Hollywood & Games returns to Los Angeles on December 10, bringing together 250+ executives, founders, investors and decision-makers at the Grammy Museum's Clive Davis Theater. Explore the business of entertainment's biggest partnership through independent, journalist-led conversations on IP, investment, storytelling and new opportunities across gaming and Hollywood. Space is limited. Secure your seat today.
This week, Activision reveals strong first quarter earnings while Blizzard loses 1.3 million World of Warcraft subscribers, EA lays off 1,000 but expects to develop Disney’s Star Wars games, indie charity drive Hunble Bundle now accepts the virtual currency Bitcoin, and the Amazon Appstore beats Google to distributing paid apps in China.
We’ve also got a lot of previews for you, including Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Deadpool, and Watch Dogs, and reviews of Star Trek and Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move.
News
- The DeanBeat: Why Nintendo should have bought Ouya and other might-have-beens
- Brenda Romero’s Train board game will make you ponder the Holocaust
- Warner Bros. gets a new digital games chief
- Battlefield 3 servers under DDoS attack; DICE ‘working around the clock’
- Sony insists the PlayStation 4 won’t kill its bottom line as the PS3 did
- Death by dubstep: Saints Row IV demo reveals gameplay and weapons
- Assassin’s Creed mastermind Patrice Désilets claims Ubisoft fired him
- After 1,000 layoffs, EA could find itself short-handed for Star Wars games (analysis)
- Xseed Games unites with Marvelous U.S.A. for bigger mobile and online presence
- Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon director already considering the sequel
Mobile news
- Mobile game Airport Scanner helping TSA officers screen luggage more accurately
- BlueStacks steps into gaming with Gamepop — a Netflix for mobile games
- Beware the Angry Bulls: Zynga launches Running With Friends
- Amazon Appstore invades China, beats Google itself to paid apps
- PlayScape partners with Amazon for custom content on the Appstore
Tech
- With $3.2M in funding, Dekko unveils a clever tech to insert animations into the real world
- Sony to begin making PlayStation 3 in Brazil
- Sims creator Will Wright: Next consoles can become ‘connective tissue’ between games & entertainment
- Ouya spills its guts for repair firm iFixit
Strange happenings
- Download version of Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D requires at least a 4GB SD card
- Humble Bundle now accepts the Bitcoin digital currency
- World of Warcraft loses 1.3 million subscribers
- Diablo III patch glitch results in gold duping that breaks auction house (UPDATED)
- Dota 2 replaces World of Warcraft as Raptr’s third most-played game
- SimCity moves 1.6 million copies despite troubled launch
- Star Wars: Battlefront III footage leaks online
Fighting words
Fund it
- Crowdfunding for Eternal Darkness successor off to sluggish start
- Cryptozoic launches Kickstarter for Hex: Shards of Fate online trading card game
Earnings
- Not all game companies are hurting: Nexon posts strong Q1 results
- PlayStation a nonfactor in Sony’s first profit in 5 years
- Activision Blizzard says Call of Duty: Ghosts will be a huge launch, but stock falls on weak Warcraft numbers
- Activision blows away first quarter earnings targets, raises estimates for year
- EA misses slightly on revised earnings but hits its revenue targets
Safeguarding the future
- Activision ups marketing over fears of Battlefield 4, Disney Infinity, and Dota 2
- Sony teases something new for Gran Turismo; reveal coming May 15
- EA scores a licensing agreement to lock up FIFA brand until 2022
- EA has 11 big titles, 15 mobile games coming in the next year (but no Star Wars)
Previews
- Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs highlights the down side of smart cities (preview)
- Watch Dogs creates an open-world morality (preview)
- Katanas, daggers, and guns are no match for Deadpool’s mouth (preview)
- Splinter Cell: Blacklist’s co-op mission feels more like a solo op (Preview)
- Splinter Cell: Blacklist sneaks in new and classic Spies vs. Mercs modes (Preview)
Reviews
- Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move is a puzzler with delightful variety (review)
- The crew of the Enterprise finds an unremarkable shooter in Star Trek (review)
Interviews
Pieces of flair