Gaming - Page 305

Capcom's latest public survey saves its best question for the very end: What Resident Evil game do you want remade?

Capcom is on fire right now. The company just recorded its 7th straight consecutive year of operating profit growth and managed to sell 41.7 million games in FY22. Resident Evil 4 is performing strongly with over 4 million units sold worldwide, continuing the long-running success of Capcom's new remake lineup.

Now that RE4 Remake has been delivered, Capcom wants to know where it should go next, and is directly asking fans what Resident Evil games they'd like to see get the remake treatment. There isn't a selection to choose from--Capcom doesn't want to play its hand too early--and fans can freely submit whatever title they want. Do you want to see Code Veronica next? Maybe Resident Evil 5 or 6 as the next remake? Now's your chance to make your voice heard.

Redfall's controversial reception could have been even worse if the game launched with its intended storefront.

A new report from Bloomberg's Jason Schreier has illuminated some of the major problems that Arkane faced with Redfall, its latest vampire-themed looter-shooter. The game's trouble story stems from deep alignment and scope issues from the get-go, with many of the original Prey development team leaving en masse as the game suffered an identity crisis that tore Redfall between a singleplayer-driven experience and an online multiplayer shooter.

General games-as-a-service inexperience exacerbated these issues, with Arkane facing the infinite complexities of maintaining a live game both operationally and mechanically. Redfall is something that Arkane's management did want to make, however PR secrecy led to significant short-staffing for a studio that was simply already in over its head when it comes to live service titles.

The AI gold rush presents interesting opportunities to disrupt key markets and streamline operations with greater levels of automation. There's been lots of talk and excitement about how AI could help gaming.

The prospect of creating a kind of AI that can sustainably write, fabricate, and maintain the infinitely-complex machine that is games development is an appealing pipe dream--but developers, CEOs, and publishers are quick to shake off this fantasy.

Although AI will likely help the games industry by reducing crunch and opening the doorways to more productivity and complexity of games, the days of AI replacing actual humans in this field are a long ways away--if it happens at all. There's just some things you can't fake.

A new Bloomberg report confirms what gamers have long thought to be true: ZeniMax Media insisted that its studios add microtransactions to new games.

ZeniMax Media has some of the best-selling franchises on the planet. Bethesda's beloved series are known far and wide; from The Elder Scrolls and Fallout to id Software's legendary Doom, these games are powerhouse singleplayer experiences that sell tens of millions of copies.

Singleplayer gaming saw disruption, though. The emerging games-as-a-service industry model had triggered a paradigm shift in the industry, and publishers could make hundreds of millions--or even billions--of dollars from microtransactions and seasonal live service content. ZeniMax broke into this market with The Elder Scrolls Online in 2014, and since then, we've seen multiple franchises pivot towards live services, including the controversial Fallout 76, the multiplayer-driven Wolfenstein Youngblood, and even Doom Eternal. Now the trend continues with Redfall, which has been regarded by critics as one of the worst games of 2023.

Analysts speculate that Comcast's next big investment strategy could target the $200 billion video games market.

A new Bloomberg feature outlines an interesting possibility: What if Comcast got into gaming? After all, there were reports that Comcast would have spun off NBC Universal and merged with EA to create a new multimedia group. Stranger things have happened--even Netflix is getting into gaming and is starting to ramp up big AAA studios to help fill out its catalog.

Analysts and experts have floated the idea of Comcast entering the games market in some capacity, possibly in the form of a major buyout acquisition, or even purchasing licenses to characters and franchises from major game companies to use in films and TV shows to bolster its streaming and cable empire. Comcast's aspirations are believed to target the larger entertainment umbrella--rather than focusing exclusively on gaming, Comcast would likely tap these gaming franchises (like, say, Grand Theft Auto) in transmedia efforts and bring them to the big screen.

U.S. consumers spent more money on video game purchases, subscriptions, and microtransactions than Chinese consumers throughout 2022, market research data from Newzoo indicates.

According to a new report from Newzoo, the United States was the leading region for worldwide game spending in 2022. Newzoo estimates that the total global video games market generated $182.9 billion throughout 2022, which is slightly below the firm's previous $184 billion estimate.

The United States actually led regional spending in 2022, beating China by some $2.4 billion. Consumers in the U.S. spent $46.4 billion on games throughout the year, whereas Chinese gamers spent $44 billion. The firm notes that 49% of total global spending came from these two countries. Europe was the second-highest region with $33.3 billion, which further illuminates the European Union's weight as it pertains to its Microsoft-Activision merger decision.

Microsoft President Brad Smith reiterates that the company is focused and committed on finding key solutions that address regulatory concerns in a bid to get the $68.7 billion Activision merger passed by the FTC and CMA.

The Microsoft-Activision merger has been cleared in 10 jurisdictions so far. Out of the handful of worldwide regions, the European Union's approval carries the most weight. EU regulators had identified two key areas of potential anti-competitive effects from the merger, but those worries were satisfied when Microsoft agreed to make certain adjustments in its post-merger business plan.

This shows that Microsoft is willing to work with regulators to find a solution to get the deal passed. Microsoft clearly wants Activision Blizzard King's mighty billion-dollar empire to supplement the Xbox brand and its grand, but unclear, plans at creating a universal video game platform that connects and sells games on mobile, PC, and console.

Activision-Blizzard was ready to buy Time Warner and adapt its wealth of intellectual properties in a grand transmedia strategy, company CEO tells Variety.

At one time, Activision-Blizzard CEO and board of directors had a monumental vision that would have utterly transformed its business into an entertainment empire. That's not to say Activision isn't already an empire--eight separate billion-dollar franchises, including the $31 billion Call of Duty series, beg to differ.

The plans went beyond games, though. Activision wanted to do something more along the lines of the cross-adaptation strategies that Sony is employing between its PlayStation Studios and PlayStation Pictures units, complete with Marvel's Spider-Man licensing thrown in. Activision-Blizzard was ready to buy Time Warner if the $85 billion AT&T deal offer fell through, with the main goal of massive IP expansion.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick discusses controversy at the company and comments on harassment allegations and his stance of labor unions.

In 2021, the California Civil Rights Department (formerly DFEH) sued Activision-Blizzard on the grounds of female employees facing "constant sexual harassment," which kicked off a wave of controversy that ultimately tanked Activision stock.

As per a press release from the CRD's announcement that it will not dismiss its case against Activision-Blizzard:

Sony's video games business is no longer console-only, but executive management reiterates that PlayStation is still console-first.

Today, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced the latest first-party PS5 exclusive to cross over to PC, and this time it's Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart, one of the premiere PS5 launch games that flexed the console's ultra-fast SSD. While Sony's expansion onto PC has been well-telegraphed by the company since Horizon Zero Dawn's released onto Steam in 2020, the continued exclusivity-breaking has divided some PlayStation faithful.

The reality is that PlayStation consoles are still tremendously important for Sony, and the PS5 is the beating heart of the whole operation. SIE executives have made it clear on numerous occasions, and taking a closer look at PlayStation's operations only underlines this fact.

Activision legal counsel alleges that UK regulators at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had only spent 4 weeks out of its total 32-week investigation on the Microsoft-Activision merger focusing on potential SLC effects in cloud gaming.

Microsoft has filed an appeal with the intent to quash the CMA's decision to block the Microsoft-Activision merger. Today, lawyers for Activision, Microsoft, and the CMA met with Competition Appeals Tribunal's Justice Marcus Smith to discuss how to best proceed with the appeals process. While Microsoft's full 400-page appeal will not be made public, the Tribunal did publish an application summary that condenses the main points. At the hearing, Activision legal counsel delivered key reasons on why it seeks to intervene in the case--Activision has a stake in the outcome of the merger and can provide relevant information in regards to cloud gaming and the games market as a whole, so it is likely to be able to intervene and add evidence to support Microsoft's case.

During the hearing, Activision's lawyer made specific allegations against the CMA's determination of anti-competitive effects that could arise from the merger. The CMA blocked the merger on grounds that the combination would result in a significant lessening of competition (SLC) in the segment of cloud gaming due to Microsoft's potential ability to foreclose, or take away and prevent, access to Activision-Blizzard games to cloud competitors.

Nintendo has filed a cease-and-desist order that forces Valve to prevent the popular Dolphin emulator from releasing on Steam, and has now issued a statement explaining how the Dolphin emulator is harmful to the company and how emulation harms the games industry as a whole.

Nintendo is one of the most fiercely protective companies on the planet when it comes to IP. We've seen the Japanese company shut down multiple emulation sites through lawsuits, and also impose tight restrictions on YouTube content. Recently, Nintendo has thwarted the release of the popular Wii and GameCube emulator, Dolphin, from releasing on Steam.

"It is with much disappointment that we have to announce that the Dolphin on Steam release has been indefinitely postponed. We were notified by Valve that Nintendo has issued a cease and desist citing the DMCA against Dolphin's Steam page, and have removed Dolphin from Steam until the matter is settled. We are currently investigating our options and will have a more in-depth response in the near future," Dolphin's development team wrote on May 27.

The rumors were right: Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is the next first-party PlayStation 5 exclusive making the hop over to PC.

Following Jim Ryan's assertions that PC is a "significant profit contributor" to the PlayStation business, it's no wonder that Sony is continuing its PC gaming efforts. Now Sony has announced the latest first-party game to drop on PC, and it's a big one.

Today Sony and Insomniac Games announced Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is coming to PC on July 26, complete with support for 21:9, 32:9 and up to 48:9 resolutions for triple monitor setups, raytracing, DLSS 3.0, AMD FSR 2.0, and Intel XeSS support--alongside NVIDIA Reflex as well.

CD Projekt Group CEO Adam Kicinski has officially squashed recent rumors that Sony is seeking to acquire The Witcher publisher.

Video games industry consolidation has been ramping up in recent years following the big COVID-19 boom. We've seen EA, Take-Two, Sony, and more recently Microsoft, all make and attempt high-profile multi-billion dollar acquisitions. Although CD Projekt is about to venture into unexplored territory, the company has no desire to sell itself to a larger entertainment parent.

In a recent earnings call with investors, CD Projekt Group President and CEO Adam Kicinski laid rest to the rumors of Sony buying out the Polish games-maker. "Nothing has changed on our end. I can repeat what we've been saying throughout the years: CD Projekt is not for sale," Kicinski said in response to the very first question asked at the Q&A session.

The Witcher 3 has now sold over 50 million copies worldwide and is among the top best-selling games of all time.

Today, CD Projekt announced its Q1 2023 earnings results and also updated total franchise sales of The Witcher series. According to the report, The Witcher franchise has now sold over 75 million copies, and the company's widely-acclaimed third chapter in the saga has broken a new milestone.

The Witcher 3 has now sold-through over 50 million copies from its original launch in 2015 to the present day. In eight years, Geralt's generation-defining adventure has become one of the top 10 best-sellers of all time.

With AI prevalent in the high-performance computing space, and NVIDIA's cutting-edge hardware pushing the company's worth to new heights, CEO Jensen Huang began his Computex 2023 keynote with a slice of RTX meets AI with a glimpse at the potential future of gaming. It's called NVIDIA Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE), an AI model that "transforms games by bringing intelligence to non-playable characters (NPCs) through AI-powered natural language interactions."

Imagine a Cyberpunk 2077 Night City open-world brought to life in Unreal Engine 5, with stunning ray tracing effects, where a futuristic ramen bar is a home to global illumination and lighting that looks as breathtaking as anything seen in CD Project Red's new Path Traced RT Overdrive mode.

The difference? The person behind the bar is bright to life with generative AI language models and can respond to your voice in a way reminiscent of real-world role-playing. And funnily enough the earliest days of gaming with tabletop Dungeons and Dragons.

Sony executive management is confident the PlayStation 5 will exceed at least 108 million units in its lifetime.

In a recent games business briefing, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan said that he strongly believes that the PS5 family of hardware will break 108 million sales worldwide across its life cycle. This would put the PS5 just below the PS4's 117.2 million shipments, but above the PS1's 102.4 million lifetime shipments.

"Yes, I would anticipate that over the life of the PlayStation 5, that we should be able to exceed a figure of 70 million on top of the 38 million [we have achieved]," Ryan said in the Q&A section of the meeting's webcast.

Sony's PC gaming initiative is growing exponentially, but also missed internal targets by $50 million and has yet to become a significant contributor to overall revenues.

A new business briefing from Sony Interactive Entertainment gives a better perspective of its PC gaming presence. The company has released new figures of its PC games business that illustrates growth in the sector, but also shows just how relatively small PC gaming currently is for Sony.

According to the data, Sony made $250 million from PC gaming in FY22, which is $50 million below expectations. This figure allows us to weigh PC gaming revenues against Other segment earnings to see a proportional share of this new platform.

Sony's acquisition of Bungie seems to be paying off big time, and has dramatically increased PlayStation's presence in PC gaming.

Sony's strategic $3.7 billion buyout of Bungie looks to be one of the company's most beneficial games acquisitions since the purchase of Insomniac Games in 2019. Not only has Sony conscribed Bungie to help vet its first-party live service titles with a "rigorous review process," which has unfortunately led to the delay and possible cancellation of some titles, but the Bungie buyout allows Sony to instantly recognize Destiny 2's hefty revenues on PC.

As a result, Sony Interactive Entertainment is now recognized as one of the top video games publishers "on a popular PC game store." In a recent business briefing, PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst had some interesting things to say about the company's new PC expansion.

Hype for Insomniac's Spider-Man 2 is off the charts and could end up being Sony's best-selling first-party game of 2023.

Sony's latest PlayStation Showcase event had mixed reception, with a portion of gamers being confused by the new first-party PlayStation live service games and others having a muted response to the overall tone of the show itself. But there's one thing that everyone seems to agree on: The new Spider-Man 2 game is an instant fan-favorite.

Sony saved the official gameplay reveal of Insomniac's Spider-Man 2 for the end of the show for good reason, and it really felt like the ace up their sleeve. Gamers had high and lofty expectations for the PlayStation showcase that were mostly too good to be true, as is usually the case for these summer-timed events, but the new Spider-Man 2 footage was met with near-unanimous praise.