In a recent move, Apple has taken down two popular Meta-owned apps, WhatsApp and Threads, from its App Store in China. This decision comes in response to a request from the Chinese government, making these apps inaccessible for new downloads within the country. Here's why.
Here’s The Reason Japan’s Game Industry Is Raising Salaries Instead of Laying Off Workers
04.04.2024 - 09:23 / gameranx.com / Jim Ryan / Serkan Toto
So, we’re in the second year of an ongoing wave of layoffs in the video game industry. If you paid attention to a broader level something like this has also been happening in the tech industry as a whole, but for video games, it’s meant hundreds of very talented and valuable people losing their jobs.
Something that’s been coming up online is the sentiment that Japan isn’t the same as the West in this regard. In fact, we reported last month that Capcom decided to raise salaries for their workers. That salary increase was actually intended to bring them in line with the higher salaries found in other Japanese game companies, like Konami, Square Enix, and Nintendo.
It’s not that all Japanese game companies are doing well, as we had reported Jim Ryan also had people laid off in Japan as part of the PlayStation layoffs. But there is definitely something else going on in Japan that isn’t going on in the US or Europe, if not most of the world. So why is Japan different?
As revealed in this new report from Japan Times, Japanese game companies do have some aces that those in other companies don’t. The big factor seems to be the “robust domestic gaming market,” which reflects on how long Japan has been making and selling video games, even just for themselves.
Another factor mentioned is the Japanese mobile video game market. As Dr. Serkan Toto explains:
“In Japan you have a whole ecosystem of purely mobile-first and mobile-only game companies.”
Presumably, Japan’s mobile market is also particularly robust in itself, as they have persevered facing competition with mobile games and apps from the West, and also faced the same post pandemic difficulties the rest of the world did.
As for the higher salaries, that reflects on the particular boom period these game companies are enjoying right now. Gamers from abroad may have thought they were just rewarding their hardworking developers. In fact, Nintendo, Capcom, Konami, and others are competing for top Japanese talent within their industry.
Japanese companies in general try to keep their employees for longer, and so they try to instill company loyalty with them. And there’s a lot of other cultural connotations to this practice, but what we should know is that it isn’t that things are easier for game developers in Japan.
In fact, it’s more likely that once the games industry recovers from the circumstances that forced this wave of layoffs to happen, the likes of Bethesda and Rockstar Games will also compete for talent by offering top salaries and generous benefits.
But we don’t know just how much longer this layoff wave will keep going, or, if we should be considered that this is part of broader trends of things changing in the game industry in general. We certainly
The website gametalkz.com is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.
Top Authors
Popular Topics
rockpapershotgun.com
17.04.2024 / 10:57
GTA 6 publishers Take-Two cancel games and lay off hundreds to "rationalize" their pipeline
GTA 6 publishers Take-Two Interactive have announced that they're "rationalizing" their "pipeline" and positioning/restructuring/streamlining for growth by, you guessed it, laying off a load of people and cancelling a bunch of games. As detailed in a Security Exchange Commission filing, Take-Two are doing away with five per cent of the approximately 11,000 people who work for them, and have cancelled several in-development projects worth tens of millions of dollars.
eurogamer.net
17.04.2024 / 10:29
Take-Two laying off 550 people, weeks after saying it had "no current plans" to do so
Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two has announced it will lay off five percent of its 11,000-strong workforce — equating to around 550 people — and cancel multiple in-development projects. The company said the move was the next stage in its ongoing restructuring plan, which began in February.
gamingbolt.com
16.04.2024 / 23:59
Take-Two Interactive to Lay off 5% of its Workforce and Cancel Projects to Save Costs
2024’s brutal wave of games industry layoffs has seen the likes of Microsoft, EA, Sony, Riot Games, Sega, and many others cutting significant amounts of jobs, and another major name has now joined that list with Take-Two Interactive.
gamingbolt.com
16.04.2024 / 19:03
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, Another Crab’s Treasure Lead Game Pass’ Wave 2 Lineup for April
Microsoft has revealed the lineup of games that will be added to the Game Pass catalog over the next couple of weeks, and subscribers have some notable titles to look forward to. Most prominent among them is probably Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, Rabbit and Bear Studios’ long-awaited Suikoden spiritual successor, which launches April 23 and will also be available with Game Pass on PC, console, and cloud at launch.
gamesradar.com
16.04.2024 / 15:39
After nearly 20 years, the "least broken" Mario Kart game just got a huge new skip that threatens to flip the speedrunning scene on its head
After almost 20 years, dedicated racing game enthusiasts have discovered an enormous skip in one of the most popular tracks in Mario Kart DS, flipping existing speedrun records upside down.
gamesradar.com
15.04.2024 / 16:49
With 20 hours to go, Helldivers 2 players are finally in position to succeed the latest Major Order after Game Master Joel gave them hell all weekend
The last few days have been rough for Helldivers 2 players, to say the least. As the weekend began, we were hit with a new Major Order – halt the Automaton advance and hold the Menkent line, maintaining complete control over Menkent and Lesath in the process. It's just two planets, so simple enough, right?
tech.hindustantimes.com
13.04.2024 / 02:43
Google One VPN to be discontinued, here’s the reason
Google One users received disappointing news today as Google announced the discontinuation of its VPN feature in the coming months. Introduced back in October 2020, the VPN by Google One aimed to provide an extra layer of online protection for Android users, promising peace of mind regarding data safety. Despite its initial promise, Google revealed that usage of the VPN feature was significantly lower than anticipated, leading to its discontinuation.
wccftech.com
12.04.2024 / 15:39
PlayStation’s Ex Head of 3rd Party Joins Nintendo AAA 3rd Party Team as Switch 2 Approaches
While he may not be as well known as, say, Jim Ryan, longtime PlayStation fans will no doubt recognize the name Gio Corsi. As PlayStation’s former senior director of third party production, Corsi spearheaded a lot of initiatives – he was particularly noted as a booster of the PS Vita and was responsible for bringing a lot of Japanese Vita titles to a worldwide audience. He also was responsible for jumpstarting interest in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise worldwide after the series initially kind of sputtered out in the West.
droidgamers.com
08.04.2024 / 20:21
PreCats! Is A New Cat Raising Idle RPG Giving Off The Battle Cats Vibes
Get set for a belly-full of laughs with PreCats!, the new idle RPG on Android. It’s a cute and creepy cat RPG adventure. It was created by Ignition M, which is known for titles like Raspberry Mash. Are you keen to dive into this rollicking escapade? Follow along as we give you a quick lowdown on the game!
tech.hindustantimes.com
05.04.2024 / 04:17
Samsung Galaxy S23 users report unresponsive touchscreen, heating issues after update - Know the reason
In the last few days, the users of the Samsung Galaxy S23 series have become the recipient of Galaxy AI features such as AI wallpaper generator, image editor and note summaries, courtesy of the One UI 6.1 update. While the new features are indeed enticing, the update has caused a different headache for some, with new problems arising on the Galaxy S23 series smartphones.
screenrant.com
04.04.2024 / 20:27
Where To Catch The Goby Fish In Stardew Valley
Fishing is one of the main activities in , and finding a Goby is quite tricky. In the early game, it is an excellent source of income and the focus of multiple bundles in the Community Center. However, some fish are harder than others to find.