Sony testifies and reveals itself before FTC as Niantic and Scavengers fire… Business news of the week

news business Sony testifies and reveals itself before FTC as Niantic and Scavengers fire… Business news of the week

FTC vs. Microsoft: Sony statement and new revelations

This first season of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard King continues to receive new episodes. The litigation with the FTCwhich, let’s remember, wants to achieve the definitive ban of Racat has started recently and we have been able to learn a lot, be it around the takeover, but also Actions by Microsoft and Sony at industry level. At the end of this article you will find several links to news items on specific points in the case. However, here is a compilation of what this week of hearings awaiting judgment has taught us. And there’s something very, very heavy, especially thanks to the Sony testimonial about Jim Ryan :

• Microsoft claims via email to support that Jim Ryan was sure to see Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles in the years to come, despite the public statements made by the head of Sony Interactive Entertainment. The company claims that gamers are on PlayStation and that they are It would be counterproductive to make COD an outcast
  . In addition, the main market would be mobile with a turnover of 148 billion worldwide. Satya Nadella and Phil Spencer make sure the license stays cross-platform, but that too the acquisition of Zynga was considered.
• Jim Ryan Wasn’t concerned before COD talks faltered. He added that the proposed agreements It lacked titles like Diablo IV and Overwatch 2. He thinks so too Game Pass is frowned upon by publishers Who would see this as a loss of earnings and a “value destroyer”? However, he admitted that while he didn’t like the Starfield and Redfall exclusives, they weren’t anti-competitive.
• In October 2019Matt Booty sent an email suggesting that Microsoft has the funds “eliminate Sony” through buyouts and Game Pass. However, keep in mind that this predates Activision’s acquisition process This commercial aggressiveness no longer seems appropriate.
• Microsoft wanted to buy Square Enix in 2019 ! The aim was to establish oneself much more directly on the Asian market and to strengthen the mobile presence.
• In May 2022, an email exchange took place between Phil Spencer and Jim Ryan regarding Activision games. The crux of the problem obviously lies there the arrival of the games of the first day in Game Pass and the status of the agreements already signed between Activision and Sony. We also learn that prior to the promises of a 10-year agreement, Microsoft had planned to set the contract’s end date to December 31, 2027
  . This date corresponds to the estimated release year of the 10th generation of consoles.
• Some documents provided by Sony have been heavily censored, suggesting that the development of The Last of Us Part II and Horizon: Forbidden West would have cost $220 and $212 million. Given the twist, this would eliminate sales and marketing costs
• Microsoft would have done it was interested in the idea of ​​buying SEGA. The Japanese company has officially responded, stating that it’s opposed to the idea for now, but has some of it used to strengthen bonds Advertising

Season 1: A Letter to von Future is a commercial failure, forcing Scanvengers to be fired

Developed by Scanvengers Studio, Season One: A Letter to the Future was released at the end of January. On the whole, the critics have given this storytelling adventure a very positive reception, and we can hope that the title will have an honorable success. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case and we learned from that that a large part of the studio had been laid off. It all started with a LinkedIn post from one of the 3D artists, who pointed out that he was being fired along with many of his colleagues. We talked about it then 60,000 copies soldwhich seemed consistent with the low number of reviews on Steam.

A figure that has since been confirmed by the director of the studio, Amélie Lamarche, who takes the opportunity to specify that this is the case far too low to ensure job sustainability. At the time of writing there are only 16 employees left at Scavengers, but all is not lost. The remaining employees are currently working on a new project “The goal is to create gameplay-driven games that bring people together”. But after the failures of Darwin Project and Season: A Letter to the Future, we believe this future project represents one last chance.

The Party’s Over at Niantic (Pokémon Go)

Like many companies, Niantic has significantly expanded its business during the pandemic. The return to a “normal” situation, combined with high inflation, brought everyone into contact with the reality of the market. From Meta to Microsoft these are Thousands of people have been laid off. In the case of Niantic, the situation is clear: the company has overspent relative to revenue. As a result, 230 people were thankedincluding the entire Los Angeles studio

The answer is simple: we let our expenses grow faster than our income. As sales have exploded during the COVID-19 crisis, we have increased our headcount and spending to drive growth more aggressively by expanding current game teams, our AR platform work, new games, and contributions to support our products and people. After the Corona crisis, our revenues returned to pre-pandemic levels and new projects did not generate revenues that matched these investments, says John Hanke, the CEO.

John Hanke also underscores the fact The augmented reality market is growing slower than expected and that a number of investors have jumped on the bandwagon. If the economic slowdown is partly to blame He admits these are the choices made what led to this situation. The NBA All-World game, which started last January, will close its doors while the title Marvel: World of Heroes was canceled before it hit our phones. Efforts will, of course, be focused on Pokémon GO, Niantic’s only true ATM, but Pikmin Bloom retains the studio’s trust. As for the future Monster Hunter Now, it’s still on course today.

Briefly in the news of the week

• BioWare has formalized the fact that it is no longer responsible for the future of the MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic entrusted to Broadsword Online. The studio wants to focus on its solo games Dragon Age: Dreadwolf and Mass Effect 5 (tentative name). Layoffs are planned.
• The organization of E3 2021 reduced ESA’s accounts by $6 million. Remember that the Entertainment Software Association denied the cancellations of the 2024 and 2025 editionswithout formalizing her outfit.
• An update to the Callisto Protocol updated the end titles and added a number of “forgotten” characters.
• Physical Sales by Value in France: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom dominates the 24th week of the year, ahead of F1 23 (PS5), Diablo IV (PS5), F1 23 (PS4) and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe which will of course never left the rating.
• Hi-Rez (SMITE, Paladins) has laid off nearly 30 employees after starting a restructuring process.

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