Tag: Star Wars

TriplePoints of Interest – Week of October 19

This week in games, tech, and entertainment has been full of Augmented Reality, eSports, drama at Konami, and something called Star Wars…

Has Hideo Kojima actually left Konami?

Konami is in continued crisis mode after it was leaked that the infamous designer Hideo Kojima has left the company, but more recently denied by Konami as merely being on vacation. It’s publicly known that he has a non-compete clause expiring in December, which press are anticipating to be the more formal departure from the publisher. Meanwhile, nobody knows what’s going on outside of those with first-hand knowledge within Konami, and the speculations continue to run rampant. All of this, after the LA-based Kojima Productions was apparently “dissolved” earlier this year.

Magic Leap claims to be manufacturing in the millions

One of the most interesting and mysterious players in the Augmented Reality space, Magic Leap, claimed at this week’s Wall Street Journal Digital Live event that they are preparing to manufacture “millions” of devices. Many have been suspicious of these claims – Magic Leap has secured more than half a billion dollars in funding and talks a big game, but has yet to show any actual product or reveal the technology it is based on. Perhaps to combat this, Magic Leap has also released a teaser demo video this week which it claims was recorded through their tech without any external effects.

Activision Blizzard starts new eSports division

In a move that speaks to the growing popularity and relevance of eSports, GamesIndustry International reports that Activision Blizzard has hired former CEO of ESPN and the NFL Network, Steve Bornstein, to head up their new eSports division. No word yet on the details of this new division, but we’re sure to find out more in the coming months.

Something, something, dark side

The biggest event in all of entertainment news this week certainly has been the reveal of the latest trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This hype train is certainly moving at top speed, as Forbes reports that ticket presales for opening weekend have crashed ticketing sites and set a new record at Fandango.

TriplePoints of Interest – Week of June 1

Who’s going to be picking up a Steam Machine? Looks like Valve dominated headlines this week! This, and other great things to come for eSports and mobile games, plus words of wisdom from the CEO of Gazillion.

Remember remember the 10th of November

The Steam Machine and its Steam Link controller have been given a release date, according to Ars Technica! Valve’s first entry into the hardware market will launch on November 10, 2015. Consumers who pre-order will get them as early as October 16. Valve provided a demo of the controller on their YouTube channel.

Return to (Steam) sender

Valve has made a major change in their Steam policy where they will now offer refunds to consumers who have played less than 2 hours of a game and apply within 14 days of purchase, says GamesIndustry International. Valve stated their reason for making the change was to allow players who find their PCs don’t meet hardware requirements, bought a game by mistake, or just didn’t enjoy their game to reverse their purchase. This rule applies to DLC, in-game items, and pre-purchased titles as well.

Make It Rain! Make It Rain, eSports!

Newzoo predicts that eSports will grow to be worth over $250 million this year, and prize money to top $71 million, says GamesIndustry International. The US and China take the lead in prize money offerings. They also predict the number of eSports enthusiasts to grow by 37% compared to 2014.

Turn that MMO around!

Gazillion CEO, David Brevik, provided advice for developers hoping to improve the state of struggling online games based on his success turning around the Marvel Heroes MMO. Mr. Brevik told Develop that the key strategy was speaking to the community directly about the changes that needed to be made and not being afraid of changing everything. He cited weekly patches and overhauling the business model, while keeping the community informed about the changes, as the top tactics.

A New Mobile Hope!

Kabam just announced a Star Wars-themed mobile RPG set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, according to Polygon. Titled Star Wars Uprising, the game tasks players with creating a character, choosing a class like smugglers, bounty hunters, rebel guerrillas, and more, and embarking on missions that allow for real-time cooperative play. The game will be free-to-play and is expected to roll out sometime this fall.

Photo from Ars Technica