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.
Rob Fahey
-
Overwatch 2 is less a sequel, more a business model relaunch | Opinion
Blizzard’s retooled online shooter is one of the biggest remaining launches of the year – and a very unusual attempt to overhaul the monetisation of a popular game in mid-flow
-
Single-player games deserve more than lip service | Opinion
Companies focused on live service games find it hard to justify heavy investment in single-player titles; it may be high time for firms to pick a lane and stick with it
-
Xbox revenues slide as 2022’s sparse release schedule bites | Opinion
With several major titles pushed to 2023 and Microsoft’s first-party investments yet to bear fruit, it's a weak year for new games – but that also creates opportunities
-
Third-party NFTs in games are the latest unethical twist from Web3 | Opinion
Mojang joins many other firms in swearing off NFTs -- but more worryingly, it finds itself forced to police third-parties building NFT services on top of Minecraft
-
Will the EU's new law change the digital landscape? | Opinion
As the Digital Markets Act passes the European Parliament, legislation has caught up with many of the demands made by critics of Apple and Google's platform dominance
-
In praise of the second screen | Opinion
Gaming sessions are now routinely accompanied by the glow of a smart device to check hints and strategies online -- and many games are designed with this content ecosystem in mind
-
The coming recession will hit the industry hard | Opinion
It's a long time since the games business was called 'recession-proof' - and recent changes could have made it more vulnerable to economic downturns than ever before
-
New PS Plus heralds the battle of the streaming services | Opinion
Sony is still playing catch-up with its Game Pass competitor -- but no streaming service has yet hit the magic formula that will appeal to a wide swathe of consumers, so it's all to play for
-
The idea of regularly-updated console hardware seems dead in the water | Opinion
This generation was meant to see consoles become an evolving platform with regular upgrades akin to smartphones - has the idea been quietly abandoned?
-
Launching GamesIndustry.biz: 20 years ago
We're celebrating a milestone today as founding editor Rob Fahey reflects on what inspired the site's creation and what keeps it going
-
Loot boxes have mostly avoided the hammer of legislation - for now | Opinion
The launch of Diablo Immortal highlights how the momentum has gone out of legislative efforts against loot boxes, but it's far too early to get complacent.
-
Is there an end in sight for the industry's merger mania? | Opinion
Enormously expensive acquisitions of industry giants have become commonplace in recent years -- but economic factors may be about to stamp on the brakes.
-
There's no hiding from the culture wars | Opinion
Sony and Disney's instincts to stay silent on culture war issues are understandable -- but among an array of bad and costly options, silence may actually be the worst of them all
-
Can a Switch successor be third time lucky for Nintendo? | Opinion
The question of what Nintendo does after Switch is increasingly important, but breaking the curse of unsuccessful console follow-ups is a major concern
-
Unionisation pushes reveal the industry's inequalities | Opinion
The pandemic has lit a spark under unionising drives across the industry -- but years of labour casualisation and abuse of sub-contracting relationships built up the tinder pile
-
Metaverse concepts should distance themselves from NFTs | Opinion
For all the unrealistic hype, metaverses are a useful way of thinking about the future of digital services - but being increasingly entangled with NFTs risks sinking with them
-
Subscriptions are the future - but nobody agrees on the details | Opinion
Industry consensus over the growing importance of this model disguises deep disagreements over how it will actually work
-
The 20-year nostalgia window | Opinion
With 2001's Max Payne the latest classic title to be slated for a full AAA budget remake, are the economics of the industry's remake boom starting to look precarious?
-
Sony's new service offerings change the PlayStation landscape | Opinion
PS Plus' new tiers reflect Sony's discomfort with subscriptions cannibalising game sales - but this industry shift now feels inevitable
-
Nintendo retreats to arm's length engagement with mobile | Opinion
The shutdown of Nintendo's only original mobile IP, Dragalia Lost, marks a further retreat from the firm's mobile ambitions - with IP licensing being the most likely way forward
-
Generation Overlap: The next-gen consoles learn to cohabit | Opinion
Supply and demand issues, coupled with some strategic moves from Microsoft and Nintendo, mean that PS4-era performance will be the industry's baseline for years
-
Will Steam Deck suffer from Valve's short attention span? | Opinion
Valve is building a track record of great hardware launches - but also tends to lose interest post-launch. Can Steam Deck break the streak?
-
Tournament licenses are a necessary step in taming eSports' Wild West | Opinion
Backlash to Capcom's community licenses for small tournaments highlights some genuine missteps -- but the general principle is sound
-
The costs of buggy game launches are mounting | Opinion
Consumers always hated the "launch now, fix later" approach, but the public is increasingly intolerant of low-quality launches
-
Nintendo's February showcase proves that nostalgia is big business | Opinion
As the generation who embraced PlayStation in their teens hit middle age, new leases of life for the games of the past are a smart strategy