The GamesIndustry.biz Microcast

Haydn, Chris and Brendan are on hand to talk through some of the latest industry news, starting out with the messy story of Video Game Tax Relief in the UK. It was revealed earlier last week that global games companies had claimed millions upon millions in tax relief, sparking a debate about whether the scheme was working as intended.  Meanwhile, Monument Valley developer Ustwo Games faced accusations of union busting after it allegedly fired key programmer Austin Kelmore over his involvement in Game Workers Unite.  Finally, Sony announced a considerable price cut for its game streaming service PlayStation Now, and we discuss Sony's tendency to merely dabble with new toys, rather than commit wholeheartedly like rival Microsoft.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt, Brendan, and Rebekah are on hand this week to discuss all the hottest industry haps, starting with the Oculus Quest.  Accounting for 20% of Oculus' $100 million lifetime revenue from software in just a few short months, the Quest appears to be a resounding success. Things are looking more positive already though, after Oculus announced it was adding hand-tracking to the hardware as a free update.  It's been a big week over at Nintedno's house too though, following the launch of the Switch Lite and Mario Kart World Tour, which seems to represent Nintendo at both its best and most clueless at the same time.  Mario Kart World Tour has been a record-breaking mobile game for Nintendo in terms of downloads, but lots of questions still linger about whether its controversial monetisation model will find traction with players.  Meanwhile, the Nintendo Switch Lite launched to glowing reviews, only to be mired in the Joy-Con drift fiasco (unfortunately the podcast was recorded before that news broke and so isn't mentioned). Even so, there's still plenty of evidence to suggest that the 2019 holiday period for Nintendo is going to be a real success; Nintendo has both the cheapest and newest hardware on the market this Christmas, and a new Pokémon game arriving in November.       Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James, Matt, Rebekah and Haydn are on hand to discuss the biggest news of the past week, starting with the future of E3. The emergence of a pitch deck from the ESA gives some insight into the direction the trade body would like to take the industry's premier showcase, but mentions of celebrities, influencers and "queuetainment" are raising more than a few eyebrows. Next, we weigh up the potential for Apple Arcade and whether it's the saviour of premium mobile games -- or their last chance. We also touch on indie and mobile pricing, and the value consumers place in ownership versus the convenience of subscription. Finally, we discuss Sports Interactive's new eco-friendly packaging for Football Manager and the challenge from studio director's Miles Jacobson for all major entertainment firms -- including console platform holders -- to adopt a similar approach.  (Interestingly, since we recorded, both PlayStation and Xbox have signed up to the United Nations' Playing For The Planet Alliance, but there's been no mention of ditching plastic boxes so far) As always, you can get your daily dose of news, insight and analysis into the world behind video games at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a smaller team this week, but no less meatier a discussion. Haydn and Brendan debate the potential fallout from the DCMS committee's recommendations that the UK government regulate loot boxes under gambling laws. While these remain recommendations at the moment and are not enforceable laws, it's nonetheless a concerning direction for the ongoing debate around how the games industry monetises its audience.  We discuss the various responses to the report, the implications such laws might have for the industry and how this latest news, when combined with headlines of crunch, abuse, mass layoffs and more, is not painting the best picture for the games industry. As always, you can find more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a troubling week in the games industry following multiple abuse allegations, we’re back with a lighter episode of the GamesIndustry.biz Podcast.  Haydn pulls hosting duty this week, joined by Brendan and Chris to discuss the absolute bumper pack of announcements from Nintendo’s latest Direct, and reminisce about the Dreamcast glory days.  On Wednesday, Nintendo wheeled out a barrel-load of announcements that didn’t warrant much on their own, but combined shows the platform holder continuing to invest in varied experiences for Switch owners.  We got classic Nintendo titles, more details on upcoming games, and the bizarre new Switch Hoop, which feels very on-brand for Nintendo. Whether it will be able to emulate the success of products like Wii Fit or Wii Sports remains to be seen, however.  From there, things took a curious turn as Chris and Brendan regaled Haydn with all the antediluvian wonders of the Sega Dreamcast, which is today enjoying its 20th birthday in North America. Feel free to celebrate this momentous occasion however you please. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Though marginally delayed thanks to the UK taking a day off on Monday, the GamesIndustry.biz Podcast has arrived.  Gathering around the podcast campfire this week is Rebekah, Matt, Brendan, and Haydn who dive into all the industry happenings last week.  Kicking off, a discussion about Game Informer editorial cuts in the wake of mass layoffs at parent company GameStop turns into a wider debate about what it takes for print media and online publishing to survive in 2019.  Following that, the team get wrapped up discussing cloud gaming, streaming, and the news that both Sony and Microsoft have made similar noises around forgoing platform exclusivity with some of their first-party titles.  Finally, we wrap things up with a chat about the inaugural Gamescom: Opening Night Live, what place it has in the industry, and where it sits in the debate surrounding publishers missing E3.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebekah, Matt, Chris and Haydn weigh in on one of the most divisive topics currently discussed across the industry: the relationships between politics and games. As our contributing editor Rob Fahey recently wrote, simply asking 'Is you game political?' misses the nuances of a deeper conversation that could be had about the evolution of video games and their place in the world. We explore those nuances, and ponder why this misinformed questions has become so prevalent when the media meets with AAA developers. We also discuss Nintendo's mobile strategy and the platform holder's ongoing struggles to tame the most lucrative gaming sector -- particularly in the wake of Dr Mario World's slower-than-expected launch. Finally, we use this as a starting point to share which Nintendo IP -- existing or invented by us -- that we'd like to see come to mobile. As always, you can get your daily dose of news, insight and analysis into the world behind video games at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebekah, Brendan, Chris and Haydn are on hand for this bumper episode to discuss a long, complicated and frustrating week in the games industry. We start with the leak of thousands of journalists, analysts and content creators' personal information -- including phone numbers and postal addresses -- via E3 media lists. We discuss the ESA's handling of the situation, the impact it may have on next year's E3, and the potential for abuse against those affected. From one form of abuse to another, we discuss the vitriol directed at the indie developers behind Ooblets, and how the team has addressed it. The cause of such anger? Why, Epic Games Store exclusivity of course. Then we discuss the fallout from the weekend's two mass shooting in the US, which has somehow inevitably (but tenuously) been linked to video games. (To the point where, just hours after recording, it emerged that Walmart was pulling displays and demos for violent games from its stores) Finally, Brendan and Rebekah recap the revelations of the FTC workshop on loot boxes, including news that Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft will now require all developers and publishers to declare their odds for loot drops. All of this while watching our language. Mostly. As always, you can get your daily dose of news, analysis and insight into the world behind video games at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebekah pulls hosting duties again, joined by Matt, Brendan and Haydn.  This week we discuss the future of Improbable and SpatialOS after another game built using the tech gets cancelled. It's got potential, but developers are struggling to deliver.  Also on the agenda is Rockstar's questionable tax returns, following a report from investigative think thank TaxWatch UK, which found the Grand Theft Auto V developer hasn't paid any corporation tax in ten years, while also claiming £42m in Video Game Tax Relief.  Finally, what does the future hold for esports? The Fortnite World Cup showed there's plenty of money floating around, plenty of fans hungry for content, but how sustainable is it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebekah, Brendan, Chris and James are on hand to discuss some of the biggest industry stories of the week, starting with (yet again) crunch. We reflect on Brendan's fascinating interview with creative director Lorne Lanning about the irony of Oddworld: a game that focuses on the exploitation of workers at a time when developers themselves were frequently exploited.  Talking about what (if anything) has improved leads to another hard look at the impact of crunch on the industry, the potential solutions, and how it takes time for attitudes towards exploitative working practices -- even our own -- to change. Then we talk about the comically perfect timing of Rockstar's big casino update for Grand Theft Auto Online, arriving amidst ongoing worldwide discussions about gambling and video games. Is this a sign of the developer's attitude towards such scrutiny, or has the conversation around monetisation models become too sensitive? Finally, we touch on the Joy-Con drifting issues experienced by Switch owners, triggering a class action lawsuit against Nintendo. Oh, and it's very important that everyone know how much Brendan loves the GameCube controller. As always, you can get your daily news, analysis and insight into the world behind video games at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices