A Delayed Bond, a Patient Industry: What 007 First Light Says About 2026

From the WccfTech article by David Carcasole: IO Interactive had one final holiday surprise for players ahead of the release of its next game, 007 First Light: a delay. The studio announced that the game has been delayed by two months and will no longer release on its previously announced release date of March 27, 2026.Continue reading “A Delayed Bond, a Patient Industry: What 007 First Light Says About 2026”

Who Controls the Greenlight? How a Saudi PIF–EA Deal Could Reshape Game Development Financing

Quoted from the VGC article by Andy Robinson Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will own 93.4% of the Battlefield publisher, if it clears government scrutiny Electronic Arts’ proposed sale to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has been approved by the company’s shareholders. The $55 billion takeover deal was approved in a shareholder vote on Monday.Continue reading “Who Controls the Greenlight? How a Saudi PIF–EA Deal Could Reshape Game Development Financing”

The Disintermediation Game: Xbox, Copilot, and the Next Front in Platform Power

I wish I had more time to write today. Unfortunately I don’t, so I am going to present some ideas, some queries and scenarios I asked ChatGPT to juggle, and some references for thoughts on the impact of AI on eCommerce and how it could impact the video game industry and provide insight into whatContinue reading “The Disintermediation Game: Xbox, Copilot, and the Next Front in Platform Power”

Nvidia’s Quiet Retreat from 8GB GPUs Could Reshape PC Gaming Standards

Many console gamers have gotten it twisted in their efforts to console war with their brothers and sisters across the aisle on the Xbox side of the House. They have unfairly accused the Xbox Series S as being the culprit that is holding back gaming. But as I have often advised, it is not theContinue reading “Nvidia’s Quiet Retreat from 8GB GPUs Could Reshape PC Gaming Standards”

Mafia The Old Country and Lost Soul Aside: Quiet Entries in the UK Charts

We won’t see NPD sales data until the 8th of October. Fortunately, between the last update of 27 August and before October, we can take a look at UK and Japan sales data to get some indicators of how some titles are faring on the market. NintendoLife just published the most recent UK weekly salesContinue reading “Mafia The Old Country and Lost Soul Aside: Quiet Entries in the UK Charts”

Unionization at Xbox: Momentum, Math, and Misconceptions

One of my biggest pushbacks to those who were proponents of the ATVI acquisition was this notion that it would lead to mass unionization of the employee base. I’ve made staunch arguments that high-salary technical professionals who have huge bargaining power on the human capital market are not interested in unionization. When we dilute ourContinue reading “Unionization at Xbox: Momentum, Math, and Misconceptions”

Why Ken Levine’s Judas Deserves Praise—And Why That Bugs Me

I’ve been a fan of Ken Levine’s games since the very beginning. With the exception of Tribes: Vengeance, his repertoire reads as the list of some of my favorite games that it is. Eurogamer ran an article today that discussed his upcoming game, Judas. A game whose reveal trailer at the 2022 The Game AwardsContinue reading “Why Ken Levine’s Judas Deserves Praise—And Why That Bugs Me”

Clarity in the Chaos: What This Week in Gaming Means to Gamers Secure in Their Identity

As much of a whirlwind as it has been in gaming land this week, I think that this post will be relatively short. A lot has gone on, but the two biggest things were obviously the layoffs & game cancellations in the XBox division and Helldivers 2, a PlayStation first-party title from an external studio,Continue reading “Clarity in the Chaos: What This Week in Gaming Means to Gamers Secure in Their Identity”

Even If You Don’t Buy ARC, We All Still Need It in the Market

When I saw the headline that Intel was end of life-ing the ARC A750 I almost had a conniption. The ARC has arguably been one of the best things to happen to the GPU market since before we lost all of the vendors and went down to a two-party GPU ecosystem. While ARC is notContinue reading “Even If You Don’t Buy ARC, We All Still Need It in the Market”

Friend Codes and Baby Steps: Nintendo’s Slow March Toward a Real Online Strategy

My Gaming Diary, Gamedate 78864.2 Nintendo’s live service strategy should not be confused with its more foundational need to get its provisioning of network services right. They have been making incremental, baby-step strides in this area for years, while they are admittedly still woefully incomplete. Yesterday, The Verge ran an opinion piece about how “AnimalContinue reading “Friend Codes and Baby Steps: Nintendo’s Slow March Toward a Real Online Strategy”