TRIPLEPOINTS OF INTEREST – WEEK OF FEB. 6

In this week’s TPoI; press reaction to Nintendo announcing 2-3 mobile games per year, E3 opens up to the “public”, and Valve confirms VR game development (no proof of Half-Life 3… yet).

Nintendo Aims to Make 2-3 Mobile Games A Year From Now On
In this week’s Q&A session for investors, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima announced that the company plans to make 2-3 mobile games a year moving forward. IGN reports that the company will still primarily focus on the Switch and 3DS, but that it seems Nintendo sees mobile gaming as a serious prospect with potential for long-term gains. GamesIndustry sees the plans as potentially precarious, due to the parallel business risks to manage simultaneously, while iDigitalTimes is a bit more optimistic noting it believes Nintendo will learn what it needs to continue creating classics for a new generation. No doubt that the success and fanfare surrounding Pokémon GO and Super Mario Run played a role in the decision, and it will continue to pursue a strategy of expanding its core IP into mainstream audiences to drive sales of its primary business units.

 

E3 Opens To The Public For the First Time Ever
This week the ESA announced that 15,000 tickets will be made available for anyone wishing to attend E3 this June, for a price of $250 (or $150 for lucky early birds). Tickets provide access to the show floor, panel discussions, and other related events Tuesday-Thursday of the week. Gamespot noted availability to the public may be in efforts to keep the conference relevant, as major players like Activision and EA have pulled out in recent years. For their part, the ESA has noted the success of the public-facing E3 Live, held outside the convention center last year that drew impressive numbers as the catalyst to give access to the full convention to fans. Our take here at TriplePoint is that there were already 15k “loose”, non-trade attendees already making their way into the show in recent years. With some tightening of the admission process we could see non-trade attendees – like GameStop employees for example – having to pay their way into the show moving forward.
 

Valve is working on three ‘full’ VR games
This week Valve founder Gabe Newell confirmed that the company currently has three full VR games in development. He noted that, with the HTC Vive on the market, Valve is now in a position to develop hardware and software simultaneously, nodding to Nintendo’s success with the same framework. Engadget added that with low headset sales and the difficulty in persuading developers to make VR software, Valve and their games could turn the popularity and ubiquity of VR around.

TriplePoints of Interest – Week of July 25

Three weeks later, Pokémon GO continues to generate massive headlines! This week we’ve highlighted notable coverage about Pokémon GO’s San Diego Comic-Con takeover, Mark Zuckerberg’s love for Pokémon GO, and an recent report on Pokémon GO app downloads. Also worth a look: Twitter is streaming esports, Dota 2 adds VR spectator mode, and Doom: The Board Game is coming to a tabletop near you.

Continue reading TriplePoints of Interest – Week of July 25

TriplePoints of Interest – Week of July 18

The Pokémon craze continues to hit the United States — and now in several countries including Germany, United Kingdom, and Japan!

This week in TPOI we’ve recapped, at a high level, some of the most positive and unique Pokémon GO milestones generating publicity. In other key industry news, Microsoft has announced the Xbox One S release date, Telltale has debuted a first look trailer at its upcoming Batman title and we’ve learned GDC submissions for 2017 are now open.

Continue reading TriplePoints of Interest – Week of July 18

TriplePoints of Interest – Week of July 11 – Featuring Pokémon GO!!!

We’re proud to say that we’ve been INCREDIBLY busy with the launch of Pokémon GO, an understatement considering the social phenomenon it has become in just a week since launch! The news cycle was dominated by the game, as we’ve outlined below, and all of us at TriplePoint have also been busy exploring the world in search of our favorite Pokémon. Head to our website at www.triplepointpr.com for a little Easter Egg, and input the Konami code for a pleasant surprise.  Continue reading TriplePoints of Interest – Week of July 11 – Featuring Pokémon GO!!!