brain drain
Latest
AMD exec behind Wii and Xbox 360 graphics jumps the fence to NVIDIA
AMD has been suffering a conspicuous brain drain, with executives like ATI veteran Rick Bergman and CTO Eric Demers crossing over to tangentially or directly competitive companies like NVIDIA and Qualcomm. Chalk up another one for the list -- strategic development VP Bob Feldstein has bounded towards NVIDIA's (literally) greener pastures. The blow cuts deeper than usual through Feldstein's responsibility for graphics in most of the consoles from the past few years: he headed up work behind the Xenos chip in earlier Xbox 360s and the Hollywood core in the Wii, and he likely had some say in the Wii U's video hardware as well. While the staff shuffle won't directly affect AMD's Fusion processors or Radeon cards, it's hard to see much of a positive for AMD's future in video gaming, even in the light of rumors that the next PlayStation and Xbox might use some of Feldstein's work.
TIGA: UK 'brain drain' sees nearly half of laid-off devs leaving country
Britain's developer workforce has fallen 10 percent since 2008, and 41 percent of studio employees laid off between 2009 and 2011 have relocated out of the country, UK-games trade association TIGA reports. TIGA is publishing a survey from Games Investor Consulting that covers three-fourths of the UK games industry and warns of a brain drain in the UK.Bizarre Creations, a Liverpool studio that closed in 2010, saw one-third of its former employees leave the UK for new jobs in the games industry, according to the report. It also claims that countries such as Canada can entice UK talent because they benefit from tax breaks that reduce the cost of game development. The UK currently doesn't have comparable tax breaks, but "the video games industry is exactly the kind of sector that the Government should be supporting to help rebalance the UK economy," TIGA CEO Richard Wilson says.
NintendoWare Weekly: Mario Tennis, Jett Rocket, Maestro
There's a Virtual Console game this week! It's kind of hard to believe. It's even a Mario game -- a Mario sports game, but a Mario game nonetheless. Meanwhile, WiiWare hosts a 3D platformer that appears very Mario-like, and DSiWare introduces North America to Maestro, a musical platforming game that was only released in Europe in its full cartridge incarnation.
European Nintendo downloads: Bit.Trip Runner, Ghoul Patrol
The fourth game in Gaijin Games' retro-esque, musical Bit.Trip series arrives in Europe today, three days before Commander Video runs across the Atlantic Ocean. Should your tastes run more toward shooting than running, you can play Ghoul Patrol, the second game about zombies having eaten someone's neighbors. DSiWare is packed with stuff, including EnjoyUp's original DS version of Chronos Twins and a time-management game about fire trucks. Ghoul Patrol (SNES, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points) Bit.Trip Runner (WiiWare, 1 player, 800 Wii Points) AiRace (DSiWare, 1-6 players, 500 DSi Points) Brain Drain (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points) Chronos Twins (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points) Fire Panic (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points) Sudoku Challenge! (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)
