Bummer Morning: Nintendo Power Closing, PopCap And Funcom Layoffs [UPDATED]

They should scan all of the original issues and make them available for purchase on tablets for .99 cents a pop or something. I wouldn't mind flipping through some of those older issues.

Sad to see NP going away. :(

I remember Nintendo Power from by childhood. Amazing it was still going strong until recently. Rest in peace great magazine.

magazines go out this age & day, no surprise there, EA needing moar $$$ & layoff's folk, no surprise there either. still, what a shame -jc

make another goddamn Longest Journey game, Funcom!

Shame. I still read gaming mags from time to time. Still a sense of nostalgia for the physical format, especially when it comes to reading.

Worried about those guys at Popcap. I really am looking forward to PvZ 2, and I'm worried that nudging Popcap out of the genre it does best in for other games might seriously hurt them.

@MonkeyKing1969 said:

Forgive me if I am wrong, but I think some magazines like Nintendo Power needed to go away unless they were willing to adapt. I hear so many people say, "Oh that's a shame, I USED TO subscribe." But that is the point: people stopped subscribing because the magazine stopped being interesting for them. Then again I think Nintendo didn't do the publisher any favors by staying family friendly on all fronts.

I think it's more that, across the board, far fewer people are willing to subscribe to print publications. They get whatever content they want off the internet, and they expect to get it for free. Many people might have subscribed to a magazine/newspaper when hard copy was the only option, but will never pay to read the same content on website. They'll just skim whatever free content is available and complain about the ads.

R.I.P. Nintendo Power :'(

@Degringolade said:

"The greatest Nintendo Power reader letters you will ever see": http://slate.me/R1242W

I thought this was going to be lame letters, but its actually pretty interesting. Good find.

"The greatest Nintendo Power reader letters you will ever see": http://slate.me/R1242W

@BannerThief said:

What the hell is happening with social games companies?

The Bubble is Bursting

Forgive me if I am wrong, but I think some magazines like Nintendo Power needed to go away unless they were willing to adapt. I hear so many people say, "Oh that's a shame, I USED TO subscribe." But that is the point: people stopped subscribing because the magazine stopped being interesting for them. Then again I think Nintendo didn't do the publisher any favors by staying family friendly on all fronts.

And I just bought TSW. Sigh.

Sony killed off Studio Liverpool today too

I'm not a fan of these stories. It's happened too much this year alone.

@FMinus said:

@Shuborno said:

Maybe it's unreasonable of me to think of this as such, but the dots connected in my mind this way:

1. PopCap acquired by EA

2. PopCap lays off a bunch of people a year later

Isn't that what always happens with the big guys (eg. EA, Activision) acquiring the little guys?

It's called restructuring, it's shit, but sometimes it has to be done.

My father owned a car paint shop, and as his business grew, he bough a already established full car shop (metal workers, painters, mechanics, electricians, etc..) but he had to let go most of the painters and metal workers, since he already had his own from his own business - it's super shit, but else he would make no profit and all those guys would have nothing to do but to sit there and turn thumbs. If he had an abundance of money, he could have kept them, but he really needed mechanics and electricians + all the equipment that's why he invested in the purchase.

His shop still runs and makes profit 20 years later and all the old staff that wasn't let go on the merger is still working there, except people who went into pension.

I get it. My father owns a business as well.

I'm guessing that when PopCap was PopCap, the people building the company would feel a sense of responsibility to the people they brought into the fold.

When PopCap becomes EA, regardless of whatever sentiment the leaders of PopCap have, the sense of responsibility is to EA's bottom line, not PopCap's employees. I guess it's just a part of growing a business but it's why people get upset about the idea of a big faceless corporation - it's not about the people, it's not about excitement, and it's not about making great products.

I didn't think Nintendo Power was still going today to be honest.

Put Psygnosis (Studio Liverpool) on the list of this weeks bummers as well :..(

Damn, never realized Nintendo Power and I had the same birthday. We're basically twins. I am Nintendo Power.

Funcom should get in to making more modern adventure games. Take some notes from Telltale. Try to re-invent the genre. They are so good at storytelling, creating univerces and interesting settings. Would have loved to see a telltales The walking dead style adventure game from them.

I want to give you money Funcom, just give me an excuse.

@LordAndrew said:

@DeathbyYeti said:

George Fan who made Plants vs Zombies was let go after the announcement of Plants vs Zombies 2. That is real classy

This does not bode well.

Man, that is going to be a feel-bad game knowing this.

Why are these two, very different things lumped together? I was kind of confused by the headline for a bit, made it sound like Nintendo Power broke a story about Popcap laying off people, but no, they are closing and also layoffs elsewhere. I guess it's douchey to complain about that but these are big names that may have warranted their own pieces? Like, the long and storied history of Nintendo Power, a picture of Howard and Nester, or something?

@Little_Socrates: The social games staff for Pop Cap seems to be mostly in San Francisco. And they are in fact, hiring.

Seeing reports on twitter that the original creator of Plants and Zombies was "let go"

I just stumbled onto a stash of old Nintendo Power video game trading cards. Some fond memories of that magazine. RIP

I just got old today.

Remember when social games were the unavoidable future and the next generation of consoles was gonna be the last? Oops.

By the rate these lay-off reports get out I'm surprised there's anyone left in the game business at all. Could it be that other companies are concurrenlty hiring at the same rate as new projects need more staff than finnished ones?

That said, I hope the affected people softly lands on their feet.

Man, Nintendo Power going out of print. I read those religiously from age 6 to like 12, it was a great magazine. I still have the issue where one of my questions made it in the mail bag, and a special Pokemon card I won in one of their contests. Guess I'm getting old, and so is print media.

@DeathbyYeti said:

George Fan who made Plants vs Zombies was let go after the announcement of Plants vs Zombies 2. That is real classy

This does not bode well.

Nintendo Power has been terrible since the Gamecube, but still, seeing it go away is indeed heartbreaking. I think all of us here have that first issue of the claymation-looking Mario 2 stuff on the cover.

Seeing EGM go away the first time was equally tragic for me, as I beloved EGM as my "mature" gaming mag after I outgrew Nintendo Power in the N64/PSX era.

Holy shit, Nintendo Power is done? Man, just seemed like it'd be around forever. Phil Theobald :(

George Fan who made Plants vs Zombies was let go after the announcement of Plants vs Zombies 2. That is real classy

It's definitely the end of the definitive magazine from my childhood. I read Nintendo Power from issue one all the way up through the end of the Nintendo 64 era. That's priceless for too many reasons to count. I learned how games are made and the theory behind them. Limitations of the consoles, pre-internet buzz from Space World and E3. I would read the magazines cover to cover for any game good or bad.

This is the inevitable end to one of the few sacred magazines.

GOD SAVE THE (jeff) GREEN!

@TheKing said:

The Nintendo Power news is heart breaking.

indeed

although I can't remember the last time I bought or read one. Which I suppose is why they are going away.

@Deathpooky said:

I was back home sorting through my old stuff and found my old Nintendo Powers - the first magazine with the mis-colored Mario all the way up until the mid-90s. Man those were amazing before the Internet for game-loving kids. I read those things cover to cover many times. Sad but not unexpected in today's world.

I remember when that first strategy guide Nintendo Power did, the Final Fantasy one, was mailed to me. I was so excited.

The Nintendo Power news is heart breaking.

You brought us some terrible news Patrick. But, I'm still glad you are back!

I was back home sorting through my old stuff and found my old Nintendo Powers - the first magazine with the mis-colored Mario all the way up until the mid-90s. Man those were amazing before the Internet for game-loving kids. I read those things cover to cover many times. Sad but not unexpected in today's world.

@BannerThief said:

What the hell is happening with social games companies?

They built their business on people who left as fast they came?

Damn what a bad break, my thoughts go out to everyone affected.

@iAmJohn said:

Okay seriously, what the fuck does George Broussard even do anymore? It seems like his job ever since 3D Realms closed down has been breaking studio closures and downsizings on Twitter.

After DNF the big bosses put him in game development hell. Condemned to break depressing studio news till the end of time.

@TripMasterMunky said:

No more Nintendo Power - that's the end of an era right there.

You're right, Its saddening...

wow that is terrible. i remember getting nintendo power back when i had n64.

popcap were great with plants vs zombies.

@Brodehouse said:

I'm beginning to find layoff news to be useless. Because there's never hiring news. If we went by layoff news, every person in this industry is out of work. The only positive news I've ever seen posted on this level is excitement over the Minerva's Den people forming a studio. Otherwise it's non-stop negativity. I'm not even blaming our news guys for it, it just seems like its a big oversight.

While i generally agree, Epic opening a Baltimore studio was big news, especially since it worked out well (for them) in terms of timing...they brought over a lot of Big Huge games which had all been axed in the 38 studios collapse. So you cant say this stuff is NEVER reported.

Will there even be anyone LEFT to make video games in 10 years?

In a way it is a remarkable achievement that Nintendo Power lasted this long

Big shame to see Pop Cap Dublin get hit. It was kind of the sole flag-bearer of high-grade game development in this city. There's some EA customer support stuff elsewhere in the country, but PopCap seemed to be the biggest name and it also appeared to be an actual dev house. Pouring one out as I type.

@Sergotron said:

I am glad I do not work in this industry. You can't go a week in news without hearing some story about massive layoffs.

Seems like, right? Whenever there's a layoff, they layoff hard.