News business Nintendo Switch, Minecraft, Sony … the business news of the week
Sales figures, studio buyouts, financial reports, developer transfer windows, investments … if these topics are of interest to you, you’ve come to the right place. We offer you an update on last week’s economic news.
USA: Switch at the top, record starts for Forza Horizon 5 and Shin Megami Tensei V.
$ 6.3 billion, as of November, this spawned the video game market in the United States. was announced NPD group. A result of 10% in less than a year, mainly due to Console sales: They were down 38% compared to November 2020, when the PS5 and Xbox series launched. A year later, the market is still suffering from the shortage of semiconductors. Nintendo still managed to sell 1.13 million Switches in the US in November 2021, including 550,000 during Thanksgiving week, but that is less than in November 2020 (1.3 million). No specific numbers on PS5 and Xbox series sales, but if you put them together, it would barely match the Switch total, the analyst says Daniel Ahmad |.
On the game side, Call of Duty: Vanguard was unsurprisingly the biggest hit of the month and already ranks 2nd among the best-selling titles in 2021… behind Black Ops Cold War. Battlefield 2042 ranks 6th in the best sales of the year, while Pokémon Sparkling Diamond / Sparkling Pearl ranks 8th as its digital sales are not counted here. Remember that worldwide 6 million copies have passed in a week, a release on par with that of Pokémon Sword / Shield.
Forza Horizon 5 has also shown a remarkable feat by reaching the 4th bestseller of the month and the best launch in the Forza (Motorsport / Horizon) franchise. all without counting Xbox Game Pass subscribers. Shin Megami Tensei V, which was only released on Nintendo Switch, is lower in the ranking (16th), but also surpasses the start of its predecessors.
Finally, note that in the second month of marketing, Guardians of the Galaxy unlike Metroid Dread, which came out of the top 20, on the 7. Two does not communicate download sales of its games.
The 20 best sales of November 2021 in the United States
The 10 best sales of the current year in the USA
Sony wants to improve its relationship with independent developers
Do you remember last summer: Many independent developers and publishers had spoken on social media and in signed articles Kotaku and IGN, expressing their frustration with Sony’s policy towards them. The manufacturer was criticized in particular for a lack of communication and listening, too complex and unclear processes or a lack of flexibility and tools to advertise games in the PlayStation Store compared to other platforms. Ultimately, Sony would be the most frustrating manufacturer for an indie developer looking for visibility.
Sony has never responded publicly on this issue, but has obviously taken this criticism into account.IGN was able to receive a copy of an annual survey carried out by the manufacturer and sent to its partners. In it, Sony commits itself to several things : reduce the complexity of processes and improve its communication channels, provide all its partners with better analysis tools for sales, engagement and promotion of games, or improve its support system, documentation and client system in order to respond to publishers’ problems and developers.
After IGN looked at this document, IGN interviewed some developers who criticized Sony last summer. David Logan, CEO of Akupara Games explains that “Sony started making a number of big changes very soon after (the IGN and Kotaku articles were published)”. Nowadays it typically takes 24 or 48 hours for responses to spam requests to arrive, compared to up to nine months previously. “Big corporations are always slow to deal with, but now it clearly seems more fluid and natural”, testified Matthew White, CEO of Whitehorne Digital.
As for the promotion of games, changes are also taking place, but more slowly. Matthew White is excited about the launch of a New Releases section in the PS Store, where every game can be featured, what he says “will make a huge difference in terms of visibility”. He also welcomes the presence of an Indies tab. However, unlike other platforms, studios still cannot promote their games in the PS Store at all times. An invitation from Sony is required for this.
“Overall, the indies we spoke to six months ago seem to be more positive about their relationship with PlayStation.”, summarizes IGN. Others are more negative like Iain Garner of Neon Doctrine who believes the situation isn’t really better on other consoles. : “Xbox is a little more open when it comes to advertising, and the Switch gets you a place on a list, so both of them are a bit better than Sony. But in a world where Steam is, the way consoles are work, still very stupid my opinion. I hope that all platforms can find a way to uncover promising games without relying on absurd middlemen. When I have a good game and the data shows that people love it, why should I then beg an account manager for a feature? “, he explains.
Sony did not want to respond to inquiries from IGN on the matter.
Minecraft generated over a trillion views on YouTube, a record
Minecraft is definitely the game of all records. With over 238 million sales in a little over ten years it was one of the greatest hits in history. In this week, Mojang and Microsoft’s title has passed a new milestone that confirms its popularity: that of trillion views on YouTube. As shown on this page specially set up to celebrate this unique achievement, The 500 billion views mark was reached in 2018, then growth accelerated, especially with the impetus from creators like PewDiePie, Mikecrack, and Aphmau. Proof that Minecraft has not let up over the years, on the contrary. The game is more popular than ever, with a record 141 million active users in August 2021. According to YouTube, there are more than 35,000 active channels on the platform that regularly offer Minecraft content.
Embracer buys Asmodee, the French number one in board games, for 2.75 billion dollars
European video game giant Embracer will also become a board game giant. The Swedish group has started exclusive purchase negotiations Asmodee, Heavyweight of the board game with its catalog of more than 300 licenses, including Arkham Horror, Catan or Jungle Speed. The Guyancourt-based company is also known for the distribution of Pokémon cards in France and for its video game label Asmodee Digital (Gloomhaven, The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game …). In 2020, almost 39 million board games were sold in more than 50 countries.
The operation is said to amount to 2.75 billion dollars, a colossal sum, which is explained in particular by the strong competition. “When the deal is complete, it would be a transformative step in Embracer’s strategy and create the largest gaming group in Europe with a leading position in the board game market, a category that complements video games with long-term appeal.”, we can read in the communicates. Asmodee will become Embracer’s ninth operational group alongside THQ Nordic, Saber Interactive, Koch Media, Coffee Stain, Amplifier, DECA Games, Gearbox and Easybrain. An armada that brings together 108 development studios, more than 560 intellectual property and 11,300 employees.
Coming soon in the week’s business news
- Chinese giant Tencent has bought Turtle Rock Studios (Back 4 Blood) for an unspecified amount.
- Super cell, a Finnish company known for its successful mobile games (Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, Brawl Stars …), will open a studio in North America to develop games for PCs and consoles. A little more precise, “Games You Didn’t Expect From Supercell”.
- The puzzle game Unpacking sold 100,000 copies in its first ten days of marketing while it was available in Game Pass.
- For its part, Spiritfarer has exceeded a million sales since its release in August 2020. It is also available in the Game Pass.
- Prime Matter, a label founded and announced by Koch Media last June, will release the remake of System Shock, which will be released in 2022.
- Aniplex, a Sony subsidiary, has bought the Delightworks studio. The two companies had been working on Fate / Grand Order, one of the most lucrative mobile games on the market, for several years.
- Polish company People Can Fly (Outriders, Bulletstorm) has acquired Incuvo, a studio known for developing the VR versions of Layers of Fear, Blair Witch and soon Green Hell. People Can Fly therefore intends to adapt one of the games in its catalog in VR, for the time being without further details.
- Streamer Dr. Disrespect has set up its own development studio, called the Midnight Society, with industry veterans. The goal is to produce AAA games.
- Given the congestion on the Final Fantasy XIV servers, Square Enix has temporarily suspended sales, advertising campaigns and free trial registrations for the MMO. 14 days of game time will be offered to those who have the full game and an active subscription starting Tuesday, December 21st at 9am.
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