Tag: Games

Ceremonies chief sacked on eve of troubled Tokyo Olympics

  by Talek HARRIS Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The director of the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony was fired for jokes about the Holocaust on Thursday, causing fresh embarrassment a day before the pandemic-delayed Games finally get under way. The latest row involving a senior Games figure comes at a time of widespread opposition to the 2020 Olympics as Tokyo battles its highest number of coronavirus cases since January. Japan’s Covid-19 crisis has […]

Mario mugs, Zelda tote bags as Nintendo opens first Tokyo store

  TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Nintendo this week throws open the doors to its first bricks-and-mortar store in Tokyo, offering everything from Super Mario mugs to Zelda handbags as part of a new gaming complex in the heart of the city. Set in a refashioned department store on one floor just minutes from the famed “scramble crossing” in Shibuya district, the giant retail space also includes shops selling merchandise from some of the biggest names […]

Hawks ace Collins banned 25 games for doping: NBA

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Atlanta Hawks ace John Collins has been suspended for 25 games after testing positive for a growth hormone, the NBA said Tuesday. The 22-year-old power forward was hit with a suspension after growth hormone-releasing peptide 2 (GHRP-2) was found in his system, the league said in a statement. The suspension is effective immediately, meaning Collins will miss Atlanta’s clash with the San Antonio Spurs later Tuesday. “I understand the […]

Microsoft gives glimpse of new Xbox console

by Glenn CHAPMAN LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Microsoft on Sunday gave the world a first glimpse of a powerful next-generation Xbox gaming console that it aims to release late next year. Xbox head Phil Spencer pulled back the curtain on “Project Scarlett,” the creation of a successor to the Xbox One that will give game makers “the power they need to bring their creative visions to life.” No pricing plans for the new […]

Sony nine-month net profit soars on games, music

Japanese electronics giant Sony said on Friday that nine-month net profit jumped 63.2 percent on-year, led by its games and music divisions, while tax benefits allowed the firm to raise its annual forecast. But the electronics and entertainment giant lowered its annual sales forecast, citing slower-than-expected sales in a range of fields including the key semiconductor unit. The company said its April-December net profit reached 828.4 billion yen ($7.6 billion), while operating profit rose 13.9 […]

Nintendo says nine-month profit up nearly 25%, lifted by strong titles

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Nintendo said Thursday its net profit jumped nearly 25 percent for the nine months to December, riding out the crucial holiday season thanks to blockbuster game titles for its popular Switch console. The Kyoto-based games giant said its bottom-line profit rose 24.9 percent to 168.8 billion yen ($1.6 billion) for the April-December period on sales of 997.3 billion yen, up 16.4 percent. “During the holiday season, software was a great driver […]

US video game industry scored $43.4 bn record sales in 2018

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — From “Fortnite” to “Pokemon Go,” play in the US drove video-game industry revenue to a record-setting $43.4 billion last year, according to data released Tuesday. Spending on games in the US in 2018 climbed 18 percent from the previous year, according to figures from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and market tracker NPD Group. “Whether it was playing on the go on a mobile device or at home on a PC […]

Nintendo first-quarter profits up 44 pct to $275 mn on Switch sales

TOKYO, Japan (AFP)–Nintendo said Tuesday its quarterly net profit jumped 43.9 percent year-on-year to $275 million, driven by the global popularity of its Switch console and game titles. The Kyoto-based game giant reported net profit for the three months to June of 30.6 billion yen ($275 million), with operating profit soaring 88.4 percent to 30.5 billion yen. It said sales were up 9.1 percent to 168.16 billion yen, and it  expects strong demand for the […]

Ubisoft sees blockbusters shaped by fans and stars

by Glen Chapman Agence France-Presse LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — French video game giant Ubisoft is teaming up with a firm founded by actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt to crowd source material for a forthcoming title, the companies announced Monday on the eve of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). Ubisoft has long tapped into feedback from players while designing games, but the latest step will allow some to make content woven into scenes. An invitation to collaborate […]

Microsoft looks past next-gen Xbox to cloud games

  LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The head of Xbox on Sunday said Microsoft is hard at work on a next-generation console along with a cloud service that would let players stream games to any device. Microsoft is adding five new game studios, one it is creating in Southern California and another four it is buying, Xbox team chief Phil Spencer said. “We are making one of our greatest single year’s investments in teams by […]

NY museum commemorates Olympics with Korean exhibition

by Jennie MATTHEW Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The Winter Olympics are being watched for many things: sporting excellence, of course, but also for headway on the US-North Korea nuclear stand-off and even tentative rapprochements between Seoul and Pyongyang. In New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is commemorating the Games with an exhibition of Korean art, much of it displayed for the first time in the United States, and which introduces […]

Google ‘cloud’ grows with new undersea data cables

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Google on Tuesday said it is adding three new undersea data cables as it continues to bulk up its ability to power cloud services around the world. The US internet behemoth has spent $30 billion improving its infrastructure during the past three years and “we’re not done yet,” according to cloud platform vice president Ben Treynor Sloss. Fast, reliable internet connections have become imperative as games, social networks, television, […]