Nintendo has changed it's tournament community rules to exclude gamers with accessibility requirements, and more stories today on Thursday 26th October 2023.

INDUSTRY

Nintendo’s new tournament controller rules are ‘a huge step back for accessibility’, it’s claimed | VGC (videogameschronicle.com)

Nintendo is shaking up its Community Tournament Guidelines to lock down issues it has with the current protocols, but it has had an unintended consequence to a large sub-section of the gaming community.

New rules added to tournaments with Nintendo games are a 200-participant cap on events, banning the sale of goods, banning third-party compensation after sponsorship and players can no longer use third-party controllers.

It's this last stipulation that has the accessibility community in uproar. You might be aware the Nintendo Switch joycons aren't the easiest controllers to handle - this is significant for players with accessibility needs and without third-party modifications, this will exclude them from competition.

Arevya on Twitter has spoken out strongly about this change to advocate for the accessibility community in games.

I'm sure we all understand, and aren't surprised, that Nintendo are pushing for their own products to be the only valid tourney standards but inclusion is an extremely important aspect of games and community today. They may not see it as such, but hopefully there's a change coming to enable accessibility in community tournaments soon.

Nintendo details more aggressive social media guidelines | GamesIndustry.biz

But the Nintendo news doesn't stop there! They've also changed their social media guidelines. This shift means that they will be able to target unauthorised content with DMCA takedowns.

Unauthorised now means "[Content that] features unauthorised game consoles and/or software not licensed by Nintendo or features video, images, sound sources, etc. that cannot be used in regular gameplay, extracted through game software via data mining and other methods".

So they want to come after emulators, mods and other content displaying Nintendo IP. Like they needed a bigger legal team anyway…

Here's everything featured in the Xbox Partner Preview showcase | Eurogamer.net

The Xbox Partner Preview aired yesterday, and here's a quick rundown of what we saw.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is a side-release from the popular series, and seems to be like Animal Crossing.

Futurlab, developer of Powerwash Simulator, has announced Iakro: Will Not Die - a staisfying flow-state rogue-lite action title.

Developer The Chinese Room announced "Still Wakes the Deep": a spooky first-person horror title set on a 70s North Sea oil rig.

RoboCop: Rogue City saw some fresh gameplay before its release on the 2nd November.

Ark: Survival Ascended is the remake of its predecessor, Survival Evolved and it's currently in Steam Early Access.

Honorable mentions also include The Finals, Manor Lords, Spirit of the North 2, Dungeons of Hinterberg and, of course, Alan Wake 2.

For trailers and more, jump into the show notes.

GTA 6 age listing is fake, launch date a mystery, ratings board says | PCGamesN

The Australian Classifications Board makes the news again, but this time it wasn't their fault....

INDUSTRY

Nintendo Accounts will ‘help ease the transition’ to Switch’s successor, says platform holder | VGC (videogameschronicle.com)

Nintendo is back in the headlines again after Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser reiterated the importance of Nintendo accounts to ease the transition between console hardware - still teasing the existence of the upcoming "Switch 2".

In several reports over the last few months, the "Switch 2" so-called has been rumoured to release in the second half of 2024. Video Games Chronicle claims to have sources on this, but Bowser has confirmed nothing so far.

Stories back in July mentioned that there were Switch 2 development kits sent to key partners, and in August a showcase behind closed doors at Gamescom, though these all still remain unconfirmed. There have also been leaked reports of GPU files for the new hardware that indicate development requirements for the new console.

The ransomware group that hacked Capcom has been taken down by international police | VGC (videogameschronicle.com)

According to Europol, the criminal group responsible for the Capcom data breach in 2020 has been "taken down" and a key member arrested.

Ragnar Locker has been targeting critical infrastructure globally but has had its ransomware disassembled and is rangling up all members across the planet.

Originally targeting Capcom, they reportedly stole 1TB of data and demanded $11 million in bitcoin as ransom. The hack is also reported to have affected business and personal data of up to 390,000 people.

Sony donates $2m to support Israel and Gaza aid | Eurogamer.net

In light of the conflict in Gaza and Israel, games companies have sent donations to humanitarian causes to show their support. Innersloth, developer of Among Us, has donated to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, and Sony has donated $2 million dollars to Japanese Red Cross and UNICEF.

Xbox's latest third-party digital showcase airs this Wednesday | Eurogamer.net

Xbox will air its latest third-party digital showcase on Wednesday 25th October in the Xbox Partner Preview. Adequately timed, we will be shown DLCs, additions and new trailers for games in the pipeline, including Alan Wake 2.

There will also be info on what is coming to GamePass, though it should be noted that last week we reported there being no Activision Blizzard King additions to come on GamePass this year.

The Partner Showcase shouldn't be any longer than 20 mins and is streamed on Twitch and YouTube.

Roblox tells most employees to return to the office part-time or take a severance package | Eurogamer.net

Roblox has dropped the remote work hammer on its employees and said that they must return to the office for work three days a week or take a severance package.

CEO David Baszucki said in an open letter that employees affected by the announcement have three months to decide if want to relocate for the new office work protocol or they will  no longer be working for Roblox.

The justification is the lack of social contact for junior staff, and that they are...

Industry News:

Bandcamp dismisses 50% of its staff amid Epic Games mass layoffs | GamesIndustry.biz

Half of the workforce in Bandcamp is affected by a mass of layoffs by parent company Epic Games.

Bandcamp was acquired in March last year, but in September this year Epic announced that they would be laying off 16% of the total workforce in the company.

Epic Games is also finalising the sale of Bandcamp to Songtradr, announced at the same time as the layoffs. Songtradr has said that Bandcamp became too bloated to manage and needed to "be adjusted".

Kotaku has reported that dismissed employees will receive 6 months severance while the Bandcamp United union is still negotiating better terms.

Analyst expects Sony to react to Xbox’s Activision deal with a major acquisition of its own | VGC (videogameschronicle.com)

Xbox says not to expect surprise Activision Blizzard Game Pass drops this year | VGC (videogameschronicle.com)

We are back on the news-recycling train again with Microsoft confirming the Activision Blizzard acquisition, so here's what we're seeing already.

Industry consultant Dr. Serkan Toto believes that Sony will be considering an acquisition of a similar size after the conclusion of Microsoft's merger. It's acquired Bungie and a bunch of other studies in the interim, and let's not pretend that these reports have been popping up ever since the ActiBlizz merger last year. Likelihood? Who knows, but let's take this with a grain of salt!

Phil Spencer says not to expect new games from ActiBlizz on GamePass any time soon, and yet Video Games Chronicle tantalises us with the Bethesda Games drop upon the purchase of their company in 2021.

Papa Phil also says that the timed exclusives for Call of Duty across consoles will no longer be the case - there will be content parity across all manufacturers in future.

CEO claims Nintendo couldn’t deliver a better modern N64 than Analogue 3D | VGC (videogameschronicle.com)

The spicy CEO of Analogue, a company making an N64-alike console, has been quoted as indicating that Nintendo itself couldn't make a better experience of the classic console if it tried.

His quote: "To me, it's either this, or buy a fucking original N64 and a CRT. End of Story."

Despite Christopher Taber's posturing, there is still no price point and a release window in 2024 for the Analogue 3D console.

Players frustrated with Nintendo's emulated experience on Switch may be delighted to hear his confidence, though!

The UK games industry pays juniors more but seniors less than other tech sectors | GamesIndustry.biz

GamesIndustry.biz and XpertHR have been working on data analysis of salaries in UK Games Studios, and found that the average salary for an entry-level position is almost 20% higher than in tech, but senior directors are paid 15% lower.

While the data set is small, across 25 studios and 3000 employees, the data will become available in summary for free, and in-depth by paywall, to companies interested in the...

Industry News

Activision Blizzard is officially part of Microsoft | GamesIndustry.biz

Microsoft announced on the 13th October of this year that the Activision Blizzard deal has finally been confirmed and completed.

The final obstacle we mentioned last week, the UK Competition and Markets Authority, has finally given the green light and the acquisition can continue.

Now the big questions we've long awaited answers to:

Will Microsoft's promises of a less toxic culture be realised? Phil Spencer says as much in his statement on the Xbox Wire site confirming the transition: "We'll do this in a culture that strives to empower everyone to do their best work, where all people are welcome, and is centered on our ongoing commitment of Gaming for Everyone."

Will Bobby Kotick stay on board after the sale? In a letter to employees, he said Phil asked him to stay on until the end of 2023, reporting directly to him. I'm sure many can't wait until his gone, though.

And the big question: what about my Call Of Duty?! Cloud streaming rights for Ubisoft confirm the availability of it and other titles for the next 15 years at least.

As always, for  all the details I haven't mentioned, check out the link to the article in the shownotes.

Ubisoft exec says physical sales may continue to fall, but they’re not going away | VGC (videogameschronicle.com)

Ubisoft executive Chris Early has mused in a Ubisoft website blog that physical discs for games will not be going away any time soon.

The subject arises again with rumours of an all-digital Xbox Series X and a new PlayStation 5 iteration including the same. Ubisoft has also bought cloud gaming rights from Microsoft Activision Blizzard for their titles over the next 15 years.

Early is quoted in the blog: "Some people will always want to own the physical disc. I just don’t think it’s going away. Do I think physical sales might get lower over time? Sure, but will it ever completely go away? I don’t think so."

The soon to release Alan Wake 2 will be sold as a digital-only game to save on development costs. Do you think we'll go disc-less in the near future?

Diablo 4 takes down a Season 2 teaser after players point out it was full of mistakes | Eurogamer.net

Blizzard release a new teaser trailer for Season 2 of Diablo 4, only to have fans find mistakes in what is mentioned as "quality of life updates".

The mistakes are too numerous to detail here but include inverted map footage, horse speed comparisons that are actually the same, and a new XP calculation formula with incorrect working.

See the show notes for Eurogamer's article and a link to their hilarious source material from YouTuber Raxxanterax.

This also comes before Diablo 4 arrives on Steam with a "Steamdeck Verified" category on Tuesday 17th October.

Peter Molyneux's new game is set "in the land of Albion" | Eurogamer.net

Peter Molyneux has lit the Internet on fire again by announcing a game dev project in the works, code-name MOAT, that will be set in the same location as the Fable games.

Molyneux announced the title in development alongside a blog of his "crazy" development practice. Many are quizzical about how two separate IP set in Albion, the originally announced Fable...

INDUSTRY

Ubisoft says it's "on the right path" following sexual harassment allegations | Eurogamer.net 

Ubisoft is now claiming that they've improved their workplace culture after allegations of sexual harassment against long-time employees and senior staff in 2020. 

Their Chief People Officer, Annika Grant, has been in place since 2021 and remarked last month that they've been navigating the "misconduct crisis" and that "HR was part of the problem". 

Ubisoft has now improved their internal reporting system, code of conduct AND yearly mandatory training for all employees. Though this wasn't all, as five former employees of Ubisoft were arrested shortly after Grant presented this information at the GamesIndustry HR Summit.  

‘Off to the job center!’ Kamiya leaves Platinum in a Lamborghini and says he’s not retiring | VGC (videogameschronicle.com) 

Hideki Kamiya left his CEO position at Platinum Games last month after founding the company 15 years ago, and now he has a YouTube Channel! 

Responsible for the Bayonetta series and Wonderful 101, he says he's not planning to retire, but has moved on from Platinum to pursue his own game development ideals. At least, when his inferred non-compete agreement runs out. 

Historically, he has been fairly outspoken and secretive. Of particular note is the Bayonetta 3 voice actor scandal not long ago where he responded quite savagely on Twitter with seemingly no remorse. 

I'm sure he will do great things with his new career prospects, but joking about receiving unemployment while driving off in a Lamborghini might be a bit more than the gaming public can bear. 

Disney’s boss is reportedly being urged to consider acquiring a big game publisher like EA | VGC (videogameschronicle.com) 

Disney is apparently considering turning the company from a licensing giant into a first-party development studio. 

With Marvel, Star Wars and other massive Disney IP available to them, and with highly successful games out there already, Bob Iger is hearing from senior executives that internal development makes sense. 

Unfortunately, Video Games Chronicle has reported this as Disney considering buying EA - though this is a tenuous link to a story months ago about EA actively pursuing a merger and taking calls with other companies in the wake of the Microsoft Activision Blizzard acquisition. Bit of a bait and switch there, team. 

Sony unveils "smaller" PlayStation 5 and PS5 Digital with £100 disc drive add-on | Eurogamer.net 

Sony has revealed new, smaller form-factor PS5 Disc and Digital-only consoles that will be available for purchase in November of this year. 

Optional extras for the announcement include a disc drive for the Digital-only model and a vertical stand , but both will still have 1TB internal drives. 

The disc version will start at €550 and digital at €450 (I'm in Ireland now, so you've got EU prices). 

GAMES

Activision CEO...

Thanks for joining me again on the Dead Drop for your secured delivery of game news headlines!

The stories for today:

Unity Software CEO exits after pricing backlash | NYSE:U (proactiveinvestors.com.au)

CEO of Unity Software John Riccitiello is retiring from his position at the company following the backlash to the new pricing structure for game developers last month.

He is quoted as being proud of his 9 years with Unity and the impact he had on the company, and yet it was leadership that fell under scrutiny after the announcements of the pricing change.

For the uninitiated, the new model would be a "payment per install" model for games made with the engine, which would create costs for developers of new games and existing ones. The tracking and action of charging for this sounded insane - especially as pirated games would count towards these costs.

Unity has since changed the policy, though it doesn't seem to be to any great impact.

ChatGPT was used to write Gollum game apology, it’s claimed | VGC (videogameschronicle.com)

In interviews with GameTwo, an outlet from Germany, former Daedalic staff have implied that that the developer for the recent Gollum game wrote their apology to fans with AI.

Daedalic had apologised to fans for the disappointing addition to the franchise, pledging to do better in coming months.

Sources have said that the apology was made using Chat GPT AND that it was handled by the publisher - Daedalic had no oversight on the apology at all. This information has yet to be confirmed.

There are also reports of crunch, lack of funds and lack of expertise as reasons for the underwhelming game.

Over 6,000 games industry jobs lost in 2023 so far | GamesIndustry.biz

GamesIndustry.biz reports that Farhan Noor, a technical artist in games, has been tracking layoffs this year and it’s a staggeringly large number.

With over 6,000 jobs lost in the industry so far, and September the worst month with 17 companies losing staff, the economic environment is stated primarily but all reasons revolve around money.

Unionisation in the games industry has been a top subject for years, and the job security for devs has never been so important. If you want to check out the details, the link to videogamelayoffs.com is available in the show notes.

CD Projekt staff form union for Polish developers | GamesIndustry.biz

In similar news, the Polish Gamedev Workers Union has been established after three rounds of layoffs in CD Projekt Red over the summer period.

Founded by Lev Ki and Pawel Myszka, who are still working with CDPR, its set to represent all game devs in Poland and is a sign of progression in the industry for Polish developers.

Microsoft reportedly aiming to complete Activision Blizzard acquisition next week | GamesIndustry.biz

Word on the grapevine is that Microsoft is looking to lock up the Activision Blizzard acquisition as early as...

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