Triplepoints of Interest – Oct. 30

In this week’s TPoI, Super Mario Odyssey sells over 2 million units in its launch week, EVE Online developer CCP closes two studios as they exit VR development, Sony reveals more details about its 2018 PlayStation lineup at Paris Games Week, and Bluehole Software announced the release date for the record-breaking PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds on Xbox One.

Super Mario Odyssey Sells 2 Million Units in a Week

Early Thursday morning, Nintendo announced that Super Mario Odyssey is the fastest-selling game in Super Mario History. This announcement follows reports from Fortune that the game has sold over two million units worldwide and 1.1 million domestically. Since the game’s release last Friday, Super Mario Odyssey has received universal acclaim from fans and press alike, receiving near-perfect marks from outlets like Forbes, IGN GameSpot, and Trusted Reviews. VentureBeat references the game’s high sales numbers as a good indication of the Nintendo Switch’s potential and future.

EVE Online Developer CCP Shutters Studios and Halts VR Game Development

EVE Online studio CCP announced in a statement sent to Gamesindustry.biz that the company will be restructuring their studios worldwide and halting further VR games development. TechCrunch featured statements from company representatives which said that the company will continue to support their previous VR title EVE Valkyrie but will be closing its Atlanta VR development studio and selling off their Newcastle studio in an effort to focus on their main three studios in Reykjavík, Shanghai, and London. Eve Valkyrie was one of the first major virtual reality titles to launch alongside the Oculus Rift and it led to discussions among developers about the state of VR. In the meantime, CCP has announced that no changes have been made to EVE Online’s development schedule and that the company will continue to support their products.

Sony Showcases 2018 PlayStation Lineup at Paris Games Week

During a press conference at Paris Games Week on Tuesday, Sony featured trailers for the 2018 PlayStation games lineup. Outlets including The Verge, GameSpot, and Glixel highlighted some of the best trailers from games like The Last of Us 2, Ghosts of Tsuhima, and Spelunky 2. The press event featured first party titles as well as games made by independent developers which will launch first on Playstation 4 like Star Child and Guacamelee 2. Fans and press seemed to be excited for the announcements, but IGN reported that the trailer for The Last of Us 2 was distasteful and drew additional responses from gamers who disliked the violent content of the video.

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Release Date for Xbox One Announced for December

During an announcement at Paris Games Week, as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds developer Bluehole revealed that the game will arrive on Xbox One early access on December 12. GameSpot reports that the game will retain its $30 price point on Xbox One and that the the 1.0 P.C version is still on track for a late December launch. The Verge has confirmed that the development roadmaps for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds will be platform specific and that features may come earlier to PC than to consoles. CNET reports that the game is still selling incredibly well and has sold over 18 million units since its initial launch in March.

TriplePoints of Interest – Week of April 20

It’s time for the top news in tech and games from the penultimate week of April 2015. Big this week is research from analyst firm, Newzoo, who predicts a very fruitful year revenue-wise for the games industry in 2015. On that note, what games will you be picking up this weekend?

Make it rain, games industry!

Analyst firm, Newzoo, reports that the global games market will reach $91.5 billion this year, thanks to a projected 23% growth in Chinese game revenues, according to VentureBeat. They also predict China and the US will be competing for the #1 spot for the most game revenue generated this year.

Is your website mobile-friendly yet?

Google made a major algorithm change last Tuesday, April 21 bumping up search results for websites that are mobile-friendly. According to Fortune, this approach is likely to push websites who haven’t jumped on the mobile bandwagon to do so right away lest disappear off the first page of search results. This comes as the result of Google’s latest research, which shows 60% of search engine traffic comes from mobile.

Selling mods on Steam to be the new normal?

Valve rolled out a new feature on Steam for their vibrant modding community: the ability to list your fan-created mods on third-party games for free or for money. According to GameSpot, this is an extension of an existing policy where modders could sell their fan-made items on Valve games like Team Fortress 2 and Dota 2 via Steam Workshop. Starting this week, mods for Skyrim began appearing on the store with more supported titles to be announced in the coming weeks.

This new program has not been without its share of backlash. According to GameSpot, well-known modders have spoken out against the commercialization of the hobby. A mod was also just removed from the store due to a dispute over whether the entirety of the mod’s content was created by the seller.

In getting a new game discovered, there is only Beast Mode

Cliff Harris, developer from Positech Games, maker of Gratuitous Space Battles, spoke to GamesIndustry International about the changing landscape of game discoverability and how the ease for developers to release a game on Steam has made it ever the more difficult for a game to succeed. He states that with each game launch, a year and a half’s income is based on a “roulette” with advertising costs rising and fewer gamers wanting to pay for a game before it becomes 50% off.

Minecraft is to YouTube what Game of Thrones is to HBO

In other research from Newzoo, the top 10 most viewed game content on YouTube for the month of March 2015 was revealed, with Minecraft taking the top spot with over 3.9 billion views, according to Game Informer. Grand Theft Auto and Five Nights at Freddy’s followed in 2nd and 3rd place. Other notable games included League of Legends at #7 and Mario games at #8.

Better question: what games will you be WATCHING people play this weekend?
Photo from My Nintendo News