Category Archives: IndustryGamers

Chair’s Donald Mustard on the Apple console threat

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Three donald mustardyears ago, Donald Mustard and his team at Chair Entertainment first started working with the iPhone. And, as a lot of people did around that time, they began to speculate about its potential impact on the gaming world.

The consensus from the team was that within five years, Apple could have a device that was a viable threat to console systems. It was a throwaway guess – the sort of thing you make and tend to forget about. When he got his hands on the iPhone 5S three or four weeks ago, though, Mustard thought back to that discussion – and realized it could have been right on target.

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Inside PS4’s new VR headset

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Three sonyVRheadsetmonths ago, Sony made a big splash at E3 touting the PlayStation 4 to the world. At the same time, though, it was already laying the groundwork for another notable consumer technology venture.

As media and buyers got hands on time with the upcoming console and debated the WWE-like theatrics of the Sony and Microsoft press conferences, the company was holding top secret meetings with developers and publishers, showing off a virtual reality headset for the PS4 and drumming up support for it.

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Former Steam boss Jason Holtman lands at Microsoft

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Jason holtmanHoltman, who spearheaded Valve’s Steam business for eight years before leaving the company in February, has a new job.

The former lawyer has taken a job with Microsoft, with a focus on PC gaming and entertainment strategy. Because he has just started at the position, Holtman declined an interview request, but confirmed the move.

Read more at GamesIndustry.biz

Xbox One can still win the next console war

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Chris xbox one vs ps4Morris notes that “the embankment Microsoft faces is a lot smaller than it was a short time ago”

Coming out of E3, the momentum for the next generation was clearly on Sony’s side. Microsoft, through a series of unpopular decisions and confusing, conflicting public statements, was quickly wearing down the goodwill it had built up with the Xbox 360 – at least among core gamers.

Within a week of the industry trade show’s close, though, Microsoft started making changes – big ones – to win back the doubters, reversing its DRM and used game policies. Last week, those changes continued as the company changed its mind on indie game self-publishing. And with an estimated four months or so before the Xbox One hits shelves, who knows if Microsoft is finished?

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Xbox One: Julie-Larson Green May Fit In Just Fine

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Gamers larson-green– and the games media – hate the unknown. They thrive in a biosphere where leaks pre-announce major moves and no one is all that surprised when its made official.

That’s what made Microsoft’s decision to replace Don Mattrick with Julie Larson-Green so frustrating for some. She was, to many, an unknown. And that quickly led some to question her qualifications, which eventually led to prophecies of doom for the Xbox in some forums.

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Does Nintendo stand a chance this holiday?

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Let’s nintendo woesget this out of the way up front. Yes, you never, ever count Nintendo out of the game.

That’s the go-to response for pretty much anyone in this industry when asked if the company will be able to dig itself out of the hole the Wii U has created – and it’s usually a valid one. (Think back to the GameCube days and things were just as dire as they seem today – but it managed to turn things around.)

But as we head into the Wii U’s second holiday season, the pessimism about the system is starting to crest. And despite Nintendo’s push of first party software coming in the next year, there’s nothing to suggest that a turnaround of any sort is imminent.

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Nintendo: Our digital sales are soaring

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Last reggie fils-aimeAugust, Nintendo began to more fully embrace digital distribution as a way to get games in people’s hands – a notable shift for a company that had previously stayed an arm’s distance from the online world.

The experiment is paying off. Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America, says digital downloads are fast becoming a notable contributor to the company’s bottom line – and he expects the trend to continue its rapid rise.

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Xbox always-online: Maybe it’s not so terrible

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Chris xbox 360Morris explains that having a big company like Microsoft step up could make always-online more palatable for next-gen

Will the next Xbox continue the reign of success Microsoft has seen this generation or will it stumble Sony-style, losing momentum at a critical junction for console systems? The answer could lie in a single feature.

Kotaku recently reignited the rumor about the next Xbox requiring a constant connection to the Internet – and Microsoft Studios’ creative director did nothing to put out that growing brushfire with his Twitter fiasco last week.

Will the next generation Xbox require an ‘always-on’ connection? There’s nothing to base that on right now except for rumors and the echo chamber of the Internet. But, for the sake of argument alone, let’s say that is an upcoming feature. Is it as bad as it seems?

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EA’s hot seat: Who will be the next CEO?

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Chris EA HQMorris examines six viable replacements for Riccitiello and handicaps the candidates

As the shock begins to wear off over John Riccitiello’s sudden departure from EA, investors, staffers and gamers are starting to look down the road.

JR’s reign at what was once the industry’s preeminent publisher was an uneven affair, with many well-publicized follies, but with plenty of victories as well. More importantly, he was a CEO who wasn’t afraid to gamble – and even if those bets didn’t always work out (like Brutal Legend and Mirror’s Edge), gamers appreciated the risk taken on new IP.

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PS4: What Sony needs to win next-gen

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Columnist PS4Chris Morris looks at opportunities and potential pitfalls for Sony in the upcoming console battle.

In just under two weeks, we’ll know a lot more about the PlayStation 4 than we do right now- well, in theory.

The truth is: The leaks about the PS4 have been coming fast and furious lately. And people with knowledge of the system (but who are still abiding by the NDA) indicate that there’s a lot of accuracy in the recent reports. For the sake of argument, let’s assume for the moment that the whispers are right. Given what we think we know, what things about the PS4 can put it in a leadership position in the next generation – and what things could turn it into the next Vita?

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