In The News
Eh heh heh, sorry? “Dow Jones Newswires prematurely published headlines on Activision Blizzard Inc.’s quarterly earnings ahead of a Thursday afternoon embargo, including an incorrect revenue figure that the company blamed for a significant drop in its stock price,” The Wall Street Journal’s Austen Hufford reports. “Activision shares fell as much as 6% after the headline error but later recovered some of the loss.”
Sales news:
GamesIndustry.biz’s Haydn Taylor reports “Xbox One sales and the number of Xbox Live users has hit record levels in 2018 … Coupled with a 13 per cent increase in Xbox Live players, sales of the Xbox One are up by 15 per cent compared to the same period last year.”
GamesIndustry.biz’s Brendan Sinclair reports “God of War sold more than 3.1 million copies in its first three days on sale, including downloaded copies and physical versions sold through to customers.”
Sinclair also writes that “the VR, AR, and MR scene forecasts 2018 shipments of 1.81 million for” Oculus Go. “That would make it the market-leading headset of the year outside of the $20 Google Cardboard shell.”
Partnership news:
The Esports Observer’s Trent Murray reports Pacers Gaming, an NBA 2K League team, “has partnered with the Indiana Army National Guard.”
Esports Insider’s Sam Cooke writes that “Global Lottery Monitoring System (GLMS) and the Esports Integrity Coalition (ESIC), have ‘stipulated an agreement with the objective of working together to identify and report any potential irregularities and suspicious betting patterns with regards to esports competitions.’”
Pokemon has a dark Pikachu secret. “Lovable Pikachu, the yellow and cuddly mascot of the Pokémon franchise, once had a third evolution which would evolve it into a devil-like creature with large fangs and horns,” Eurogamer’s Tom Phillips reports.
The New York Times did a piece on esports titled “All We Want to Do Is Watch Each Other Play Video Games.”
Averett University “received a $100,000 gift to support the expansion of its Esports program,” NACE announced in a press release. “Bestowed by Drs. Frank and Dugan Maddux, the gift will go toward an expanded, renovated facility space for the team and spectators, as well as funding some key staff positions for the program.”
KSV Esports is rebranding “to Gen.G,” DBLTAP’s Vince Nairn reports. “Gen.G is short for Generation Gaming, which Wakeford said was done to encompass the gaming lifestyle and community with which fans resonate.”
Hearthstone’s Noblegarden event is May 9 to 13. If you log in then, you’ll get golden Eggnapper and Devilsaur Egg cards.