Cuttooth wrote:Video game sales are still quite firmly tied to hardware cycles though. They flag after a certain point in a console's lifetime then spike again once the next generation comes around. Games companies have a rich history of trying to throw new add ons or hardware revisions to get sales back up to where they want them to be, and I can't really see that changing.
Appreciate this point, perhaps Sony and MS should look to take a leaf out of Nintendo's book. The Switch provided new tech in the form of split functionality but compromised on the spec in terms of performance, allowing them to produce a cheaper machine. Sony's numbering of their consoles is possibly making a rod for their own back as people will naturally expect the PS6 to be "better" from a technical perspective than the PS5 is. The brand is global, they could simply stop numbering their systems and thereby benefit from that alone resetting the public's expectations to a degree.
Their customer base has greater financial constraints these days and are being squeezed from every possible angle. Sony need to respond to that directly instead of putting out "pro" revisions of existing consoles or a PS6 which presumably is going to cost c£600. It's just my opinion but I really do think they'd be better off creating a cheaper, more creative piece of hardware.
Dumping FIFA seems to have worked out (for the shareholders lolz) but not sure they could pull that off with something like Madden and the NFL if they wanted to? Dropping FIFA ultimately didn’t negatively impact the licensing of the game. Is paying for John Madden A) expensive and B) that valuable when you’ve got a monopoly on NFL games.
Cloud Imperium - developers of Star Citizen, the game that has raised around $500m from crowd-funding - has reportedly laid off staff, although numbers are not yet known. Source: Video Games Chronicle
at this rate EA are going to have respawn locked in the basement only ever making content for Apex instead of anything new or dare anyone ask for titanfall 3
One of he things that pisses me off about the Sony layoffs is that it seems to be a consequence of poor decisions made by the management of their gaming division. Their live service pivot was never going to work. Developing 2 or 3 would have been fair enough, but to greenlight, or impose 12 over a period of a few years, was moronic. Within the PS ecosystem, there simply aren't enough players to support a live service release schedule of this size. This pivot had now been significantly reversed, but the work had been done by Sony's developers, so all this work is a sunk cost. Of course this sunk costs has lead to a dip in Sony's first party output and related profits. This is not the fault of said developers, but the fault of a management imposed live service push. However, it is the workers that are paying the price for these decisions, not executives. It should always be remembered that Sony still turned a profit into the 100s of millions, so these layoffs were simply not necessary and diminishes their resources to 'fix' the mistakes made by Sony's leadership.
Sega sells Relic and will cut 240 jobs across UK studios
Creative Assembly, Sega HARDlight and Sega Europe will be impacted by the changes
Sega has sold Relic Entertainment, and will cut 240 roles across Sega Europe, Creative Assembly and Sega HARDlight
Relic is best known for the Company of Heroes and Dawn of War games, and recently developed the new Age of Empires for Microsoft. Relic will transition to an independent studio and will no-longer be part of the Sega group of studios.
The majority of the 240 job cuts are across Creative Assembly and Sega Europe, while there will be a 'small number' cut from Sega HARDLight. There was no mention of other Sega UK studios, including Two Point Studios and Sports Interactive.
Big Shakeup At Nintendo Testing Center Ahead Of Switch 2
Nintendo of America lays off some contractors while converting others to full-time employees
Nintendo of America is restructuring the small army of contractors that helps test its games and hardware in its Washington state headquarters, the company confirmed to Kotaku. According to four current and former contractors, the result is a massive downsizing that comes amid layoffs across the rest of the video game industry and after the Mario maker reportedly delayed the launch of a “Switch 2" successor until 2025.
“These changes will involve some contractor assignments ending, as well as the creation of a significant number of new full-time employee positions,” a spokesperson for Nintendo told Kotaku in an email. Contractors at Nintendo of America who feel undervalued and underpaid have long called on the company to make them full-time “red badge” employees instead of exploiting loopholes in seasonal work requirements. While some of them are now finally getting converted to direct hires, others, including testers with over 10 years of experience, are getting the boot, though Nintendo says everyone impacted will receive severance packages.
When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for Nintendo provided the following statement.
"Nintendo of America (NOA) has reorganized its Product Testing functions to drive greater global integration in game development efforts. The changes will also better align NOA with interregional testing procedures and operations.
These changes will involve some contractor assignments ending, as well as the creation of a significant number of new full-time employee positions. For all assignments that are ending, the contractors’ agencies, with NOA’s support, will offer severance packages and provide assistance during their transition.
For those contractor associates who will be leaving us, we are tremendously grateful for the important contributions they’ve made to our business, and we extend our heartfelt thanks for their hard work and service to Nintendo."
It’s not immediately clear how many total employees will be let go or not have their contracts renewed. According to four current and former employees, the restructuring could affect over 100 contractors, and most of those being converted to full-time status appear to be getting moved out of software testing. This would be the first mass layoff at Nintendo since even larger-scale cuts across competitors in the console space like Sony and Microsoft earlier this year, though it doesn’t appear to impact any existing full-time employees.
The shift also comes during a recent “lull” in Nintendo of America’s testing department, three contractors told Kotaku. They said there had been no new major first-party games in the testing pipeline, and none of them were aware of anyone having hands-on time with the upcoming Switch 2, despite previous hopes that it would arrive as early as the second half of 2024. They also weren’t sure how Nintendo of America could continue to test massive games like last year’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which was praised for its technical performance and lack of bugs, with the new cuts. Nintendo declined to comment on the status of its testing pipeline.
Big Shakeup At Nintendo Testing Center Ahead Of Switch 2
Nintendo of America lays off some contractors while converting others to full-time employees
Nintendo of America is restructuring the small army of contractors that helps test its games and hardware in its Washington state headquarters, the company confirmed to Kotaku. According to four current and former contractors, the result is a massive downsizing that comes amid layoffs across the rest of the video game industry and after the Mario maker reportedly delayed the launch of a “Switch 2" successor until 2025.
“These changes will involve some contractor assignments ending, as well as the creation of a significant number of new full-time employee positions,” a spokesperson for Nintendo told Kotaku in an email. Contractors at Nintendo of America who feel undervalued and underpaid have long called on the company to make them full-time “red badge” employees instead of exploiting loopholes in seasonal work requirements. While some of them are now finally getting converted to direct hires, others, including testers with over 10 years of experience, are getting the boot, though Nintendo says everyone impacted will receive severance packages.
When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for Nintendo provided the following statement.
"Nintendo of America (NOA) has reorganized its Product Testing functions to drive greater global integration in game development efforts. The changes will also better align NOA with interregional testing procedures and operations.
These changes will involve some contractor assignments ending, as well as the creation of a significant number of new full-time employee positions. For all assignments that are ending, the contractors’ agencies, with NOA’s support, will offer severance packages and provide assistance during their transition.
For those contractor associates who will be leaving us, we are tremendously grateful for the important contributions they’ve made to our business, and we extend our heartfelt thanks for their hard work and service to Nintendo."
It’s not immediately clear how many total employees will be let go or not have their contracts renewed. According to four current and former employees, the restructuring could affect over 100 contractors, and most of those being converted to full-time status appear to be getting moved out of software testing. This would be the first mass layoff at Nintendo since even larger-scale cuts across competitors in the console space like Sony and Microsoft earlier this year, though it doesn’t appear to impact any existing full-time employees.
The shift also comes during a recent “lull” in Nintendo of America’s testing department, three contractors told Kotaku. They said there had been no new major first-party games in the testing pipeline, and none of them were aware of anyone having hands-on time with the upcoming Switch 2, despite previous hopes that it would arrive as early as the second half of 2024. They also weren’t sure how Nintendo of America could continue to test massive games like last year’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which was praised for its technical performance and lack of bugs, with the new cuts. Nintendo declined to comment on the status of its testing pipeline.
I’m guessing once Switch 2 arrives and big first party games are coming out NoA will staff up with contractors again for testing. Seems no company is safe from these recent layoffs.
Looks like SEGA are the latest company to be making cuts. They are selling Relic Entertainment and are cutting 240 people between SEGA Europe, Creative Assembly and SEGA Hardlight
Big Shakeup At Nintendo Testing Center Ahead Of Switch 2
Nintendo of America lays off some contractors while converting others to full-time employees
Nintendo of America is restructuring the small army of contractors that helps test its games and hardware in its Washington state headquarters, the company confirmed to Kotaku. According to four current and former contractors, the result is a massive downsizing that comes amid layoffs across the rest of the video game industry and after the Mario maker reportedly delayed the launch of a “Switch 2" successor until 2025.
“These changes will involve some contractor assignments ending, as well as the creation of a significant number of new full-time employee positions,” a spokesperson for Nintendo told Kotaku in an email. Contractors at Nintendo of America who feel undervalued and underpaid have long called on the company to make them full-time “red badge” employees instead of exploiting loopholes in seasonal work requirements. While some of them are now finally getting converted to direct hires, others, including testers with over 10 years of experience, are getting the boot, though Nintendo says everyone impacted will receive severance packages.
When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for Nintendo provided the following statement.
"Nintendo of America (NOA) has reorganized its Product Testing functions to drive greater global integration in game development efforts. The changes will also better align NOA with interregional testing procedures and operations.
These changes will involve some contractor assignments ending, as well as the creation of a significant number of new full-time employee positions. For all assignments that are ending, the contractors’ agencies, with NOA’s support, will offer severance packages and provide assistance during their transition.
For those contractor associates who will be leaving us, we are tremendously grateful for the important contributions they’ve made to our business, and we extend our heartfelt thanks for their hard work and service to Nintendo."
It’s not immediately clear how many total employees will be let go or not have their contracts renewed. According to four current and former employees, the restructuring could affect over 100 contractors, and most of those being converted to full-time status appear to be getting moved out of software testing. This would be the first mass layoff at Nintendo since even larger-scale cuts across competitors in the console space like Sony and Microsoft earlier this year, though it doesn’t appear to impact any existing full-time employees.
The shift also comes during a recent “lull” in Nintendo of America’s testing department, three contractors told Kotaku. They said there had been no new major first-party games in the testing pipeline, and none of them were aware of anyone having hands-on time with the upcoming Switch 2, despite previous hopes that it would arrive as early as the second half of 2024. They also weren’t sure how Nintendo of America could continue to test massive games like last year’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which was praised for its technical performance and lack of bugs, with the new cuts. Nintendo declined to comment on the status of its testing pipeline.
I’m guessing once Switch 2 arrives and big first party games are coming out NoA will staff up with contractors again for testing. Seems no company is safe from these recent layoffs.
The fact they're converting most to full time staff though is at least something though thankfully.
Certain Affinity - the renowned Texas-based support studio most recently reported to be working on a Halo battle royale project for Microsoft - has announced a round of layoffs, which will see 25 employees lose their jobs.
CEO Max Hoberman confirmed the layoffs - which equate to around 10 percent of Certain Affinity's approximately 250 employees - in a post on the studio's website, explaining the cuts predominantly impact members of its business operations teams in the US. Those affected will receive severance pay and benefits continuation, as well as "vested awards under our Stock Equity Plan portable so they may benefit from the company’s success in the future".
Certain Affinity - the renowned Texas-based support studio most recently reported to be working on a Halo battle royale project for Microsoft - has announced a round of layoffs, which will see 25 employees lose their jobs.
CEO Max Hoberman confirmed the layoffs - which equate to around 10 percent of Certain Affinity's approximately 250 employees - in a post on the studio's website, explaining the cuts predominantly impact members of its business operations teams in the US. Those affected will receive severance pay and benefits continuation, as well as "vested awards under our Stock Equity Plan portable so they may benefit from the company’s success in the future".
That Battle Royale has been cancelled AFAIK but they are helping on the current maps and the next mainline Halo title plus they have their own new IP coming.
rinks wrote:Everyone bandwagoning while it’s a good time to bury bad news.
I said this months ago.
Larian Studios' publishing director, Micheal Douse, has commented on the recent wave of current industry layoffs, calling the mass redundancies "avoidable" and suggesting "none of these companies are at risk of going bankrupt".
"[The layoffs] are an avoidable fu*k-up," Douse said. "That's all they really are. That's why you see one after the other. Because companies are going: 'Well, finally. Now we can, too. We've wanted to do it for ages. Everyone else is. So why don't we?' That's really kind of sick.
