Tag: Ouya

TriplePoints of Interest – Week of July 27

 

Summer’s heating up and so are the acquisition and earnings news! Big this week are Ouya’s new home with Razer and Valve’s whopping 10 figure earnings! On that note, what are your favorite games on Ouya and Steam?

Razer Forges new bond with Ouya

Razer has confirmed they have purchased Ouya. According to TechCrunch, all of Ouya’s VC investors have cashed out and that Alibaba, who invested $10 million in the platform, will be working alongside Razer moving forward. Ouya CEO, Julie Uhrman, confirmed Razer has not purchased the hardware section of the business. All Ouya users will be transitioned into Razer’s Android TV service, Forge.

Valve earnings pick up major Steam

Valve announced Steam raked in a whopping $1.5 billion in 2014, according to Ubergizmo. Market data firm, SuperData, revealed that about $400 million alone was brought in by Valve’s own games such as DotA 2, Team Fortress 2, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. They also state that since Steam takes a 30% cut of every game sale on the platform, about $330 million came from royalties alone.

Consoles cross the Great Wall of China

China has lifted the final restrictions on console sales, making game consoles like Wii U, Xbox One, and PS4 free to enter the country, said SiliconAngle. When the ban was initially lifted earlier this year, console makers like Microsoft and Sony were forced to funnel all systems through Shanghai, China’s experimental free-trade zone, but can now ship and manufacture them anywhere in the country. While it is still unknown how well the Chinese public will receive these new products, Sony told the Wall Street Journal that they welcome the news. According to GamesIndustry International, Microsoft’s Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, says the company will use this opportunity to work with Chinese game studios to bring Chinese games to Xbox’s international audience.

Gaming mouse and keyboard enter the living room

Sony revealed the Tactical Assault Commander 4, the officially-licensed mouse and keyboard compatible with the PlayStation 4. According to IGN, the device is listed for an October 4 release in the UK and a November 30 release in Japan for a price of $120.

Photo from AFTVnews

TriplePoints of Interest – Week of April 27

It’s quite the understatement to say a lot went on this week. Here is a collection of the top news and hot button topics from the week! But above all else, I think we can conclude that video games are indeed good for you!

Are eSports “real sports?” *drops 10 foot pole*

ESPN aired Blizzard’s collegiate championships for Heroes of the Storm, generating mixed opinions from its viewer base. Eric Johnson of Re/code cited the reaction as a reason against forcing eSports into the category of “real sports.” He says game developers pushing for their games to be recognized as physical sports puts games on the defensive and creates an “inferiority complex” that will hurt the genre in the long run and give naysayers further reasons to reject video games as a medium.

ESPN radio host, Colin Cowherd, stated he would rather retire than cover eSports, causing a negative reaction from games and sports media. SB Nation called Mr. Cowherd’s statement “dumb but expected.” Polygon’s Owen Good pointed out that this statement contradicts Mr. Cowherd’s past positive coverage of video games on ESPN like Madden NFL, accusing him of fabricating outrage to boost ratings.

Silent Hills goes silent until further notice

Konami cancels the much-anticipated Silent Hills, which included a collaboration with famed movie director, Guillermo Del Toro. Kotaku speculates the cancellation was due in large part to Hideo Kojima allegedly parting ways with the company. Polygon reports that Konami delisted itself from the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the game’s cancellation was announced.

Video games make you smart?

Good news! Video games make stronger brains! According to Daily Dot, an open-access study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare the brains of 27 professional-level League of Legends and Dota 2 players against 30 non-gamers. They found the pro gamers had more connections between the brain cells and a part of the brain called in insula, leading to better hand-eye coordination and attention. What the study doesn’t reveal, however, is if the higher connectivity is a result of playing video games or are pre-existing in professional video gamers.

Tencent loves League of Legends…and Kim Kardashian!

China’s Tencent, known for its massive stake in Riot Games and thus, League of Legends, just announced it purchased a 15% stake in Glu Mobile for $126 million. Glu Mobile is most famous for their hit mobile game, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, and is now reportedly worth $863 million, according to VentureBeat. Glu has more celebrity-endorsed games in the works about the lives of Britney Spears, Katy Perry, and others.

Buy Ouya?

After failing to restructure its debt, Ouya is now looking for a buyer, says Fortune. There is no word yet on the asking price. With Ouya’s success in 2013 raising $15 million in Series A funding and its extensive Android content library for TVs, CEO Julie Uhrman expressed her confidence a buyer will show interest quickly.

Photo from Slashgear