In The News
A study by Interpret shows “about 91 percent of children ages three to 12 ask for parental permission before making purchases in mobile games,” VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi writes. “27 percent — the biggest category — are looking to purchase items to customize their characters. Just 13 percent are looking to protect a kingdom or a city — the smallest category.”
The report also shows that “parents’ spending on gaming content had increased 34% year-on-year, and accounted for one-third of all entertainment spending” for children aged 3 to 12, GI.biz’s Haydn Taylor reports. “In total, the average amount a parent spent on entertainment for their child in 2018 was $1,300, which amounts to a 25% increase over 2017.”
The Sims general manager Lyndsay Pearson apologized to players “over how her team handled sexual harassment accusations relating to a prominent community member,” Taylor writes. “In December last year, the development team was made aware of allegations relating to a Sims Game Changer.”
5th Planet Games secured “financing of up to 42 million NOK ($4.85 million) to make multiple acquisitions in the near future,” GI.biz’s Rebekah Valentine reports.
That’s embarrassing. DOOM creators hate the Doom: Annihilation trailer so much that the DOOM Twitter account only had this to say: “We’re not involved with the movie.”
NVIDIA:
NVIDIA is ending support for “3D Vision, its approach to gaming with 3D glasses. The last drivers to support 3D Vision will come with the final Release 418 in April,” Engadget’s Jon Fingas reports.
The company acquired “leading computing company Mellanox for $6.9 billion, or $125 a share. Once finalized, the deal will become Nvidia’s biggest acquisition to date,” Gamasutra’s Alissa McAloon writes.
Trendy Entertainment rebranded to Chromatic Games.
Michael “shroud” Grzesiek underwent surgery on his left elbow yesterday.
OUT: HTC Vive’s Rahul Sandil has left for Micron Technology.
Interviews: GDC’s Katie Stern (VentureBeat).
Extra Esports News:
Partnerships & Sponsorships:
ESL and AT&T are partnering for “a new amateur mobile gaming tournament,” Bloomberg’s Christopher Palmeri reports. “The company will be the founding sponsor of the ESL Mobile Open, which kicks off its first season March 18. Any player who wants to can enter the tournaments, which feature the titles PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Clash of Clans and Asphalt 9: Legends.”
Omen by HP is sponsoring “the first official esports event for Magic: The Gathering Arena. The winner of the Mythic Invitational will win a $250K USD share of the $1M prize pool, as well as an Omen by HP gaming system,” TEO’s Graham Ashton writes.
IN: Team SoloMid signed Kenji “NumotTheNummy” Egashira to their Magic: The Gathering team.
Emily “Emiru” Schunk joined RadianceGG.
Reddit AMA: Jason “Alchemist” Baker.
Happy birthday Ilyes “Stephano” Satouri!