Sony PS3/PS4 F2P sales up 50 per cent
Sony has revealed that PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 F2P revenues have risen by 50 per cent year-on-year.
The Japanese publisher also noted in a presentation at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco that conversion rates to paying customers are averaging 3-15...
SQEX NA/EU Marketing VP Stewart departs
Square Enix strategic marketing VP for North America and Europe Karl Stewart has announced that he is leaving the company.
“It has been an unbelievable ride over the last eight years,” said Stewart. “Square Enix is an amazing company (and) has given me the opportunity...
Alibaba buys US$215M stake in Tango
Chinese e-commerce leader Alibaba has acquired a US$215 million minority stake in mobile messaging and social game platform Tango.
An additional US$65 million was provided by investors including Access Industries, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Qualcomm Ventures and Translink Capital in Tango's latest funding round.
“Tango has...
Epic announces UE4 subscription model
Epic Games has announced a new PC, iOS and Android subscription/revenue share business model for the latest version of the company's flagship Unreal Engine at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
Epic's popular middleware engine has previously only been accessible to AAA game studios...
Nexon dates Lost Saga EU open beta
Tokyo-based publisher Nexon has slated the European open beta launch of the company's upcoming fighter game Lost Saga for 24 April.
Nexon Europe has also confirmed that Lost Saga will be localised in English, German, French, Italian, Polish and Turkish.
“We’re incredibly pleased to have...
AC: New Leaf tops 7.3M worldwide
Animal Crossing: New Leaf producer Katsuya Eguchi has confirmed that the Nintendo 3DS exclusive has sold 7.38 million units globally since the game's launch in late 2012.
Speaking at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Eguchi also noted that the title's popularity had...
Sony unveils VR headset for PS4
SCE Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida has revealed Project Morpheus, a virtual reality platform the company's plans to integrate with the Sony PlayStation 4 game console, at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
”Nothing delivers a feeling of immersion better than VR,” said Yoshida....
FunPlus secures US$74M investment
Chinese mobile F2P game publisher FunPlus has announced at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco that the company has secured US$74 million in new funding to finance overseas expansion. Investors included Orchid Asia Group, GSR Ventures and Steamboat Ventures.
“We are pleased that...
Unity announces Unity 5 dev suite
Unity Technologies has revealed Unity 5, the latest version of company's popular game development software, during Unity Developer Day at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
The fifth generation of Unity's cross-platform game development suite will introduce real time lighting, optimised workflow and unified...
KeSPA confirms match-fixing scheme
The Korean esports Association (KeSPA) has confirmed match-fixing allegations against top League of Legends player Cheon Min-Ki and AHQ Korea team manager Noh Dae Chul.
Cheon earlier confessed to the match-fixing scheme in conjunction with a suicide attempt that shocked the Korean esports community.
"It seems...
Konami vet Igarashi starts indie studio
Long time Castlevania series producer Koji Igarashi has left Japanese publisher Konami to launch an independent game development studio.
“Leaving Konami was a big decision, and not one I took lightly. I’ve spent my entire career there, made many friends, and had a lot of...
Gree launches Rage of the Immortals
Japanese publisher Gree has announced the global release of Rage of the Immortals, an Android exclusive F2P RPG and the second game to be launched in partnership with Canadian studio Iugo Mobile Entertainment.
“Rage of the Immortals ties together our passion for RPG mechanics and...
Watch Dogs gets ACB R18+ rating
Ubisoft has confirmed that the publisher's action title Watch Dogs has been rated R18+ in Australia. The decision follows the addition of controversial new content after the game's initial review by the Australian Classification Board (ACB).
“The entire development team has been working hard to...
JP/NA release for Azure Striker Gunvolt
Japanese studio Inti Creates CEO Takuya Aizu has announced that the developer's upcoming 2D action game Azure Striker Gunvolt will be released in North America for the Nintendo 3DS in mid-2014.
The title was first revealed by Aizu earlier this month for a summer launch...
MGS 5: GZ AU/NZ launch rescheduled
Konami has confirmed that the retail version of Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes will launch in Australia and New Zealand on 27 March.
Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes, the first part of Konami's upcoming two-part Metal Gear Solid sequel, was originally scheduled...
GPGS Android/iOS MP plug-in revealed
Google has announced the latest version of the company's Google Play Games Services mobile development platform at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
The newest edition of the mobile developer tool kit includes a multiplayer plug-in for the popular Unity game engine that enables...
PW concludes Swordsman closed alpha
Perfect World Entertainment has announced the conclusion of closed alpha testing for the publisher's highly anticipated MMORPG Swordsman. Closed beta testing is slated to begin worldwide later this year.
“Bringing Swordsman to a Western audience is something we’ve wanted to do all along,”...
Asian headliners featured at GDC 2014
The 28th annual Game Developers Conference (GDC), the world's largest and longest-running professionals-only game industry event, opens on 17 March at Moscone Center in San Francisco.
Produced by the UBM Tech Game Network, GDC attracts over 23,000 attendees and features over 400 lectures, panels, tutorials...
ZTE/The9 to launch Fun Box console
Chinese ZTE network technology provider ZTE Corp has announced a partnership with leading Chinese game developer The9 Ltd to domestically develop, manufacture and distribute a game console. According to ZTE the new console, called ZTE9 Fun Box, will launch in China next month.
The Fun...
Gem Wizard launches worldwide
Mobile game studio Pixelmatic has announced the worldwide launch of Gem Wizard for iOS and Android devices.
The RPG item collection and crafting title has also been localised in nine different languages including English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Japanese and Korean, as well as...
