Articles by Rob Fahey - Page 2
Rob Fahey, Contributing Editor
Rob Fahey is a former editor of GamesIndustry.biz who spent several years living in Japan and probably still has a mint condition Dreamcast Samba de Amigo set.
Recent articles by Rob Fahey
Stubbornness over cross-play reminds us of bad old Sony | Opinion
After opening up cross-play for major titles, Sony is now dragging its feet -- putting smaller developers at a disadvantage and confusing its consumers
Fortnite alone can't explain tumbling game stocks
The industry's biggest firms have lost around 13% of their value in the past week, and many are down a third in recent months
Epic vs Steam: Exclusives raise the stakes | Opinion
Epic is Steam's first real competitor in years - with console-war style exclusive tactics being a controversial, but fair, escalation of the struggle
Talking up the positives about gaming | Opinion
Hbomberguy's wonderful charity Twitch marathon has made headlines -- let's boost these stories, instead of letting trolls and misanthropes define our medium
Changing industry economics let Bungie forge a new destiny | Opinion
The idea of a developer operating an expensive online game would once have seemed ludicrous -- Bungie's new independence shows how much has changed
Free-to-play shutdowns risk a consumer backlash in 2019 | Opinion
Aggressive closures of underperforming free-to-play games has resulted in more virtual “property” being destroyed -- a backlash is looming
The UK industry stares down a Brexit disaster
2018 in Review: There are no silver linings to Brexit for the UK industry, as uncertainty and the threat of No Deal create a difficult business climate
Epic has actually listened to developers
An attractive revenue share isn't Epic's biggest promise for its new digital store; for many creators, a platform free of Steam's often-abused community features is essential
Nintendo bets heavily on the holidays
While Sony and Microsoft have spread sales over the year, Nintendo is laser-focused on the holiday season - and this year it needs every Switch sale it can get
When does an homage become a rip-off?
Legal or not, Epic Games' uncompensated copying of other creators' dances in Fortnite has called the company's morality into question
Pokémon's strategy is cross-generational
By balancing nostalgia for parents with appeal to children, Nintendo hopes to create gaming's first cross-generational franchise
Blizzard acknowledges the mobile reality
Diablo Immortal didn't go down well at Blizzcon, but Blizzard's Asian following makes a high-profile mobile strategy a necessity, not an option
Has the VR boom hit a wall?
Enormous progress has been made in headset design and software development for VR - but without a major technological leap forward, current devices won't reach the mass market
100-hour weeks mean bad management, not passion
Rockstar may not be the hell it's been portrayed as - but we need to stop lionising long overtime and start seeing it as a shameful sign of failure
The Xbox Tanker is turning
It takes years for a console platform to win back hearts and minds, but Xbox is finally getting there; now it needs to find and promote its unique difference
Dragalia Lost is a turning point for Nintendo
After focusing on mobile games based on established IPs, Nintendo's launch of an original IP unashamedly focused on the Japanese market is a major departure
Telltale Games and the lure of the cliff edge
Disastrous studio collapses are a fixture of the industry - and that won't change until we stop celebrating the brinksmanship of executives
Nintendo tries out streaming on Switch in Japan
As Switch rapidly catches up to PlayStation 4's installed base in Japan, Nintendo takes aim at major cross-platform titles with cloud streaming releases - a possible taste of the future to come?
Pokemon Go and the potential of seasonality
Major changes to Niantic's mobile AR game helped its popularity to surge over the summer, suggesting a new model developers could consider adopting
Is the Olympics relevant for esports?
IOC president Thomas Bach dismissed games as “contradictory to Olympic values” - but his approval is less important than what esports is building elsewhere
Riot's struggle with toxicity turns inwards
After years of focusing on toxicity in its player base, Riot Games faces up to unpleasant revelations about its own work culture - and the industry at large should take note
Assassin's Creed's gap year could start a trend
Annual franchises have always had their critics - but as their advantages fade, more careful and quality-focused franchise management needs to come to the fore
China's censors may target business models, not content
With no games approved in four months, China's censorship regime is in flux; could game monetisation be in the sights of the new authorities?
Sony and Nintendo's strategies converge
Bumper results for both platform holders point to a similar key to success - seeing themselves as game creators first and foremost
The business case for a streaming Xbox
Microsoft may be experimenting with streaming as a full-parity option for the next generation of Xbox - question marks remain over tech, but the commercial case is sound