General Gaming News

[Sithborg]

I don't think keeping Naka would have saved the game....

 

[Iceman]

Sega Is Delisting Multiple Classic Sonic Games In May Ahead Of Sonic Origins Release - GameSpot

 

[Iceman]

 

[Teelie]

That makes sense to me. Disco/WB seems more interested in streaming than in games or other ventures.

 

[BrollySupersj]

Some of this sounds pretty good. But I still have fear that it will be online only bull****. God I hope not.

https://www.gamespot.com/amp-articles/skull-bones-leaks-in-a-big-way-ubisoft-responds/1100-6502952/

 

[Teelie]

Looks like it will be an MMO which is a hard pass for me.

 

[BrollySupersj]

Looks like it will be an MMO which is a hard pass for me.

Ugh...and with there now being rumors of a Mandalorian MMO, that just makes this all worse.

 

[Iceman]

I’d be interested in a Mandalorian MMO, but would like a single-player focused title too.

 

[BrollySupersj]

I’d be interested in a Mandalorian MMO, but would like a single-player focused title too.

I'm still hoping the unannounced Ubisfot Star Wars game will be Mandalorian focused. But would Disney be fine with two AAA Mandalorian games? Might be a bit overesaturated.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Square Enix has sold off Eidos and Crystal Dynamics and their IPs (including Tomb Raider) to Embracer Group for $300 million.

EMBRACER GROUP ENTERS INTO AN AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE EIDOS, CRYSTAL DYNAMICS, AND SQUARE ENIX MONTRÉAL AMONGST OTHER ASSETS

https://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/ir/pdf/20220502 A_Press Release_fin.pdf

Embracer Group AB ("Embracer") has entered into an agreement to acquire the development studios Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Square Enix Montréal, and a catalogue of IPs including Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, Legacy of Kain and more than 50 back-catalogue games from SQUARE ENIX HOLDINGS CO., LTD. ("Square Enix Holdings"). In total, the acquisition includes ~1,100 employees across three studios and eight global locations. The total purchase price amounts to USD 300 million on a cash and debt free basis, to be paid in full at closing. Embracer has secured additional long-term debt funding commitments for this and other transactions in the pipeline. The company today reiterates its current Operational EBIT forecast for FY 21/22, FY 22/23, and FY 23/24. The transaction is subject to various regulatory and other external approvals and is expected to close during the second quarter of Embracer's financial year 22/23 (July-September 2022).

Embracer Group also owns Gearbox and Dark Horse Comics.

 

[Iceman]

I'm still hoping the unannounced Ubisfot Star Wars game will be Mandalorian focused. But would Disney be fine with two AAA Mandalorian games? Might be a bit overesaturated.

Hmm, think they’d prefer just one for now and have other games be about other things.

 

[Iceman]

 

[Sithborg]

Square Enix has sold off Eidos and Crystal Dynamics and their IPs (including Tomb Raider) to Embracer Group for $300 million.

EMBRACER GROUP ENTERS INTO AN AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE EIDOS, CRYSTAL DYNAMICS, AND SQUARE ENIX MONTRÉAL AMONGST OTHER ASSETS

https://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/ir/pdf/20220502 A_Press Release_fin.pdf



Embracer Group also owns Gearbox and Dark Horse Comics.

Also owns Asmodee, the biggest board game companies around. I am a bit hesitant about how big this group is getting.

Yeah, I don't think this is too surprising, what with the complete failure of Avengers and GOTG underperforming.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

AKA Square Enix President Matsuda, formerly the company's bean counter CFO

Square Enix President interview – ‘it's better to be a leader than a follower' (2018) LMAO

How NFTs became a $40bn market in 2021 | Financial Times

Don't forget money laundering





Thread by @smdiehl on Thread Reader App

Another (Ubisoft) NFT GaaS dying out.



Ars Technica - Ubisoft’s first NFT experiment was a dumpster fire
Publisher still promises "future [NFT] drops coming with other games."

Sounds like a threat. 'Get in on the ground floor of our next limited time pyramid scheme.'

Forbes - Interest In NFTs And The Metaverse Is Falling Fast
If Google is any indicator, public interest appears to be falling fast in the concepts of NFTs and the metaverse.

Keep in mind that 'interest' searches also include people like us dunking on NFTs.

 

[Iceman]

Strange that there wasn't more demand to get that Tomb Raider IP.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Square Enix's in-house western developed games cost so much money to make that despite selling a lot (See life time sales - high budget reboot trilogy averages nearly 13 million units sold per title) there's not that much profit from it all in the end for them I suppose is the reason. Much like a low budget indie/horror movie breaking $100 million box office is better business than a high budget CGI movie that does $100 million at the box office.

 

[Iceman]

Square Enix's in-house western developed games cost so much money to make that despite selling a lot there's not that much profit from it all in the end for them I suppose is the reason. Much like a low budget indie/horror movie breaking $100 million box office is better business than a high budget CGI movie that does $100 million at the box office.

Sony for eg could make a killing with something like Tomb Raider, all while consolidating their base and maybe switching a few fans over. TR is surely one of the better known single player IPs. By this logic wouldn't Sony's high budget single player game studios also be worth very little? Square were terrible stewards of these studios and IPs and they would be worth a lot more in someone else's hands.

 

[Sithborg]

I think this right here pretty much explains why the studios got sold cheap. And lets be honest here, the only IP worth anything that they got was Tomb Raider.

I almost wonder how much debt Squeenix offloaded on their western studios.

 

[Marvolo]

Square Enix headquarters:

Show me anyone investing in blockchains and I'll gladly punch them in the balls.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Wall Street Journal - NFT Sales Are Flatlining

The NFT market is collapsing.

The sale of nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, fell to a daily average of about 19,000 this week, a 92% decline from a peak of about 225,000 in September, according to the data website NonFungible.

The number of active wallets in the NFT market fell 88% to about 14,000 last week from a high of 119,000 in November. NFTs are bitcoin-like digital tokens that act like a certificate of ownership that live on a blockchain.

 

[Iceman]

Wall Street Journal - NFT Sales Are Flatlining

Haha, they're only just getting started up and already seeing declines like this.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Ol’ Robert sure likes his name on the news.

Axios - New York City sues Activision, targeting CEO Bobby Kotick
The suit alleges a rushed takeover deal Microsoft to escape liability

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

The geniuses at Square Enix sold Lara Croft for NFT lunch money.*



* Square Enix CEO said in January in his techno-buzzword salad address that NFTs and blockchain are Square Enix's future.

 

[DeadlyWest]

Wall Street Journal - NFT Sales Are Flatlining

The geniuses at Square Enix sold Lara Croft for NFT lunch money.

 

[metaphysician]

All I can say is: good. Everyone involved in NFTs deserves to lose at least one pair of their pants.