Scope out a few of the game industry news stories from the last week below, hand-picked from across the world of games. This week, we’re looking at a legal industry and gaming event that just wrapped up, Apple App Store under a microscope, PS5 vs. Xbox Series X, and of course much more! Links are in the index, followed by the story summaries!
Index:
- Game Industry Legal Conference Wrap-up
- Apple’s App Store Under Fire
- Unity Unveils Program Aimed at Indie Game Developers
- PS5 vs. Xbox Series X
- Report: Video Games Account for Over 50% of UK 2020 Entertainment Spend
- Does Gaming Make You Smarter
Game Industry Legal Conference Wrap-up
Source: Game World Observer
The Game Industry Legal Conference took place online in early October, with over 700 participants from around the world involved. Stop by Game World Observer’s tidy summary to read up about about topics and ideas this conference brought to the table.
The legal story of Apple’s App Store Vs. developers and publishers, like Epic Games, is promising to be a lengthy back-and-forth that is only just beginning. Here’s some insight from Variety why this is happening and how it may play out in the courts and the court of developer and publisher opinion:
“Amid the growing outcry against Big Tech’s anticompetitive practices, Apple’s enormously lucrative App Store could be one of the first fortresses to fall.
In 2019, the App Store generated an estimated $50 billion in gross sales — and Apple kept $15 billion of that. Now the App Store, which is the only way to get iOS apps for Apple mobile devices, is in the crosshairs of app developers, lawmakers and regulators over its virtual monopoly.
At the front of the anti-App Store phalanx: Epic Games, creator of massively popular battle royale game “Fortnite.” Epic sued over the 30% cut Apple takes on all in-app purchases and its policy that bars outside payment methods. After Apple kicked “Fortnite” off the App Store, the game’s iOS players dropped 60% in less than a month, Epic claims.”
Unity Unveils Program Aimed at Indie Game Developers
Source: VentureBeat
In an increasingly growing and competitive games market, different companies are coming up with new ideas and programs to help a wider range of developers up their game in all aspects of the development and marketing life cycles. In this instance, platform company Unity aims to help with awareness and adoption, as this piece in VentureBeat describes:
“Unity is launching its Game Growth Program to help indie game developers accelerate adoption of their games. Through this program, Unity will use its resources to help developers grow downloads and revenues, addressing the key problem of getting lost in a crowd of games.
Getting users to discover free-to-play mobile games and apps is tough on platforms like iOS, which has more than 1.7 million games and apps. That means advertising — through platforms such as Unity Ads — plays a big role in drawing attention to games. As part of its user-acquisition and marketing program, Unity will offer tech resources and funding for user acquisition to help scale indie games.”
PS5 vs. Xbox Series X
Source: CNET
The topic of which next-gen games console is best is sure to be very popular for at least a little while, especially with the PS5 and Xbox Series X set to launch in early-to-mid November. Here’s CNET”s perspective on this clash of the gaming titans:
Report: Video Games Account for Over 50% of 2020 UK Entertainment Spend
Source: Yahoo! Finance
“In the year 2020, video games are going to account for more than half of the entire U.K. entertainment market.
Almost every sector (Online Games, Mobile Games, Consoles Download Games, Gaming Network, and PC Games) of the U.K. gaming industry market is growing. According to this research, the video gaming market in the United Kingdom is one of the largest in Europe. According to this research, by the year 2026, United Kingdom Video Game Market will be US$ 3.7 billion in revenue.”
Does Gaming Make You Smarter?
Source: My Modern Met
Gamers have been involved in discussions whether gaming makes them more violent or not, but also there’s been a debate for years if gaming can improve your physical and mental prowess. This story by My Modern Met discusses new research that could shed some light on intelligence and gaming:
“In the late 1970s, playing video games became a ubiquitous and beloved childhood activity. Today, many adults continue to be enthusiastic gamers, playing both new releases and the nostalgic games of their childhoods. A new study suggests that a childhood history of playing video games not only makes an adult a better gamer, but it also provides lasting cognitive advantages. In particular, the puzzle-solving techniques critical to gaming success may help improve 3D visualization skills, quick thinking, and memory.”
