The GamesIndustry.biz Microcast

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring as they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. Our main topic this week is Ubisoft's decision to shut down XDefiant next year, and what this says about the challenges of live service games. When even the biggest publishers are struggling to create a title that's engaging enough to draw players away from their 'home games', where does the industry go from here? We also discuss the latest wave of layoffs and studio closures, and this week's What Do The Numbers Mean? explores the impact of Black Friday sales (in the UK). As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz, and you can get all the biggest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to the GI Daily at www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring as they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. Our main topic this week is the spreading reports that Sony is making a new games handheld. We discuss how the platform holder might approach things differently after the struggles of the PSP and the Vita, how the success of the PlayStation Portal is a strong sign of demand, and how a Sony handheld can contend in a Nintendo-dominated space with an Xbox rival also on the way. Elsewhere, we discuss some of the biggest stories of the past week, including Shuhei Yoshida's upcoming retirement, plans to shut down Switch online services in China, and the delay to Xbox bringing game sales to its Android app.  As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz, and you can get all the biggest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to the GI Daily at www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring as they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. Our main topic this week is the struggles of consumer games events like PAX, EGX and the now-defunct WASD. Hands-on experience is still very much a crucial part of winning over potential buyers for your game, but the cost of attending and running events is escalating. David Lilley of WASD organisers Roucan discusses the challenges in this space, and why he's hopeful that events will return to form in future. We also discuss some of the biggest news, including Sony's potential acquisition of Kadokawa, and how well October's biggest games sold across Europe. As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz, and you can get all the biggest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to the GI Daily at www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring as they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. Our main topic this week is Nintendo's long-awaited (but very much expected) confirmation that Switch 2 will be backwards compatible with both its predecessor's software library and its online service. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this crossover, as well as the importance of backwards compatibility when launching a new console in today's industry. And financials season continues, bringing with it a host of related stories and discussions. This week, we touch on Take-Two's decision to sell Private Division, Sony leadership's thoughts on why Concord failed, the independence of Amplitude Studios and more. As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz, and you can get all the biggest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to the GI Daily at www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices