The main thing for the weekend (April 15-16)
The Wall Street Journal reported that SEGA is close to buying Rovio for $1 billion, a US senator asked Sony to provide copies of all exclusive gaming agreements, the initial sales of Hogwarts Legacy turned out to be 256% higher than Warner Bros.’ expectations. Entertainment, — we tell you what happened in the gaming industry this weekend.
According to sources of The Wall Street Journal, the Japanese company SEGA decided to buy Rovio for $ 1 billion. The deal may take place at the beginning of this week. Shortly after the article was published, both companies confirmed that they were in talks, but stressed that they had not yet made a final decision. They did not comment on the amount of the transaction announced by The Wall Street Journal journalists.
U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer is concerned about how Sony competes with console manufacturers. He sent a letter to the company’s CEO Kenichiro Yoshida and asked for a number of internal documents. Kramer wants to see: 1) unedited copies of all exclusive agreements that Sony has concluded with game developers and publishers, 2) copies of agreements prohibiting the release of games as part of Game Pass and other competing subscriptions, 3) Bungie purchase documents, and 4) all Sony correspondence with the US government and regulators about competition in the gaming market.
The initial sales of Hogwarts Legacy probably greatly exceeded the expectations of Warner Bros. Entertainment. Arien Darby, the company’s senior global brand manager, wrote in a LinkedIn profile that the game sold 256% better than planned. Recall that in the first two weeks Hogwarts Legacy sold over 12 million copies and earned $ 850 million.
▪️miHoYo reported that over 10 million people have pre-registered in its new game Honkai: Star Rail. This figure was achieved in a little more than two months: the company opened registration on February 10. Honkai: Star Rail will be released on April 26 on PC and smartphones, and will later appear on PlayStation.
▪️Spotify closes the Heardle — a musical puzzle in which you have to guess the song by the first notes in six attempts. The game will stop working on May 5. Spotify bought the puzzle last July, saying that Heardle would increase interactivity on the platform.
