In The News
Newzoo lowered its 2018 games forecast to $134.9 billion from 137.9 billion, GI.biz’s Rebekah Valentine reports. It’s “as a result of both lower-than-expected mobile growth and, to a lesser degree, higher-than-expected console and PC growth so far this year.”
Nintendo:
Pokemon director Junichi Masuda may be wrapping up his time with the series, he said in an interview. “But at the same time, it’s important to have the younger generation at GAME FREAK take over the development of Pokémon as a series. I do believe this will probably be, in terms of the main Pokémon RPGs, the last time that I work as the director.”
Mario Segale, Mario’s namesake, has passed away aged 84, Game Informer’s Imran Khan reports.
Kartridge’s open beta is live. “It hopes to become a beacon for quality indie games, and it already has hundreds of titles, gamer chat, badges, and player rewards,” VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi reports.
OUT: Justin “TheGunRun” Ignacio is leaving Twitch.
Mixer posted “Welcome to Season 2.”
Players’ Lounge – Sponsored News:
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$20,000,000. 20. Million. Dollars in prizes paid out since Players’ Lounge launched in 2016. GameBattles? $7,000,000 since launching 10+ years ago. It only costs $1 to enter.
Extra Esports News:
Pittsburgh Steelers’ JuJu Smith-Schuster is Hyperice’s new esports ambassador, TEO’s Ferguson Mitchell reports.
Partnerships:
EA is partnering “with 13 worldwide esports professional organizations … with the esports teams’ Home/Goalie kits to appear in the FIFA 19 Ultimate Team mode,” TEO’s Hongyu Chen reports.
Skillshot Media and Emory University are partnering “to ‘study consumer behaviour and fandom’ in esports,” Esports Insider’s Adam Fitch reports.
WESG Oceania 2018’s new partners include Mwave and Indomie, Fitch writes.
AfreecaTV and SBS are partnering “to establish a TV channel and company,” TEO’s Andrew Hayward reports.
Tainted Minds is partnering with Ribs & Burgers, Fitch reports.
Esports Arena is expanding to 5 new locations within Walmart stores, TEO’s Max Miceli writes.
Happy birthday Peter “ppd” Dager!