In The News
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin went after video games in an interview about the Parkland, Fla. school shooting Feb. 14. He said, according to Glixel’s Stefanie Fogel, “‘They celebrate the slaughtering of people. There are games that literally replicate and give people the ability to score points for doing the very same thing that these students are doing inside of schools, where you get…’”
Hangar 13 “has laid off a portion of its staff,” PC Gamer’s Andy Chalk reports. The actual number is unknown.
Eugene Systems employees are on strike, GamesIndustry.biz’s Brendan Sinclair reports. “21 of its 44 employees walked out yesterday afternoon.”
Most people are OK with “cosmetic microtransactions,” GamesIndustry.biz’s Haydn Taylor reports.
“69% of consumers felt that cosmetic microtransactions are an acceptable form of monetisation in games … However, 22% took umbrage with ‘pay-to-win’ microtransactions.”
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds numbers are down, Polygon’s Charlie Hall writes. “Peak for concurrent players in mid-January … [was] 3,257,248 … As of yesterday [Feb. 14] the peak was only 2,177,418.”
You may receive a refund if you have EA Access on Xbox One. Microsoft accidentally overcharged some customers. “If you aren’t sure if you need a refund, Microsoft should email you or you can check the Subscription Refund tool,” VentureBeat’s Jeff Grubb reports.
Kakao Games got 5 investors to give it $131 million, Taylor reports. “Kakao Games confirmed its global expansion strategy would see it acquire game firms with the new capital.”
VR news:
Engadget’s Jon Fingas writes that “PSVR prices” dropped “by $100 across the board between February 18th and March 3rd.”
Engadget’s Billy Steele reports that “As of March 22nd … a Viveport subscription will cost $8.99/£8.99. However, there are a few caveats.”
GammaNow, an app by Aura, “lets PC gamers lend their idle computing power in exchange for rewards,” VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi reports. “Gamers will receive GammaPoints based on the computational time given to the network.”
ESL and Pringles “extend[ed] their collaboration, following on from the two companies’ initial sponsorship deal for last year’s ESL One Hamburg event,” The Esports Observer’s Angelos Anastasopoulos reports.