In The News
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EA/Battlefront II news:
Belgium has declared that loot boxes are a form of gambling, Engadget’s Saqib Shah reports. They were looking specifically at Battlefront II and Overwatch. “Belgian Minister of Justice Koen Geens added: ‘Mixing gambling and gaming, especially at a young age, is dangerous for the mental health of the child.’ The commission will now reportedly work through the European Union’s process to execute a total ban.”
Hawaii Rep. Chris Lee released a video slamming EA and its “predatory behavior.” He also released a written statement on Reddit. Here’s a portion of if, according to Kotaku’s Luke Plunkett: “People are more powerful than they think. While we are stepping up to act in Hawaii, we have also been in discussions with our counterparts in a number of other states who are also considering how to address this issue. Change is difficult at the federal level, but states can and are taking action.”
Tencent acquired exclusive rights to distribute PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds in China and make it align more with China’s “socialist core values,” PC Gamer’s Joe Donnelly reports. “In turn, it’s thought this iteration of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds will offer ‘healthy, positive cultural and value guidance, especially for underage users.’”
Asus uses a lot of advertising methods to get the message out about its Republic of Gamers brand. Media relations director Randall Grilli spoke with AListDaily’s Steven Wong about the returns the company has seen from its efforts.
Here’s a portion: “Although he admitted that esports still has a niche audience, having more celebrities from traditional sports and their organizations getting involved with pro gaming over the past year is almost bound to grow its mainstream appeal.”
The Nintendo Switch upped GameStop’s global sales to almost $2 billion in the third quarter. “According to the most recent GameStop financials, hardware sales were up 8.8% from $284.4 million to $309 million, led by a demand for the Switch,” GamesIndustry.biz’s Haydn Taylor reports.
Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda said the Switch is “the perfect system to house the kind of mid-size titles that seem to perform best for Square, saying that the company intends to be ‘proactive’ in its development efforts as a result,” Gamasutra’s Alissa McAloon writes.
BadLand Games is donating “75% of their earnings from the game to a special fund for [Tom] Happ’s son,” Game Informer’s Imran Khan writes.
Playsaurus is removing the free-to-play model from its Clicker Heroes sequel. “Playsaurus expressed remorse at the abuse of those with addiction at the hands of developers capitalising on free-to-play mechanics,” Taylor reports. “The developer accused the industry of rationalising abusive behaviour ‘by shifting the blame, assuming way too much cognisance on part of their victims.’”
Brian Kibler gave insight into what it’s like to be a Hearthstone streamer at 37, telling PCGamesN’s Ben Barrett, “‘I think if stuff like Twitch and YouTube had existed in the form that they do now twenty years ago when I was in school, I would have said ‘this is perfect’ in terms of the way that it dovetails all the things that I enjoy.’”