The future of EA, the fatigue of Switch and PlayStation betting on this unexpected land: the business news of the week

game news The future of EA, the fatigue of Switch and PlayStation betting on this unexpected land: the business news of the week

Nintendo takes stock: the switch is getting tired and we’re slowly talking about a new console

Nintendo reported financial results for the most recent fiscal year, which ended April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023, and the numbers are quite impressive. Let’s start with the good news: Since its launch, the Switch has sold a total of 125.62 million consoles worldwideconsolidating its third place in the ranking behind Nintendo DS (154 million) and PS2 (155 million).

In relation to the fiscal year in question, the Switch found 17.97 million buyers. That’s a lot, yes, but really less than last year Still a drop of 22%. What should you worry about? Not really since then Given the console’s longevity, the sales rate remains logical, currently in its sixth year of existence. At the same time, the PS4 sold 13.5 million units, the Switch is well above that.

It should be noted that this figure achieved in fiscal year 2022-2023 does not meet Nintendo’s original goal of selling 21 million consoles. For the current fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2024, the Kyoto company plans to sell 15 million consoles (ie -17% compared to the above results).

There has also been a drop on the video game sales side. 213.96 million titles were sold on the Switch (-9%) and this small drop is quite simply the first since the console was launched. For many, this effectively marks the beginning of an end of the cycle… and one wonders, therefore, when another machine will take over the torch.

With this topic, Nintendo almost plays the language of wood. “Almost” yes, because during a call with investors, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa says no new console will arrive until March 31, 2024. That roughly means that new hardware could actually come out after that date. Many rightly assume that the new console will appear in late 2024.

Electronic Arts bets on “platform games” and clarifies its future

Game as a Service (better known in France as Service Games) has experienced unprecedented growth for years. The idea is to sustain a video game over the long term by providing regular content, animating a community of players, and evolving the content over time. Electronic Arts is more used to who is behind Apex Legends or The Sims to name a few.

But for the American publisher, the future clearly lies in… “platform games.” CEO Andrew Wilson calls them “games as a platform” in his native language, as he heard on a recent call about the company’s financial results. A “gaming platform” goes beyond a gaming service: it enables gaming, but also gathering or social sharing.

If there’s one thing that we think is going to last, it’s this movement towards these social ecosystems, the video games, “platform games.” What we’re seeing here is the evolution of the very definition of a game.

As we think about building EA Sports FC as well as The Sims, Battlefield, Apex, Skate and other of our franchises for the future, we’re really thinking about making platform games to drive those businesses long-term through values ​​like play, watch, create, Connect.

By definition, a game like Fortnite could thus be compared to a perfect platform game. We play it, of course, but the experience goes much further than the simple battle royale with the possibility to discuss, explore, create levels, view exhibitions or see outright trailers and unreleased concerts – in short, almost a metaverse.

“We believe this will last longer than the current macroeconomic climate. “And this is certainly where we will be investing a significant portion of our time, money and resources over the next few years,” adds Wilson.

Apparently, the fear of not seeing Electronic Arts’ single-player games anymore is justified. On this subject, the thinking editor-in-chief reassures: cthis future policy “Don’t take your chance away” to launch more games like Star Wars Jedi Survivor. “A big part of our investment” will go into projects aimed at large online communities, but the company “will continue with a more focused and conscious investment in narrative and story-driven games”.

Finallysaid Wilson that the development schedules for upcoming video games will be extendedto improve the quality of the site, but also to make games that last a decade or more.

PlayStation relies on India for video game development and launches a new program

A few years ago, Sony launched the PlayStation China Hero Project program to support Chinese studios: this resulted in very good projects like FIST Forged In Shadow Torch or ANNO: Mutationem. Because of this experience, the Japanese giant is doing it again… but this time in India.

So here is the PlayStation India Hero Project, an initiative encouraging Indian developers to submit their ideas with the hope of bringing them to life in collaboration with Sony. Radhika Thakur, Chief Market Strategy Officer of Sony Interactive Entertainment India, put it succinctly:

As part of our commitment to ensuring PlayStation remains the best place to play, we’re committed to developing regional incubation programs to help identify new developers around the world. The India Hero project is the result of this commitment and our faith in the Indian video game market.

Through mentoring, training and investing in these projects, PlayStation strives to lower the barriers to entry and showcase the most incredible talent from India. We are pleased to announce this new initiative and our call for proposals.

The choice to bet on India is not insignificant, and like China, a large part of the population (huge in itself) is very fond of video games. IThe country would even be the fastest growing in gaming in Asia, thanks in particular to mobile phones, while PlayStation remains the leader there in home consoles. ”””

It remains to be seen what games will emerge from this PlayStation India Hero Project and above all: how different studios will use the program to improve and evolve.

Briefly in the business news of the week

• Electronic Arts announced financial results for the past fiscal year with sales of $7.4 billion (+6%).
• Private Division (a publisher affiliated with Take-Two) announces a partnership with Game Freak (the creators of Pokémon games) for a brand new franchise different from the Japanese studio’s previous productions. This new game will be an action-adventure and is planned for FY2026.
• Horizon Forbidden West, the PlayStation Exclusive released in February 2022 for PS5 and PS4, has sold over 8.4 million copies.
• Sales of several exclusive Nintendo Switch titles were announced, including Fire Emblem Engage (1.61 million), Metroid Prime Remastered (1.09 million), Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe (1.46 million) or Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (31.09 million sales!).
• Sony has announced the closure of Pixel Opus, one of its studios to which we owe Concrete Genie and Entwined.
• Hogwarts Legacy: Hogwarts Legacy has just surpassed the 15 million mark, which equates to more than $1 billion in sales.

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