This podcast deals with the shady dealings of a Kickstarter — no Gaming Flashback this week though.
The news includes:
Let us know what you think.
The gaming podcast crew takes a look back at Ultima Online and a bit of history on Kirby, that crazy pink mascot. This weeks gaming news includes:
PS2 the most played console of 2008This weeks soap box we’re talking about gaming in the workplace, wouldn’t you want a Rock Band tournament? Also, ton of user comments this week — keep them coming!
Gamers around the world are going to feel the pain in the 2009 holiday season after the economy shakes apart many great development studios. Electronic Arts feels the pain of being a public company as their investors complain about lackluster revenue, THQ deals with closing studios to extend their runway and other firms will lose more headcount in the coming months.
It’s not all bad. But, it’s going to get ugly before it gets better.
The financial market has played tricks on everyone in our global economy and companies across all industries are going to feel a bit of a tightening around the belt. Investors are shaken and doing their best to protect their investments and cutting loose those that aren’t projecting profits in the near future. Game studios are going to slow their financial burn rates, trim a bit of the fat and hunker down the long term. The end result, next years holiday season will have a few less games because those games are being dropped to the floor now.
Mid-sized studios within larger firms may find their projects canceled or put on hold and their employees re-structured or let go while big studios assess what projects will make the long haul. This is the ugly side of the business, having to make a decision on what games stay and what games go with the grief of having to tell some of your best talent “goodbye.”
The bad part of the industry is occurring today, with publishers posting mediocre profits and trying to convince their investors to be patient and trust they’ve got a firm hold on their destiny. The game industry is not alone in this, many firms are reducing head count and many startups are finding themselves without series A or B funding; they’re closing their doors because the money is being directed to more stable ventures.
What’s the good in all of this?
This week’s episode features a report by Jonah Falcon from Toy Fair NY, raving about the co-op board gane version of Dark Souls. T.J. continues to rave about Nioh and Scott texted while the podcast was going on, but you’ll have to wait for an outtakes episode to hear that story.
This week’s news includes:
Let us know what you think.
