logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2019
47m 3s

Toxicity, Nintendo, and Shovelware - The...

The GI.Biz Team
About this episode

It’s time for the GamesIndustry.biz Podcast, and this week James, Brendan, and Rebakah are on hand to discuss all the big news while still leaving plenty of room to reminisce about the GameCube. 

The industry is once again overflowing with complaints regarding toxic work environments, after former Razer employees accused CEO Min-Liang Tan of abusive behaviour. 

These allegations were joined by two court rulings which saw Quantic Dream pay a former employee €7,000 over an offensive photoshopped image, while Riot Games shelled out $10 million to former employees in gender a discrimination settlement. 

The Nintendo Switch is set to arrive in China tomorrow, around seven months after it was initially cleared for distribution by the Chinese government. 

Analysts predicted Nintendo was in for a rough ride this year following some optimistic sales projections. But far from the Switch losing steam, Nintendo has enjoyed a bumper 2019 thanks to its burgeoning (if a little troubled) mobile strategy, Detective Pikachu, and continued success of the Switch. 

Finally: Fewer, bigger, better -- the strategy many big game publishers talked about ten years ago, but where has the industry landed on this? Well, EA has gone from releasing 50 games in 2009 to just ten games this year. 

Publishers are releasing fewer games, but most of those which had the chop likely wouldn’t stick out, as it’s predominantly licensed and shovelware games, which have become increasingly expensive to make on console, finding a new home on mobile.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Up next
Jun 13
Making the Most of the Codev Model
Welcome to the weekly GI Podcast. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Podcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. For this special episode, sponsored by Virtuos, we look at what co-development can offer game developers creatively and commercially, with a particular ... Show More
44m 27s
Dec 2024
What do we expect to see in 2025?
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. T ... Show More
34m 54s
Dec 2024
2024 In Review
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. F ... Show More
39m 33s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2018
CG: How Nintendo Is Switch-ing It Up in 2018
After an eight-year streak of declining sales and underperformance, Nintendo wowed gamers and investors last year with the release of its Switch console. Since then, the company has grown its top and bottom lines at a triple-digit rate. We break down this Switch-fueled growth bef ... Show More
30 m
May 2024
Why are so many people in gaming losing their jobs?
Epic Games. Microsoft. Riot Games; owners of the biggest computer game titles in the world and part of a gaming industry which has been valued at $200 billion. That’s more than the music and entertainment industry combined. It’s not all plain sailing though.Epic Games, which crea ... Show More
14m 52s
Nov 2022
PlayStation Says Xbox Wants Them To Be Nintendo - Kinda Funny Games Daily 11.23.22
Blessing and Tim talk God of War Ragnarok sales, PlayStation makes more statements about Xbox, The Witcher 3 next gen update, and a new big studio from Netflix. Time Stamps - 00:00:00 - Start00:03:30 - HousekeepingA new Kinda Funny Podcast is up right now and it’s worth the dolla ... Show More
59m 59s
Apr 2023
Money Talks: Will video games eat Hollywood?
Video game makers used to look to Hollywood for their inspiration. But in recent years, the market for games has grown to nearly $200bn, five times more than people spend at the box office and more, even, than they spend on streaming services like Netflix or Disney+. And that has ... Show More
41 m
Jul 2022
What is going on with Nintendo? | Nontendo Podcast #10
What is going on with Nintendo lately? No NEW Nintendo Direct. Games and Trailers being dropped on Twitter... Wood and Bob talk everything that isn't happening at Nintendo. 
1h 5m
Apr 2023
Money Talks: Will video games eat Hollywood?
Video game makers used to look to Hollywood for their inspiration. But in recent years, the market for games has grown to nearly $200bn, five times more than people spend at the box office and more, even, than they spend on streaming services like Netflix or Disney+. And that has ... Show More
41 m