In The News
Artifact:
The game only just came out and it’s getting bad reviews on Steam, PC Gamer’s Samuel Roberts writes. “It already has over 1500 negative Steam user reviews, earning itself a ‘Mixed’ status as of right now. Scrolling through the ‘most helpful’ negative reviews, a lot of them are focusing on the monetisation element of the game.”
Steam Charts reports the game hit a peak of 60,740 people in its first 24 hours.
Sales:
GameStop “reported a net loss of $488.6 million for the quarter … compared to net income of $59.4 million … total global sales increased 4.8 percent to $2.1 billion … new software sales increased 10.9 percent,” Gamasutra’s Emma Kidwell reports.
Green Man Gaming “reported a more than 100% year-over-year increase in revenue on digital PC and console games, and a 62% year-over-year increase in units sold. In addition, average value per order was up 33% year-over-year,” GI.biz’s Rebekah Valentine writes.
Strategy Analytics put out a press release arguing “Nintendo is set to regain its leadership position in video game consoles for the first time since 2009.” It predicts “Nintendo will sell 17.3 million Switch consoles worldwide in 2019, while Sony will sell 17.1 million PS4 and PS4 Pro consoles. Microsoft will remain in third place, selling 10.0 million Xbox One and Xbox One X devices.”
I know Amazon is taking over the world and destroying small businesses but this new function is just so nifty. The “Part Finder” tool checks PC part compatibility, PC Gamer’s Bo Moore reports. “On some PC component product pages, a widget at the top lets you select the brand and model number of your existing rig to check if the part is compatible.”
Microsoft and the U.S. Army have struck a deal for “a $480 million contract to begin development on an augmented reality system for use with its HoloLens headset,” Variety’s Brittany Vincent reports.
Rovio acquired “Finnish mobile studio PlayRaven for an undisclosed amount,” GI.biz’s Matthew Handrahan reports.
IGDA wants to see action on loot boxes, Kidwell writes. “The statement provided comes shortly after several countries have started cracking down on loot box monetization systems, including Belgium, the Netherlands, and South Korea.”
Introducing Brindie, “a new branding service for indie game developers,” Valentine writes.
DRAGON. AGE. Looks like we’ll be hearing something soon!
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Extra Esports News:
100 Thieves and Red Bull are partnering.
Mika Kuusisto is ENCE eSports’ new CEO, Esports Insider’s David Hollingsworth writes.
Mousesports CEO Cengiz Tüylü is out. He sold his shares and left the organization, TEO’s Max Miceli reports.
Esports Entertainment Group, Inc acquired “a private placement of Notes, which resulted in gross proceeds of $2.2 million before deducting placement agents fees and estimated offering expenses,” Esports Insider’s Oliver Ring reports.
Paul “Redeye” Chaloner is up with a piece titled “Clear rules, strong leadership and education needed to combat racism.”
Hearthstone: