- A year and a half after its bitter breakup with NetEase, Blizzard has made a new deal to bring its games back to China—with NetEase PC Gamer
- Microsoft and NetEase to re-launch Warcraft game in China, ending feud Reuters
- Live news: Blizzard and NetEase agree deal to restore popular video games Financial Times
- Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase Renew Agreement to Bring Beloved Titles Back to China; Microsoft Gaming, NetEase Enter Broader Collaboration Business Wire
- Blizzard Videogames to Return to China in New Deal With NetEase The Wall Street Journal
Tag Archives: NetEase
Blizzard, NetEase partnership reportedly broke down over misunderstandings – GamesIndustry.biz
- Blizzard, NetEase partnership reportedly broke down over misunderstandings GamesIndustry.biz
- Bobby Kotick says Sony’s being a baby about Microsoft deal: ‘They would just like to prevent our merger from happening’ PC Gamer
- How Miscommunication Over Microsoft Acquisition Led To Activision Blizzard-NetEase Split – Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) Benzinga
- Activision Ditched Chinese Partner Over Microsoft Deal – Report PlayStation LifeStyle
- Blizzard’s shutdown in China may have stemmed from a misunderstanding Dot Esports
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Blizzard China: Millions of players lose access to ‘World of Warcraft’ and other games as it goes dark
Hong Kong
CNN
—
Millions of players in China have lost access to the iconic “World of Warcraft” franchise and other popular video games, as Blizzard Entertainment’s servers in the country went offline after two decades.
The company’s services in China were suspended at midnight local time on Tuesday, marking the end of an era for fans, after a licensing agreement with longtime local partner NetEase
(NTES) expired.
“World of Warcraft,” also known as “WoW,” is a hugely popular online multiplayer game that allows users to fight monsters and journey through expeditions in the medieval world of Azeroth.
Many gamers around the world have grown up with the smash hit, including in China. That was underscored in recent days, as Chinese fans expressed their disbelief over the loss of their longtime pastime in social media posts.
“When I woke up, I still didn’t want to accept [it],” one user said on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform, on Tuesday. “I cried all night in my sleep because the game went offline. I dreamed that I was crying in the middle of the class.”
Another player described “World of Warcraft” as “my first love.”
“I really can’t forget it,” they wrote.
The suspension follows a bitter dispute between Blizzard, a unit of Activision Blizzard
(ATVI), and NetEase.
Foreign publishers must work with local partners to offer video games in China. Last November, however, Blizzard and NetEase announced they would not renew licensing agreements that were set to expire this month.
Those deals had covered the publication of several popular Blizzard titles in mainland China, including “World of Warcraft,” “Hearthstone,” and “Diablo III,” since 2008. In separate statements at the time, both sides said they were unable to reach a new agreement on key terms, without giving further details.
Now, the discussions appear to have gotten more acrimonious.
In a statement last Tuesday, Blizzard said it had reached out to NetEase to seek “their help in exploring a six-month extension to the current agreement.”
The US company said it had appealed to NetEase to let fans continue playing uninterrupted, “based on our personal feelings as gamers, and the frustration expressed to us by Chinese players.”
“Unfortunately, after renewed discussions last week, NetEase did not accept our proposal for an extension,” Blizzard said.
NetEase hit back with its own statement last week.
In unusually terse comments, the Chinese tech and gaming giant accused Blizzard of blindsiding it with its “sudden statement” and called the US company’s proposal “outrageous, inappropriate, and not in line with business logic.”
NetEase also pointed out that Blizzard had already “started the work of finding new partners” in China, putting the Hangzhou-based company in an “unfair” position.
The public spat marked an unexpected twist in the companies’ 14-year partnership.
Under a separate agreement, the companies are working together on the joint development and publishing of “Diablo Immortal,” another widely followed multiplayer game that allows users to slay demons in an ancient world. NetEase said in a statement in November that this collaboration would continue.
Blizzard said in December that “World of Warcraft” fans would be able to back up their playing history and ensure all progress was saved as it wound down its agreement and looked for a new partner.
This week’s shutdown has been emotional, even for senior leadership at NetEase.
In a LinkedIn post Monday, Simon Zhu, president of global investments and partnerships of NetEase Games, detailed how he grew up with Blizzard games in China, including older “Warcraft” and “Diablo” titles.
“Only [a] few hours before Blizzard Games servers shut down in China, and that is a very very big deal for players in China,” he wrote.
“Today is such a sad moment to witness the server shutdown, and we don’t know how things will play out in the future. The biggest victim would be players in China who live and breathe in those worlds.”
Activision Blizzard, which previously had another Chinese partner before teaming up with NetEase, said it is continuing its search for a new distribution partner.
“Our commitment to players on mainland China remains strong as we continue to work with Tencent to distribute ‘Call of Duty: Mobile,’ as well as continue active talks with potential partners to resume gameplay for Blizzard’s iconic franchises,” an Activision Blizzard spokesperson told CNN.
Gamers lament end of Warcraft in China as Blizzard and NetEase part ways
Nov 17 (Reuters) – Blizzard Entertainment (ATVI.O) and NetEase (9999.HK) caused dismay among thousands of gamers on Thursday by saying hits such as ‘World of Warcraft’ will not be available in China from next year as a 14-year partnership ended.
NetEase shares closed 9% lower in Hong Kong after Blizzard said it was unable to reach a deal with the Hangzhou-based company that was consistent with the California-based firm’s “operating principles and commitments to players and employees”.
Blizzard’s announcement, which gave no further detail, was the top trending topic on China’s Weibo platform with more than 100 million views as users expressed shock and sadness. Many said they had played its games for more than a decade.
“My youth was heavily marked by playing Hearthstone,” said one, while another lamented: “I’m so sad. I started playing Blizzard games from 2008… how do I say good bye?”.
Blizzard said new sales would be suspended in the coming days and players would receive further details.
The games to be suspended by midnight on Jan. 24 include ‘World of Warcraft’, ‘Hearthstone’, ‘Warcraft III: Reforged’, Overwatch’, the ‘StarCraft’ series, ‘Diablo III’, and ‘Heroes of the Storm’, Blizzard said.
NetEase rose to become China’s second-biggest gaming company behind Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) in large part due to the deals it clinched in 2008 to be Blizzard’s publishing partner in China, when Blizzard ended its deal with The9 Ltd (NCTY.O).
NetEase later issued a statement in Chinese saying it was sorry to see Blizzard’s disclosure, while confirming that the two firms were unable to agree on key terms of cooperation.
In a statement in English, NetEase said that ending the licence agreements, which are set to expire on Jan. 23, would have no “material impact” on its results.
“We will continue our promise to serve our players well until the last minute. We will make sure our players’ data and assets are well protected in all of our games,” NetEase CEO William Ding said in a statement.
NetEase said the recently published ‘Diablo Immortal’, co-developed by NetEase and Blizzard, is covered by a separate long-term agreement, allowing its service to continue in China.
It said Blizzard’s games contributed a low-single-digit percentage to its total net revenue and net income in 2021 and the first nine months of 2022.
In a research report on Nov. 9, Daiwa Capital Markets estimated that the absence of Blizzard games could lower NetEase’s revenue by 6-8% next year.
This was based on an estimate that licensed games account for around 10% of NetEase’s total revenue and Blizzard accounts for 60-80% of licensed games.
Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Savio D’Souza, Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Alexander Smith
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Sony, Tencent, NetEase continue deal hunt to expand new formats, markets
Revenue from mobile games accounts for more than half of the mobile gaming market. Sony is looking to diversify beyond consoles with its new dedicated PlayStation mobile gaming division.
Mateusz Slodkowski | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty Images
Sony
Sony’s PlayStation has dominated the gaming console market for a long time.
But the business model for console gaming has changed. It’s not just about selling the hardware and then hoping people buy new games. It’s about continuing to milk revenue from those games via regular updates that people spend money on and selling subscription services too.
Sony’s deal flow, particularly with the acquisition of Bungie, highlights this push.
“Their goal is to have enough content to incentivize players to buy their proprietary hardware, pay a monthly fee for the subscription service operated by PlayStation (PS Plus), and purchase the occasional digital game through the PlayStation Store, for which Sony receives approximately a 30% cut,” Tom Wijman, market lead for games at data company Newzoo, told CNBC.
“Snapping up studios is the most failsafe way to ensure exclusive content for their ecosystem — especially in reaction to the acquisition spree of Microsoft, one of Sony’s main competitors in the gaming space.”
Sony is also looking to expand beyond consoles. Last week, the Japanese giant said it is setting up a dedicated unit to oversee the development of mobile games, a relatively new venture for the company, which has been so dominant in consoles for years.
The acquisition of Savage Game Studios, which is dedicated to mobile games, is another key part of the strategy.
“Sony is stepping out of their comfort zone to stay competitive,” Wijman said.
Revenue from mobile gaming accounts for more than 50% of the total gaming market, whereas consoles make up about 27% of sales, according to Newzoo. So, Sony is going after an even bigger piece of the pie.
Sony’s acquisitions will help it bolster its intellectual property and library of games as it looks to expand into mobile gaming.
Tencent and NetEase
China’s two largest gaming players Tencent and NetEase have faced a tougher domestic market, amplifying the importance of their investment and acquisition strategies overseas.
Last year, Chinese regulators restricted the amount of time those under 18 years old could play online games and froze the approval of new titles. In China, games need the green light from regulators to be released and monetized. Those approvals only restarted in April.
Meanwhile, a resurgence of Covid-19 in China and subsequent lockdowns across major cities in the country has hurt economic growth. That led to the worst quarter of revenue growth for some of China’s technology giants, including Tencent.
With a more challenging domestic market, Tencent and NetEase have looked abroad for growth via acquisitions and investments.
“Tencent and NetEase have built up their gaming business primarily in their home turf China. Now that their home market is becoming increasingly regulated and difficult to operate in, these two companies will accelerate their global expansion strategy,” Wijman said.
Tencent owns or is invested in some of the biggest gaming companies in the world, including League of Legends developer Riot Games.
NetEase’s strategy has focused on acquiring high-profile intellectual property. With the Quantic Dream acquisition, the Hangzhou-headquartered firm has access to publish an upcoming Star Wars Game. NetEase has already released mobile games based on the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings franchises.
For the two giants, having stakes in or owning the studios behind international mega hits in the gaming world has become a key part of the strategy.
While NetEase has traditionally been less aggressive than Tencent in its deal activity, it has ramped up efforts over the last year.
Another part of the investment strategy for both companies also highlights their ambitions in the console sector. NetEase and Tencent have mostly grown by focusing on PC and mobile gaming, not consoles which were banned in China for 14 years until 2014.
But the two behemoths have begun to turn their efforts toward console gaming.
NetEase hired a console industry veteran to run its Japanese game studio earlier this year. And Tencent-owned developer TiMi Studio has opened offices in Montreal and Seattle to focus on PC and console games.
Acquiring and investing in other gaming studios again can help both companies gain access to IP for games on consoles too.
Tighter regulation in China and the search for growth could propel NetEase and Tencent to continue their investment and acquisition strategy.
“Lastly, if the regulation from the Chinese government continues to pressure NetEase and Tencent in their home markets, I think they too will be eager to look into M&A,” Wijman said. “Their global expansion strategies have only just gotten started.”
Free-To-Play ARPG Diablo Immortal Is Actually Good So Far
Last week Blizzard launched Diablo Immortal, the next entry in its long-running, loot-driven action-RPG franchise. However, unlike previous games, this one is free-to-play, and was built from the ground up to be a mobile game first. While it did also come out on PC last week, the reality is this is a very different kind of Diablo. Between being a phone title, having F2P-style in-app purchases, and being part of a popular legacy franchise, it’s created a large debate about the game and its true cost.
Kotaku staff writer Zack Zwiezen and editor John Walker have both been playing, so got together to chat about the game, how much they’re enjoying it, and why it might not be the evil, money-sucking monster some have claimed. At the very least, it’s a perfect way to kill some time while watching old episodes of The Simpsons.
John Walker: How many previous Diablos have you played?
Zack Zwiezen: I played a lot of Diablo III and its expansion and some Diablo II…
John: When you say a “lot”, do you mean you got to the point of playing online with a regular group until it accidentally became your full-time unpaid job?
Zack: Oh well, not that much. I did however buy and play it on three different platforms across at least 250+ hours.
John: It’s impressive you weren’t turned. You know. Into one of them.
Anyway, I’ve played a bunch of all of them, but never “properly.” I’ve always approached them as single-player ARPGs, something to aimlessly click on while watching a crummy TV show. And absolutely loved them for that.
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Zack: Same. Back in the prime of my Diablo III days, I’d burn through podcasts and long YouTube video essays while killing thousands of demons and skeletons. It was a perfect thing to combo with another piece of entertainment, assuming you didn’t want to focus on either entirely. And Diablo Immortal has started to fill a similar role in my life.
John: Yeah, me too. Except, I keep finding myself teaming up with other people.
Zack: Disgusting, John. I thought you were better than that.
John: I hate doing that normally. As soon as other people are playing, I become certain they all hate me and I’m ruining the game for them. But here I both don’t care and clearly aren’t.
Zack: This has also been my experience when I play with others in Immortal. Usually, we just plow through a dungeon creating a mess of particles and fire that cause my iPad battery to weep softly as it quickly dies.
John: And then we part, without even a goodbye. Cheap, meaningless raiding. The best kind.
Zack: Yeah, it really is. I never feel like I need to look up a guide or yell at anyone for messing up. We all get the assignment and without voice chat can quickly pull it off. Good shit.
John: Yeah, I’m playing it, like, all the time, both at my PC and then picking up right where I left off on my phone, and I’m having a great time with it, and the more I’m enjoying it, the more I’m convinced that people who vociferously like Diablo must surely hate it. Because die-hard Diablo people usually hate anything I love. Like my wife, and son.
Zack: But John, I’ve been told by folks online that Diablo Immortal is actually bad and evil! That it will steal your bank account or something.
John: Have you, at any point, felt like you needed to pay for anything?
Zack: No. I’ve definitely seen some ads pop up and the game isn’t shy about that stuff, like pestering you that a cheap chest is on sale. But hours and hours into the game, at level 32 or something like that, I’ve never hit a paywall. And as someone who has played a lot of mobile games in my life, that is not always the case!
John: Why has Blizzard just made this whole game for free?
Zack: I don’t know. I keep thinking about how this game with a few changes could easily be a $40 thing. And yet, if you just want to play the story of Diablo Immortal and run some raids online, you can do all that for…nothing? At least that’s what it feels like to me. What level are you at?
John: I am level 51! And I am a Shadow!
Zack: And have you spent any money in-game because you needed to or felt like it was the only way to move forward?
John: Never. I paid for a Battle Pass because I’ve never done that before in any game, and wanted to know what would happen.
Zack: I’m so proud of you. The grumpy old man can evolve.
As for buying stuff in-game, I know that if you want the best of the best gear and items, the stuff you’ll need to win in PvP and top the leaderboards, you’ll likely need to fork over a lot of money. But I just don’t care about any of that. As we established, this is a game that I play when I’m watching YouTube or old Simpsons episodes, so all the anger around it has confused me. You don’t have to spend $100k in this game, as that one YouTuber alleged. I promise!
John: Yeah, the game just doesn’t seem to want me to have paid for any of that to do anything it has offered so far. So, say, in a couple of days I hit some sort of end-game wall, Shadows vs. Immortals I think it’s about, and to take part in all that bullshit I’d need the best equipment? I’d say, “Yay, I finished this extraordinarily detailed free game!”
Zack: Right. I’m at the same point. If the awesome free game stops letting me play after 30 hours or whatever, I’ll just move on and enjoy something else.
This all reminds me of how some folks will waste days or weeks playing games they hate, that they find broken or unfair or bad. And I just wish some people would realize that it’s okay to hit a wall and move on. Not everything needs to be min-maxed and perfected. You don’t always need to get the best of the best and win the whole thing. You can just…move on.
John: Yeah! It’s like a Happy Meal toy that’s surprisingly decent. You’re not going to play with it forever, but you didn’t throw it out that same day.
Zack: And yet, there are people reading this who will leave angry comments below saying we are shills or ruining gaming…
John: Well, here’s the thing. The other thing that keeps surprising me is how needlessly detailed it is. I know this is Blizzard, and this is what it does, but at the same time the game says “NetEase” when it loads up too. But you do a dungeon and suddenly the boss fight turns out to be three stages, each one involving a big environmental change, and then there’s a surprise bonus bit at the end. Or maybe I’m just doing some of the bounties from the bounty board, and instead of “kill 10 of those” which some are, it turns out to be a whole little story, an investigation into a crime or something.
This isn’t disposable. This is a whole proper Blizzard game. It’s odd, because it really doesn’t feel like playing Diablo at all. It feels maybe closer to World of Warcraft?
Zack: Yes! And all the tiny little animations and details out in the world too. I saw someone getting dragged to their death and it was a bit shocking and gruesome and I was like…wait, this is on my iPad! This is not the kind of game I expect to play for free on a tablet. I keep looking around, thinking a cop will show up and arrest me for stealing this $60 game.
John: Well, I mentioned it earlier, but it’s both on my telephone and my PC. I can genuinely walk away from my desk, and just carry on playing on my phone.
Zack: Which is another very awesome thing about Immortal.
John: You know what? If I’d paid $60 for it, I’d probably be a bit miffed at the graphics and how incredibly flaky and buggy it is. I’m forgiving a lot for the $0 entry fee. It disconnects me so damn often, and I’ve had it crash both on my phone and PC a huge number of times.
Also, the PC version is abysmal. It doesn’t even have resolution settings, and looks like what it is: a mobile game stretched far too thin onto a monitor.
Zack: I can’t actually play the PC version at the moment. It’s too dark and the map keeps breaking. But credit to Blizzard for doing a PC port at all so I don’t have to try and emulate it using Bluestacks. And yeah, the zero-dollar price helps me not be too bothered by all these issues and shortcomings
John: It’s odd, given Blizzard’s PC origins, that the desktop version is quite so poor though. Although it’s rather cheekily called it a “beta”. Mmmmmhmmm, this identical product to the telephone version is magically in beta now that it’s on my PC? Hmmm…
Zack: It’s for sure an odd thing, but hopefully it’ll get improved. And if not, the iPad version has been working well for me, even with its touch controls. But ultimately, I keep wondering why this game has broken some people online.
John: Oh, because it has the word “Diablo” involved. I remember writing in 2011 about how heinous it was that Blizzard was forcing always-on internet requirements on Diablo III, and was roasted online for my dissent. Then the game comes out and I say I’m having fun and I’m equally harassed.
Zack: Yeah. I think Diablo has a tendency to, ironically, drive people mad. And I’ll admit that if this was the only Diablo game we knew Blizzard was working on, I’d be a bit sad. But Diablo IV is coming. We’ve seen it. So I just don’t get the weird army of angry fans who seem hell-bent on attacking people who enjoy Immortal.
John: But is it? Will it ever really come out, Diablo IV? Will it? Also, if Blizzard hadn’t wasted all its time making this really very good free mobile game, it’d have finished Diablo IV over 40 years ago!
Zack: Well, the future of Diablo, the next game, and what happens next might be the perfect reason to do another VGchat. However, seeing as you are British, sarcasm is beginning to creep into this current chat, so I think we should wrap it up.
And also, to answer your sarcastic query, I do assume Diablo IV will one day be finished and released simply because the Diablo brand is…Immortal!
John: I feel good that I ironically mocked the people who haven’t read this far and are already leaving their comments, rather than acknowledge your terrible “joke.”
NetEase Games establishes Nagoshi Studio, led by Yakuza series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi
NetEase Games [273 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/companies/netease-games”>NetEase Games has announced the establishment of Nagoshi Studio” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/companies/netease-games/nagoshi-studio”>Nagoshi Studio, a new game development studio headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo and led by Yakuza series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi [39 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/people/toshihiro-nagoshi”>Toshihiro Nagoshi as its president and CEO. The studio will focus on developing high-quality console titles that will be released worldwide.
Nagoshi left Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and SEGA back in October 2021 with right-hand man Daisuke Sato [3 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/people/daisuke-sato”>Daisuke Sato, who is also a founding member of Nagoshi Studio.
Here is a message from Nagoshi on the studio’s establishment:
The sea of change that began in the entertainment industry in the late 20th century has brought even greater change to the industry in the 21st century.
Changes to entertainment content, how it’s made and the business model driven by technology and infrastructure advances have sparked a paradigm shift, and these changes are continuing to unfold with greater and greater speed.
What only yesterday had been considered the height of cool now suddenly becomes outdated before you know it.
For creators, this makes working in the industry today incredibly challenging.
But no matter how the times change, I believe that what people essentially want from entertainment has not changed one bit.
People see their dreams in entertainment.
People look to entertainment to give them hope in life, to soothe them in times of difficulty, and to add excitement in happy times. People look to entertainment to provide the spark for all kinds of events.
The appetite for entertainment is the same today as it was in the past.
There are obviously differences between the past and the present in how entertainment is consumed, its volume and velocity, but its essence remains the same.
The only way to deliver this essence to the world is if all creators approach the works they create with seriousness and clarity while grinding away to get closer to reaching the ideal.
One of my goals at this studio is to create an open atmosphere.
This may sound like an overly simplistic goal.
But even the most talented creators cannot fully unleash their abilities in isolation.
I believe that the first step to creating high-quality titles and delivering the essence of entertainment with strong motivation starts with creating an open atmosphere in the studio.
This means having open-ended discussions that ignore seniority and hierarchy.
This means not fearing mistakes while also not being afraid to correct them, and treating failures as assets. This means not giving up on reaching the ideal, and fighting to get closer to it.
This may seem so simple, but the simplest things can unexpectedly be the hardest to do, and at the same time the most important.
Nagoshi Studio is committed to creating content for the world to enjoy from this atmosphere.
The following eight staff make up the additional founding members of the new studio:
Daisuke Sato (producer)
- Profile: Joined Capcom [2,278 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/companies/capcom”>Capcom Co., Ltd. in 1992 after graduating from university. Joined SEGA [2,385 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/companies/sega”>SEGA Enterprises, Pyramid [15 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/companies/colopl/pyramid”>Inc. (currently SEGA Corporation) in 1994 and worked in the AM#2 department. Also worked in the consumer business, where he was the director and producer of the Yakuza series, and later became head of the development studio business. Appointed Director at Nagoshi Studio Inc. in January 2022.
- Message: “Nagoshi Studio Inc. is a brand-new company. Led by Toshihiro Nagoshi, our team of creators aims to produce high-end console titles that will become famous around the world. We are just beginning to build our culture as a new company, which will focus on delivering products of the highest quality. One thing that I intend to do as Director of the company is to make sure that we reward our creators for their work when we get the results we seek. I want our studio to be a place where we feel great satisfaction from the products we make as well as the work we do. We are currently hiring development staff. Come on board if you’re interested in sharing your passion and succeeding as a creator with us!”
Kazuki Hosokawa (artist)
- Profile: Joined SEGA Enterprises, Inc. (currently SEGA Corporation) in 1995, and was involved as a designer in series such as Panzer Dragoon and Jet Set Radio. He later became art director and director of the Yakuza series and producer of the Judgment series. Joined Nagoshi Studio in January 2022.
- Message: “I want to make games that people can’t resist. It has always been my goal to make beautiful, fun and expansive games that people won’t want to put down. I’ve had my good days and bad days while creating games, but one thing I’ve learned is that you always have to challenge yourself if you want to achieve your goals and make something great. Our new studio is full of people who have great ambition, and it is the perfect place to challenge yourself to make games that people become obsessed with. We don’t set boundaries on our creativity or the possibilities, because we believe there are no limits. We are looking for creators who will join us in our creative challenges. Please reach out if you want to experience the joy, the pain and the great satisfaction of creating at Nagoshi Studio. We look forward to working with passionate people!”
Koji Tokieda (programmer)
- Profile: Joined Amusement Vision, Ltd. (currently SEGA Corporation) as a programmer in 2001. After working in program development for the Super Monkey Ball series and F-ZERO AX/GX, he was involved in the Yakuza series, and was the main programmer for Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Joined Nagoshi Studio, Inc. in January 2022.
- Message: “I have been making games with Toshihiro Nagoshi for the past 20 years. And now I look forward to soon delivering games that people will love from the new Nagoshi Studio! I believe that it is a game programmer’s mission to make games interesting. The main job of programmers at Nagoshi Studio Inc. is to develop games using programming language. However, we are also looking for people who can contribute ideas to new endeavors and elevate the quality of our games, regardless of their role in the organization. If you are a creator who wants to make fun games and new titles for high-end console games, this is your chance to join us at our studio. Let’s create the future together!”
Masao Shirosaki (game designer)
- Profile: Joined SEGA Corporation as a planner in 2007. He was involved in the development for the Yakuza series, Kurohyo series, and Sakatsuku series, and was a producer for the Super Monkey Ball series. Has a wealth of experience in game development for various platforms, including development and operations for online mobile games. Joined Nagoshi Studio Inc. in January 2022.
- Message: “Hello everyone! I’m Shirosaki. Thank you for checking out our website. It had always been my dream to become a game creator. I want to create the excitement that so many great titles have given to me, so that I can share this with others and in some small way make people feel good. I look forward to working alongside Toshihiro Nagoshi to create games like this at Nagoshi Studio. We are going to make great games you’ll have fun playing, so stay tuned! We’re also looking for people to help us make games that light up the world. If you have this passion, aspiration and ambition, reach out and contact us!”
Mitsunori Fujimoto (engineer)
- Profile: Joined SEGA Enterprises, Inc. (currently SEGA Corporation) in 1991 after working at an overseas computer manufacturer. Primarily worked in IT roles (development environments and online games), and was engaged in a companywide development support business. Joined Nagoshi Studio Inc. in January 2022.
- Message: “You probably have high expectations for games that come with the Nagoshi Studio name. We created this company to make games that live up to these expectations for scale and quality. We make games that are deep, epic and filled with a commitment to please our fans. My role isn’t in game development per se, but is to provide whatever is necessary so that game developers can focus on their work. We’ve basically started from scratch without the infrastructure, pipeline or systems needed to develop deep, epic games. There is a lot of freedom, but it is also a major undertaking. We hope to hear from you if you think this Adventure [138 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/genres/adventure”>adventure is right for you.”
Naoki Someya (artist)
- Profile: Joined Amusement Vision, Ltd. (currently SEGA Corporation) in 2002 as a designer, and was involved in developing arcade games and console games. Served as the background designer for the Yakuza series and art director for the Judgment series. Joined Nagoshi Studio Inc. in January 2022.
- Message: “There is no greater pleasure as a game designer than to know that people get immersed in the visuals of a game and have fun in the world they create. There are a few things I would like to accomplish at the new Nagoshi Studio Inc. They include creating the greatest art the industry has ever seen, and creating titles that are loved by users. Our biggest goal, however, is to create as many titles as we can that wow the world. We’re intent on making these goals a reality, so stay tuned! We’re also looking for creators that want to take this journey with us. If you want to test your abilities and set goals to achieve, then Nagoshi Studio is the place for you. Let’s work together and create great things!”
Taichi Ushioda (director)
- Profile: Has worked at NHN Japan Corp., Square Enix [4,825 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/companies/square-enix”>Square Enix Co., Ltd., LEVEL-5 [692 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/companies/level-5″>LEVEL-5 Inc. and SEGA Corporation. Has served as director, producer and development general manager for a wide range of projects including major MMORPG titles and mobile games before joining Nagoshi Studio Inc.
- Message: “As someone who grew up in the era of games, I want to give back to the gaming industry and fans. I think this is best done by delivering games that people truly enjoy. But for people working in the game industry, do you find that other factors come into play that get in the way of achieving this simple goal? At Nagoshi Studio, we not only have staff with great passion and experience, but we also have the foundation that allows us to make games of the highest quality that hold up over time and across world markets. We have everything we need to focus single-mindedly on doing our best work to put smiles on the faces of game fans. We hope that game fans are excited for what’s to come from Nagoshi Studio. We intend to live up to your expectations with games that make you smile. To the game creators out there seeking a new challenge—why not come and fuel your passions with us?”
Toshihiro Ando (artist)
- Profile: Joined SEGA Enterprises, Inc. (currently SEGA Corporation) in 1996 and mainly worked on character designs at AC/CS. After working on development for Power Smash and Sakatsuku, he worked as lead character designer on the Judgment series. Joined Nagoshi Studio in January 2022.
- Message: “My childhood dream was to become a manga artist or a rakugo storyteller. In high school, I wanted to be an artist or graphic designer. But I fell in love with “Virtua Racing [30 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/genres/racing”>Racing” while at university, and before I knew it I was working at a game company. Working in this field may have been a natural progression for me, as I have always had a love for the arts and entertainment. The passion I feel burns just as bright today, and I hope to make great games that people love to play at this new company. Creating a worker-friendly environment where we can all enjoy creating is a key piece of this. Now that I am a designer at a brand-new company that is full of potential, I aim to create visual expression that is mind-blowing, beautiful and maximizes the excitement of the games we create. I want my designs to help give everyone who plays our games highly satisfying, memorable game experiences.”
Visit the studio’s official website here.
Suda51’s Studio Grasshopper Manufacture Announces NetEase Games Acquisition
Grasshopper Manufacture, the studio headed by No More Heroes creator Goichi Suda (Suda51), has announced that it has become a subsidiary of China’s gigantic publisher NetEase Games under a share transfer agreement active on May 31, 2021.
“Grasshopper Manufacture celebrated its 23rd anniversary in March this year,” said Suda in a comment alongside the announcement. “Our studio is made up of a diverse staff with a variety of backgrounds and personalities, all of whom love video games. As I thought about the strengths and peculiarities of our company, I could see a new future for our way of creative production.
I could see a new future for our way of creative production.
“
“NetEase Games has released many fantastic games, and I have heard for a long time about their strong reputation. When NetEase Games presented the opportunity to work on unique consumer games together, I came to the conclusion that by working together, we can deliver even more powerful and creative titles to our audience.
“In addition, NetEase Games is a reliable partner that understands and supports our strengths. They will give us support on the management side and fund our game development, but the planning and production of our games will be left entirely up to us. This means we can guarantee a consistent ‘Grasshopper Manufacture style’ and quality of our games. In addition, we will receive valuable support from thousands of NetEase Games artists and technical staff in areas such as graphics support and QA. Our goal is to make the most of these resources and deliver three more quintessential Grasshopper Manufacture games in the next 10 years.
“Please look forward to the history this new Grasshopper Manufacture will create in the future.”
For fans concerned that joining the giant Chinese publisher NetEase will mean Grasshopper is relegated to making mobile games, the phrase “consumer games” in Suda’s comment is usually used in Japan to mean games for console and/or PC.
Suda also said that the studio is recruiting now for a wide range of positions. Anyone interested in applying should visit Grasshopper Manufacture’s website for more details.
NetEase Games also delivered a statement to praise Suda and Grasshopper’s “strong style”, “clear design philosophy” and “unique taste from concept to fine details”.
The publisher, which currently has over 10,000 developers, also said that this acquisition should be seen as a message to top game developers in Japan and the rest of the world that the company is keen to keep investing in the quality and appeal of its games.
NetEase has been strongly rumoured to be in negotiations with Yakuza series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, who recently fuelled speculation when he parted from his high-profile role at Sega. The idea of two such radically different developers as Suda and Nagoshi as loose colleagues under the NetEase umbrella is certainly interesting.
Grasshopper Manufacture’s most recent game was No More Heroes III for Nintendo Switch. You can read IGN’s full review here.
Daniel Robson is Chief Editor at IGN Japan. No guessing which game inspired his Twitter handle, @NoMoreDaniels
Tencent and NetEase stocks fall as China urge video game firms to focus less on profit
State-run news agency Xinhua reported Wednesday that authorities had called in firms, including industry leaders Tencent (TCEHY) and NetEase (NTES), to discuss restrictions around the streaming and playing of video games among minors.
During the meeting, companies were “urged to break from the solitary focus of pursuing profit or attracting players and fans,” according to the report. They were also told to modify any rules or design elements of games that could be seen as “inducing addictions.”
The discussions included representatives from four government agencies: the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the National Press and Publication Administration, the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, according to Xinhua.
“Companies failing to follow the requirements will be stringently punished,” the state news agency reported.
Shares of Chinese gaming companies fell in response to the news. NetEase’s stock closed down 5.2% in New York on Wednesday, after the state media report was published, and Tencent shares dropped 6% in Hong Kong on Thursday.
Just last week, China barred online gamers under the age of 18 from playing on weekdays and limited their play to just three hours most weekends, marking a significant escalation of restrictions on the country’s massive gaming industry.
The move represented a huge tightening of earlier limits set by the agency in 2019, which had already restricted play to 90 minutes on weekdays and three hours on weekends for children.
Authorities said last week that the new restrictions were put in place to help prevent young people from becoming addicted to video games.
They reminded companies of this mandate on Wednesday, saying that game providers should “fully and faithfully impose the time limit” for minors.
“Online game companies and platforms … should strengthen political positions and shoulder responsibilities,” Xinhua wrote.
It said that authorities had instructed companies to crack down on content that promoted “wrong values” or an “unhealthy culture,” such as obscenity, violence and “money-worship.”
Live-stream gaming platforms were also told to step up supervision, “including banning large rewards” for underage players.
Companies are heeding the warning.
“We believe in healthy game play and take very seriously the physical and mental health of minors,” Tencent said in a statement.
“We appreciate the guidance and instruction from the relevant regulators, and will work hard to be in full compliance with all rules relating to youth game addiction and content regulation.”
NetEase also pledged to “strictly follow the rules and instructions.”
“We will continue our efforts to deliver more quality games and promote a healthy and responsible gaming environment for minor players, as we seek to build and promote a wholesome gaming environment in China,” it said in a statement.
The news comes as some critics have pointed to potential loopholes in the latest restrictions.
On Wednesday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that some online video game stores “do not verify the age of buyers, and won’t dissuade buyers even if they are aware that they are minors.”
Some stores even advertise that they are not part of the “addiction prevention” campaign, according to CCTV.
— CNN’s Beijing bureau contributed to this report.
China cuts kids’ online gaming time: Tencent, NetEase shares fall
China’s National Press and Publication Administration said minors will only be allowed to play online games for up to three hours a week. That is a significant reduction from previous rules.
Zhang Peng | LightRocket | Getty Images
GUANGZHOU, China — Shares of China’s second-largest gaming company NetEase fell on Tuesday after regulators dramatically cut down the amount of time children were allowed to play games.
NetEase was down about 2.9% in afternoon trade in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, rival Tencent was down more than 3% earlier in the day but turned positive later in the day.
Analysts expect the latest directive to have minimal impact on China’s gaming giants, perhaps one of the reasons Tencent shares reversed course.
On Monday, China’s National Press and Publication Administration said children below 18 years old will only be allowed to play online games for up to three hours a week and only during specific times.
The ruling significantly reduced game time for minors who, under 2019 rules, were allowed to play for up to 90 minutes a day for most parts of the day.
Gaming is the largest source of revenue for NetEase and Tencent. But analysts don’t expect a huge impact on the companies as a result of the new rules.
Tencent has previously said only a small amount of gaming revenue comes from younger players in China.
“We estimate about 5% of gaming revenue comes from minors under 18 years old, and we believe there is about 3% earnings impact to Tencent if we assume gaming contributes about 60% of total earnings,” investment bank Jefferies said in a note published on Monday.
“Minors represent low singe digits of NetEase’s gaming revenue,” the analysts added.
For a long time, the Chinese government has been concerned about gaming addiction amongst the country’s youth. Content such as games is also tightly controlled in China.
Tencent and NetEase have been through bouts of gaming regulation before.
In 2018, regulators froze the approvals of new game releases for several months. Tencent and NetEase have already made moves to restrict the amount of time young people play their online games for.