Japan's consumer affairs agency has declared the controversial complete gacha randomised item mechanic illegal, confirming developer expectations. The gacha system acts like a slot or capsule toy machine, with players paying a nominal fee for a chance to unlock items. The complete, or "kompu", gacha mechanism locks away a highly rare item until other items have been unlocked. More >
Andriasang reports that the latest issue of Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu lists Cave's two Vita projects as cancelled. Announced at last year's Tokyo game show but never seen in the flesh, one was a shooter, the other a social game. More >
Publisher admits sales of Street Fighter X Tekken have "fallen short" and indicates marked shift in approach to digital content.
9Sony's share value has plummeted following the company's announcement yesterday that it had lost £3.6 billion over the prior fiscal year. More >
Analysts say Gree and DeNA could take revenue hit of 20 per cent after phasing out lucrative social gaming mechanism.
Here's the first look at Soul Sacrifice, Marvelous AQL's Vita action game on which Capcom legend Keiji Inafune is lending a hand. More >
The figure was revealed by new CEO Kaz Hirai during an investor call following the release of the company's annual results, which showed total Sony losses of £3.6 billion. More >
1
PlayStation division loses £1.8 billion, but Sony expects to return to profit next year.
3Nintendo products dominated sales in Japan during the nation’s Golden Week holiday period. More >
DeNa CEO Isao Moriyasu admitted to reporters that the move would hit the company's finances hard. "We do not know if we can maintain the growth that we have enjoyed to this point," he said. "From here on, we need to properly devise products that are acceptable to society that can also maintain growth." More >
Net sales revenue for the 12 months ending March 31 rose 15.2 per cent to ¥454.2 billion (£3.5bn). Every division saw revenue at least double, with the exception of the company's arcade business, where sales rose by 97.9 per cent. More >
Bloomberg reports that the value of Tanaka's 48.18 per cent stake in Gree fell by ¥56.1 billion after the company's share price fell by 23 per cent to the lowest level since it went public in 2008. David Gibson, an analyst at Macquarie Securities in Tokyo, said the ban on complete gacha could hit Gree's revenue by as much as 18 per cent. More >
The worst declines were in Capcom's consumer online games division, where revenue fell by almost 24 per cent despite Asura's Wrath, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and Street Fighter X Tekken all selling over a million units. Monster Hunter Tri G sold 1.6 million units on 3DS. More >
Japan's national consumer affairs agency is casting a stern eye over "complete gacha", a popular component of social games in Japan. Taking its name from gashapon capsule toys, gacha is essentially a slot machine, with players paying a nominal fee per turn for a chance at winning an in-game item. More >
Source claims unannounced Platinum Games sequel is the first major casualty of Sega's restructuring drive.
4Electronic Arts shares rose the most in over four months today following a report claiming that South Korean free-to-play specialist Nexon had expressed an interest in acquiring the FIFA publisher. More >
Nexon, which runs the popular Asian MMOG MapleStory and recently announced deals to launch Eve Online and Counter-Strike Online 2 in Asia, hinted last week that it was keen on the acquisition of more game developers, but CFO Owen Mahoney told Bloomberg the company was looking at Japanese mobile developers. More >
From today, Gree will limit players aged 15 and under to ¥5,000 (£38/$62) per month and those aged 16 to 19 to ¥10,000 (£76/$124). DeNA will set the same limits for anyone younger than 16 from June onwards, but its ¥10,000 cap will only apply to those aged 16 and 17. More >
As we reported yesterday, Mikami's first project since 2010 Platinum Games shooter Vanquish was unveiled in Japanese magazine Famitsu. Mikami is executive director on the project, but insists he is taking an active role in development. More >