In The News
The World Health Organization recently added “Gaming Disorder” to its list of addictive behaviors, and the Entertainment Software Association is urging WHO to reconsider.
“‘Putting that official label on them recklessly trivializes real mental health issues like depression and social anxiety disorder,’” the statement reads in part, according to PC Gamer’s Joe Donnelly.
PUBG Corp. president Chang Han Kim told Inven Global his goal for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is a “‘universal media franchise based on the game. We want to take part in diverse industries including Esports, movies, drama, cartoons, animation, and…’”
In some less-good PUBG news, Eurogamer’s Tom Phillips reports that Microsoft yanked an ad for the game after “a fan complained the company had copied their art.”
Sumo Digital acquired CCP Newcastle, Game Informer’s Imran Khan writes.
United Kingdom game sales reached “£3.35 billion in 2017,” GamesIndustry.biz’s Christopher Dring reports. “Yet it is video games digital that saw the most growth, rising from £2.28 billion to £2.56 billion – growth for 12.1%.”
Future Legends of Zelda games will preserve Breath of the Wild’s open-world style, producer Eiji Aonuma told IGN’s Andrew Goldfarb. Here’s a portion of the interview: “‘It means that freedom, that level of freedom is something that needs to be maintained in Zelda games going forward. My eyes have been opened to how important that is.’”
Steam’s best selling PC Games for 2017 based on gross revenue are out, The Esports Observer’s Angelos Anastasopoulos reports. CS:GO, Dota 2, Rocket League and PUBG all landed high on the list.
Square Enix president Yosuke Masuda thinks a host of technological advancements will help gaming. Here’s a snippet of his letter, courtesy of VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi: “‘The environment surrounding the content industry is undergoing significant changes as advancements are made simultaneously in multiple technologies, including…’”
Tabletop games are dominating on Kickstarter, Polygon’s Charlie Hall reports. “There were nearly 400 more successful tabletop campaigns in 2017 compared to 2016 … The average successful tabletop game raised $65,418 in 2017, compared to $59,181 in 2016.”
Microsoft stopped production on the Xbox Kinect Adapter, Engadget’s Jon Fingas writes.
Check out Hearthstone’s new ranked season, “Frostfire Ferocity.”