Sony’s $700 PS5 Pro, Concord’s Setback, and Ubisoft’s Challenges: Recent Developments in the Gaming Industry.

      

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    Top News Items

           Industry News   - Week 36 & 37 2024

"This week, we're switching things up with a new format: instead of our usual three top stories, we're bringing you a lightning round of all the key gaming news. Quick, sharp, and straight to the point. Let’s dive into the blitz!"

PS5 Pro Announcement: Sony announced the PS5 Pro, priced at $700, with improved performance, new graphical features, and support for 60 fps. The high price and lack of a disc drive sparked debate.

Concord's Failure: Concord, a Sony game, was pulled just 12 days after release, marking one of the worst returns on investment in gaming history. The GaaS model behind it is struggling.

Ubisoft's Financial Struggles: Ubisoft's stock hit a 10-year low due to underperforming games like Star Wars Outlaws and concerns over its live-service game xDefiant. There are talks of taking the company private.

Unity Reverses Policy: Unity scrapped its controversial "Runtime Fee" revenue model after backlash from developers and a drop in revenue, admitting it was a mistake.

GameStop Decline: GameStop’s revenue decreased by 45% in Q2 2024. Despite a small profit, the company is struggling, with steep losses in hardware and software sales.

Microsoft Layoffs: Microsoft laid off 650 employees, mostly from Activision Blizzard and Bethesda. The company also criticized Apple’s fees for hindering its cloud gaming on iOS.

Destiny 2's Player Base Decline: Destiny 2’s player base on Steam dropped to its lowest ever, with Bungie planning two paid expansion packs to revive interest.

Martyn Ware vs. Rockstar: Musician Martyn Ware criticized Rockstar for offering a low fee for including a song in GTA 6, pointing out the massive profits from GTA 5.

Warhammer 40K Space Marine II Success: The game saw strong sales with 2 million players in 24 hours and a "Very Positive" rating on Steam.

Annapurna Interactive Mass Resignations: All employees at Annapurna Interactive resigned after leadership tried to take the company independent from its founder.

Steam Families Launched: Steam officially launched a feature allowing account and game sharing between family members and friends.

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       New games

      Weeks commencing Monday 2 September 2024

Date Title Platform(s) Genre(s) Developer(s) Publisher(s)
Sept 2 Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail Win, Mac, PS4, PS5, XSX MMORPG Square Enix Square Enix
  The First Descendant Win, PS4, PS5, XBO, XSX Action role-playing, third-person shooter Nexon Nexon
  Resident Evil 7: Biohazard Mac, iOS Survival horror Capcom Capcom
Sept 4 Dragon Saikyou Ou Zukan: Battle Colosseum[a] NS Simulation Nippon Columbia Nippon Columbia
  Fate Seeker II[c] PS5 Action role-playing JSL Entertainment Justdan International
  River Tails: Stronger Together NS Platform Kid Onion Studio Gravity Game Arise
  Run for Money: The Great Mission[a] NS Action D3 Publisher D3 Publisher
  Zenless Zone Zero Win, iOS, Droid, PS5 Action role-playing, hack and slash miHoYo CHN: miHoYo
WW:Cognosphere
Sept 5   Cyber Citizen Shockman Zero NS, PS4, PS5, XBO, XSX Action platformer, beat 'em up Masaya Games, Shinyuden Ratalaika Games
  The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak[c] Win, NS, PS4, PS5 Role-playing Nihon Falcom NIS America
  Machi Koro With Everyone Win, NS Digital tabletop Grounding Inc. Grounding Inc.
Sept 8 The Case of the Golden Idol XBO, XSX Adventure, puzzle Color Gray Games Playstack
Sept 9 Lifeless Moon PS4, PS5, XBO, XSX Adventure, puzzle Stage 2 Studios Serenity Forge
  Naheulbeuk's Dungeon Master NS, PS5, XSX Dungeon management simulation Artefacts Studio Dear Villagers
  Once Human Win Survival, action Starry Studio Starry Studio
Sept 11 7'scarlet[a] NS Visual novel Otomate, Toybox Idea Factory
  Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Deluxe Edition NS Air combat simulation Bandai Namco Studios Bandai Namco Entertainment
  Anger Foot Win Action Free Lives Devolver Digital
  Bleach: Brave Souls NS Beat 'em up KLabGames KLabGames
  Hookah Haze Win, NS Visual novel Acquire Aniplex
  Muv-Luv Remastered[c] NS Visual novel âge aNCHOR
  Muv-Luv AlternativeRemastered[c] NS Visual novel âge aNCHOR
  Ogre Tale NS, PS4, XBO, XSX Beat 'em up Mages Komodo
  Parasol Stars NS, PS4, PS5, XBO, XSX Platform Taito ININ Games
  Princess Maker 2Regeneration Win, NS Social simulation Bliss Brain Bliss Brain
Sept 12 Fitness Boxing feat. Hatsune Miku[d] NS Fitness, rhythm, sports Imagineer Imagineer
  Kaku: Ancient Seal Win Action-adventure Bingobell Bingobell
  The Last Alchemist Win Simulation, adventure Vile Monarch Marvelous Europe
Sept 15 B-ProjectRyusei*Fantasia[c] Win, NS Visual novel Mages PQube
  Darkest Dungeon II NS, PS4, PS5, XBO, XSX Dungeon crawler, roguelike Red Hook Studios Red Hook Studios