Sherbytes: Industry News Megathread, v.1

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

Pretty amazing graphic on Reddit I felt compelled to steal:

I skipped basically every generation between the NES and the Switch, but for NES a couple of things surprised me:

1. I wouldn’t have expected Super Mario Bros 2 to have cracked the top 5. I don’t remember that game being anywhere near as popular as Super Mario Bros 3 or even 1, and most people considered it a weird game. I was fond of it, but still I’m surprised to see that it apparently sold that well because I don’t remember anyone talking about it as a kid.

2. I’m surprised that Mega Man 2 didn’t make the top ten, as that was a super popular game when I was a kid.

3. I’m surprised to see Zelda 2 in the top ten. That’s another game that I don’t remember being popular compared to the first game. I would have expected to see Mega Man 2, Castlevania, Metroid, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 or maybe even a Double Dragon game before seeing Zelda 2 in the top ten best selling NES games.

 

[rikwebb]

Supermassive are laying off 90 people (out of 150 overall at the studio)

British Game Maker Supermassive Set to Lay Off 90 Workers

British video-game maker Supermassive Games has informed 150 staff members that they are “at risk” of redundancy and will lay off roughly 90, the latest cuts to hit the gaming industry.

www.bloomberg.com

British video-game maker Supermassive Games has informed 150 staff members that they are "at risk" of redundancy and will lay off roughly 90, the latest cuts to hit the gaming industry.

Labor laws in the UK require companies to give notice ahead of a mass layoff. Employees were informed of the coming job reductions on Monday morning, according to an email reviewed by Bloomberg News.

 

[Valhoven]

Composer behind the most beloved FF OSTs says the 2-3 years it takes to compose a full game soundtrack isn't in him anymore but is still actively writing music:



Uematsu is most famous for composing the soundtracks for the first nine Final Fantasy games, and working on numerous subsequent entries.

Although Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth contain soundtracks created by different composers, Uematsu still composed the main theme for both games.

Now, in a new interview with German publication Zeit Online ahead of a performance of his new orchestral show Merregnon: Heart of Ice, Uematsu said he thinks his days of composing full video game soundtracks are over.

Asked if he ever felt that one day nostalgia could take over and convince him to write an entire soundtrack for a game again as opposed to just a main theme, Uematsu replied that he didn’t see it happening.

“As far as Final Fantasy is concerned, I’m still involved by writing the main themes for the games,” he explained. “But I don’t think I’ll compose music for a whole game again.

“You would have to give it full throttle for two or three years. And I don’t think I have the physical and mental strength to do it anymore.

 

[rikwebb]

Composer behind the most beloved FF OSTs says the 2-3 years it takes to compose a full game soundtrack isn't in him anymore but is still actively writing music:



Uematsu is most famous for composing the soundtracks for the first nine Final Fantasy games, and working on numerous subsequent entries.

Although Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth contain soundtracks created by different composers, Uematsu still composed the main theme for both games.

Now, in a new interview with German publication Zeit Online ahead of a performance of his new orchestral show Merregnon: Heart of Ice, Uematsu said he thinks his days of composing full video game soundtracks are over.

Asked if he ever felt that one day nostalgia could take over and convince him to write an entire soundtrack for a game again as opposed to just a main theme, Uematsu replied that he didn’t see it happening.

“As far as Final Fantasy is concerned, I’m still involved by writing the main themes for the games,” he explained. “But I don’t think I’ll compose music for a whole game again.

“You would have to give it full throttle for two or three years. And I don’t think I have the physical and mental strength to do it anymore.

Not a surprise, the only games he's done full soundtracks for in the last 10 years or so have been mobile titles for Mistwalker ( FF Series creator Hironubo Sakaguchi's post SE studio), otherwise stuff for Square has been drips and drabs like Main themes and the odd full song here or there

 

[KaNesDeath]

ESL FaceIT Group are laying of 15% of their staff. Which is 250-300 employees:

ESL FACEIT Group lays off 15% of workforce

The company-wide layoffs affected between 250-300 employees, sources told HLTV.

www.hltv.org

 

[rikwebb]

Remedy now own the complete rights to the Control franchise

Today, Remedy Entertainment Plc ("Remedy") and 505 Games S.p.A. ("505 Games") announce a transaction upon which all publishing, distribution, marketing and other rights to Control, codename Condor, Control 2, and all future Control products will revert to Remedy.

The Control franchise is in the core of Remedy. Having acquired the full rights to Control, Condor and Control 2, Remedy is now in a position to make the right product and business decisions focusing on long-term franchise growth.

Remedy Entertainment Plc: Inside Information: Remedy acquires full rights to the Control franchise from 505 Games - Remedy Investors

Remedy Entertainment Plc Inside Information February 28, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. EET […]

investors.remedygames.com

 

[TribalDrumz]

Dam EA is cutting 5% of workforce

 

[avenue94]

Dam EA is cutting 5% of workforce

Sad stuff to see. There is overstaffing and AAA game development has gotten extremely expensive, but the part that stands out to me the most is the failure of the industry to simply acknowledge they have not been making enough good games. That's the bottom line, if you want to be a successful studio, you have to make good games, or at least popular ones. (Looking at you Microsoft)

 

[Madmick]

Tencent are looking to buy the exclusive Video Game rights to Dungeons and Dragons as Larian couldn't afford it when offered the chance

Tencent Reportedly Seeking to Purchase Dungeons & Dragons Video Game Rights From Hasbro (UPDATED)

Chinese company Tencent is reportedly looking to gain control of Dungeons & Dragons.

comicbook.com

 

[Madmick]

Dam EA is cutting 5% of workforce

Sad stuff to see. There is overstaffing and AAA game development has gotten extremely expensive, but the part that stands out to me the most is the failure of the industry to simply acknowledge they have not been making enough good games. That's the bottom line, if you want to be a successful studio, you have to make good games, or at least popular ones. (Looking at you Microsoft)

Yeah, but that's the shitty part. They canceled their upcoming Star Wars game. That's probably the only franchise where they have been making good games. After all, gamers weren't mad about the quality of Battlefront 2, it was the monetization that pissed everyone off. The MP is beloved, and the biggest complaint about the campaigns is that they weren't long enough, and obviously treated as an afterthought to the more lucrative MP side which is-- and this isn't EA's fault-- a real rat race for cash.

The Fallen Order franchise is fantastic, and has brought two GOTY nominees to the table.

Case in point, it's not just companies like EA that are laying off a ton of their workforce. Supermassive Games recently laid off roughly 30% of their staff!

Supermassive Games adds to the expanding list of industry layoffs

Supermassive is the latest game developer to lay off staff, or at least it plans to do so after a period of consultation.

venturebeat.com

They make games for Playstation. GIven, it's been a long time since they made the smash hit Until Dawn, but it goes to show that even companies focused on single player games are struggling right now.

 

[rikwebb]

This is pretty big, Saber Interactive is leaving Embracer



There's also supposedly news on Gearbox's future soon too

 

[rikwebb]

Toys For Bob the Activision studio is going independent

We're Going Indie!

www.toysforbob.com

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

This is pretty big, Saber Interactive is leaving Embracer



There's also supposedly news on Gearbox's future soon too

Weird to see Saber being referred to as the “developer of the KOTOR remake” instead of any other project of theirs, past or future, that isn’t vapourware.

 

[avenue94]

They canceled their upcoming Star Wars game. That's probably the only franchise where they have been making good games.

Ya, unfortunately, IP is just too expensive and the industry too risk averse to really make new stuff anymore at a massive scale.

After all, gamers weren't mad about the quality of Battlefront 2, it was the monetization that pissed everyone off. The MP is beloved, and the biggest complaint about the campaigns is that they weren't long enough, and obviously treated as an afterthought to the more lucrative MP side which is-- and this isn't EA's fault-- a real rat race for cash.

Yeah, but bad monetization of a game that's great is still a bad game. That's EA's fault. You can't separate the monetization aspect from the gameplay. Just like good or bad marketing can make or break a game.

Case in point, it's not just companies like EA that are laying off a ton of their workforce. Supermassive Games recently laid off roughly 30% of their staff!

True, but that's also just a downstream affect of an overly concentrated industry. Not enough competition to drive great games in the volume needed, and midsized games are seen as unviable at this point. Which hurts midsized studios that would have normally thrived off of those.

 

[rikwebb]

Weird to see Saber being referred to as the “developer of the KOTOR remake” instead of any other project of theirs, past or future, that isn’t vapourware.

Yeah its a little weird especially how much actually goes through Saber and not just the Saber studios but all the other stuff under them.

Also as of yesterday the game still lives according to Jason Schreier

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

Yeah its a little weird especially how much actually goes through Saber and not just the Saber studios but all the other stuff under them.

Also as of yesterday the game still lives according to Jason Schreier

Him saying that means nothing to me. Actions speak louder than words. The Embracer CEO dodging questions about whether the game was still being worked on during an earnings call, followed by Sony scrubbing the existence of the project from its social media says more than that a reporter simply alleging that his sources tell him it’s still being worked on.

 

[KaNesDeath]

Jason Lake founded Complexity Gaming in 2003. 2017 he sold 33% of ownership to Jerry Jones(Dallas Cowboys) and 33% to a realtor mogul. They created a new parent company called GameSquare Holdings and operated out of the Dallas Cowboys offices. Last year GameSquare Holding bought Faze Clan who were on the verge of bankruptcy.

Valve is the only game developer that requires team orgs and players to publicly disclose conflicts of interest in their esports. One parent company controlling two esport teams arent allowed. Jason Lake indicated shortly after GameSquare Holdings announced intent to acquire Faze Clan that he wanted to fully buy back Complexity Gaming. Today its official:

 

[Valhoven]

Release schedule for March courtesy of Benji:



March Video Game Releases

• The Outlast Trials - 5th
• Unicorn Overlord - 8th
• WWE 2K24 - 8th
• Hi-Fi Rush (PS5) - 18th
• MLB The Show - 19th
• Alone in the Dark - 20th
• Dragon's Dogma 2 - 22nd
• Princess Peach Showtime - 22nd
• Rise of the Ronin - 22nd

 

[My Spot]

RIP Akira Toriyama.

 

[Valhoven]

RIP Akira Toriyama.

RIP indeed, Spot. More info for those curious:

Akira Toriyama, creator of the Dragon Ball series has passed away at the age of 68. He is a legend in anime and gaming, his work includes Dr. Slump, Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, and other classic works.