Technology

Apple to combine iPhone, iPad, Mac apps

Bloomberg Apple Inc. wants to make it easier for software coders to create tools, games and other applications for its main devices in one fell swoop — an overhaul designed to encourage app development and, ultimately, boost revenue. The aim of the multistep initiative, code-named “Marzipan,” is that by 2021, developers will be able to build an app once and ...

Read More »

China not holding gaming approvals, says NetEase

Bloomberg NetEase Inc. dismissed reports China is holding up gaming approvals as it untangles a huge backlog, saying the company is closing in on the release of Diablo Immortal for the world’s top gaming market. Chief Financial Officer Yang Zhaoxuan told analysts that select regulatory agencies are tweaking the process through which developers seek approval to make money off titles, ...

Read More »

Airstream adds smart app controls, retains retro appeal

Bloomberg Airstream—the maker of bullet-shaped, aluminum-clad trailers—finally has some contemporary technology to go with its Jetsons aesthetic. The brand from RV giant Thor Industries is introducing a new app for controlling its campers, from AC to lights. “It’s effectively a blend of a smart home and a connected vehicle,” said McKay Featherstone, Airstream’s vice president of product development. “We’re trying ...

Read More »

Redefining the commuter car

Bloomberg It’s all-electric like a Tesla. It’s priced like a Ford Fiesta. It’s one of the oddest-looking vehicles you’ve ever seen — and it may just redefine the commuter car. As General Motors Co. prepares to shut the plant near Toronto that got car-making started in Canada more than a century ago, a new model is taking shape in a ...

Read More »

Robot scratches tip of Fukushima’s 600-ton melted fuel conundrum

Bloomberg Japan reached the latest hard-fought step in the 40-year, $194 billion cleanup of the 2011 Fukushima meltdown: A robot successfully touched some of the melted fuel sitting inside one of its three wrecked reactors. Japan has decided to remove and dispose of the melted nuclear fuel inside of the Fukushima plant, rather than entombing the site as was done ...

Read More »

Angry Birds maker plans to sell control of Hatch unit

Bloomberg Rovio Entertainment Oyj, maker of the Angry Birds mobile games, fell after it reported declining profitability, and warned investors of lower profits for the first half of the year. The company is prepared to cede control of subsidiary Hatch Entertainment, the cloud-based gaming service it currently owns 80 percent of, to less than 50 percent. Without Hatch, the Finnish ...

Read More »

Video games are changing!

Bloomberg As the video game model evolves, Morgan Stanley expects the market to pay less for publishers until they develop a better sense of what works. The success of free-to-play games like Fortnite by Epic Games and recently released Apex Legends by Electronic Arts Inc. are changing player behavior, as gamers may not see the utility of paying $60 for ...

Read More »

Google to spend $13bn on data centers, offices

Bloomberg Alphabet Inc.’s Google plans to spend $13 billion on data centers and offices across the US in 2019, saying the investment will create thousands of new construction jobs in states outside its traditional base of California. The new spending builds on $9 billion the company put into expanding across the country last year. By the end of 2019, Google ...

Read More »

Nintendo unveils new games to boost switch

Bloomberg Nintendo Co. has unveiled 18 previously unannounced games as the company doubles down on software titles to revive slumping sales of the Switch console. Among the most promising new games are Super Mario Maker 2, which will go on sale in June, and Zelda: Link’s Awakening slated for some time this year. The release of Fire Emblem: Three Houses ...

Read More »

The flops are piling up for video-game titans

Bloomberg In recent years, the video-game industry looked like it had found the antidote to the boom-bust cycles that had long plagued the business. Publishers focused on a few well-known titles and extended their lives through in-game purchases, expansion packs and online tournaments. Electronic Arts Inc., one of the largest players, doubled its market value to almost $45 billion last ...

Read More »
Send this to a friend