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February 17th, 2020, 19:45 Posted By: wraggster
The Entertainment Software Association released a handful of details about E3 2020 today, including a list of 10 major companies who will be attending the show.
The group said it has received commitments from several outfits, including Xbox, Nintendo, Ubisoft, Bethesda Softworks, Sega, Capcom, Square Enix, Take-Two Interactive Software, Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc., and Warner Bros. Games.
In previous years, many of those names would have been assumed to be at E3, but the show has dealt with a number of high-profile departures of late. Sony skipped E3 last year, a surprise compounded by the news that it would be skipping this year's show as well despite having a new console to promote launching in the holiday season. Electronic Arts left E3 several years ago to run its nearby-but-technically-unaffiliated EA Play event; Activision Blizzard has skipped having a booth on the show floor a number of years (including in 2019), although it has participated with kiosks in the venue's lobby and meeting rooms off the show floor.
Earlier today, The Game Awards organizer Geoff Keighley announced that he would not be running the E3 Coliseum live stage show this year after handling it at the past three events.
"Given what has been publicly communicated about plans for E3 2020, I just don't feel comfortable participating in the show at this time," Keighley explained.
Keighley said his decision to announce his absence from the show was prompted by the leak of the ESA's E3 2020 website this morning. The site was taken live and freely accessible, but once it began circulating on gaming forums, the site was password-protected.
The apparent mistake is reminiscent of the ESA's mishandling of thousands of E3 attendees' personal information last year. In that instance, the group left private details of more than 2,000 journalists, analysts, and streamers accessible on its website through an unsecured download link.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...l-attending-e3
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February 17th, 2020, 19:42 Posted By: wraggster
Disney is seeking more partnerships with games developers and publishers following the success of Marvel's Spider-Man and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
Speaking at the 2020 DICE Summit, the company's senior VP for games and interactive experiences Sean Shoptaw reiterated that Disney's focus when it comes to the games industry is in licensing out its IP.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Shoptaw told developers his role is to "empower you to do really unique things with our [catalogue]," adding: "We want to tap into the power of creatives across the industry."
He offered the two aforementioned titles as examples of the freedom games makers could have when working with Disney's owned IP, which includes Star Wars, Marvel and now various 20th Century Fox properties.
Marvel's Spider-Man by Insomniac Games has sold over 13 million copies, and is the fastest-selling first-party title in PlayStation history, shifting 3.3 million units in the first three days. The game reinvents Spider-Man and many of his enemies, and has even crossed over with the comics and Sony's Into The Spider-Verse movie.
The more recent Jedi: Fallen Order was one of the biggest selling games of last year, and is expected to soon reach 10 million copies sold. It was developed as part of the exclusive publishing deal with EA, and tells an original story set after the prequel trilogy.
In both cases, Shoptaw said an important aspect of the projects was original storytelling and developers "reimagining" established Disney-owned characters and settings.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...or-video-games
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February 17th, 2020, 19:39 Posted By: wraggster
2020 game sales are off to a rough start in the US. The NPD Group today released its US sales report for January, showing steep drops in spending on game hardware and software.
For the January reporting period, NPD tracked total game spending (hardware, physical software, full-game digital sales from selected publishers, accessories and game cards) of $678 million, down 26% year-over-year.
When looked at individually, hardware and software performance was even worse. Hardware sales were down 35% to $129 million, with Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One all declining year-over-year. NPD analyst Mat Piscatella pointed to late-cycle hardware dynamics for the decline, noting that Switch led its competitors in both systems sold and money brought in.
Software sales were down 31% year-over-year to $311 million, with a lighter release slate named as a culprit. January 2019 saw the releases of Kingdom Hearts III and Resident Evil 2, providing a tough comparison. January's best-seller charts only featured one new release, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, but it was the best-selling game of the month. Elsewhere in the software charts, Piscatella noted that Nintendo's Ring Fit Adventure finished ninth, which represents the fitness game's highest chart placement since its October debut.
Accessories and game cards were the best-performing part of the market compared to last year, bringing in $238 million for a decline of 11%. That total was helped by Xbox Elite Series 2 Wireless Controller, which was the best-selling accessory for the third straight month since its launch. According to the NPD, it is the fifth-fastest-selling game accessory in US history.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...year-over-year
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February 17th, 2020, 19:38 Posted By: wraggster
A collection of remastered Yakuza games was the biggest new physical release in the UK last week.
Sega's PS4 exclusive debuted at No.3, behind the usual boxed chart toppers Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (No.2) and FIFA 20 (No.1).
It's one of four new releases in the charts this week, the other being Media Molecule's Dreams at No.8 (also a PS4 exclusive). Dreams was made available in Beta in April 2019 and received its full release last week, complete with a physical version. As a result, the game will likely have performed stronger as a download.
Also new this week is Darksiders Genesis at No.11. THQ Nordic's spin-off action game sold best on PS4, representing 51% of sales, ahead of Switch (28%) and Xbox One (21%).
Street Fighter V also received a fancy new version this week on PS4, with Street Fighter V Champion Edition arriving at No.37 (the game was also released on Steam).
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...-crack-top-ten
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February 12th, 2020, 21:32 Posted By: wraggster
GeForce Now users will no longer be able to play their Activision Blizzard titles through Nvidia's newly-launched streaming service.
Emerging out of beta last week, GeForce Now enables players to stream games they have purchased through digital stores, allowing them to enjoy titles that may not run on their own hardware.
However, support for all Activision Blizzard titles -- including World of Warcraft, Overwatch and the Call of Duty series -- has been removed. Nvidia explained the change on its forums, emphasising that this was the publisher's decision, but was unable to give a reason.
"As we take GeForce Now to the next step in its evolution, we've worked with publishers to onboard a robust catalog of your PC games," community manager Cory Banks wrote. "This means continually adding new games, and on occasion, having to remove games - similar to other digital service providers.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...k-after-launch
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February 11th, 2020, 21:05 Posted By: wraggster
FIFA 20 is back at No.1 in the UK for the first time since the second week in January.
EA's football simulator enjoyed a 32% increase in boxed sales week-on-week, and overtakes Call of Duty: Modern Warfare by just over 1,000 units. It was still a good week for Activision's game, however, which rose 5% in sales week-on-week. Modern Warfare continues to outpace last year's Black Ops 4 by 3% (GfK physical sales data only).
It's a very quiet start to 2020, with the big boxed games not set to appear until the second quarter of the year. The only new game in the charts is Zombie Army 4: Dead War from Rebellion and Sold Out, which debuts at No.8. It's the sequel to 2015's Zombie Army Trilogy, which also debuted at No.8. This new game has sold 43% fewer units at launch than its predecessor, however, digital downloading has increased significantly since 2015 and those digital numbers are not tracked here.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...nters-top-five
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February 11th, 2020, 21:04 Posted By: wraggster
The UK's Video Games Tax Relief initiative reached new milestones last year as the number of projects receiving final certification and spending on those projects rose to record highs.
UK spend on games that received final certification was reported as £582.6 million according to the BFI, via UKIE. That's a 189% increase on the £201.9 million reported in 2018.
The number of games that received final certification increased to 247 -- the highest number for a single year to date.
However, the amount of titles that received interim certification lowered last year, dropping from 174 to 139. This has been attributed to the late stage in the console cycle as games companies focus on preparing for Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.
UKIE also reports that overall product budgets have risen, quadrupling to £1.16 billion, and the related proportion in UK expenditure dropped from 76.5% to 50.2%.
"This indicates that development work in the UK is an integral part of multinational projects that may otherwise have been made elsewhere," the trade body said.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...582-6m-in-2019
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February 4th, 2020, 21:30 Posted By: wraggster
The games industry continues to rally behind relief efforts around the Australian bushfires, with donations from Activision and Wargaming, and upcoming efforts from 2K, Bethesda and PlayStation.
Activision created an Outback Relief Pack for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, sales of which have raised more than $1.6 million (USD).
All of the net proceeds from the pack will be given to the humanitarian organisation Direct Relief, Activision has said, which will use it to help address the ongoing problems in Australia.
Wargaming has also made a substantial donation, InGames reports, blowing past an initial target of $10,000 on a charity livestream to reach a total of $90,000 (AUD). BlazeAid was a combined effort between Wargaming's Asia Pacific team and World of Tanks players in the region.
InGames, the leading industry-facing website for the APAC region, also has information on two upcoming charity drives organised by regional and international games companies.
The branches of Bethesda and 2K Games representing Australia and New Zealand are running the #2KBethesdaUnite campaign, with all proceeds going to the Australian Red Cross. Donations are already open, and the Bethesda and Borderlands Twitch channels will run charity livestreams on February 15.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...ushfire-relief
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February 3rd, 2020, 21:41 Posted By: wraggster
A decade ago, Australia was enveloped in a debate over whether to introduce an 18+ rating for video games. At the time, the most restrictive rating category for Australia was a 15 certificate, and if your game was too much for the 15 certificate criteria (like Left 4 Dead 2), it couldn't be sold. It was seen by many as an unusual double-standard considering films had a more permissive 18 rating available to them but games did not, and there was a push to change the system.
One of the political voices against the 18 rating for games was South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson. Years earlier, Atkinson had been involved in a push to ban biker gangs that labelled them "terrorists within our community," blaming them for murder, extortion, weapons smuggling, and other crimes. Despite that track record, Atkinson said he was more worried about gamers than bikers after one left a threatening note under his door in the middle of the night."Atkinson wasn't worried about the biker gangs he was cracking down on, whose members had demonstrated a willingness to kill. He was worried about gamers"
"I feel that my family and I are more at risk from gamers than we are from the outlaw motorcycle gangs who also hate me and are running a candidate against me," Atkinson said. "The outlaw motorcycle gangs haven't been hanging around my doorstep at 2am. A gamer has."
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...an-biker-gangs
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January 31st, 2020, 21:29 Posted By: wraggster
EA just gave its investors a rough outline of what to expect from its release slate beginning in April of 2020, and it looks to be a bulkier release year than this last one has been.
In the current fiscal year (which for EA, ends in March), the publisher launched only seven titles, with a planned eighth in NBA Live indefinitely delayed and nothing more planned for the final quarter. But during its Q3 earnings call, COO and CFO Blake Jorgensen announced EA's plans to publish a total of fourteen games in the coming fiscal year, ten of which appear to be internally developed.
Four of those titles will be sports titles, with both FIFA and Madden already confirmed as two of the four. And EA has already tipped its hand slightly as to the remaining two, though its total count of titles is a bit off. During its last earnings call for Q2, the publisher suggested NHL would retain its place as a regular sports title, but it also said that it would be adding at least one more sports title to its annual slate. Jorgensen and Wilson also indicated EA would offer more details on the return of NBA Live in the coming year, though it's not clear if that means a release, or just an update on the IP.
The next four titles will "draw from the breadth of EA's IP," and here's where things get fuzzy. Again going back to that Q2 earnings call, EA said then it would have "exciting remasters of fan favorites, including the Command and Conquer game we've already disclosed," and there's also that Medal of Honor VR game that's already been announced. EA has also said it has projects in the works at Motive, DICE, Bioware, and Criterion, though it's unclear which of these, if any, is part of the four Jorgensen was referring to.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...xt-fiscal-year
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January 31st, 2020, 21:24 Posted By: wraggster
The proposed points-based immigration system is expected to have little impact on the games industry, according to trade body UKIE.
As Britain prepares to exit the European Union, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has released its report considering the implementation of an Australian-stlye points-based system (PBS).
Key suggestions from the report were to open up the Tier 2 (general) visa for skilled workers outside of Europe, and reduce the proposed salary threshold from £30,000 to £25,600.
"There is potential here that a cosmetic PBS will be introduced with little actual effect, or that the MAC's recommendations will be followed and that a PBS will be introduced through the Tier 1 [highly skilled] visa route," said UKIE. "Either way, it appears that any future PBS will have little effect on the games industry."
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...ation-proposal
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January 31st, 2020, 21:23 Posted By: wraggster
Fate/Grand Order was one of the highest-grossing free-to-play games of 2019, though it may be a less familiar title if you're primarily focused on Western trends.
Sensor Tower reports that the free-to-play RPG from Sony's Aniplex studio just passed $4 billion in lifetime player spending on the heels of its second-best year since its 2015 launch. The game generated $1.1 billion in 2019 alone, down only slightly from $1.2 billion last year. For comparison, its launch year only saw $110.7 million in revenue, though it was only out for half of 2015.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...ion-in-revenue
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January 27th, 2020, 21:30 Posted By: wraggster
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot holds No.1 in the UK physical chart by just 400 units.
The RPG beats out Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (which remains at No.2) despite a 63% drop in sales week-on-week.
January is quiet even by January standards, and the only new release this week is Rugby 20 by Big Ben Interactive, which makes its debut at No.13. The game performed much better than its predecessor managed, as Rugby 18 (released in November 2017) didn't make the Top 40 at all. Of course, November is a far busier release window and where physical retail sales are typically far stronger. Even so, this latest game has sold around 25% more than the previous one.
One title to keep a close eye on is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The game continues to jump up the charts. It was No.38 two weeks ago, rising to No.20 last week and the RPG now sits at No.12.
The game has had renewed interest following the popularity of the new Netflix TV show based on the IP, which has attracted 76 million viewers worldwide and was one of the biggest shows in the UK last year. Its success comes at a good time for its developer CD Projekt Red, which has delayed its next big release -- Cyberpunk 2077 -- from April to September.
Elsewhere, there has been severe stock shortages of Nintendo Switch consoles in the UK, with certain retailers advertising every time they have more machines in stock. A recent increase in Switch hardware last week had a positive impact on Mario Kart 8: Deluxe, which rises six places to No.6.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...all-holds-no-1
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January 27th, 2020, 21:29 Posted By: wraggster
Console manufactures can breathe easy after tension between China and the US cooled earlier this month.
Following a recent agreement between US president Donald Trump and Chinese vice premier Liu He, a number of trade tariffs have been taken off the table indefinitely.
Among them was the proposed 25% import tax on consoles, the overwhelming majority of which are produced in China. According to figures from Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, over 96% of consoles imported into the US in 2018 came from China.
In response to the threat, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo all reportedly scaled back console production in China.
With the the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X launch scheduled to launch later this year -- along with rumours of a Nintendo Pro -- the news is well-timed for manufacturers and consumers alike.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...n-us-and-china
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January 27th, 2020, 21:27 Posted By: wraggster
Though it's still heads-down on its upcoming console, Atari is now tackling its comeback attempt from another angle by making themed hotels.
Today, the gaming brand and hardware manufacturer announced it was partnering with strategy group GSD Group to build eight "Atari Hotels" across the US. The first is planned to break ground later this year in Phoenix, Arizona, assisted by real estate developer True North Studio. Additional locations are planned in Austin, TX, Chicago, IL, Denver, CO, Las Vegas, NV, San Francisco, CA, San Jose, CA, and Seattle, WA.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...ight-us-cities
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January 26th, 2020, 21:05 Posted By: wraggster
Did the US gaming industry grow or shrink in 2019? It depends on how you look at it.
The Entertainment Software Association today announced that revenues from US gaming content totalled $35.4 billion in 2019, up 2% year-over-year, citing its own data as well as that of the NPD Group for the number. The figure accounts for all software and in-game purchases, including those on US mobile games.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...ay-npd-and-esa
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January 23rd, 2020, 17:38 Posted By: wraggster
Sony and Microsoft have started talking about their next-generation hardware, and while some features are already known -- backwards compatibility, 8K resolution support, solid-state drives for shorter load times -- both companies have plenty of details left to reveal.
Those features may make for nice marketing bullet points, but what do gamers think is important? GamesIndustry.biz contributed a series of questions to ISFE and Ipsos MORI's GameTrack consumer survey regarding the public perception of features for the next generation of consoles, which were given to a representative sample of 8,000 gamers aged 11 to 64 across the UK, Germany, Spain and France and Italy.
"Better graphics" are widely agreed to be important in the European markets, with 68% of all surveyed gamers considering it important. Among console gamers only, this figure moves up to 78%."'Virtual reality compatibility' and 'handheld mode available' were most commonly deemed less important"
The only other feature to get anywhere close to that level of consensus from participants was "shorter load times when playing digital games." 63% of all surveyed gamers considered that an important factor, and 71% of console gamers.
Despite the emphasis on visuals, "8K resolution graphics" weren't considered as important as many other features. 40% of all surveyed gamers considered 8K support important for next-gen consoles. That number ticked up to 49% when looking at just the console gamers, but in both groups it performed less well than "motion controls," "backwards compatibility," and "ability to play physical games."
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...tant-to-gamers
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January 21st, 2020, 18:23 Posted By: wraggster
The mental health director of Britain's NHS has called on the games industry to ban the use of loot boxes in its titles.
In a statement on the NHS website, the organisation linked the monetisation mechanic to gambling addiction, adding that it was particularly concerned about the impact on children.
Mental health director Claire Murdoch warns that developers and publishers are in danger of "setting kids up for addiction" by using chance-based purchases in their titles.
She cited figures from the Gambling Commission that show 55,000 children in the UK have been classed as having a gambling problem. The NHS' own estimates report there are 400,000 people in England have a gambling problem.
Loot boxes do not come under the remit of the Gambling Commission as they have not been classified as gambling -- something Murdoch describes as a "loophole" based largely on the fact that there is no official way to convert digital prizes into cash (despite the existence of various third-party sites and eBay accounts that sell skins, rare items and gaming accounts with sought after cosmetics).
Murdoch urges the industry to ban the sale of games with loot boxes that are played by children, always make drop rates clear, introduce "fair and realistic spending limits", and do more to raise awareness among parents of the risks connected to in-game spending.
"Frankly no company should be setting up kids for addiction by teaching them to gamble on the content of these loot boxes," she said. "No firm should sell to children loot box games with this element of chance, so yes those sales should end.
"Young people's health is at stake, and although the NHS is stepping up with these new innovative services available to families through our Long Term Plan, we cannot do this alone, so other parts of society must do what they can to limit risks and safeguard children's wellbeing."
Murdoch also cited a report by the Royal Society of Public Health that found the more than half of young people see both loot boxes and skin betting as "forms of highly addictive gambling."
She also offered the example of "one game even [launching] a virtual casino," referring to Grand Theft Auto Online's casino update last summer -- a new featured that happened to go live during an ongoing government inquiry into the immersive and addictive technologies (of which loot boxes became a prominent talking point).
The inquiry's conclusion featured recommendations similar to those of Murdoch, including a ban on the sale of games with loot boxes to children.
As part of the NHS' Long Term Plan to improve mental health, the health service has opened a new treatment centre with up to 14 new NHS gambling clinics planned across the UK.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...r-loot-box-ban
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January 20th, 2020, 18:12 Posted By: wraggster
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot was the best-selling boxed game in the UK last week.
It's a strong launch for the RPG, with launch sales up 13% over the previous Dragon Ball game -- Dragon Ball Fighterz (which went head-to-head with Monster Hunter World back in January 2018).
Seeing a game like Dragon Ball at the top of the charts might seem unusual (although not entirely unheard of during January), but what is more surprising is the sheer number of new 3DS games in the charts.
WarioWare Gold is at No.5, Yo-Kai Watch makes No.8, the two Yokai-Watch sequels (Bony Spirits and Fleshy Souls) are at No.12 and No.13, Metroid Prime: Federation Force is at No.26, Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley returns at No.46, and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal is down at No.51.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...test-uk-charts
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