Triplepoints of Interest: Jan.15

In this week’s TPoI, Epic Games’ Fortnite Battle Royale receives 40 million downloads, Bungie issues an apology for throttling progression in Destiny 2, and the Nintendo 3DS 2017 sales recap is made public.  

Fortnite Battle Royale Downloaded Over 40 Million Times

Epic Games recently revealed that more than 40 million players have downloaded Fortnite, which means that over 10 million players have started to play the game since their last playerbase update in December. Glixel highlights the game’s runaway success but also notes that the success comes mainly from the addition of the Battle Royale mode, which is a far cry from the game’s original theme of zombie survival and resource management. While the game’s success has certainly helped Epic Games, Kotaku notes that the development of Fortnite has become a major focus for the studio and that it has hurt the development of their other games including Paragon and Unreal Tournament. Forbes speculates that the game’s free-to-play and multi platform release helped the game outstretch it’s competitor PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, which currently has sold over 30 million units on PC and Xbox One.

Bungie Issues Apology after Destiny 2 Progression Throttling

In a blog post published Thursday, Bungie apologized for issues which have stopped players from actively participating in Destiny 2’s latest Faction Rally, a regular event in which players accumulate points for one of the game’s three factions. The blog post explains that Bungie’s development team added a hard cap to the amount of tokens a player can earn during the event, which has frustrated players who had played through content multiple times without seeing any rewards. GameSpot reports that the studio plans to make changes to the system before the next Faction Rally, but will not be extending this week’s event. Kotaku’s Jason Schreier broke down the recent Faction Rally issues and berates Bungie for not addressing the problem quickly. WCCFTech notes that this apology follows a series of similar incidents which have frustrated the Destiny fanbase.      

Nintendo 3DS Sells Well During Holiday Season

Nintendo surprised analysts on Wednesday by announcing that the Nintendo 3DS sold more than 750,000 systems last month, making December 2017 the best sales month for the device since December 2014. VentureBeat notes Nintendo’s hardware and software releases have been performing well throughout the holiday season, with games like Super Mario Odyssey and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe being part of the top five most purchased games of the season. Polygon speculates that the system’s huge backlog and current 2018 lineup is still a strong motivator for Nintendo fans, as the system has sold more than 69 million units worldwide. The Verge reports that the system may see a drop off in sales after this year, as Nintendo shifts development towards new titles on the Nintendo Switch.

Triplepoints of Interest: Jan. 8

Week of January 8th

In this week’s TPoI, Activision-Blizzard’s Overwatch League kicks off, Japanese console market sees profit increase for the first time in 11 years, and new gaming innovations are announced at the 2018 Consumer Electronic Show.   

Overwatch League Season One Debuts Exclusively on Twitch

The inaugural season for Blizzard’s Overwatch League Kicked off on Wednesday afternoon at Blizzard Arena Los Angeles. Forbes reports that the English stream for the tournament, which was broadcast exclusively on Twitch, had an average of nearly 300,000 concurrent viewers throughout the first night of matches. Gamespot featured the league’s first week schedule, which see’s each of the league’s 12 team’s playing at least once between Wednesday and Saturday. PC Gamer called the tournament a colossal undertaking which may help mainstream audiences see professional esports matches as legitimate spectator events.

Japanese Console Market See’s First Profit Increase in 11 Years

2017 was a great year for gaming as a whole, but also a spectacular year for the Japanese console market, with hardware sales increasing 73% over last year. Gamesindustry.biz reports that a key driver in growth was the Nintendo Switch, which sold over 3.3 million units in its first year on the market. Metro reports that exclusive launches like Splatoon 2, which was the first console title to hit 2 million sales in Japan this decade, pushed Japanese gamers to pick up new console hardware. Metro also speculates that the Japanese Console Market will continue to see positive growth with the launch of more Nintendo Switch and Sony PlayStation 4 exclusive releases throughout 2018.

New Virtual Reality Tech and Gaming Innovations Unveiled at CES 2018

Companies including Google, Microsoft, Intel, and Nvidia have been showcasing new products at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, or CES, all week. Some of the most exciting gaming news includes HTC announcing their latest VR headset, the Vive Pro, which Verdict praised for its increased resolution and wireless functionality through an additional adapter. The Verge also featured Sennheiser’s new Game Zero Headset, which includes features like pressure sensitive materials and suede ear cuffs. Outlets are speculating that more gaming related announcements will be published before the event concludes this weekend, with press excited to see more gaming focused products from companies like Nvidia, who have so far only shown off a new lineup of large format monitors.

Triplepoints of Interest: Dec. 18

In this week’s TPoI, Apple changes guidelines for lootboxes, China blocks Steam Community features, and Facebook announces support for rival VR hardware.  

Apple Requires Game Developers Disclose Loot Box Odds

Apple made revisions to their App Store Review Guidelines earlier this week, stating that game developers who incorporate loot boxes and randomized reward systems into their games will have to disclose the odds to winning items if they want to be approved for distribution on Apple platforms. BGR report that this regulation comes after a set of controversies which hit the games industry this year, with the most recent one involving Electronic Arts’ Star Wars Battlefront II. TechRadar featured the newly added clause regarding the randomized systems which state that this rule affects not only rare items in loot boxes, but every type of loot box drop. Engadget reports that many countries are looking to enforce similar ideas federally, following China’s decision to force transparency earlier in the year.

Chinese Government Blocks Steam Community Features

Early Tuesday morning, Chinese Netizens started to report being unable to access Steam’s community features. Gamesindustry.biz reports that this blockage mirrors the Chinese government to restrict access to foreign gaming services in the past, this decision follows the government’s March decision to ban Korean made games from being published in the region. PC Gamer reports that Chinese users still have access to the store components of Steam but are unable to communicate through the platforms chat and forum services. VG 24/7 reports that this decision may have been influenced by the competition between Chinese companies like Tencent, who are trying to break into the established market in which Valve’s platform dominates.       

Facebook Supports Rival VR Hardware

Announced in a blog post on Tuesday, Facebook made the decision to add cross platform support to their VR hangout app Spaces, with the HTC Vive version of the app being available now. The Verge reports that Spaces, which debuted at Oculus Connect 3 last October, has transitioned from an Oculus Rift exclusive to a multi-platform system which Facebook is hoping will attract a wider user base. TechRadar speculates that Facebook will probably try to add support to lower end hardware soon, maybe adding support to devices like Sony’s PlayStation VR and Samsung’s Gear VR. Gamesindustry.biz reports that the HTC Vive version has a similar feature set to the Oculus version and that Vive users can use the app to make video calls, play around with a 3D art tool, or broadcast their session on Facebook.

     

Triplepoints of Interest – Nov. 13

In this week’s TPoI, The Xbox One X sells 80,000 units in the UK during its first week, EA DICE receives community backlash over microtransactions in Star Wars: Battlefront II, and Hasbro makes buyout offer on rival company Mattel.

Xbox One X Sells 80,000 Units in the UK During Launch Week

Microsoft’s head of Xbox Games Marketing, Aaron Greenberg, announced in a tweet on Monday that the Xbox One X has sold incredibly well in the United Kingdom. VG 24/7 reports that the system was able to sell almost 80,000 units in the UK over its first week alone. Gamesindustry.biz highlighted this number as similar to the Nintendo Switch’s first week of UK sales and much higher than the PS4 Pro’s initial sales numbers in the UK. Forbes speculated that the Xbox One X’s high resolution output and 4k ready titles are driving consumers to pick up the system over competing products despite it’s higher price point.

EA DICE Remove Battlefront Microtransactions After Community Backlash

A day before the game’s release on Friday, Electronic Arts announced that they will temporarily disable microtransactions in Star Wars: Battlefront II until they land on a method with which fans are happy to purchase additional gzed their complaints to the developers. Kotaku reports that the EA DICE team first tried to remedy the solution by cutting the progression currency needed to unlock characters but have decided to completely rework the system following even more community dissatisfaction. GameRant speculates that EA received pressure from Disney after the game received negative complaints from countries with strict gambling laws due to the use of in-game loot boxes. The company stated they are currently researching how consumers would rather be served content and how they can adapt the system to work better for gamers.

Hasbro Makes Takeover Offer for Mattel

The popular toy company Hasbro Inc has reportedly made a takeover offer for their rival company Mattel Inc, which would have the makers of Barbie and G.I. Joe toys working together for the first time. The Wall Street Journal reports that Hasbro made the offer in early November and that the terms of the possible deal haven’t been made known to the public as of yet. While Reuters reports that Mattel has rejected the initial offer Hasbro made, the outlet featured a statement from Mattel’s CEO Margaret Georgiadis, who said the company is looking to pursue further negotiations before entirely rejecting the proposal. USA Today reports that the merger of these two iconic companies may be in response to the rise of tech-oriented toys and the decline of major toy retailers like Toys R Us, which recently filed for bankruptcy.

Triplepoints of Interest – Oct. 23

In this week’s TPoI, Activision announces the return of Call of Duty World League with a $4.2 million prize pool, Online Forum NeoGAF goes offline following sexual assault allegations, and Microsoft officially discontinues their Kinect webcam.

NeoGAF Briefly Goes Offline Amid Sexual Assault Allegations

The online forum NeoGAF temporarily went offline following sexual assault allegations from Ima Leupp, a film director who worked with NeoGAF owner Tyler Malka. NeoGaf, which Cecilia D’Anastasio of Kotaku wrote, “has had significant influence in the video game industry since its founding in 2004” received criticism from members of the site as well as the general press due to the allegation as well as Malka’s previous behavior. The Verge reports that these allegations made by the producer were shared without her consent and that she intended to make the post as an outlet for her feelings associated with the event. In the follow up to the allegations, The Daily Dot reports that a large portion of the NeoGAF community has moved to a new forum, ResetEra, so that they can no longer support Malka.

Microsoft Discontinues the Kinect

After selling over 35 million units since its 2010 launch, Microsoft has discontinued and shutdown manufacturing for the Kinect depth camera and voice recognition microphone. CO.DESIGN reported in an interview with Microsoft’s Alex Kipman that the device has become a smaller part of Microsoft’s design strategy and that the team wanted to move away from working with it. ZDNet reports that this follows the decision to cancel efforts to bring enhanced voice controls to the Kinect and that other apps for the Xbox One like Netflix and Hulu have also removed Kinect support. The Verge reports that the technology used in the Kinect will continue to be used in products like Microsoft’s augmented reality glasses as well as their mixed reality headsets.

Activision Announces Call of Duty World League with $4.2 Million Prize Pool

Activision announced this week that the Call of Duty World League (or CWL) will return in 2018, with the first event kicking off at the MLG Arena in Columbus during early January. Gamesindustry.biz reports that this year’s league will feature 32 teams from around the world and that there will also be National Circuit tournaments which will offer competitions for teams that didn’t qualify for the CWL. ESPN covered the format changes for this years competition, highlighting that the CWL will now feature two divisions which will compete at the same time in lan settings. Telegraph reports that the near $4.2 prize pool will be spread out throughout the events and that the top team will be awarded a $1.5 prize at the end of the season.

Triplepoints of Interest – Oct. 9


In this week’s TPoI, Riot co-founders to lead development on a new title, Oculus reveals new standalone headset, and the ESRB says that in-game loot boxes aren’t gambling.

Riot Co-founders to Lead Development On New Game

Announced via a blog post on Wednesday, Riot co-founders Brandon Beck and Marc Merril have shifted their focus from leading the company to leading the development of a new Riot

Games production. Gamesindustry.biz reports that CFO Dylan Jadeja, CTO Scott Gelb and president Nicolo Laurent will handle company operations and that Beck and Merril will primarily focus on development of the new title for the time being. Glixel reports that the two founded the company in Los Angeles in 2006 as a company dedicated to working on the MOBA, League of Legends. Eurogamer featured a quote from the pair which says that game development is, “…what we really love to do.”

Oculus Reveals New Standalone Headset

At their OC4 conference in San Jose this week, Oculus released details of their new standalone virtual reality headset, Oculus Go. Engadget reports that the headset features a WQHD 2560×1440 resolution and built in audio, doesn’t require a computer or phone to run and is thus changing the VR landscape. Digital Trends posted a breakdown of the device and said that the high resolution and wide field of view allow it to provide a VR experience in between that of mobile and high end-computer tethered VR headsets. Mashable’s Monica Chin reported that the lack of cables and external devices made Oculus Go more appealing than standard VR headsets.

The ESRB Rules that Loot Boxes Aren’t Gambling

Thursday, the Entertainment Software Rating Board publicly announced that in-game loot boxes and drops, like the loot boxes popularized in games like Overwatch and Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, do not qualify as gambling. Forbes provided further clarification from the ESRB that states that these loot boxes are not considered gambling because the end user is always guaranteed to receive something and can’t lose their chance at a prize. Kotaku reports that the ESRB compared loot boxes to trading card packs and said that, while the chances of receiving something rare are low, gamers have a 0% chance of receiving nothing when opening a pack. PC Gamer followed up on the story and reported that the European games rating body PEGI and the UK trade group Ukie, agree with this stance will not make further rulings on the matter.

Triplepoints of Interest – Oct. 2

In this week’s TPoI, Sony announces plans to release a new PlayStation VR unit this month, South America’s biggest gaming expo is expected to host over 300,000 attendees, and Ubisoft buys back $4 million in shares to delay hostile takeover.

Sony Announces Updated PlayStation VR headset

Sony announced on Tuesday that a new version of their PSVR virtual reality headset will be available for purchase this month in Japan. GameSpot reports that the new unit will have an integrated set of headphones as well as HDR pass-through. The new headset can be used in conjunction with a controller or their PlayStation Move Controller, which UploadVR reports will be updated to include the more standard Micro USB ports for charging versus the original models’ Mini USB ports. While the updated headset will be available in Japan first, TechAdvisor reports that the headset will become available in other countries throughout the holiday season.

Brasil Game Show Draws Over 300,000 Attendees

Starting next week, over 300,000 videogame fans and industry professionals will be attending Latin America’s largest gaming convention, the Brasil Game Show in São Paulo, Brazil. The New York Times reports that the Brazilian convention, which started in 2009, has now grown to rival established gaming expos like Gamescom in Germany and The Tokyo Game Show in Japan. As global gaming shows continue develop, with new shows like Play Expo 2017 in Manchester popping up, critics are beginning to question why gaming expos in America haven’t grown to the same size.

Ubisoft Buys Back Shares to Fight Corporate Takeover

Ubisoft announced Thursday that the company will buy over $4 million worth of the company’s own shares back from outside parties. VentureBeat reports that this action will help the company defend itself against a hostile takeover from French media conglomerate, Vivendi. GameSpot covered the topic and highlighted the fact that Vivendi has tried to buy out shares of the company since 2015. Neowin reports that Vivendi currently owns 27% of Ubisoft’s capital shares and that Vivendi would just have to own 3% more if they wanted to make a bid for ownership of Ubisoft.

Triplepoints of Interest – Sept. 25

In this week’s TPoI, Atari releases more information about their new Ataribox console, YouTube changes policies on external links for non-monetized users, and Bluehole confirms negotiations with Tencent.

Atari Unveils Details on the Ataribox

Atari sent a newsletter Tuesday morning with details on their upcoming Ataribox retro gaming console, including details on the hardware and initial pricing. TechCrunch reports that the system will run Linux and will be powered by a customized AMD processor and Radeon graphics processing unit. These components, which SegmentNext reports are very similar to parts used in traditional PCs, allow the Ataribox to run modern games as well as arcade classics. The Verge reports that preorders for the system will begin this fall on Indiegogo and that the system will start at $249 and could go up to $299.

YouTube Restricts External Links for Non-Partners

Non-partnered YouTubers have recently been reporting that they are no longer able to post links to online merchandise stores, personal websites, and their crowdfunding platforms. A representative from YouTube told Polygon that the site is changing their external links policy to “combat inappropriate and abusive content.” Engadget reports that this policy change affects non-partnered YouTube channels and that a YouTube channel needs 10,000 views before it can be considered for partnership, a number which many smaller content creators are struggling to meet. VentureBeat mentioned that this change follows YouTube’s recent demonetization policy changes and the decreased advertising revenue which many content creators are struggling with.

Bluehole Begins Business Negotiations with Tencent

South Korean developer, Bluehole Software confirmed on Thursday that they are talking with Chinese publisher Tencent about publishing PlayerUknown’s Battlegrounds in China. Gamesindustry.biz reports that while Bluehole had previously denied rumors of the partnership plans but that Bluehole chairman and cofounder Chang Byung-gyu has now announced that Tencent is interested in buying an equity stake in the company to help encourage development.  Bloomberg reports that Bluehole, which is now worth over $4.6 billion dollars, is interested in expanding the feature set of their game and launching it before the end of 2017. PCGamesN reports that Tencent has now purchased a 5% share in the company and is planning to buy a larger stake in the company in the future.

Triplepoints of Interest – September 18

In this week’s TPoI, Fortnite accidentally allows cross-platform play for Xbox One and PS4, the Federal Trade Commision clarifies ethical guidelines for influencers, and Steam’s revised review system attracts criticism from developers and gamers alike.

FTC Clarifies Influencer Guidelines

In a live Twitter Q&A held on Wednesday, representatives from the Federal Trade Commission announced that hashtags listing paid sponsorships on social media and video hosting tags are not adequate means for influencers to show that they are being paid for branded content. Gamesindustry.biz reports that the FTC plans to hold social media influencers to a higher standard of disclosure than media outlets and will post guidelines on how to ethically disclose promotional content. Engadget featured a tweet from the official FTC Twitter which specifies that the built in tools from sites like Facebook and YouTube are not enough, which were previously implemented after the FTC filed suits against content creators and influencers. Mashable reports that this Q&A session and announcement comes after the FTC announced that they had filed 21 warning letters to Instagram influencers who didn’t properly disclose their promotional content.

Steams Revised Review System Receives Harsh Reviews

After a recent scandal led disgruntled gamers to post negative reviews to the Steam page for Campo Santo’s game Firewatch last week, Valve announced that they have revised their review system with new options. The new options, which Engadget featured screenshots of, allow potential consumers to view reviews based off their upload date as well as charts displaying the amount of positive and negative reviews a game receives over time. This system has received negative feedback from outlets like The Verge, Waypoint, and PC Gamer, which feel that the system doesn’t actually solve the problem and can actually encourage more “review bombing” incidents. Valve has not issued any additional statements on the topic.

Fortnite Briefly Enables Cross-Platform Play for Xbox One and PS4

Gamers playing the PS4 version of Epic Game’s Fortnite last weekend started to notice strange usernames which were impossible to create on a PlayStation system. After researching the players and posting the findings to the game’s sub Reddit, it was discovered that a configuration error enabled gamers playing the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game to enter the same games. Tweaktown reports that Epic Games has fixed the configuration error and that players will now only be able to play with gamers on their respective platforms. The error caused ripples throughout the gaming community with Forbes highlighting a tweet from Xbox Chief Phil Spencer in which he states that he’d be happy if cross-platform play was kept in the game. Comicbook.com editor, Robert Workman, wrote that the incident as well as the game’s new Battle Royale mode could draw more players and that neither Microsoft nor Sony have responded negatively to the event.

Triplepoints of Interest – September 11

In this week’s TPoI, gaming YouTuber PewDiePie is criticized for using racial slur on stream, Telltale Games appoints a new CEO, and the gaming community comes together to raise money for disaster relief across the U.S.

Gaming YouTuber PewDiePie Called Out After Saying Racial Slur

During a livestream last weekend, YouTuber Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg used a racial slur towards another player. The gaming community responded to the incident negatively. Sites like Polygon, Waypoint, and Gamesindustry.Biz reported that Kjellberg’s use of the word was unacceptable and hurt the gaming and gaming YouTuber community as a whole. This isn’t the first time Kjellberg has dealt with race-related controversy, as he received similar backlash for a video in which he hired two Indian men to hold up signs with anti-semitic phrases on them. While the YouTuber did apologize for his previous actions, it seems that he has had trouble changing his behavior, as Metro reports that Kjellberg almost said the same slur on stream two days after posting his apology video.

Telltale Games Appoints New CEO

Telltale Games announced on Monday the hiring of Pete Hawley as the company’s new chief executive officer. Gamesindustry.biz reports that Hawley, who previously worked at Zynga, Red Robot Labs, Electronic Arts, and Sony, has many years of experience and received a vote of confidence from Telltale chairman of the board, John Riccitiello. VentureBeat states that Hawley will be replacing Dan Connors, who cofounded the company in 2004. Variety reports that Telltale Games is currently developing games based off of Minecraft, DC Comics’ Batman, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and Vertigo’s Fables.

Final Fantasy XIV Charity March Raise Over $21,000 for Hurricane Relief

Players of the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV participated in a 12 hour livestream event last weekend to raise money for those affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. PCGamesN reports that the event, called Lalafell Invasion for Hurricane Relief, had an original goal of $1,000 which was quickly blown past as the livestream went on. GamesIndustry.biz reports that the event included a trivia contest and in-game after party with rewards for players that participated and donated. Other gaming communities also donated for hurricane relief, with PC Gamer reporting that the speedrunning charity event, Games Done Quick, held a charity livestream which raised over $227,000.

Triplepoints of Interest – September 4

In this week’s TPoI, esports tournament DreamHack lifts ban on Counter Strike: Global Offensive match fixer, PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS sells 10 million copies, and GamesBeat reporter Dean Takahashi receives backlash after difficult Cuphead demo.

PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS Sells Over 10 Million Copies Worldwide

Bluehole Softwares’ hit game PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS has become the most played game on Steam in the past few months and the developers just announced that the Early Access game has now sold over 10 million copies worldwide. GameSpot reports that the game has now topped Steam’s highest peak concurrent user mark after the PUBG Invitational Tournament at Gamescom last month, topping out at over 1 million players all playing at once. Destructoid reports that the team’s plans to release the final version of the game before the end of the year hasn’t changed and that the XBOX one port will release in early 2018. Gamesindustry.biz featured a quote from Bluehole’s Vice President Chang Han Kim which highlights the team’s enthusiasm and appreciation of their fanbase – “It is amazing and gratifying to see the love and support the passionate fans have shown to PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.”

DreamHack Lifts Ban on Counter Strike: Global Offensive Match Fixer

Earlier this week, the esports tournament organization DreamHack joined ESL and adopted a new ruleset which complies with ESL standards and lifts lifetime bans for competitive players that have been caught cheating or fixing matches. Dot Esports clarified that this change affects players that received lifetime bans prior to February 25, 2015 and that returning players will not be able to compete in any Valve run tournaments such as the American or European Majors. Compete reports that the decision to remove lifetime bans follows the ESL allowing banned players to return to their tournaments in July of last year. Critical Hit reports that the new ruleset will allow many players to return to the game professionally including iBUYPOWER’s entire North American lineup, who were found guilty of match fixing last year.

GamesBeat Lead Writer Dean Takahashi Criticized Over Cuphead Demo Footage

During Gamescom last month, GamesBeat Lead writer Dean Takahashi played through the first level of the upcoming platformer Cuphead and footage from the event has drawn criticism from many members of the gaming community. Gamers took to forums and social media and criticized Takahashi for not being able to learn the mechanics of the game quickly and used his gameplay as an example of games journalists not being competent enough to take seriously. Since then, outlets like Geek Reply and GameRevolution have posted opinion articles about the skill level required to be part of the games media, with many writers coming out in support of Takahashi. Takahashi posted an article on VentureBeat responding to the controversy and explained that platforming games like Cuphead aren’t his favorite genre but that unskilled gameplay is still valuable for the games industry as a whole.

TRIPLEPOINTS OF INTEREST – AUGUST 28

In this week’s TPoI, Microsoft releases details for their Mixed Reality headsets, Blizzard takes a harsher stance on negative behavior in Overwatch, and Amazon lets Twitch viewers enjoy streams and buy products with Amazon Associates.

Microsoft Unveils New Details for Their Mixed Reality Headsets

During IFA in Berlin this week, Microsoft released a showcase of their Mixed Reality headsets from electronics manufacturers Acer, Asus, Dell and Lenovo. The Verge reports that many of these headsets will be available in early October and starting at $349 to compete with existing VR platforms like the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. While these competing platforms require additional sensors to provide spatial data, Engadget reports that Microsoft’s Mixed Reality headsets will have sensors built into them to gauge its position. The price of each headset ranges per model, with Ars Technica reporting that the Asus  headsets will be significantly more expensive at almost $535.

Blizzard Takes A Firm Stance Against Toxic Behavior

Earlier this week, Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan stated that the the team will be re-evaluating the game’s punishment system and changing in-game chat blocks into permanent bans for repeat offenders. Gamasutra reports that the developer is looking to permanently ban players that have been repeatedly punished for negative behavior or offensive speech. Ubergizmo states that this isn’t the first time that Blizzard has had to crack down on bad behavior in the game, with the company banning hackers and toxic players on multiple occasions. Eurogamer reports that Blizzard plans to specifically punish skill rating manipulation in Overwatch’s upcoming season 6.

Amazon Launches New Amazon Associates Program For Twitch

Twitch announced on Thursday morning that a suite of tools called Twitch Extensions will be made available to streamers so that they can customize their pages with interactive features like polls, leaderboards, and a gear list section that links directly to Amazon. This extension, which TechCrunch reports will be available to Twitch Partners and Affiliates, will allow streamers to earn commission through the Amazon Associate program. GeekWire reports that this extension, called Gear on Amazon, will be accessible through the Twitch dashboard and will be available as soon as it’s ready. Gamesindustry.biz reports that there an official release date for the extensions suite hasn’t been announced yet but that more details about the suit will be released at the TwitchCon Developer Day on October 19th, 2017.

TRIPLEPOINTS OF INTEREST – AUGUST 21

In this week’s TPoI, Chinese Super League invests $15 million in a six-year game development deal, Xbox One X sells through initial supply to break pre-order records for Microsoft, and Electronic Arts rolls out sweeping changes for this year’s Madden NFL 18.

Chinese Super League Invests $15 Million to Develop New Soccer Game

Chinese Super League, China’s largest soccer competition, has announced plans to invest $15 million in Beijing-based studio Crazy Sports to develop a new soccer game. Gamesindustry.biz reports that the game will include the 16 teams and stadiums involved in the league. While the Chinese Super League itself has risen in popularity, ESPN FC states that 13 of the league’s top football clubs are at risk for expulsion due to outstanding debts.

Xbox One X Surpasses Previous Preorder Records for Microsoft

Microsoft’s upcoming 4k console, the Xbox One X, has already sold through it’s initial pre-order supply in advance of the console’s November 7 launch, according to the Corporate Vice President of Marketing for Xbox, Mike Nichols. While these numbers are promising for Microsoft, Business Insider reports that GameStop is having trouble selling the original Xbox One and Xbox One S and that the retailer hopes that the Xbox One X will help drive more console sales for Microsoft.

Electronic Arts Introduces New Features for Madden NFL 18

E.A Sports is implementing new features to one of their most popular franchises with Madden NFL 18, including a new story mode and social media implementation. Kat Bailey of USGamer reports that this year’s iteration of Madden is more than just a roster update as fans have come to expect from yearly sports games. SB Nation reports that the new story mode is a choice driven narrative that has players following a single quarterback as he works his way up in the NFL. The inclusion of a new story mode and the inclusion of beginner specific features like an updated arcade mode made Business Insider call Madden NFL 18, “the most accessible, ambitious ‘Madden’ game in years.”

TRIPLEPOINTS OF INTEREST – AUGUST 14

In this week’s TPoI, Amazon Prime no longer offering discounts on recently released video games, Tencent’s stock soars as profits rise 70% from last year, and PlatinumGames founder thanks Nier: Automata director Yoko Taro for “saving” the studio.

Amazon Prime Cuts New Video Game Discounts

Thrifty Amazon Prime members are reporting that the online retailer no longer offers a 20% off on physical games after their release, which they used to offer on new games for the following two weeks after release. While Amazon still offers a 20% discount on pre-orders to Prime members, Matthew Hayes of WWG voiced his concern over the changes, highlighting the fact that fans cannot wait for reviews for games before committing to buying them. I4U compared Amazon’s service to the Best Buy Gamers Club Unlocked subscription, which hosts a similar deal and found the GCU to be more cost effective for gamers as it still allows for members to save 20% after a game’s launch.

Tencent’s Stock Rises to All-Time High

Tencent Holdings Ltd, a Chinese investment holding company that owns Riot Games and developed the popular social messaging app WeChat, recently announced their earnings for the second quarter of 2017. The company, which CNBC calls the most valuable firm listed in Asia, has reported a profit of 18.23 Billion yuan or 2.72 billion USD. TechCrunch states that the massive influx of growth is due primarily to their popular mobile games including Honour of Kings, a MOBA game with over 200 million registered users. Reuters reports that Honour of Kings is the top-grossing mobile game in the world and that it draws in almost as much as their popular PC game League of Legends.

PlatinumGames Founder Thanks Nier: Automata Director Yoko Taro for Saving Studio

PlatinumGames founder Hideki Kamiya took to twitter late last week to thank Nier: Automata director Yoko Taro for his efforts and saying, “…to say that Yoko-san saved Platinum would not be an exaggeration.” Polygon reports that PlatinumGames has been suffering due to the release of several unsuccessful games and the high profile cancellation of PlatinumGame’s Xbox Exclusive Scalebound. VG24/7 speculates that the high sales of Nier: Automata, which sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide exceeded sales expectations of their publisher Square Enix, was able to keep the studio afloat, and that the game will help support new game projects for the near future. Twinfinite reports that Nier: Automata is the ninth best selling game on the PlayStation 4 and that Kamiya hopes to work on future products with Yoko Taro.