Testing a new GDC coverage approach
Very cool to see that this project from one of my former Kotaku colleagues is already a big success!
Also, if you like numbers, one level of DK Bananza, the canyon layer, included 347,070,464 voxels
NEW: At GDC, Nintendo's designers didn't just explain the origins of Donkey Kong Bananza
They showed how Nintendo's current top devs are influenced by Nintendo classics they played as kids.
In this case DKB's producer loved Super Mario Bros' breakable world 1-2
www.gamefile.news/p/nintendo-d...
GDC dispatch: Google's DeepMind team spoke to a packed audience about Genie 3, the world model tech that conjures interactive worlds that stay consistent for about a minute. Genie 3 sent game stocks tumbling in January
The goal of Genie 3 isn't games, they stressed
www.gamefile.news/p/google-dee...
GDC tip: as with voting, just stay in line!
At least 100 GDC attendees unable to fit into this Google Deep Mind panel about AI and the future of playable worlds
Clearly of major interest
Their questions...
(My son re-numbered the questions after I printed them; my daughter did some doodling during the interview)
NEW: A busy day of third grade wrapped up, their fruit-strip snacks eaten, my nine-year-old twins had some questions about MLB The Show 26.
Good thing we'd booked time for them to interview one of the game's developers
A fun new edition of Game File:
www.gamefile.news/p/my-kids-in...
Working on a feel-good edition of Game File right now.
If you're attending GDC next week, please consider attending this panel about The Rise of Independent Game Journalism, featuring some so-called experts on the topic
(Monday, 3:10-4:10pm, West Hall - Room 3005)
schedule.gdconf.com/session/the-...
FedEx said: "If refunds are issued to FedEx, we will issue refunds to the shippers and consumers who originally bore those charges,"
TBD if Nintendo would pass on refunds to people who paid jacked-up prices for Switch OLEDs and Joy-Con 2s.
www.cbsnews.com/news/fedex-t...
Added context: Nintendo is not alone. Other companies that have sued over Trump's tariffs recently include FedEx, UPS, Barnes & Noble, Costco, Revlon, Prada, Staples...
In terms of gaming companies, I haven't seen others
Great scoop by @nicolecarpenter.bsky.social
www.reuters.com/business/aut...
It's Mario
I was impressed with the upgrade system that is built around finding mentors to train you... and how even the layout of the screen you use to track mentor progress hints at a twist to that system
Discovery in the game was also very well-executed. Lots of hidden treasure that is fun to find
Thank you for the feedback. I err on the side of putting the paywall low, because I know that some people can't pay. I don't want them to completely miss out. But I realize some people might feel tricked if the paywall shows up late!
You can read via a free trial, though it requires a credit card
Would you have preferred I put the paywall higher and given less away?
Oh, I'm well aware. It's one of Ubisoft's best open-world games ever. But it also probably should have been released 3-6 months later. It wasn't ready.
Another Ubisoft source told me they used to consider the company to be stable, but were rattled by job cuts and “the fact that we’re unable to ship anything right now.”
Ubisoft sources I speak to want to get more of their work out there. Big games, small games... anything...
Will take a moment for my Assassin's Creed-wired brain to stop thinking of Helix as the animus replacement in Assassin's Creed Unity (which, coincidentally, got a 60fps new-gen console update today)
This is not a piece about simple answers and easy blame. It's about a complex, nuanced problem.
If you're into that kind of coverage about the video game industry, Game File's for you
www.gamefile.news/subscribe
Their analysis explains more than the struggle of any single game or studio, but rather the breakdown of a global organization of teams and leaders--the cascading impact of one project's problems onto another and then another
NEW: What has happened to Ubisoft, a once-prolific publisher that now struggles to release games?
A veteran Ubisoft developer gave me an insider's take
“For years now... Ubisoft has repeatedly failed to create the conditions for an excellent game to be made"
www.gamefile.news/p/ubisoft-wh...
I’ve told my children that they’re not allowed to say “insider gaming”
Sometimes I get email replies to Game File newsletters that are clearly spam.
And sometimes I tell myself they're real.
Like the one I got today that said: "you have remained a constant source of strength and encouragement."
Thank you! (And you're welcome)
It matters when thinking about who is playing games globally and where companies (Chinese ones in particular) find success.
But the idea of this chart is to think about who is left, when you cut those few factors out: all the big publishers in Japan, U.S., Europe, etc.
Those last three are puzzle games that it's taking all of my willpower to avoid playing more of. Gotta wait for the final release!
The recent Steam Next Fest was great. So many wonderful demos for games I hadn't heard of.
In the latest Game File, I highlighted 6 that still have PC demos up:
- Froggy Hates Snow
- Enter the Chronosphere
- Wanderburg
- Deg
- Sokogram
- Clover's Quadrants
www.gamefile.news/p/one-key-ch...
A bleak report about the games industry made the rounds a couple of weeks ago. Then, last week, this dire chart was added to it
What it shows: Game industry revenue growth in 2025, excluding China, Roblox, hardware and console services (Game Pass, etc) was near 0
www.gamefile.news/p/one-key-ch...
