With the speed at which news comes out in the gaming industry we sometimes miss important or news worthy things. Some of these things we want to talk about in a way that is both easy for you guys and allows us to get all the facts together as some of these stories develop quickly. Sometimes we also just cover topics that we find interesting and want to discuss.
Electronic Arts purchases Titalnfall developer Repawn for $315 Million
This week we learned that Electronic Arts has purchased the Titianfall developers Respawn entertainment. EA ha published the Titanfall games so they have been working together since 2014. You can read more about the purchase here: https://venturebeat.com/2017/11/09/electronic-arts-acquires-respawn-entertainment-455/
tacticalgaming.net
Wiggin’s thoughts on the subject : So I think it’s quite interesting that Resapwn has been purchased by EA because just some years ago Vince Zampella and Jason West were fired from Activision in regards to the direction of Call of Duty. It appeared to me that when they wanted to create Respawn they had the intention of going out on their own and creating the types of games they wanted to make. So it comes as quite a surprise to me to hear that they now have been purchased by a company that is now infamous for acquiring game studios and eventually shutting them down. We only have to look back a couple months to see the writing on the wall. Just seems like a strange decision to allow yourself to be purchased by Electronic Arts. Maybe they will take up the helm of that Star Wars game Visceral Games was working and finish it. I wish them the best of luck because if things don’t go well for the developer I see EA quickly canning them as well.
Ubisoft’s Q2 finical earnings report shows microtransactions surpassing digital games sales
An article on TechPowerUP shows that Ubisoft digital revenue has increased by 69% and ” Ubisoft says that Player Recurring Investment (PRI), or the sale of in-game items, DLC, season passes, and subscriptions, increased by a staggering 83% year-over-year, being responsible for €175 million (~$202.6 million) earned during the first two quarters of the year. This amounts to a cool 51% of total digital income, which means that actual digital games sales earned less than DLCs and microtransactions.” This imperially shows that while many gamers that let their negative feelings about microtransactions be know, the company that makes single player games that feature them are still raking in the cash.
thegamefanatics.com
Wiggin’s thoughts on the subject : I find this fascinating because I for one am holey against microtrasactiosn and feel we should go back to the days of expansion packs and more feature complete DLC. In stark contrast to that here we have Ubisoft informing me that not only do people not hate microtransatcions as much as they say they do, but they are making them a huge amount of money. In the long run this is just another nail in the coffin for more traditional expansion packs for games because any company can now go and see that Ubisoft is making a boat load of money and incorporate microtransactions into their game without wondering if they are successful or not. The direction gaming is heading doesn’t make me excited, instead it reiterates this sadness that has I’ve felt since the “games as a service” model has come into play. All this does is prove that it works.
