OK, this one isn’t as much news exactly, but have you ever wondered how the designers of a game make their choices? Or why some features just feel like they don’t necessarily do anything?

This week, Kotaku features an excellent interview with the Nintendo Developers behind Luigi’s Mansion 3 where they cover topics like why they abandoned certain aspects of puzzle design, why there is so much money but so little to spend it on, and the challenge of sticking to a particularly unique vision. Definitely worth a read.

LINK:

• https://kotaku.com/luigis-mansion-3-developers-on-money-moral-choices-and-1841471669

Coronavirus affecting Nintendo Switch production

Last week, Nintendo’s CEO announced that production of the Nintendo Switch has been affected by delays in shipments from China due to the outbreak of the coronoavirus.

Previously, Nintendo had begun to move some of it’s production from China to Vietnam in response to the US-China trade war, but not enough to cover demand, affecting the production and shipping of the devices, as well as peripherals including the Joy-Con controllers.

LINK:

• https://www.bbc.com/news/51353147

Next Gen consoles get a pass on new tariffs, board games not so lucky

Speaking of the trade wars, the recently announced Phase One agreement of the US-China trade deal includes an exemption for gaming consoles manufactured in China. Previously, the administration had threatened to raise tariffs to 25% on all Chinese goods (which is where the game consoles are manufactured). Tariffs are essentially an import tax, one that often gets passed along to the consumer. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo banded together to appeal to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, complaining that this shift would put the cost of their next-gen consoles outside of the reach of most American families.

For the moment, consoles seem to be off the table. Board games and tabletop games, on the other hand, are not. This is forcing those industries to explore moving their production to other countries without those restrictions.

LINK:

• https://www.polygon.com/2020/1/27/21083595/china-tariffs-next-gen-console-price-board-games

Nintendo dodges $10 million payout in patent infringement suit over Wiimote

In 2017, a jury ruled that Nintendo’s Wiimote motion sensors violated a patent after Dallas based iLife sued based on the motion sensor technology, and awarded the plaintiff $10 million. (This was one of MANY patent lawsuits around the device, which is not at all uncommon in the current litigious culture.)

This month, a federal judge ruled that iLife’s patent was invalid, finding that iLife’s patent only described an abstract idea about sensing movement and transmitting data, without a clear indicating that they had invented a novel way to do this. Without an eligible patent, iLife’s victory is null and void, letting Nintendo off the hook. (unless iLife appeals the ruling…)

LINK:

https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/21/21075799/nintendo-wii-remote-wiimote-patent-case-verdict-ilife-lawsuit

Harley Quinn is coming to Fortnite

Just in time to promote the upcoming Birds of Prey movie (releasing Feb 7th), Epic Games has announced the release of a Harley Quinn skin for Fortnite which will be available in the store until Feb 17th. The skin will feature two outfits, one from the previous Suicide Squad movie, and an unlockable outfit featuring an appearance similar to the new movie.

LINK:

• https://www.polygon.com/fortnite/2020/2/6/21126183/harley-quinn-fortnite-skins-birds-of-prey-challenges

Assignment Slides from Monday’s class. (This file is from a previous year so please disregard the mismatched dates. Focus on the file structure, and expected contents of the README.)

January in Las Vegas marks the return of the Consumer Electronics Show, where electronics manufacturers unveil the latest advancements in TVs and Computers, immediately making your recent holiday gifts obsolete. The game industry does not have a large of a presence here – our industry looks to E3, GDC, and Gamescom for most of the big announcements from game publishers – but console and PC manufacturers and their suppliers have a significant presence.

News outlets reported that there was extra emphasis placed on the strength and relevance of gaming laptops and desktop PCs, and their recent advancements in hardware specs and monitor refresh rates. Much of this is meant as a counterargument against streaming (cloud-rendered) services which obviously loom large for these players as a potential disruptor. And as e-sports and game streaming continues to grow in popularity we see a lot of the device manufacturers specifically targeting these markets.

Often cited highlights included Origin’s Big O PC (a PC/console combo designed for live-streamers to capture and broadcast their games) as well as Alienware’s UFO concept, a Switch-inspired console-like device. However, my favorite is the GE Kitchen Hub Microwave, which turns the door of a microwave into an Android Tablet, complete with front and down facing cameras if you want to stream your dinner prep. How long before we see games on this? I’m looking for the Cooking Mama AR game here.

Links:

• https://www.cnet.com/news/biggest-takeaways-gaming-tech-ces-2020/

2. SONY announces PS5 logo

Sony took advantage of their CES Keynote to release the logo for the Playstation 5 and it looks…. exactly like what you would expect it would. Sony is sticking with the same font and branding as the two previous generations of console, so no surprises here.

Two other important pieces of information from the keynote:

1. PSVR Sales have passed the 5 million unit mark, making it the best selling VR headset by far. (Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear boast better numbers, but as those were viewers for mobile devices, I don’t count them here. This is device dedicated explicitly to VR applications.)
2. Playstation 4 has now sold over 104 million units, making it the 2nd best selling console of all time. The Playstation 2 holds the top honors with 158 million sold. With the PS5 due later this year, it seems unlikely that the PS2 needs to worry about losing the top slot anytime soon.

Links:

• https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/6/21019829/sony-playstation-5-ps5-logo-reveal-ps4-users-numbers-ces-2020

3. AMD announces SmartSwitch

AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) announced their new SmartSwitch technology, which allows for AMD GPUs (Graphics Processing Unit) and CPUs (Central Processing Units) to accelerate performance by dynamically allocating power and focus to the chips based upon the load.

Tech reporters are speculating that this may be how Sony and Microsoft are promising that their upcoming consoles will be capable of supporting 8K resolution, as both feature AMD chips under the hood.

Links:

• https://www.cnet.com/news/amd-unveils-the-ultimate-1080p-gaming-processor-at-ces-2020/
• https://www.techradar.com/news/could-amd-smartshift-be-the-ps5-and-xbox-series-xs-secret-sauce-for-8k-gaming

4. Mexico school shooting, game connection probed

An 11 year old boy in northern Mexico brought two guns into a classroom, killing one teacher injuring another, as well as a number of his classmates, before killing himself. While the gun death rate is disturbingly high in Mexico, school shootings are very uncommon and so this has shocked the country.

During the shooting, the boy wore a shirt featuring the words “Natural Selection”, which is also the name of a FPS game that the boy was reported to have played often. This has led authorities to probe whether or not he was influenced by the game, reigniting the debate over whether there is a connection between violent video games and aggressive behavior.

Links:

• https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-violence/boy-kills-teacher-self-in-mexico-school-possibly-influenced-by-video-game-idUSKBN1Z91P0

5. Texas gamer saves life of UK teammate

A young woman in Texas saved the life of a teammate in England after she heard him having a seizure and was able to contact authorities in the UK. The parents of the young man were downstairs, unaware that he was having a medical issue until the police knocked on the door. He was rushed to the hospital and stabilized.

Links:

• https://kotaku.com/a-gamer-in-texas-helped-save-her-uk-teammate-after-hear-1840957347

This semester we will be especially focused on the following areas of interest to the industry:

• Next Gen Consoles: This year both Sony and Microsoft are expected to announce and release their Gen 5 platforms. We will discuss what to expect, when to expect it, and what the specifications mean, as they are released.
• Streaming / Subscription Games: New technologies and products like Google Stadia and Apple Arcade are entering the fray in an attempt to gain market share and disrupt the current status quo of game economics. How successful will they be?
• Extended Reality (VR/AR/MR/XR): Spatial computing technologies are finally enjoying a modest degree of commercial success, with millions of VR headsets sold and the promise of wearable AR looming on the horizon. Who are the leaders and what can current trends tell us about where this field will go?
• E-Sports: Gaming leagues continue to establish and emerge at a rapid pace, as the sporting world (and gambling world) all try to wrap their heads around this space. Where is this growing, and how do we see game companies responding to or pursuing these opportunities?
• The Business of Game Development: Layoffs, closures, acquisitions, and lawsuits happen. We will dive into the business of games and what these stories mean in a broader context.
• Social Impact of Games: We will look at how games impact our society (and how society impacts our game experience).

Details of these news stories will be discussed in class, but links will be posted here on the website for you to follow along and dig deeper into these events.