In the 10 years since Chris Torres created Nyan Cat, an animated flying cat with a Pop-Tart body leaving a rainbow trail, the meme has been viewed and shared across the web hundreds of millions of times. On Thursday, he put a one-of-a-kind version of it up for sale on Foundation, a website for buying and selling digital goods. In the…
Tag: Franchises
Amazon Can Make Just About Anything — Except a Good Video Game
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg, which is “based on interviews with more than 30 current and former Amazon employees, most of whom spoke under the condition of anonymity citing fears of litigation or career repercussions.” From the report: Mike Frazzini had never made a video game when he helped start Amazon Game Studios. Eight years later, he has…
The World Is Watching More Anime — and Streaming Services Are Buying
An anonymous reader shares a report: The pandemic is helping Japan’s demon slayers, monsters and robots make the leap to the global market. Animated video in the Japanese style — aka anime — has long been a niche taste for fans in the U.S. and elsewhere, and some anime films such as those by Hayao Miyazaki have become mainstream hits. Now,…
Blizzard Co-Founder Mike Morhaime Launches New Gaming Endeavor Dreamhaven
Mike Morhaime, the cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment, has launched a new game company called Dreamhaven, and it has established two new game studios: Moonshot and Secret Door. VentureBeat reports: The Irvine, California-based company is a pretty good clue that Morhaime and his wife Amy Morhaime weren’t quite done with games when they left Activision Blizzard in 2018. Mike will be the…
Microsoft’s Xbox Expands, Buying ZeniMax Media and Fallout Maker Bethesda For $7.5 Billion
Microsoft’s Xbox team significantly expanded its list of game development studios on Monday, announcing the purchase of ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion in cash. From a report: The entertainment company owns several industry-leading game developers, including Bethesda Softworks, the maker of the post-apocalyptic Fallout games and the fantasy series the Elder Scrolls. It also owns id Software, known for its Doom,…
Amazon is Good at So Many Things. Why is it Bad at Games?
In recent years Amazon has become a major force in television and film, so we have seen that the company can succeed in generating popular mass entertainment. Why is the company struggling so badly with games? Discussing the question with people involved with Amazon Games, some common themes emerge. From a report: “We’re bringing a lot of Amazon practices to making…
The Data-Driven Tech Engine at the Heart of Hollywood’s Content Factories
America’s studios, creators and marketers are relying, more than ever, on digital platforms that allow them to gauge what audiences like– and would like to see more of. From a report: They’re not just looking for test screenings, either. They’re looking to check in with potential audiences at every stage of production, from before a script is written until the moment…
MicroProse, Legendary Creators of Civilization, XCOM, and Falcon 4.0 Is Back
MicroProse, an American video game publisher and developer founded by Bill Stealey and Sid Meier in 1982, is being resurrected after an absence of almost 20 years. The publisher’s last game was Grand Prix 4 released in 2002, but is most famous for the XCOM and Civilization franchises. MojoKid shares a report from HotHardware: The company is now being led by…
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Arrives Amid China Controversy
The latest Call Of Duty (CoD) game has been released, amid calls to boycott its publisher’s products. From a report: Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare is the sixteenth major title in the series, which is one of the best-selling games franchises of all time. Activision Blizzard has faced criticism for punishing an e-sports competitor who voiced support for the Hong Kong…
Was ‘The Matrix’ Part of Cinema’s Last Great Year?
In 2014 Esquire argued that great movies like The Matrix “predicted a revolution in film that never happened,” adding “We are in many ways worse off now than we were 15 years ago as a culture. We seem to have run out of original ideas.” This week two film critics debated whether 1999 was in fact cinema’s last great year. Slashdot…