The games industry moves quickly and while stories may come and go there are some that we just can’t let go of…
So, to give those particularly thorny topics a further going over we’ve created a weekly digest where the members of the PocketGamer.biz team share their thoughts and go that little bit deeper on some of the more interesting things that have happened in mobile gaming in the past week.
Daniel Griffiths
Editor – PocketGamer.biz
Daniel Griffiths is a veteran journalist who has worked on some of the biggest entertainment media brands in the world. He’s interviewed countless big names, and covered countless new releases in the fields of videogames, music, movies, tech, gadgets, home improvement, self build, interiors and garden design. Yup, he said garden design… He’s the ex-Editor of PSM2, PSM3, GamesMaster and Future Music, ex-Deputy Editor of The Official PlayStation Magazine and ex-Group Editor-in-Chief of Electronic Musician, Guitarist, Guitar World, Rhythm, Computer Music and more. He hates talking about himself.
“The end of these ridiculous 30% fees is near.” Tim Sweeney crows victory in Epic Vs Google battle
Yay… Victory… Kinda… But, just as Prince Harry’s victory against Mirror Group Newspapers rings hollow while Piers Morgan still walks free, so Tim Sweeney ‘sticking to the man’ (while totally being ‘the man’) doesn’t feel like the David Vs Goliath loincloth battle that he’s so loudly parping about.
As someone who remembers the [cough] ‘clusterparty’ of the mobile games app marketplace pre iPhone, iOS and App Store I have to add another few wrinkles to my brow when Sweeney decries what they built (and the dreamworld of joy and ease it finally delivered) as an evil empire hell bent on robbing him of some of his millions.
By far the most interesting aspect of the Epic Vs Google case has been that this side of the arguement (rather than the more fraught Epic Vs Apple case) was eventually decided by a jury, and the short and swift manner in which they dealt common sense justice.
Seems like Mr and Miss Normal don’t like big tech and given the opportunity to kick off about prices and service and prevent the big guys from getting bigger, they’ll side with ‘the little guy’ every time. And in that, at least, I’m right on Tim’s side.
Craig Chapple
Head of Content
Craig Chapple is a freelance analyst, consultant and writer with specialist knowledge of the games industry. He has previously served as Senior Editor at PocketGamer.biz, as well as holding roles at Sensor Tower, Nintendo and Develop.
Netflix has nearly 90 games in development as it touts cross-platform vision
Two years later, Netflix is still continuing with its gaming ambitions. It’s made key hires – including its VP of games Mike Verdu, who has extensive games experience at Atari, EA, Zynga and Kabam – made a couple of studio acquisitions, and by the end of the year will have 86 games available on the platform. And there are nearly 90 more titles in development for Netflix subscribers.
Its ultimate strategy is clear to see: it wants games to be made available to subscribers across all devices. Less clear right now, though, is the execution. Exactly how these games will be played on TV screens, and how Netflix will attract the world’s top publishers to release exciting new games on the platform, remains to be seen. It bagged the GTA 3 trilogy, but will it really invest the money necessary for the biggest new titles and exclusives?
Experimenting on mobile makes sense to test the waters – but I’m curious exactly what kinds of experiences Netflix ultimately wants to see on its service and what that business model looks like. It’s a long way off being Game Pass, and Netflix lacks both the finances and in-house capability to compete.
I recently wrote about how big tech, social media and entertainment companies invest significant sums of money into games, only to abandon the industry at a moment’s notice. If Netflix hits a rocky road with its core business, or sets its eyes on a bigger prize, will it stay the course in games?
Paige Cook
Deputy Editor
Paige is the Deputy Editor on PG.biz who, in the past, has worked in games journalism covering new releases, reviews and news. Coming from a multimedia background, she has dabbled in video editing, photography, graphic and web design! If she’s not writing about the games industry, she can probably be found working through her ever-growing game backlog or buried in a good book.
E3 is dead. And for good this time
I can’t say this news came as a surprise, but it still stings. I have incredibly fond memories of E3. It was always THE gaming event of the year and the one everyone would share in their excitement for the industry. I even remember being in university, and there would be ‘E3 parties’ where everyone stayed up late just to watch the show.
Unfortunately, I think some of the cracks started to show for E3 when developers and publishers realised they could do their own show. A digital one at less cost which could take place anytime they wanted, and they wouldn’t have to share the limelight. On top of that, add a pandemic and competition with other shows, such as Summer Games Fest, then the cancellation of E3 2023, and it was clear that the future of E3 was in serious trouble.
But you’re supposed to never say never, right? I find it odd that they’re saying, “That’s it. We’ve killed E3 off forever, goodbye”. Fans will miss it, and sure, we have Summer Games Fest, but it doesn’t feel quite the same. As for The Game Awards, that shouldn’t even compete; in my opinion, that has its own identity crisis because it’s trying too hard to be a game announcement show, rushing winning developers off stage after 30 seconds at what is supposed to be an awards ceremony. It may just be nostalgia talking, but I genuinely feel like with a fresh plan in place, there’s still space for E3.
I understand times have changed, and this event struggled to shift with those changes, but it’s still a shame to see it go. It truly is the end of an era… Or is it?
Aaron Astle
News Editor
Aaron is the News Editor at PG.biz and has an honours degree in Creative Writing.
Having spent far too many hours playing Pokémon, he’s now on a quest to be the very best like no one ever was…at putting words in the right order.
Monster Hunter Now is a roaring success, making $100 million in under three months
As if we needed any further evidence that Japanese monster IPs and AR walking games are a perfect match, we have even more proof this week in the latest Monster Hunter Now milestone. The Niantic and Capcom collab has drawn in $100 million already, not even needing a full three months to do so.
Now is safely Niantic’s second-biggest game at this point, and though it still has a long way to go if it wants to catch up to Pokémon Go, the silver medal isn’t so bad when competing against the world’s highest-grossing media franchise.
Monster Hunter Now’s success is largely attributable to the series’ Japanese fanbase, who are also quite willing to go out and exercise while playing games. Between the effective implementation of Niantic’s tech and a loyal adaptation of Monster Hunter’s main series formula, it isn’t all too surprising to see Now soar.
The promise of new monsters gives a lot of revitalised incentive to play, too; not only does it mean new behaviours to learn and battles to win, but also new armour and weapons to forge, unlockable based on the materials sourced from the latest hunts. Personally, I’m still waiting on an Astalos announcement…
