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Video games

January

This is the worst page on the internet

Stimulation Clicker is a remarkable rendering of how digital life has gone off the rails.

Elon Musk arrives to speak at an indoor presidential inauguration parade event in Washington.

Elon Musk: Tech giant, political force and video game king. Or is he?

For the US billionaire, being a “hardcore gamer” is a key part of his identity. But some in the community are starting to doubt whether he has the time or skill to be on the leaderboards.

The new Nintendo Switch 2

Nintendo’s Switch 2 Is Here. Now it’s all about the games

After all the rumours and years of anticipation, we know what Nintendo’s next console is. It’s the Switch 2.

Peter Parker and Miles Morales team up against Venom in the next Spider-man game.

How video games got too good-looking for their own good

With a budget of almost $500 million, Sony’s “Spider-Man 2” game exemplifies an industry whose obsession with realistic graphics has begun to cost it dearly.

December 2024

Dungeons & Dragons, the granddaddy of all role-playing games, marks its 50th anniversary this year.

How Dungeons & Dragons became cool

The role-playing game, celebrating its 50th birthday, was once a nerdy niche. It’s championing by Hollywood creators has won it unprecedented popularity.

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November 2024

Raid: Shadow Legends is one of the games that will be sold under the deal.

Aristocrat sells fantasy mobile games publisher for $1.2b

The pokies manufacturer is refocusing on slot machines, lotteries and social casinos, divesting itself from the owner of a popular RPG.

Immutable co-founders and brothers Robbie and James Ferguson.

Australian crypto giant Immutable faces SEC blowtorch

The video game software company was founded by the two sons of a Macquarie banker and in 2022 had a valuation of around $3.5 billion.

May 2024

The yen this week dropped to its lowest level in more than two decades against the US dollar.

Why anger is rising over Japan’s ‘dangerously’ weak yen

Ryohei Kim is furious at the Bank of Japan because of the record-low yen and the impact it is having on his beloved video games.

January 2024

At Microsoft, gaming has become the company’s most important consumer business.

Microsoft cuts 1900 jobs from games division it bought for $105b

The layoffs at both Activision Blizzard and Xbox, as well as elsewhere in the sector, come as the pandemic boom in playing continues to recede.

How a 13-year-old beat AI to ‘break’ Tetris

For years the limit was thought to be level 29, when the blocks start falling so quickly it seems as if it would be impossible for a human to keep up.

Fans watch the match of the 2020 League of Legends World Championship in Shanghai.

China removes official after video game rules spark turmoil

Feng Shixin was said to have been fired after his agency unveiled new rules that sent video game stocks plunging.

November 2023

Michelle Guthrie has been voted out as Mighty Kingdom chair.

Shareholders oust Michelle Guthrie from video game maker’s board

The former ABC managing director has been voted off the board of the video game developer.

Zelda

Nintendo gets Wes Ball to sprinkle movie magic on Zelda

The games giant scored big with the Super Mario Bros movie. Now it’s hoping for a repeat.

October 2023

Mighty Kingdom chairwoman Michelle Guthrie will tip into the latest capital raise.

This video game maker was Australia’s big hope. It’s on life support

Mighty Kingdom has burned through $35 million in two years and has tapped the market for $1 million more to keep the lights on.

PAC Capital forced to liquidate ‘esports’ gaming fund

The decision is a blow to fund owner Clayton Larcombe, who has promoted online gaming as a promising investment opportunity.

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September 2023

Michael Pomroy still lectures in medicine, but spends most of his time online gaming.

Why this Newcastle doctor switched from scrubs to video games

Michael Pomroy made about $140,000 last year playing construction and building games online and posting videos about them after burning out as a doctor.

August 2023

Jensen Huang has a personal fortune of $US42 billion.

How Nvidia became the world’s most important company overnight

Almost every company and government in the world is desperate to invest in AI and the chip maker has ridden that wave to a trillion-dollar valuation.

July 2023

Resident Evil

Shares in this Japanese gaming group have surged 1200pc in a decade

Tapping underserved and developing markets, such as Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, with heavily discounted classic games has paid off for Capcom.

Scenes from “Candy Crush Saga,” left, by Activision Blizzard, and “Crash Team Rumble,” from Activision Publishing,

Court ruling changes game for Microsoft’s $103b Activision deal

US and UK regulators could demand more concessions but investors are betting on an industry-shaping victory.

May 2023

Property prices in the Decentraland metaverse have plummetted.

Property crisis in the Metaverse as virtual land-grab turns sour

Blockchain-based metaverses are suffering their own housing crisis, with virtual land values in Decentraland and Sandbox plummeting.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/video-games-5xo