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While video game media titan Activision Blizzard, Inc. is planning on laying off 8% of their massive workforce, a total 400 employees at one of the company’s offices are still unsure if they are being cut. Back in 2007, Activision revealed that it would merge with Vivendi Games. As Vivendi Games is a holding company to Blizzard Entertainment, the company of Activision Blizzard, Inc. was quickly forged. Well, during the recent fiscal fourth quarter results conference call, CEO Bobby Kotick revealed that the company would be laying off numerous employees following a demand to “reduce complexity and duplication.” “We’re staffing up production on our incubation efforts faster, and increasing our investment in live services, in our tools, in our Battle.net platform, and in new areas like our fast growing esports and advertising efforts, but all with an intense focus on excellence, so we never disappoint our players.” Kotick said. “Our…

Streaming has become an increasingly popular practice through the recent years. With the coming success of the platform, more than a few strange occurrences have followed. Now it would appear that one YouTube streamer has been shot while allegedly antagonizing a local security guard. Zhoie Perez, known as Furry Potato Live to her fans, streams content on YouTube. The popular streamer centers much of her content on observing local law enforcement. This time, however, the streamer decided to do a little more than simply watch on. As reported by BuzzFeed News, the popular streamer recently recorded a live stream of herself spending some time around the Etz Jacob Congregation and Ohel Chana High School building in Los Angeles. A local security guard, later identified as 44-year-old Edduin Zelayagrunfeld, confronted Perez and asked her to leave the premises. Perez allegedly began provoking the armed security guard. Some viewers have since refuted…

Lawmakers have always been critical of video game culture. Now a Pennsylvania official is looking to implement a “sin tax” on certain video games. As reported by GameSpot, a bill has been proposed by Pennsylvania lawmakers to provide a 10% excise tax on certain games. Known as House Bill 109, the bill hopes to provide a “sin tax” on games rated M or Adults-Only by the ESRB. The taxed money would then be funneled into a “Digital Protection for School Safety Account.” The account is intended to enhance security measures at schools, following recent shootings. Republican state representative Chris Quinn proposed the bill back in 2018. However, the bill did not make it out of the committee during the 2018 legislation. Consequently, a similarly worded bill has since been proposed. Back in Sept., Quinn offered the following statement on the matter. “In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation…

The 22nd annual DICE Awards, held by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, just went down in Las Vegas. To perhaps few gamers’ surprise, Sony Santa Monica’s God of War completely stole the show. God of War won the highly praised Game of the Year award, while also managing to wrangle in a whopping nine awards from the total 23 categories. Speaking at the event, Meggan Scavio, president of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, offered a few words. “Tonight, at the 22nd Annual DICE Awards, the interactive entertainment industry gathered together from all over the world to celebrate their trailblazers – the very best in video games and the teams who – with their amazing talent and vision – have created boundary defying experiences that have captivated global audiences. On behalf of the Academy, I congratulate not only this year’s incredible nominees, but the esteemed winners chosen by…

‘Swatting’ is a growing phenomenon within the gaming world. Now Peter Simeti, founder of Alterna Comics, has become the latest alleged victim in an open ‘swatting’ case. ‘Swatting’ occurs when a person phones in a false report to 911. Claiming that there is a violent, terrorist related threat occurring within a home, the caller intentionally has armed SWAT teams sent to the recipient’s home. The act is considered a prank to some, but often ends as a fatal final moment for those on the wrong end of the supposed joke. Back in 2018, for instance, 25-year-old Tyler Barriss plead guilty to a series of prank calls to police. Among them, one of the supposed pranks ended in the death of 28-year-old Andrew Finch. As reported by CBSLA, Wichita Police Dept. Deputy Chief Troy Livingston made the following statement concerning the matter. “We believe this incident was a case of swatting,…

Video game titans Blizzard and Activision joined forces way back in 2007. That being said, it would appear that the merged gaming company is now making some changes Despite record high revenue for the year of 2018, the company will now be laying off over 700 employees. Back in 2007, Activision announced that the company would merge its assets with that of Vivendi Games. Among other things, Vivendi Games is a holding company to Blizzard Entertainment. Consequently, Activision Blizzard, Inc. was born. During the recent Activision Blizzard fourth quarter results conference call, CEO Bobby Kotick confirmed that the company would be performing lay offs following a desire to “reduce complexity and duplication.” Kotick’s full statement concerning the matter may be viewed below. “We’re staffing up production on our incubation efforts faster, and increasing our investment in live services, in our tools, in our Battle.net platform, and in new areas like…

A new Nintendo Direct is scheduled as of tomorrow, February 13th. Many upcoming games, both announced and unannounced, have the potential to be covered and revealed, including Animal Crossing, the mainline Pokemon game for the Switch, and the recently released hit Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The first of Ultimate’s DLC characters, Joker from Persona 5, has been announced already. Due to be included in the game this month, he will likely be featured in this month’s Direct. But a new, yet unannounced character may emerge as well. It’s always exciting to see who will be drafted next into the Smash roster, and with four more DLC characters coming after Joker, it could be a motley crew indeed. Although Smash Bros. characters are often incredibly difficult to predict beforehand due to their unpredictability, some make more sense than others. And while who knows which character will be revealed next, there are some that could be…

With the second Lego movie recently hitting theaters, I thought of another one of my favorite combos: Legos and Star Wars. I have no carpentry skills whatsoever, and if you told me to build a birdhouse, I would fail epically. However, even at a young age, I was a Lego connoisseur and could create anything that crossed my path. I was obsessed with Legos and Star Wars, and even built the Lego Millenium Falcon all by myself. You can envision my excitement when I found out there would be a Lego Star Wars video game. Game on bro. When I first found out about Lego Star Wars: The Video Game I was ecstatic. It would be the perfect blend of the loves of my life at the time. Now imagine the pain that came with that when I realized it was initially released on the Xbox and PS2, but not on the Gamecube. Oh,…

One of the most underrated games I have played in recent history is Batman: The Telltale Series. I loved the idea of a choice-based adventure for a young, inexperienced Dark Knight, and I found myself lost in the world of Gotham in a different way than I ever had before. However, I have never met another person who has played this game, and it makes me think I may be the only one who got to enjoy this excellent series. As I mentioned earlier, the choice-based adventure concept was great for a Batman game. It was such a cool experience to be Bruce Wayne and make crucial choices and decisions that would hopefully be best for Gotham City. It made the player feel like they were Bruce Wayne himself and showed how tough it would be to be Wayne and make split-second, potentially life-altering decisions. There are also parts where you must…

There are two things I love in life that when mixed are the perfect combination, and that is Mario and America’s greatest pastime. Sure, realistic games like MLB The Show are fun, but it’s way more entertaining to play against friends with a roster filled with Mario and his pals and enemies. I’m sorry, it just is. Mario Superstar Baseball is a game that I am always down to play. I still have my Gamecube (the Gamecube Mario ball is better than the Wii’s) and will take on anyone who is foolish enough to challenge me to a game of five innings. We’re turning off power-ups though; power-ups are a total scrub move. What makes the game so fun is the fact that you can pick a new team every time, and each player is unique and skilled in their particular area. You could go for a team filled with…