Joystiq

Will Wright's Stupid Fun Club has three projects that you can't see

Ben Gilbert — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:30:00 EST

Former EA Maxis head Will Wright and his Stupid Fun Club are hard at work on a handful of ideas "that cross a lot of different boundaries." During a recent conversation with VentureBeat, the creator of SimCity and its reticulating splines said his new venture is currently working on three projects, even saying one could see the light of day as soon as "six months to a year" from now.

He says the projects span from the world of toys to the information superhighway we all know and love. His gushing on the subject of the Internet continues when he says, "Every product that we are working on has a web component ... the web is like the connective tissue in entertainment today." With any luck, we'll hear more about his startup's upcoming work when he delivers the opening keynote at next February's Engage! Expo and Toy Fair.

Will Wright's Stupid Fun Club has three projects that you can't see originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Strauss Zelnick discusses Q4 release assault, ponders 'chicken and egg' of it

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 01:00:00 EST

Thursday 18 June

160-something lbs. Still need to work off that extra E3 weight. LACC food is sooo delish!

Food consumed today:
Nutri-Grain bar. Steak with hollandaise. One of those plasmid drinks we're thinking of tying into BioShock 2.

Late afternoon. New York: my Take-Two office. Just read the VentureBeat interview published yesterday about me. Really hate that picture they used, I'm totally not working my chiseled features. Anyway, they asked me about delaying Red Dead Redemption and Mafia 2. I mean, come on, the holiday season is already packed. People will have even less cash this year. Maybe we'll get lucky and pull a GTA IV release with one of those titles? Haha, Diary. I know, we're not gonna get that lucky.

Anyway, they also asked me about that EEDAR report, which says games sell better in the fourth quarter. That's good and all, but couldn't it be argued that it's a "chicken and egg problem"? Like, people buy during the holiday because that's when games come out? We'll try something a little different. Oh well, that's enough philosophy for one day. Good night, Diary.

Strauss Zelnick discusses Q4 release assault, ponders 'chicken and egg' of it originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Microsoft continues layoffs, Massive allegedly hit the worst [update]

Ben Gilbert — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:15:00 EST

According to multiple reports this morning, the second round of Microsoft layoffs has affected Microsoft's in-game advertising arm, Massive. Apparently as much as 75 percent of the staff has been cut, according to anonymous sources at VentureBeat.

"As part of the plan we announced in January to reduce costs and increase efficiencies, today we are eliminating additional positions across several areas of the company ... Microsoft is not breaking out layoff figures by divisions," a rep for Microsoft told Gamasutra. We've contacted Massive and Microsoft for confirmation of the layoff numbers and will update this story when we hear more. If you were affected by the layoffs and want to speak with us (anonymously or otherwise), please feel free to shoot us an email.

Update: Microsoft and Massive have responded to our emails and corrected reports from this morning.

Source 1 - Gamasutra
Source 2 - VentureBeat
Source 3 - BigDownload

Microsoft continues layoffs, Massive allegedly hit the worst [update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 06 May 2009 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Trip Hawkins believes iPhone is 'freaking out' Nintendo & Sony

Ben Gilbert — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 19:00:00 EST

The founder of EA and mobile developer Digital Chocolate, Trip Hawkins, thinks iPhone is the best thing since ~~sliced bread~~ Sega Genesis. In an interview with VentureBeat, the exec said, "We make as much money with these [iPhone] games on one device as we do putting a game on 100 different cell phone platforms." In fact, mobile developers are making so much money with games for iPhone, at such a low overhead, that Hawkins believes the iPhone is "freaking out" Sony and Nintendo.

And though Hawkins' company publishes games on the web and Facebook as well as for Apple's devices, he believes competitors (including Blackberry) to be stuck in the past. "Everybody else is a couple of years behind Apple" -- a notion that he credits to the iTunes Store's relative ubiquity among consumers even before the iPhone existed. "They've spent years building up those iTunes accounts and it's much easier for the money to flow." And not forcing consumers to convert to a ridiculous points currency probably doesn't hurt that flow either.

Trip Hawkins believes iPhone is 'freaking out' Nintendo & Sony originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 15 Apr 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments