Tag: Business
News Retailer GAME Is Reportedly Ending In-Store Pre-Orders
GAME Wallet is also ending
UK retailer GAME is reportedly ending in-store pre-orders in what feels like yet another baffling move as it further integrates itself into the wider Fraser Group. As originally reported by TechRadar Gaming (thanks, Eurogamer), existing pre-orders or deposits for products due to release before the end of January 2025 will...
News Don't Worry, Nintendo Likely Won't Utilise Generative AI In Its Game Development
Phew...
Update #2 [Fri 5th Jul, 2024 10:15 BST]: Here's the official translation from Nintendo: "In the game industry, AI-like technologies have long been used — for example, to control the movements of opponent characters — so I believe that game development and AI technology have always had a close relationship. Generative AI, which is...
News Revived Infogrames Label Acquires 'Surgeon Simulator' Franchise
Atari will see you now
Infogrames, the newly revived publishing label and subsidiary of Atari, has announced that it has acquired the Surgeon Simulator franchise after finalising a deal with tinyBuild Inc. This follows the previous acquisition of Totally Reliable Delivery Service back in April 2024, announced to coincide with Infograme's revival...
News Retailer GAME Reportedly Ending In-Store Sales Of Physical Games And Hardware
Update: Report "categorically not true", says GAME
Update [Mon 24th Jun, 2024 12:45 BST]: GAME has provided a comment to Eurogamer to state that the report from Gfinity eSports is not true, stating that it will continue to support the physical gaming market. "This reporting is categorically not true. GAME continues to support the physical gaming...
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...
News Nintendo Shows More Positive Signs Of Growth With Boost In Employee Count
It also announced an acquisition last month
It's been an incredibly difficult period for the video game industry with layoffs, reshuffles and studio closures. Fortunately, Nintendo is actually in a great place right now thanks to the Switch. Following its recent acquisition of Shiver Entertainment, page 22 of its 84th Shareholder Meeting summary...
News Retailer 'GAME' Is Ending Its Reward Programme And Elite Membership
Gosh, what next?
Retailer GAME has announced that it will be ending its GAME 'Reward' programme along with the GAME 'Elite' Membership scheme (which is essentially a paid tier of the former) on 31st July 2024. Essentially, then, following this date, customers will no longer be able to redeem any points accumulated on in-store and online purchases...
News Nintendo Announces Second US Store, Opening 2025
We're off to 'Frisco
Nintendo has announced plans to open a second Official Store in the USA. The company will be opening a brick-and-mortar shop in San Francisco, specifically in the iconic Union Square, deemed the "teeming commercial hub of the city". Currently, the store is scheduled to open in 2025, with more details to be revealed in the...
News Atari Acquires Intellivision Brand And Rights To 200+ Titles
Deal "ends the longest-running console war in history"
Atari has announced that it has acquired the Intellivision brand along with the rights to over 200 games in a move that, according to Digital Eclipse's studio head Mike Mika, "ends the longest-running console war in history". As a result, Intellivision Entertainment LLC will rebrand and will...
Feature Nintendo's Latest Studio - Who Is Shiver Entertainment?
A brief look at Nintendo's newest acquisition
You could be forgiven for thinking, 'Another day, another video game company acquisition,' but Nintendo's announcement that it is buying Shiver Entertainment and making the port specialists a wholly-owned subsidiary isn't business as usual for the Japanese firm. Nintendo is, historically, extremely...
News Square Enix To "Aggressively Pursue" Multiplatform Strategy, Includes "Nintendo Platforms"
Plans to step up digital sales, shift from quantity to quality, and more
Square Enix has released a three-year Medium-term Business Plan and its financial report for fiscal year 2024. And while it's mixed results for the developer, it has addressed how its going to try and improve things. Most notably, the company has revealed a brand new...
News Frontier Confirms Plans For A Third 'Jurassic World Evolution' Game
A Switch 2 release, perhaps?
Developer Frontier has confirmed that it has signed a fresh licensing deal with Universal Products & Experiences for a third Jurassic World Evolution game (thanks, VGC). Although the second game didn't make it to the Switch, the first Jurassic World
News The Resident Evil Franchise Has Sold An Astonishing 157 Million Units
Capcom's S.T.A.R player
Capcom has confirmed that the Resident Evil franchise has now sold a ridiculous 157 million units since the franchise's launch back in 1996. Granted, we can't imagine a huge percentage of sales have come from the Switch, where several titles were sadly relegated to 'Cloud Versions', but it's still an impressive feat...
News Rumoured 'Hi-Fi Rush' Switch Port In Doubt As Microsoft Culls Tango Gameworks And Other Studios
A "reprioritization of titles and resources"
In the latest shocking blow to the gaming and developer communities, Microsoft has announced a series of studio closures and consolidations, including the shuttering of Tango Gameworks, the developers behind 2023's acclaimed Hi-Fi Rush. The game was released recently on PlayStation and, much like the...
News Princess Peach: Showtime! And Mario Vs. Donkey Kong Both Pass 1 Million Sales
There's life in the Switch yet
Nintendo has confirmed that Princess Peach: Showtime! and Mario vs. Donkey Kong have both passed 1 million sales on Switch. According to the company's latest financial release, Princess Peach: Showtime! sold a total of 1.22 million units since its launch on 22nd March 2024, while Mario vs. Donkey Kong managed a total...
News Here Are The Top Ten Best-Selling Nintendo Switch Games As Of March 2024
Another 1.39m for Mario Kart
As part of Nintendo's end-of-year financial report for FY2024, the company has updated its top ten best-selling games list for the Switch with new sales figures. The order stays the same as last quarter, and sales of all games show relatively minor bumps, although Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and
News Nintendo Switch Surpasses 140 Million Sales As Company Acknowledges Successor
13.50 million sales forecast for FY2025
As part of its latest financial earnings release, Nintendo has confirmed that the Switch has now sold a total of 141.32 million units since its launch in 2017. Digging in a bit deeper, the console managed to shift a total of 15.70 million units across its three SKUs during FY2024. This is down by 12.6%...
News Atari Is Reviving The 'Infogrames' Publishing Label
The armadillo returns
Atari has announced that it is reviving the dormant publishing label Infogrames, once famous for publishing games such as Hogs of War, Heart of Darkness, Alone in the Dark, and many more. Though once one of the most recognisable publishers in Europe, the Infogrames name was ditched in favour of the Atari brand in 2009...
News Embracer Group To Split Into Three Separate Companies
Sullied name
Embracer Group has announced its intention to split the company into three separate entities going forward in what seems to be a drastic attempt to streamline its operations and rebuild its reputation after months of downsizing and layoffs. Announced via the official website (thanks, VGC), the company confirmed that each entity will be
News Staff At UK Retailer GAME Reportedly Facing Redundancies
Most employees now under zero hour contracts
Staff at UK retailer GAME are reportedly facing redundancies as the firm moves most of its workforce under zero hour contracts. As reported by Eurogamer, it's not currently known how many employees will be laid off, but it's understood that all non-managerial staff will now be on zero hour contracts...
News Thunderful Sells Publisher Headup For €500k After Acquiring The Studio For 11 Million
Something's not adding up here
Thunderful Group is once again back in the news today as it has been reported that the studio is selling Pumpkin Jack publisher Headup at a fraction of what it was bought for back in 2021. Word of this sale comes to us from Gamesindustry.biz which reports that Thunderful has sold the publisher for €500,000 — quite...
News Sega Sells Relic Entertainment And Announces Layoffs Across Multiple Teams
240 jobs will be cut
Sega has announced that it has sold Relic Entertainment to an unspecified investor and will cut a total of 240 jobs across multiple teams in Europe. As reported by IGN, the job losses will be split across Sega Europe, Creative Assembly, and Sega Hardlight. It's reported that the latter will be the least affected, with the...
News GameStop Hit By Layoffs As Analyst Predicts 'Unsustainable' Sales Decline
Share price also takes a tumble
GameStop has announced that it has made an unspecified number of job cuts as it grapples with a sharp decline in revenue. As reported by Reuters (thanks, IGN), the firm saw $1.794 billion in sales for its fourth-quarter of the fiscal year; a fairly drastic drop from the $2.226 billion earned over the same period the...
News Free Radical Co-Founder Is Probably Done With TimeSplitters For Good
"It was a big letdown."
To the disappointment of many, including us, it was confirmed earlier this year that Free Radical Design, the developer behind the highly anticipated revival of TimeSplitters, would be closed down by Embracer Group and the game ultimately cancelled. It was a dire end to what many had hoped would be a grand return to the...
News Resident Evil Creator Shinji Mikami Gets Back To Work With A New Company
What could it be..?
Shinji Mikami, best known for creating the Resident Evil franchise and for his work on titles such as P.N.03 and The Evil Within, has seemingly established a brand new company after leaving Tango Gameworks in 2023. As spotted by VGC, the information can be found via a short biographic description on the new Sha
News Thunderful Extends Its Distribution Agreement With Nintendo
"We’re exceedingly proud of this long-lasting partnership"
Publisher Thunderful has announced that it has extended its distribution agreement with Nintendo to publish the firm's products in the Nordics and the Baltics between Bergsala AB and Nintendo of Europe AG. Confirmed via an official statement (thanks, Go Nintendo), Thunderful states that...
News Embracer Group Sells Saber Interactive For A Cool $247 Million
Group discontinues all operations in Russia
Embracer Group has announced to investors that it has sold Saber Interactive for a total of $247 million to a company called Beacon Interactive, which is under the control of Saber's co-founder Matthew Karch. As part of the sale, Saber will retain the following studios: Nimble Giant, DIGIC, Fractured...
News Saber Interactive Is Reportedly Splitting From Embracer Group
In a deal worth $500 million
Embracer Group is continuing to cull its catalogue of developers, but this time it sounds like it might be good news, as Saber Interactive will reportedly be splitting from Embracer in a deal worth $500 million. As reported by Bloomberg (thanks, Gematsu), the deal will result in Saber Interactive becoming a privately...
News Publisher Midnight Works Allegedly Targeting YouTuber For Calling Out Its "Scam" Switch Games
"This is stooping to new lows"
YouTuber Luke Wild of channel SwitchStars — which focuses primarily on highlighting low-effort, low-quality games to avoid on Switch eShop — has published a video detailing what he believes to be an attack on his channel orchestrated by the publisher Midnight Works. The Moldovan company is responsible for much of...
News Nintendo Shares Drop Following Latest Reports Of Switch 2 'Delay'
After seeing a record high last month
Nintendo's shares in Japan have dropped after last week's report that the Switch successor will now not be launching until Q1 2025 (thanks, VGC). The company posted a record high for shares last month, as 'Switch 2 fever' seemed to be sweeping the globe. However, following the claim by Brazilian journalist
News Microsoft To Bring Four Xbox Exclusives To Other Consoles, But Won't Name Them
Platforms also haven't been confirmed
After weeks of rumours, Xbox has finally confirmed that it will be bringing more Xbox exclusives to other consoles. What consoles, and what games, is anyone's guess. During today's Official Xbox Podcast, the Head of Xbox and CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer confirmed that four titles that are currently...
News Octopath Traveler Studio 'Acquire Corp.' Bought By FromSoftware Owner
For an undisclosed sum
Kadokawa, the owner of companies including FromSoftware and Spike Chunsoft, has today announced that it has bought the studio behind Octopath Traveler, Acquire Corp. (thanks, VGC). The company confirmed that it had made Aquire into "a wholly owned subsidiary" in its recent quarterly financials briefing, where it explained its...
News Nintendo Will Offer "Unique Proposals" To Overcome Challenges Of Platform Transitions
Approaching business with "a great sense of urgency"
In a Q&A session following Nintendo's quarterly financial report earlier this week, company president Shuntaro Furukawa addressed the challenges of transitioning between generational platforms, stating that Nintendo will continue to offer "unique proposals" to stand out from the crowd (thanks,...
News LEGO 2K Drive & NBA 2K Dev Visual Concepts Austin Hit By Layoffs
2K & Take-Two make cuts
The video game industry continues to suffer from layoffs, with Visual Concepts Austin becoming the latest studio hit with cuts, Game Developer reports (via Eurogamer). The 2K Games and Take-Two division based in Austin, Texas already reportedly
News Square Enix Is Reportedly Overhauling How It Makes Games
Further announcement coming this Spring
During its latest financial briefing, Square Enix reportedly informed analysts in a conference call that it is undergoing a drastic review of its development system to improve its products' quality and increase revenue. This news comes via Bloomberg, which reports that Square Enix's President, Takashi Kiryu,...
News Scarlet & Violet Are Now The Third Best-Selling Pokémon Games Of All Time
Taking the bronze from Gold & Silver
Thanks to Nintendo's quarterly financial report, we now have the latest figures for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's lifetime sales. The games have amassed 24.36 million copies sold, finally pushing them into the top three best-sellers for the Pokémon series (thanks, Serebii.net). Yes, after a good run on the...
News Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Zooms Past 60 Million Sales
When will it end??
Perhaps one of the least surprising reveals from Nintendo's quarterly financial results is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's continued popularity. We all knew that this was coming, of course, but that doesn't make its latest milestone any less impressive as the game has now driven up a whopping 60.58 million sales. Now, this number only...
News Here Are The Top Ten Best-Selling Nintendo Switch Games As Of December 2023
On the up and up
As part of Nintendo's nine-month financial report for FY2024, the firm has updated its top ten best-selling games list for the Switch. In terms of the rankings, there's no change here from the last update in November 2023, but there are a couple of noteworthy changes to the numbers. Primarily, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has now surpassed...
Switch sales forecasts have been raised
Nintendo has published its quarterly financial results, revealing that Switch hardware sales now stand at 139.36 million units sold (as of 31st December 2023) since the system launched in March 2017. This is up from 132.46 million as reported in November and Nintendo has raised its forecasts for both hardware...
News Metal Gear And Momotaro Dentetsu Contribute To Strong Revenue For Konami
Profits rise by 53%
Konami has released its latest financial earnings report for the nine months ended December 31st, 2023, in which it details strong sales, boosting its overall revenue by 11% and its profits by 53%. As detailed by GamesIndustry.biz, Konami has cited two launches that appear to have significantly contributed to the firm's strong...
News Analysts Doubt 'Switch 2' Will Be Able To Top Switch's Mighty Sales Numbers
"The share price looks overvalued"
The much-rumoured Switch successor that Nintendo fans and investors alike are eager to see officially revealed will struggle to match the current console's overall hardware sales, according to analysts quoted in a new Bloomberg report (thanks, GoNintendo) Anticipation for the system has sent shares of the company...
News Call Of Duty Exec Is Appointed As Blizzard's New President
Times are a-changin'
Following the departure of Mike Ybarra from Blizzard just last week, Microsoft has announced that Johanna Faries has now been appointed as the new President of the formidable subsidiary. Faries is currently serving as General Manager for the Call of Duty franchise, with her new role at Blizzard effective from February 5th,...
News Square Enix To Slim Down Its Gaming Lineup To Ensure Higher Quality
Cutting the fat
It's safe to say that over the last few years, Square Enix has been pumping out games faster than Marvel sends its Disney+ shows out to die. Heck, we even tackled the company's insane cadence back in 2022 to try and figure out what on earth was going on at the Japanese firm. As we head into 2024, however, a Q&A from Square...
News Take-Two Trademark Dispute "Resolved Amicably" Last Year, Says Remedy
Update: "The legal filing was simply an initial formality"
Update [Thu 18th Jan, 2024 16:00 GMT]: Well, folks, it seems like this very strange "logo dispute" has already been wrapped up. Phew. Remedy has reached out to Game File's Stephen Totilo and provided a statement about the situation, and it's already been sorted (via Push Square). "There...
News Thunderful Announces Restructuring That Will Affect Around 20% Of Workforce
Over-investments are to blame
Thunderful Group has announced a restructuring program that aims to decrease costs and focus more on areas with the best growth and profitability prospects. As reported by GamesIndustry, the restructuring is ultimately expected to affect around 20% of Thunderful's current workforce, with the group hoping to see the...
News Retailer GAME Is Officially Ending Physical Trade-Ins (UK)
Update: Confirmed to the BBC
Update [Tue 16th Jan, 2024 19:14 GMT]: It's official — high street video game retailer GAME will be ending its trade-in and pre-owned business. Frasers Group, which owns the retailer after purchasing it in 2019 for GBP £52 million, confirmed the news with the BBC earlier today. In a statement, a spokesperson told the...
News Players Need To Start "Feeling Comfortable" With Not Owning Games, Says Ubisoft Subs Boss
"That's the consumer shift that needs to happen"
Yesterday, Ubisoft launched a rebrand of its subscription service, Ubisoft+ Premium, and brought its Classics package to PC. Clearly, the company sees this as a step into the future of gaming as its director of subscriptions, Philippe Tremblay, told GamesIndustry.biz that players need to become...
News Oh No, GameStop Is Closing Its NFT Marketplace
NF-Terminated
GameStop has announced that it has "decided to wind down" its NFT marketplace after initially launching in July 2022. As reported by Decrypt (thanks, VGC), users will be unable to buy, sell, or create NFTs as of February 2nd, 2024, with GameStop citing the "continuing regulatory uncertainty of the crypto space" as its reasoning for...
News Nintendo Shares Hit Record High, Apparently Thanks To 'Switch 2' Fever
What have you got, 2024?
Nintendo shares have hit a record high of 7,823 yen (roughly $54.14) as of Wednesday, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. While increasing steadily over the last year or so, shares have recently spiked with WSJ citing 'solid earnings' and the expectation of new hardware from the firm to succeed the current Nintendo...
News Square Enix To Be "Aggressive In Applying" AI Going Forwards
Must... Consume... Content
Ah, what a lovely way to kick off 2024, eh? Square Enix's President Takashi Kiryu has revealed that the company will be "aggressive in applying" AI in its content development and publishing divisions in the future after he praised the technology in a New Year's Letter (thanks, VGC). Published on January 1st, 2024, the...
