflicting reports on where developers stand on the PlayStation 4K, industry veteran Lorne Lanning has hinted that Sony may be making the right move in an interview with Game Informer. The silver haired suit – who co-founded Oddworld Inhabitants – suggested that he personally believes the concept of seven year...
News GameStop Signs Tequila Works, Ready at Dawn as Retailer Firms Publishing Plans
Time for RIME?
GameStop, the specialist US retailer, is making a move into god's honest video game publishing – and it's signing up some familiar names to help make its charge. Regular readers will already know that Insomniac Games is on board, with its underwater adventure Song of the Deep due out on the PlayStation 4 later this year. However,...
News The Art Lead on Alienation Has Sadly Passed Away
At just 42
There's a bit of sad news coming out of Housemarque today: veteran Finnish developer Antti Kallioinen has passed away. Having worked in the industry for many years all around the world, Kallioinen joined the Resogun developer in 2012 in order to serve as the Art Lead on its upcoming PlayStation 4 exclusive, Alienation. "Antti Kallioinen...
News Ex-Rockstar North Boss Is Taking Take-Two to the Cleaners
Disgruntled executive wants $150 million
Do you remember when Leslie Benzies, the former president of Rockstar North, left the Edinburgh-based developer earlier in the year? Having enjoyed a long sabbatical prior to his departure, it seemed like the suit was simply burnt out. However, that's not the case according to a $150 million lawsuit that he's...
News Evolution Studios Team Snapped Up by Codemasters
DriveClub dev not going down without a fight
Evolution Studios lives on – kind of! The Runcorn-based outfit, shuttered by Sony last month, has been snapped up by Codemasters, and will continue the legacy that it left off – albeit on a multiformat basis moving forwards. It's unclear whether it will retain the studio name – that doesn't appear...
News Sony Computer Entertainment Officially Rebrands As Sony Interactive Entertainment
Not an April Fools' joke
Yes, it's still 1st April in some parts of the world – though the period of pranks is surely over globally at this point – but the formation of Sony Interactive Entertainment is no joke. You may remember us reporting on this a few weeks ago – well, now the deed is done, the documents are signed, and the new logo is...
News Frictional Games Dives Deep into Development with Two New Projects
Also reports on SOMA sales
Frictional Games' spectacularly philosophical SOMA is a horror hit that this particular author happened to finish this evening, and, as if on cue, the developer published an update today not only responding to the game's financial success, but also revealing what the team's direction will be moving forward. Including both...
News Sony Shuts Down DriveClub Developer Evolution Studios
Oh no
Sony's revealed a sucker punch today: Evolution Studios, the storied Runcorn-based developer behind DriveClub among numerous other PlayStation exclusives, has been shut down. The studio was downsized last year, but the ongoing success of DriveClub – along with the release of DriveClub Bikes and continued development of DriveClub VR –...
News Will Xbox One and PS4 Gamers Play Together? Sony's Looking into It
Needs to consider technical, policy, and business issues
Microsoft's decision to suddenly start supporting cross-platform play after years of blocking it – odd anomalies excluded – was announced expertly. Despite the likes of Nintendo and Sony allowing gamers to play with PC players for years – and, in the case of upcoming game Dreii, even...
News The Witcher 3 Will Never Stop Winning Game of the Year Awards at This Rate
Geralt scoops another one
Well, Geralt's gone and done it again. The Game Developers Choice Awards were held last night, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt managed to scoop yet another top gong. We've honestly lost track of how many accolades this game has. CD Projekt Red's role-playing release actually won two awards: Game of the Year, and Best...
News Sony's Open to Cross-Platform Play, But Says This Is Nothing New
The saga continues
Sony has once again reiterated its stance on cross-platform play following Microsoft's supposed statement regarding the concept. Speaking to Sony bigwig Adam Boyes at GDC, Game Informer reports that the Japanese giant certainly isn't against the idea of cross-platform play - but again, this is nothing new as far as Sony's...
News This Isn't the Dynasty Warriors Announcement You Were Expecting
Movie adaptation incoming
We almost unleashed our musou attack when we heard that there was some big Dynasty Warriors news, but it's sadly not the announcement that we were expecting. Indeed, there's no sign of Dynasty Warriors 9 just yet, although we'd argue this still makes for a pretty interesting reveal. Koei Tecmo has announced that it'll be...
News Sony to Hold Recruitment Fair for Axed Lionhead Employees
All SCEE studios to attend
As a British site, we always find it extra sad when UK studios close their doors – especially if they have a long and storied lineage like Studio Liverpool or Bizarre Creations. The closure of Lionhead this week, then, proved particularly depressing news – even more so seeing as the Guildford-based outfit was...
News The Witcher 3 Developer May Release An Unannounced Game This Year
Oh really?
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt developer CD Projekt Red is set to unveil an unannounced game this year, according to the studio's latest earnings briefing. Adam Kicinski, the company's president, stated that the studio isn't yet ready to talk about the project, and that comes as no surprise, seeing as the aforementioned role-playing game's...
News Meet the People That Make Sony Santa Monica Tick
Sao Paulo to Santa Monica
While we complain about bugs and pre-order campaigns, it's easy to forget that hundreds of people contribute to the creation of a single game. This new video series from Sony Santa Monica aims to put the spotlight on the stories of individuals from within the storied studio, with senior staff character artist Rafael...
News LittleBigPlanet 3 Developer Assumes Control of Dead Island 2
Back from the dead
Dead Island 2 has been re-animated by Sheffield-based studio Sumo Digital. Those of you with long memories may recall that the title was in production at Spec Ops: The Line maker Yager, and even was announced during a PlayStation press conference. But despite us getting hands-on time with the release, the German organisation...
Soapbox Why Do We Treat Gaming Like a Chore?
Work, work, work
I've got to finish it otherwise I'll never clear my backlog. Recognise that? In this instance, 'it' doesn't refer to an important project or a piece of school work – but a game instead. Some of you won't have uttered a sentence like that, but I'd wager that there'll be more of you that have than haven't. The fact is that many of...
News EA Is Making an Absolute Killing from Microtransactions
Ka-ching
Additional digital content is a big part of business for many a publisher these days. For more niche titles, for example, premium DLC offerings are a good way to rack up some extra dosh, while blockbusters often use DLC packs and season passes to find more success after launch. Okay, so that's a pretty simplistic way of looking at things -...
Talking Point Do You Fast Travel in Open World Games?
Quick trip or epic voyage
There are those that fast travel, and those that don't. Raised voices broke out in Push Square Towers this week when Robert Ramsey revealed that he walks everywhere in Fallout 4. This led to Sammy Barker using words that can't be repeated on these hallowed pages. The result: a poll to the death to determine who the real...
News Er, Fallout 4 Won Game of the Year at the DICE Awards 2016
Hmmm
If we all assume that Geoff Keighley's livestreamed The Game Awards event is the Pop Justice £20 Music Prize of video game awards ceremonies, then the DICE Awards are the Grammys. That doesn't mean that the 19th annual event held at The Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas overnight wasn't packed with curious victors, however. Fallout...
Talking Point Is PlayStation Right to Switch Focus to the West?
Emigrating overseas
The humble beginnings of PlayStation are well documented: Ken Kutaragi believed that Sony should get into the console business so strongly that he began developing the firm's first format behind his employer's back. The board didn't back him, but CEO Norio Ohga saw the potential – and he sent the famously hot-headed engineer...
News Metal Gear Solid V Ships Over 6 Million Copies as Konami Profits
Mission successful, Snake
Konami's enjoyed a decent amount of success with it's surprisingly divisive Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. According to the Japanese publisher's latest earnings report, the open world stealth-'em-up has shipped over six million copies worldwide. The title's popularity contributed to a 37.5 per cent increase in...
News Sony's Doing Pretty Darn Well at the Moment
Company smashes earnings expectations
For a huge chunk of this site's life, we've reported on Sony's financial losses. You could guarantee that each quarter without fail, the firm would be in the red. But ever since Kaz Hirai took the helm, the company's trajectory has started to change. And, while it's nowhere near the juggernaut that it once was,...
News Sony's Dropped a Clanger with This Let's Play Lark
Company tries to trademark YouTube term
Sony, why?! The early success of the PlayStation 4 can be assigned to the feel-good factor that the Japanese giant built around the format: the gamer-centric marketing, the agreeable policies, the Jack Tretton smackdown – so why the heck is the company jeapordising that by trying to trademark the popular...
News Bungie Has a New CEO Who Promises Great Games and More Destiny
Harold Ryan steps down
There's some reshuffling going on at Bungie - one of the gaming industry's most renowned development studios. Harold Ryan, who has been been at the company for 15 years, has stepped down as CEO, and former COO Pete Parsons has replaced him at the top. Of course, many of you will know that Bungie is the developer behind...
News EA Withdraws from E3 2016 Showfloor
Opts for its own event instead
This week has been packed to the rafters with unexpected announcements, and here's another headline that we weren't anticipating: Electronic Arts will not be present on the show floor at E3 2016. The mega publisher is instead opting to invite fans to a new PlayStation Experience-esque public showcase, which will run...
Reaction What Does the Death of Sony Computer Entertainment Mean?
Going through changes
Sony Computer Entertainment, the iconic company that gave birth to the billion dollar PlayStation brand, is dead – or, at least, it will be when the new financial year begins on 1st April. The Japanese giant has announced its intention today to merge the PlayStation maker with Sony Network Entertainment, a companion...
News Say Goodbye to Sony Computer Entertainment
PlayStation now operates under Sony Interactive Entertainment
This is not the news that we expected to wake up to on a chilly Tuesday morning: Sony Computer Entertainment is no more. Don't panic, PlayStation is very much alive – but the iconic organisation housing the billion dollar brand has been renamed Sony Interactive Entertainment. It's very...
News Sony Attempts and Fails to Trademark Let's Play
What's up, it's your boy...
YouTubers need no longer fidget frantically, as Sony's request to trademark the term 'Let's Play' has been denied by the United States Patent and Trademark Office – but not because it's a popular phrase among gamers. Instead, it was denied use because of a similar trademark held since 2013 by Let'z Play of America, a...
News Grand Theft Auto Veteran Exits Rockstar North
Leslie Benzies departs Scottish studio
Rockstar North, the uber-secretive Edinburgh-based developer behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise, is going through a bit of a shake-up at the minute. Leslie Benzies, one of the key figures behind the aforementioned sandbox series, has departed the company after over 15 years of service. He originally joined...
News Remember to Give Media Molecule Ten Birthday Bashings
British dev turns ten-years-old
Sony's experimental outfit Media Molecule is celebrating its tenth anniversary today – which must be a significant landmark when your cut your teeth on out-there titles like Dreams. The studio's first slam dunk was LittleBigPlanet, of course, which won a slew of awards following its release in 2008 – and spawned...
News Star Wars Games May Have Made Too Much Money in 2015
Analyst predicts Battlefront raked in $660 million
The launch of Star Wars: The Force Awakens was certainly a big deal, with the film's opening weekend income totalling almost $250 million worldwide, smashing many box office sales records in the process. And, according to a Fortune interview with multiple financial analysts, the many Star Wars games...
News GAME's Share Prices Plunge as UK Retailer Is Struck by Pre-Christmas Slump
Bah humbug
Upper-management at UK retailer GAME will be enjoying Christmas about as much as Louis Van Gaal, as the company's share prices have plummeted by a disastrous 34 per cent today. The decline comes after the chain announced that its UK revenue was down 11.4 per cent compared to the same 21 week period leading up to 19th December in 2014 –...
News PS4 Can Leverage the Power of the Cloud, Says Microsoft
Yay?
News at eleven: Microsoft has a product and it doesn't care who it sells it to. While the so-called "power of the cloud" was a big buzz word when the Xbox One was announced, the Redmond firm has been a little less forthcoming about the bullet point of late. And now a Twitter exchange with gaffer Phil Spencer has revealed that the company's open...
News Rocket League Rakes in Over $50 Million for Psyonix
Wow! Nice shot!
Psyonix will be celebrating Christmas with a three bird roast and those cool crackers that have gags inside them, because Rocket League's success has earned the indie outfit a whopping $50 million since launching in July. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the game only cost around $2 million to make, so the studio's...
News Sony: Taking Creative Risks Is What PlayStation Is All About
"It's something I encourage," says House
We often get asked why we decided to make a PlayStation website, and as the founder of Push Square, your humble host often points to the breadth of unique and interesting ideas that are birthed on Sony's systems. Not every game that the platform holder publishes is a slam dunk, but for every Lair there's a...
News PS4's Success Is Good for the Games Industry, Suggests Sony
Confidence among developers has returned
Watch out, arrogant Sony is about. At least, that's what the armchair analysts will type on message boards in response to this headline – but that would be missing the point. In an interview with The Guardian, PlayStation boss Andrew House has suggested that the PlayStation 4's runaway success is good for...
News Sony: Our First-Party PS4 Lineup Looks Incredible Next Year
Platform holder not entirely satisfied with 2015
We can probably all agree that it's been a solid but unspectacular year for PlayStation 4 exclusives, with titles like Bloodborne, Tearaway Unfolded, and Until Dawn on offer. Fortunately, Sony's the first to admit that 2015 hasn't been its strongest year from a first-party perspective – but it's...
News Sony's Open to Acquiring Additional First-Party Studios
But who should join the fold?
Sony's vaunted Worldwide Studios network is already very strong, spanning a dozen or so developers across the globe. However, in an interview with Kinda Funny Games, executive Scott Rohde has admitted that the organisation's always open to the idea of adding more teams – assuming that the alliance makes sense for all...
News Sony: We're Not Just Going to Reveal Everything We're Doing
Yoshida weighs in on top-secret titles
The expectation from PlayStation press conferences is wild at times – and websites like ours probably don't help, even though we always endeavour to keep our predictions as level headed as possible. Speaking as part of an interview with Kinda Funny Games, Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida has...
PSX 2015 God of War Director Describes Game Development as Soul Crushing
Like trying to hurt kittens
Despite what we predicted, Sony Santa Monica didn't show its new God of War game at PlayStation Experience this weekend. While we know that the title is in development, the studio has remained schtum for another year, opting to keep the project a closely guarded secret. Cory Barlog, who previously worked on God of War II,...
News Bloodborne, The Witcher 3, and Fallout 4 All Nominated for Game Awards 2015 Game of the Year
That's a tough one
Yep, Geoff Keighley is back in early December with the Game Awards 2015, and today, the event has gone ahead and announced which games will be competing for the grand prize: Game of the Year. The five nominees include PlayStation 4 exclusive Bloodborne, critically lauded The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, franchise finale Metal Gear Solid...
News Ridiculous Fallout 4 Numbers Point to Bethesda's Most Successful Launch Ever
It certainly didn't bomb
Bethesda seems to have really knocked it out with Fallout 4. The post-apocalyptic role-playing game has been headlining every major gaming website all week now, so it's safe to say that it's popular – but even its most optimistic fans wouldn't have thought that it'd be this popular. The studio has stated that the title...
News PS4 Is Reeling in First-Person Shooter Fans, Says Sony
Switching sides
While games like Call of Duty always sold well on the PlayStation 3, it was never truly considered the home of the franchise. A combination of the controller and PlayStation Network really prevented Sony from making any meaningful in-roads in the first-person shooter space. The platform holder has made it a mission to change that...
News Sony Ain't Shying Away from Third-Party Partnerships on PS4
Stronger first-party offering won't change tactics
Sony's made up for a less than impressive first-party showing in 2015 by partnering with third-party publishers, and the strategy's worked a treat. This month alone the platform holder's threatening to run away with the holidays, thanks to exclusive PlayStation 4 bundles for Call of Duty: Black Ops...
Soapbox Why the Industry Is Getting Greedy (And How to Stop It)
Sam Brooke hashes out his views on gaming greed
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. Rainbow Six: Siege. Street Fighter V. Payday 2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Destiny. Rise of the Tomb Raider. Assassin's Creed Syndicate. All of these games are full-pric
News Koei Tecmo Teases Warriors Crossover with 'Very Big' Western Property
Star Warriors?
It's time for some absolutely rampant speculation - even if you're not a Warriors fan. Koei Tecmo's hack and slash titles have always split opinion, but you have to admit that the formula is a pretty good one - which is why it's been adopted by numerous properties over the years. Gundam, One Piece, Dragon Quest, The Legend of Zelda -...
News Just Cause 3 Studio Suffers Job Cuts
Game went gold last week
It's always quite saddening to hear about developers losing their jobs. A reasonably grim reminder that video games aren't just fun and, er, games, layoffs tend to happen after a title's been completed - and that's what's happened with Avalanche Studios. The developer has two offices - one in Sweden, and one in New York...
Here we go again
Bloody Hell, is it that time again? Recently, UK internet provider TalkTalk had its website taken down and its stored customer information accessed by supposed hackers. Panic ensued as the media got its grubby hands of the news, and then the whole thing turned out to not be quite as bad as anticipated. Of course, you can't have a...
News Surprise! Sony Isn't Working on First-Party Titles for PS Vita
Wow, no way
In what many sites appear to think is a shocking revelation, it turns out that Sony isn't making any first-party games for PlayStation Vita. Of course, if you've been paying attention, then you'll already know that the company's commented on its support of the handheld before. Last year, Sony Europe boss Jim Ryan followed up on comments...
