Disney Interactive takes $54 million loss
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Disney turned a profit in almost all of its business sectors during the past fiscal quarter. The one unprofitable area? Gaming, of course!
Disney Interactive lost $54 million for the first quarter of 2013 ending March 30. However, it is an improvement over last year’s $70 million loss. Revenues also managed to reach $194 million.
A similar downturn is expected by Disney in the current quarter. With the launch of Disney Infinity in August though, the company could see improved profits later in the year.
EA says it will bring Star Wars games to all major platforms
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Podcast Stories | 0 comments
EA signed an exclusive deal with Disney to develop and publish “new Star Wars titles for a core gaming audience, spanning all interactive platforms and the most popular game genres”.
There’s no doubt that new Star Wars releases from EA will appear on the PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms. But what about Wii U? EA hasn’t exactly been supportive of the console as of late.
No announcements were made, but EA said during an investor conference call today that it plans to bring Star Wars titles to all major platforms. Hopefully EA considers Wii U to be a “major platform”…
Patrice Désilets gone from Ubisoft once more
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Update: Désilets released official comments stating that he was “terminated” and was then “unceremoniously escorted out of the building”.
Contrary to any statements made earlier today, this morning I was terminated by Ubisoft. I was notified of this termination in person, handed a termination notice and was unceremoniously escorted out of the building by two guards without being able to say goodbye to my team or collect my personal belongings.
This was not my decision.
Ubisoft’s actions are baseless and without merit. I intend to fight Ubisoft vigorously for my rights, for my team and for my game.
Assassin’s Creed creator Patrice Désilets left Ubisoft and joined THQ Montreal in 2011. In an odd twist of fate, Désilets had the opportunity to return to Ubisoft after his team was acquired by the company.
Not so fast, though: Désilets won’t be back at Ubisoft after all. A representative told Kotaku that “since the acquisition, the good faith discussions between Patrice and Ubisoft aimed at aligning Patrice’s and the studio’s visions have been inconclusive.” Désilets has therefore decided to depart once again.
Ubisoft’s full statement reads:
“The acquisition of THQ Montréal in January allowed Ubisoft to welcome 170 experienced developers, including Patrice Désilets, to our existing and renowned workforce. Unfortunately, since the acquisition, the good faith discussions between Patrice and Ubisoft aimed at aligning Patrice’s and the studio’s visions have been inconclusive. As a result, Patrice has left the studio. Our priorities remain with the teams already hard at work on projects in development. They are at the root of Ubisoft Montréal’s past and future successes.”
UK: Pokemon: DP Battle Dimension now available at Nintendo Zone and The Cloud Hotspots
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Nintendo 3DS owners can catch them all in locations such as Cafe Nero, Pizza Express and Wetherspoons
7th May 2013 – Pokémon fans will be as happy as Happiny to know that they can now catch all of the episodes from Pokémon: DP Battle Dimension on Nintendo Zone and at The Cloud Hotspots across the UK and Europe. Nintendo 3DS owners will be able to enjoy all 52 episodes of the series originally aired in 2008 which should keep them entertained in an e xciting year for Pokémon fans.
Catch up with Ash Ketchum in Pokémon: DP Battle Dimension as he continues his adventure across Sinnoh with his best friends Pikachu, Dawn and Brock, meeting new Pokémon, new friends and new villains. Pokémon of all shapes and sizes appear in this series – with a mix of favourites from seasons gone by and those making their animated series debuts, there is no better place to enjoy watching Pokémon in action! While Ash and his friends will encounter many challenges including Contests and Battles, none can compare to those he will face at the menacing Hallowed Tower and Mt. Coronet.
The full lowdown on Nintendo’s pre-E3 media event
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Podcast Stories | 0 comments
Official invitations sent out by Nintendo of America confirm a few extra details about the company’s pre-E3 media event.
The press will initially listen to opening remarks from Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime and Shigeru Miyamoto, which is expected to last only a half hour. This will be followed by a Q&A and hands-on time with various titles.
Here’s the invite sent out to the press in full:
Former NISA employees establish “Acttil”, focusing on independent content
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
After their departure from NIS America, a trio of former staffers have gone on to form a brand new company known as “Acttil”. Jack Niida, Hiroko Kanazashi, and Nao Miyazawa have established the publishing group that will be involved with games and digital content across PC, consoles, web, and mobile platforms.
Acttil is a new, independent game and digital contents publisher, established in Los Angeles, CA.
Founding member Jack Niida said:
“We are optimistic with the current digital content environment. It is quite promising for independent developers and we would love to work closely with them and help achieve their goals.”
Acttil plans to assist independent developers with publishing duties. Additionally, it can provide marketing expertise, analytics, monetization strategies, game feedback, and promotional/sales plans along with localization services such as translation, editing, package design, and advertisement design.
Source: Acttil PR
XSEED, Marvelous Online, Atlus Online Division molded into Marvelous USA
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
XSEED Games has been rebranded. Marveous USA has been formed, which is comprised of XSEED as well as Marvelous Online and Atlus Online Division. President and CEO Shinichi Suzuki will lead Marvelous USA going forward.
Suzuki said of the news:
“Marvelous USA unifies our US operations under the global Marvelous brand while giving our customers topnotch products and support for both traditional and online social and mobile games. Our XSEED Games console and PC brand will continue to offer the quality games and service for which it is known, and Marvelous Online gives us expanded reach into mobile and online social gaming markets.”
Ken Berry will still be managing XSEED Games’ publishing aspects while Tatsuya Nishioka will act as Marvelous Online’s senior director. The two will report directly to Suzuki.
Source: XSEED Games PR
Reggie and Miyamoto hosting pre-E3 presentation for the press
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Podcast Stories | 0 comments
Although Nintendo won’t be hosting a press conference at E3 this year, we’re hearing rumblings that the company will be holding a smaller event before the expo that will be attended by two bigwigs from the Big N.
The news, which comes from NintendoWorldReport, states that Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime and Shigeru Miyamoto will lead a presentation for the press. It is set to take place on Tuesday morning, the day that is typically reserved for Nintendo’s big media briefings. This lines up with Nintendo’s official comments concerning E3.
Will the press event be streamed? For now, the answer isn’t clear.
EA signs multi-year deal with Disney to develop and publish Star Wars games
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Podcast Stories | 0 comments
EA announced today that it has signed a multi-year exclusive licensing agreement with Disney to develop and publish new Star Wars games. Disney will still be holding on to certain rights when it comes to releases for mobile, social, tablet and online platforms while EA will be handling “new Star Wars titles for a core gaming audience, spanning all interactive platforms and the most popular game genres”.
Disney Interactive co-president John Pleasants said of the deal:
“This agreement demonstrates our commitment to creating quality game experiences that drive the popularity of the Star Wars franchise for years to come. Collaborating with one of the world’s premier game developers will allow us to bring an amazing portfolio of new Star Wars titles to our fans around the world.”
EA Labels President Frank Gibeau added:
“Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe. Three of our top studios will fulfill that dream, crafting epic adventures for Star Wars fans. DICE and Visceral will produce new games, joining the BioWare team which continues to develop for the Star Wars franchise. The new experiences we create may borrow from films, but the games will be entirely original with all new stories and gameplay.”
EA did not provide any financial terms in its announcement.
Source: EA PR
New piece of art from cancelled Maverick Hunter project
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Maverick Hunter was a unique take on the Mega Man X series from Armature Studio. Capcom ended up cancelling the game, but we did get a look at the project last month through various screenshots and videos.
A new piece of concept art has since emerged online courtesy of Adi Granov, who designed Mega Man’s armor. Take a look:
