Nintendo expects the Switch to become its best-selling console ever

The Nintendo Switch might be entering its golden years, but Nintendo believes the console will make history in the current fiscal year.The Japanese company expects the Switch to sell another 13.5 million units before April 2025. With the device having just topped 141.3 million lifetime sales, that would take the Switch to 154.8 million units sold—allowing it to squeeze past the Nintendo DS to become the company's best-selling console of all time.Nintendo shared the forecast in its fiscal report for the full-year ended March 31, 2024, and revealed that net sales increased by 4.4 percent year-over-year to 1.67 trillion yen ($10.8 billion). Net profit increased by 13.4 percent to 490.6 billion yen ($3.17 billion) during that time.That consolidated upswing came despite Switch hardware a…

Brazilian government signs new bill to foster growth for country’s devs

A new bill in Brazil has redefined video games in the country in an effort to grow its slice of the game industry. As spotted by GamesIndustry, the Legal Framework for Game bill was first lobbied in part by games trade body Abragames in 2022.The bill was signed last week by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and will chiefly "foster sector growth [and] create jobs," wrote senator Leila Barros. She and fellow senator Flávio Arns helped lobby the bill alongside Abragames, Brazilian studios, and regional associations.Barros went on to say the new bill will give the Brazilian game industry "more visibility and legal certainty." Outside of games, she hopes the bill will "combat illicit activities and reduce tax burdens."A recent study conducted by Abragames and …

Steam suddenly banned in Vietnam

Days ago, Steam was banned entirely in Vietnam, and it's unclear as to why.Vietnamese players took to Steam forums, saying all of the country's internet providers blocked access to both Valve's app and browser. One commenter said they spoke to someone who claimed the order came "from above."At time of writing, neither Valve or anyone from Vietnam's government have spoken on the matter.Per a translated story from VietnamNet, the ban may be connected to domestic publishers. A representative for one domestic publisher claimed Steam can put out games in the country without having to seek permission from the local government like Vietnamese developers have to.According to them, Valve's alleged ability to break the rules is "an injustice to domestic publis…

Nintendo kills X integration for Switch in June

Nintendo finally called it: come June 10, the Switch will no longer have integration with X, the app formerly known as Twitter.After that date, players will no longer be able to post screenshots and videos from the console. Likewise, players won't be able to send friend requests to people they follow who appear in their Suggested list on the Switch.Last year, Microsoft and Sony did away with X integration for their respective consoles. Access to X's API is fairly pricey at $42,000 per month, prompting the three console makers (and Blizzard) to pull back.Nintendo added that this'll affect how posting works for Splatoon 2 and 3, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For Splatoon 3, players will be able to transfer pictures via their phones, or to their PC via USB cable.

Water is wet, the pope is Catholic, and Reality Labs continues to lose billions

Meta's virtual, augmented, and mixed reality business, Reality Labs, lost $3.84 billion during the first quarter of the current fiscal year. But that's just business as usual for the division, which reported losses of $16.1 billion and $13.7 billion across 2023 and 2022, respectively.Facebook parent Meta shared the news in its fiscal report for the first-quarter ended March 31, 2024, and noted that Reality Labs revenue totalled $440 million. That represents a year-on-year increase of 30 percent and was driven by Meta Quest headset sales.Although the unit lost over $3.84 billion dollars during Q1, that's actually a slight improvement on the near $4 billion loss it recorded this time last year.Meta CFO Susan Li expects Reality Labs' losses to "increase meaningfully&q…

Before Your Eyes writer-directors open new studio Nice Dream

The co-creators of BAFTA-winning narrative adventure Before Your Eyes have formed a new studio called Nice Dream.The studio was co-founded by Graham Parkes and Oliver Lewin, who both served as writers and directors on Before Your Eyes. Parkes explained the pair want to create emotionally engaging titles that "push the limits of what interactive storytelling can do."

Enter Goodnight Universe

Nice Dream's debut project will be Goodnight Universe, a spiritual successor to Before Your Eyes with a sci-fi twist. "Goodnight Universe will fuse impactful storytelling with mechanics that push the boundaries of interactive entertainment," reads a press release.&quot…

Screen Australia launches new fund to support game festivals and events

Screen Australia has launched a new Game Festivals and Events Fund to support the production, organization, and presentation of video game festivals and events in the region.The government-backed funding body said the new initiative is about enabling events that "significantly benefit the Australian gamemaking community."The Game Festivals and Events Fund will permit applicants to request up to $100,000 to finance their proposed festivals, conferences, workshops, and events. A minimum of $10,000 must be requested. Applications will remain open until the funding pool has been depleted.Those who apply will be told whether they have been successful within four to six weeks of submission. Screen Australia explained eligible applicants must be able to discuss the vision, scope, and ou…

PopReach Games’ India studio acquired by Phoenix Games

Publisher Phoenix Games purchased PopReach Games India from original owner Ionik in a deal valued at $9.8 billion.The Bengaluru, India-based studio specializes in live operations, and holds 100 people on staff. Phoenix plans to use the team to "enhance" its own live ops capabilities for its free-to-play titles.Phoenix and Ionik's deal also means it now owns a number of properties and mobile games. Those titles, which have accrued 420 million lifetime downloads, include Smurfs Magic Match, Gardens of Time, and Kitchen Scramble.“We look forward to elevating these games to new heights with our proprietary Uplift platform," said Phoenix CEO Klaas Kersting, "and exciting new game experiences that we can craft around them."

Resolution appoints Johan Gastrin as CTO to expand into spatial computing

Swedish studio Resolution Games has named Johan Gästrin as its new chief technology officer (CTO) to make headway in the growing spatial computing market.Gästrin previously served as Resolution's head of technology and has spent 25 years in the video game and tech industries, plying his trade at mobile powerhouse King and global retailer H&M before joining the studio.Resolution is known for working on VR and AR titles like Demeo, Racket Club, Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs, and Game Room, the latter of which was recently ported to the Apple Vision Pro. Gästrin worked on all of those projects and has also created a Shared Tech department within the company, facilitating the creation of its proprietary technology platform 'Fidelity' and the Resolution Tech studio located …

Take-Two is making layoffs weeks after dropping $460M on Gearbox Interactive

Grand Theft Auto maker Take-Two Interactive is reducing its headcount by 5 percent as part of a cost reduction program that was announced earlier this year.The U.S. publisher, which just spent $460 million to acquire Gearbox Interactive from Embracer, said it wants to "identify efficiencies across its business and enhance the company’s margin profile, while still investing for growth.""As part of these efforts, the company is rationalizing its pipeline and eliminating several projects in development and streamlining its organizational structure, which will eliminate headcount and reduce future hiring needs," added Take-Two in an SEC filing."The company estimates that it will incur approximately $160 million to $200 million in total charges in connection with the …