Tag Archives: core

Hideo Kojima has said the trend of adding social aspects to core games will only continue as the world becomes more connected. So, don’t be too shocked if the next Metal Gear contains some social aspects.

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Two more PSOne Classics may be on the way, courtesy of Square Enix’s Eidos properties.

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Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata has said he feels Wii was miscategorized by the media as a casual gaming console compared to PS3 and Xbox 360, and while he disagrees with the label, he admitted the console did not “cater” to every gamer’s needs.

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According to Gamer Segmentation 2011: The New Faces of Gamers, the latest report from US data monitor NPD, Core Gamers, once considered to be the leading gaming segment, is facing rising competition from “Digital Gamers” for amount of time spent gaming and number of games acquired.

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Microsoft has said it expects to see the games line-up for Kinect to “triple” this year.

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Part two? Part two?! But what happened in part one?! Were there car chases? Explosions? Was an average Joe like you or me thrust into extraordinary circumstances and forced to shoot/box/interpretive dance his way out?

The suspense is probably killing you. You are probably walking toward the light as we speak, your pulse becoming ever fainter because you need your videogame interview fix right this very moment. But lo and behold! There it is, perched upon yon Internet!

And once you’re all caught up, part two’s waiting for you after the break. Early reviews have declared it even better than part one, and when have early reviews ever been wrong? Click onward to read THQ Core boss Danny Bilson’s thoughts on Guillermo del Toro, the future of game demos, selling cut-scenes, how we should treat talent in the gaming industry, licensed games, and tons more!

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When you hear “THQ,” what springs to mind? Wrestling games? Ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-Nickelodeon? Well then, you might want to crawl out from under that rock you’ve spent the last few years living underneath.

Where’s Tim Schafer these days? THQ. How about Ninja Gaiden/Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki? Same. And what’s this about Guillermo del Toro? The bottom line: THQ’s come a long, long way – but it’s far from done.

Leading the way has been THQ Core boss Danny Bilson, who was kind enough to take some time out from his busy schedule of  interacting with some of the most interesting people in the industry to chat with little ol’ us. So we basically projectile vomited questions in his face, which he was surprisingly ok with.

Click past the break to hear Bilson’s thoughts on core Move/Kinect games, the need for creativity in the gaming industry, how we should handle touchy subjects like the recent Medal of Honor controversy, 3D, Tim Schafer, and plenty more!

[Interview by Nathan Grayson]

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THQ CEO Brian Farrell said in the firm’s full-year earnings call last night that core games can’t break even in the 700-800,000 unit range any more.

“On the core titles, yeah, 700,000, 800,000 units, those days unfortunately we think are over,” he said in answer to a question about break even levels.

“But within the kids segment, the break evens are very low – I mean, depending on the title, how many SKUs you do, per SKU your break-evens are, depending on the platform, could be somewhere between even 100 and 400,000 units.”

The target sales level was “fairly low in the kids and mass appeal as you might suspect but much higher on the core titles,” the exec added.

Get all the rest of the news from the call here.

According to this Forbes article, the modern games industry is becoming increasingly less tolerant of the “core” gamer. That’s you, probably.

“The ongoing paradigm shift in gaming is expanding the industry’s audience, giving the sector steady growth at a time when many others are shrinking,” says author Chris Morris.

“But growth doesn’t come without cost. As parents and seniors become more important to publishers, core gamers are being nudged aside.”

Never fret, though. Avid gamers are going to be increasingly catered for by indie developers. Phew.

“The hardcore is completely safe,” said Warren Spector. “They are less relevant to major publishers, but they are more relevant to independent developers.”

More through there.