Jun 26

Gaming companies slowly rolling out no tolerance statements against any form of sexual allegation

Posted in: Animation

Recently More than 100 people in the gaming industry, of which most of them are women, have come forward with allegations of gender-based discrimination, harassment, and sexual assault. They have shared their stories in statements posted to Twitter, YouTube, Twitch, and the blogging platform TwitLonger.

These Tweets have tremored the gaming industry and have taken notice of widespread accounts of misconduct, and some companies have also started acting upon it. The stories have already produced vast reverberations, including the resignation of the head of one of the biggest management firms in all of streaming and the departure of over 20 streamers in his wake. In response, some streamers are boycotting the platform altogether today and refusing to stream.

The floodgates opened over the weekend, after a Twitch streamer Hollowtide tweeted that a well-known Destiny 2 streamer was “scum.”

Although the original tweet received only 1,500 likes, it had a ripple effect on the industry. Others in the community saw his tweet, and began to share their own stories.

“For a long time, I was afraid to say anything. I was worried it would ruin me as a content creator because my attacker had influence and a small place of power within the game industry.I’ve seen strong and brave women come forward about their experiences with assault, unwanted advances and discomfort forced on them by men and fellow content creators in our industry. It makes me angry and less afraid to share my story,” said Enola Leone, a content creator and graphic designer, in a Saturday statement on TwitLonger.

Two of the most influential streamers accused of sexual assault were competitive game streamer Tom “Syndicate” Cassell and prominent Destiny 2 streamer Lono “SayNoToRage,” who has never shared his last name.
Cassell is a streamer with three million followers who’s very publicly landed himself in hot water before — most notoriously after promoting a Counter-Strike skin gambling site called CSGO Lotto without disclosing that he founded it. Over the weekend, two women said that Cassell had forced them into sex while they were in relationships with him. (Cassell, who did not return requests for comment, called the allegations “false” on Twitter.)

Natalie “ZombiUnicorn” Casanova put out a video in which she said that Cassell forced her into non-consensual sexual activity in 2016. The two were “friends with benefits” at the time, Casanova wrote, but during one sexual encounter Cassell physically held her down against her will. “I smacked him and said, ‘No, stop.’” Casanova said that she later found out that Cassell had lied to her about not having any condoms.

Another popular streamer who has faced sexual misconduct accusations in recent days is Lono, aka “SayNoToRage,” an influential figure in the Destiny community. He is married with children. Beginning on Friday, six different people accused him of sexual misconduct and harassment. (Lono has since responded to some of these stories in a video in which he said that some of his actions had been “inappropriate” and “unacceptable,” but denied others. )

Variety streamer JewelsVerne wrote on Twitter that in 2017, she “played an entire card game” while sitting next to Lono, who she said kept his “hand on my thigh” the entire time and “then basically asked for sex.”

Later, a streamer who goes by the handle Snaps published a letter she wrote to Lono. In it, she recounted an April 2018 movie night that she and Lono attended, during which she said Lono, at various points throughout the evening, grabbed her hair, repeatedly stared at her, insisted on touching her despite her protests, and talked about how being inebriated made him feel “really liberated… sexually.”


There are many cases like these where the victim has shared the story in the form of video, blogs, tweets in response to that here is how gaming industry responded:

Facebook Gaming, in a statement, said, “We take all allegations of misconduct seriously and will investigate them thoroughly. We have a clear set of community standards, and we need to work together as a community to tear down toxicity in all forms.”While it investigates, it said it may suspend the account of the gamer in question.

Ubisoft‘s three employees known for games like Assassin’s Creed and Just Dance, have been accused of misconduct. Ashraf Ismail, creative director of the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Valhalla game, stepped down from the project to take a leave of absence, according to Ubisoft. Ismail was accused of allegedly engaging in relationships with multiple women while married.

“I am stepping down from my beloved project to properly deal with the personal issues in my life. The lives of my family and my own are shattered. I am deeply sorry to everyone hurt in this,” Ismail tweeted on Wednesday. His Twitter account is now deleted. Ubisoft apologized and said in a statement. “Concerning recent allegations raised against certain Ubisoft team members: We want to start by apologizing to everyone affected by this – we are truly sorry. We are dedicated to creating an inclusive and safe environment for our teams, players, and communities. It is clear we have fallen short of this in the past. We must do better.We have started by launching investigations into the allegations with the support of specialized external consultants. Based on the outcomes, we are fully committed to taking any and all appropriate disciplinary action. As these investigations are ongoing, we can’t comment further. We are also auditing our existing policies, processes, and systems to understand where these have broken down, and to ensure we can better prevent, detect, and punish inappropriate behavior.”


 Evil Geniuses, an esports organisation, also announced on Twitter early this week that it cut ties with two members, Grant Harris and Chris Gonzalez, after several women said Harris sexually harassed them, and racist comments from Gonzalez resurfaced.

Method, another esports organisation, announced Wednesday it would end its relationship with World of Warcraft streamer Method Josh, following accusations of predatory behavior. Co-CEO Sascha Steffens was also “placed on unpaid administrative leave pending the results of a third-party investigation,” it said.

Twitch also put out a statement on Twitter:
“We take accusations of sexual harassment and misconduct extremely seriously.We are actively looking into the accounts concerning streamers affiliated with Twitch and will work with law enforcement where applicable. We’re thankful for the bravery shown by those who have come forward to speak about their experiences, and we are committed to working to make the streaming community safer for everyone.”

Additionally, Twitch’s CEO Emmett Shear made public an email he sent internally to his company. In it, he said that punishments on the table for streamers who’ve been accused in a “credible” fashion include “banning, removing partnership, or removing people from promotional opportunities.”

Adding to the queue Dota 2 commentator and community figure, Toby “TobiWan” Dawson, has been accused of sexual assault and harassment too. Code Red Esports has dropped TobiWan from its representation, Beyond the Summit has cut ties with him, and Valve has removed his voice lines from The International 10 Battle Pass.

 

Gaming scholars said the community may be more receptive to addressing allegations of sexual misconduct this time around after embracing social activism during the recent Black Lives Matter protests. If gaming leaders start taking action on such misbehaviour against sexual assault, harassment, abuse, bully with no tolerance then sooner it will be healthier gamespace.

The post Gaming companies slowly rolling out no tolerance statements against any form of sexual allegation appeared first on AnimationXpress.

No Comments
Jun 26

Co-production : The way ahead of Indian animation industry

Posted in: Animation

The Indian Animation and VFX industry has grown by leaps and bounds over the past few years and opened new opportunities and avenues. Co-production is indeed a lucrative opening for the sector and is expected to be the way ahead in the near future.

India has always remained a favourite in terms of service or commissioned work of foreign countries due to skilled personnel and labour. For the last few years, the country has seen multiple co-production deals and experts opine that it’s only to get bigger and better.

Speaking at FICCI’s annual summit (this time virtually) – ‘Export of Indian Film Services to the World: Servicing the World Entertainment’, Green Gold Animation founder, CEO and MD Rajiv Chilaka commented, “We are best placed in the scenario in terms of everything. There is a value for money and maximum people who are coming to India for co-productions, are pleased for the quality versus the cost they are paying. The most important thing is that as Indians, we are very agile and quick in terms of learning new things and adapting to newer technologies, new methods, new software, rendering tools and others. We are very well placed as we have upgraded ourselves. During the lockdown the animation industry was still kicking and producing quality animated content right from what is commissioned by the broadcasters to independent projects and co-production projects as well. We have good opportunities to collaborate with other countries and that has a very bright future for us.”

The Government of India is also quite actively looking at more opportunities and providing benefits and facilities for the AVGC community. In fact, authorities are working on treaties and incentives and already have co-production treaties with over 15 countries and are open to more deals specific to the AVGC sector. They are also ready to identify more countries with whom India can have co-production deals in the near future and have asked for a complete list to work ahead on that.

Rajiv Chilaka

Government of India Ministry of Information joint secretary (Films) and NFDC MD TCA Kalyani mentioned, “Co-production is indeed the way ahead. From our side, the incentives are available for shooting in India and also for co-productions. The treaty also applies to animated and VFX projects too. We are also open to initiate dialogues with other potential partner countries for having co-production projects with India. Our co-production treaties in this case will be very helpful and useful.”

Government of India Ministry of Information additional secretary and Broadcasting Atul Kumar Tiwari added on the similar line, “Even during COVID, the animation industry was working full fledged and there is so much potential going forward. Collaborations are happening and more are possible. We will do whatever possible for us for a comparative advantage so that the industry is benefited and grows at the end of the day. The current trend and motto for the community is ‘Make in India, Made for the world.’ Our incentive scheme is ready, we’re already working on them and once it’s finalised, we will announce it soon officially including all the state policies and others.”

Ashish Kulkarni

Punnaryug Artvision founder and FICCI AVGC (Animation, VFX, Gaming and Comics) Forum chairman Dr. Ashish Kulkarni also gave a broad and informative insight about the recent co-production scenario in the country and what to expect in the near future.

Said he, “India has a brighter future in terms of co-productions. In this space, we have a large amount of productions happening between Asian countries itself. South Korea is very active and there are a large number of Indian studios that are traveling to South Korea and South Koreans coming here. We also have a lot of Japanese productions happening as well as a lot of co-production projects which have originated in Taiwan. Some deals have taken place in Sri Lanka, Israel, Malaysia, some new Latin American markets- like Brazil, Argentina, Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago, who have very progressive policies on animation. We have also recently initiated one production with Bhutan. We definitely can get into a new paradigm of co-productions with things being in our favour.”

Earlier, Toonz Media Group, Cosmos-Maya, Assemblage Entertainment, DQ Entertainment, philmCGI and other studios have co-produced major animated projects which have been very successful.

Kulkarni pointed out that with co-production deals and facilities, the production cost is taken care of by almost 40 to 50 per cent and those productions become much bigger and better for both partners. The challenge that Indian studios continue to face is how to sell that content in the Indian context, because most of the productions are not really happening in India but come as service work.

“Projects that come to us are maximum commissioned works and those are bought with all the rights, because in services business you don’t retain rights. If a company is selling the content completely to the broadcaster or the OTT platform. So we need to really see a balance is happening and that can come through co-productions. We can try to look at partially selling in India and partially selling in multiple other countries. And if all producers can actually access the co-production projects and they are able to retain certain rights with them, it is going to be a welcome thing for the industry,” exclaimed Kulkarni.

He also noted that India can go a long way because of the cost arbitrage and experience, which can win major projects out of the world and having a good experience is a big advantage for India. Also having good relations with other countries and potential partners is a key factor in inking a co-production deal.

Cosmos-Maya produced Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds with Apolo Films

India is now at a launching pad and the latest trends over the past couple of years clearly shows that Indian Studios want to move beyond only service work and are welcome to do co-production and some bit of ownership of the IP.

Kulkarni further stated, “Earlier it was only about the post-production work happening in India in terms of co-production projects. But now over the period of last five-six years, India has more original content. India can now play a much bigger role right from conceptualising, to ideating, visualisation of the story, plot outline, creating sound, music, mixing and more. We can be a very big winner as India has a very rich culture and history of music – one of the largest and strongest ecosystems due to a strong composition background as well as culture.”

The mechanism for smooth co-production deals is getting worked out very actively at places like NFDC with single window clearance and facilitation on co-production projects. According to Kulkarni, when the mechanism is on, India can position itself soon strongly. He’s also looking at strong markets/clusters in India itself like Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Trivandrum, Kolkata and even the NCR regions which are thriving in terms of the AVGC ecosystem, infrastructure and frameworks. He is very hopeful of a possible partnership happening between these clusters as well. In the near future they would be co-producing projects as well as with many foreign studios.

Keith Chapman Productions and Toonz Media collaborated on Paddypaws and Pals

Every region or state has different cultures and now they also have different policies as well. The governing body is working with some of the states who don’t have a policy to have a policy. There are certain states also who are willing to put funds and are looking at go production facilities which is a welcome sign. This will put India in a position to have enough funds and if there’s collaboration as an industry, the AVGC industry can take care of many challenging things.

“I’m very happy to see that the AVG (animation, VFX, Gaming) sectors are working in coordination and it’s the perfect time to implement co-production with treaties as well as without the treaties. The State and the Nation can also have their respective plays in this case. We need a cluster of studios to come together and work on it, which wasn’t easy earlier. I remember when I brought Barnyard to India, at one point of time there were 140 shows to be done and I personally took them to about seven studios, five of them signed up. They then work together on it to deliver Barnyard to Nickelodeon in the US. 

That’s the kind of thing I am looking at the new future in India in terms of collaborative models. So moving forward, I think we need to really concentrate on co-productions and opening of new partner countries that Indian studios have now started traveling and connecting with other studios as well as producing their own shows. So India as a destination for co-production, has a very very bright future and a promising way ahead,” concluded Kulkarni.

Barnyard

These are indeed tough times but Animation and Indian AVGC industry has found out a way around it, and with the instances and expectation, the industry is only going to soar higher and co-production is surely a major stepping stone for it.

The post Co-production : The way ahead of Indian animation industry appeared first on AnimationXpress.

No Comments
Jun 26

Crosscall – Core

Posted in: Animation
No Comments
Jun 25

KitBash3D given away $3M of premium 3D game visual assets for free

Posted in: Animation

KitBash3d, the company in the field of 3D buildings and landscapes, has announced that have given away more than $3 million dollars of premium 3D game visual assets of buildings and landscapes to creators in more than 130 countries. Their initiative, #BrightArtDarkTimes, is aimed at inspiring and lifting the spirits of game developers, hobbyists and artists, bringing communities together through art.

“Creating bright art during dark times is one way we can collectively contribute our artistic skills and uplift people’s days, especially during this pandemic.We’re deeply inspired by the more than 1000 pieces people have created, and that number grows daily. We invite others to join this initiative,” notes KitBash3d co-founder Banks Boutté.

 Leveraging KitBash3d’s Utopia Kit, the #BrightArtDarkTimes campaign has sparked more than 1,000 pieces of 3D art from creators around the world. In addition to all of the major game markets, creations are coming from countries such as  Myanmar, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, showing how gaming is for everyone, no matter where they live.

Also, Epic Games awarded KitBash3d with a MegaGrant for an upcoming project to be released this summer, with details coming soon.  KitBash3d co-founder Maxx Burman “We are humbled  to work with Epic Games, one of the most clear visionaries of the virtual frontier.  With them, we believe we’ll deliver an unprecedented advantage to all game developers, from indies to AAA studios.”

 People can download the free Utopia Kit at $199 value and start creating their own #BrightArtDarkTimes piece.

The post KitBash3D given away $3M of premium 3D game visual assets for free appeared first on AnimationXpress.

No Comments
Jun 25

Paddington continues his journey with License Connection

Posted in: Animation

The Copyrights Group, the brand development agency for writers, artists and brand owners has appointed License Connection as its licensing agent in Benelux for Paddington Bear. The Paddington books were written by Michael Bond and the first volume: A Bear Called Paddington was published in 1958. Since then, thirty-five million copies of the Paddington books have been sold worldwide and the series has been translated into over forty different languages.

License Connection will represent the Paddington brand across classic, baby, movie and TV for a broad range of products in the Benelux region. The Copyrights Group senior international licensing manager quoted, “We are very pleased to be working with License Connection on Paddington Bear in the Benelux. This is a very exciting time for Paddington, with the rich publishing heritage and the success of the films now paving the way for the upcoming TV series and a new generation of fans across the Benelux”

The Paddington movies produced by Studiocanal, with Harry Potter’s David Heyman have become the most successful independent family movie franchise ever, with more than $500m at the box-office. In 2020, a brand-new Paddington TV series designed for a pre-school audience, is launching worldwide on Nickelodeon. The Adventures of Paddington features a young Paddington and reaches out to a whole new generation of fans!

License Connection’s Daphne Kellerman said, “We are delighted that The Copyrights Group has appointed License Connection as the Benelux Licensing Agent for Paddington. We see great potential for the brand in the territory because of its heritage and the new adventures that are about to come. It is a well-known brand already globally and we look forward to add partners to create new products, so kids and parents can go on their own journey with Paddington.”

The post Paddington continues his journey with License Connection appeared first on AnimationXpress.

No Comments
Jun 25

WildBrain Spark launches a new YouTube channel to boost children’s literacy 

Posted in: Animation

WildBrain Spark, the digital media division of WildBrain, a popular independent kids’ and family entertainment company, has launched a dedicated channel of subtitled premium content for kids on its YouTube network in support of the Turn on the Subtitles literacy campaign (TOTS).

Commenting on the new venture, WildBrain Spark EVP and managing director Jon Gisby said, “We knew we wanted to support this valuable initiative from its inception and have now launched a dedicated 100 per cent subtitled WildBrain Literacy for Kids channel. TOTS has a simple message backed by compelling research and the benefits are significant and important, as well as aligning completely with our values. With kids spending so much time at home viewing content, and parents seeking to support home-learning, this initiative is also incredibly timely.”

WildBrain Literacy for Kids channel will feature premium kids’ episodes of content in Same Language Subtitling (SLS).

TOTS co-founder Oli Barrett MBE added, “Alongside the support of parents and teachers, we believe that responsible businesses have a potential role to play in improving the literacy of young people around the world. The leadership shown by WildBrain Spark is hugely appreciated and we hope that others will be inspired by their example.” 

The TOTS initiative set up by Barrett and Henry Warren and is supported by over 30 government, business, charity and academic leaders. It highlights the substantial benefits of SLS which allows audiences to hear and read the same language, word for word, in perfect timing. Extensive research from academics in countries across the world has shown that turning on the subtitles for children’s content improves literacy significantly, particularly for kids between the ages of six and ten. 

WildBrain Spark’s Literacy for Kids channel features popular episodes from its library of premium kids shows including Yo Gabba Gabba, In the Night Garden and Rev & Roll. New episodes will be published weekly and are available globally in English with the channel promoted across the WildBrain Spark network.

The post WildBrain Spark launches a new YouTube channel to boost children’s literacy  appeared first on AnimationXpress.

No Comments
Jun 25

Guild Esports reveals David Beckham as the co-owner

Posted in: Animation

Guild Esports (Guild), headquartered in London and co-owned by David Beckham has launched recently and they are into developing a talent pipeline in the UK, based on the traditional academy model. Through venture, the company is looking at becoming a bridge between sports and esports.

Beckham spoke on his involvement in Guild Esports in a release: “Throughout my career I’ve been lucky enough to work with players at the top of their game, and I’ve seen first-hand the passion and dedication it takes to play at that level. I know that determination lives in our esports athletes today and at Guild we have a vision to set a new standard, supporting these players into the future. We are committed to nurturing and encouraging youth talent through our academy systems and I am looking forward to helping our Guild Esports team grow.”

Guild is backed by a management team of esports veterans with experience as professional players, coaches and in the esports media. Guild Executive Chairman, Carleton Curtis, is an industry heavyweight and architect of the Overwatch League and Call Of Duty Leagues. Prior to joining Guild, he held senior esports roles at Activision Blizzard and Red Bull.Beckham, via DB Ventures, and Blue Star Capital have contributed towards a funding round by Guild Esports that’s targeting more than $31 million, with the latter investing $596,400 at 6p per share to maintain its 11.7 percent stake.

Guild Esports executive chairman Carleton Curtis, commented: “The meteoric rise of esports shows no signs of slowing down and this is the perfect moment for Guild Esports to enter this exciting market. We have built an experienced management team and I am proud to have David Beckham as co-owner in this venture as his professionalism and deep experience of developing high-functioning sports teams aligns with our core strategy of building the best in class esports teams. At Guild Esports, David will be instrumental in helping shape the coaching programme implemented at our academies and we welcome his valuable mentoring as well as the inspiration he gives the younger generation of athletes. Esports is already one of the most popular spectator sports on Earth and will continue to grow globally as excitement, accessibility and knowledge of the sector soars. Guild looks forward to playing a big role in the future of this growing community.”

The post Guild Esports reveals David Beckham as the co-owner appeared first on AnimationXpress.

No Comments
Jun 25

Bakarmax launches new webcomic ‘Karejwa’

Posted in: Animation

Bakarmax announced the launch of its new webcomic called Karejwa, written by Varun Grover, and illustrated by Ankit Kapoor set to release on 26 June 2020. Bakarmax founder Sumit Kumar has edited Karejwa. His other two graphic novels as an author are The Itch You Can’t Scratch and Amar Bari Tomar Bari Naxalbari. 

Grover is a standup comic, poet, screenwriter and lyricist. A National Film Awards winner, he has written the lyrics for Gangs of Wasseypur, Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Sonchiriya, and Fan. As a screenwriter he has worked on Cannes-winning Masaan and Netflix show Sacred Games. He is the author of two books – short story collection Paper Chor and graphic novel Biksu.

“I am kinda obsessed with the apocalypse and dystopia genre. A story about death and destruction doesn’t find a place in our children’s literature but thanks to the open mindedness of Sushil Shukla and Shashi Sablok, the editors of children’s magazine Chakmak, I attempted writing an apocalyptic tale, weaving in my love for Banaras (Varanasi) and its food into it,” mentioned Grover.

Kumar read the story and suggested it can be turned into a graphic novel. He also brought on board, Kapoor who translated the vision on paper, spending a year of his time creating the beautiful world and characters.

Karejwa is a story of a boy named Pintu who wishes to eat the last Gulabjamun of his life before an Asteroid hits the earth. Karejwa was originally written and published in children magazine Chakmak in 2015 and now it has been adapted as a webcomic.

Karejwa illustrator Kapoor is also an animator and is currently based in Chandigarh. After graduating from Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology (Bangalore), he did advertising for Netflix India at The Glitch (creative agency) as a motion graphics designer. He currently freelances on Illustration and animation projects from Chandigarh. This is the first major long-form comic he has worked on.

Kapoor was interning with Bakarmax in 2017, when Kumar introduced him to the story and he was instantly drawn to it – a grand apocalyptic thriller set in Varanasi. The team got the rights to an official adaptation and started working on it on and off for almost two years. Talking about the new project, Kapoor said, “I finally started drawing it full-time in the beginning of 2020 after leaving my day job. The final artwork was completed over the last few months as the lockdown actually proved instrumental in helping me work on it with undivided focus. I would like to thank Varun and Sumit for trusting me with this precious story. I hope the readers enjoy it.”

Ankit Kapoor and Varun Grover

Kumar had spoofed Grover’’s film Masan in Bakarmax, and called it Lassan. “Varun liked one of our comics, Char Ram, and suggested we see his stories on his blog. We read and loved Karejwa. But the secret sauce was still missing – which we found in the form of Ankit Kapoor. Ankit is a magician with colors. He can bring worlds to life. What he has done with Karejwa will inspire a new generation of graphic novelists to aim at something bigger, something grand,” Kumar concluded.

It’s been a long journey for Karejwa and Grover is grateful to Kapoor and Kumar for looking at black text on white paper and deciding to bring colors, geometry, and abstract to it. And we hope to feel the same and enjoy the webcomic as much as this trio did creating it.

Bakarmax’s webcomic and YouTube shorts have gained popularity and accolades everywhere. It’s always a treat to watch or read something from this animation and comic studio.

The post Bakarmax launches new webcomic ‘Karejwa’ appeared first on AnimationXpress.

No Comments
Jun 25

Disney further pushes opening of its California theme parks due to COVID-19 spike

Posted in: Animation

Disney announced yesterday, 24 June, that the company will delay the reopening of its theme parks in California due to an increase in COVID-19 cases in the US.

The House of Mouse planned to reopen Disneyland and Disney California Adventure on 17 July 2020, the 65th anniversary of the opening day of Disneyland Park, after the temporary closure for the pandemic. But now the theme parks will remain closed for some more days and Disney hasn’t yet announced the revised dates of reopening.

Disneyland-Anaheim,California

The company stated that the State of California had indicated it would not issue theme park reopening guidelines “until sometime after 4 July” according to a statement. the statement further read: “Given the time required for us to bring thousands of cast members back to work and restart our business, we have no choice but to delay the reopening of our theme parks and resort hotels until we receive approval from government officials. Once we have a clearer understanding of when guidelines will be released, we expect to be able to communicate a reopening date.”

Disneyland is still awaiting state and local government approvals for the new opening dates. California’s new COVID-19 cases continued to rise in recent days as the state was moving forward with its reopening plans. There was a 69 per cent increase in new cases in just two days as 7,149 new cases of COVID-19 were reported over a 24-hour span on Wednesday, breaking the daily record for new infections for a second straight day.

A coalition of labour unions representing 17,000 Disneyland Resort employees have expressed their concern over the July reopening plan in a letter last week to California governor Gavin Newsom, saying that they were “not yet convinced it is safe to reopen the parks” despite intensive talks with the company.

Disney said on Wednesday that the company had positive discussions and are very pleased to have signed agreements from 20 union affiliates, including the Master Services Council, which represents more than 11,000 of its cast members.

The company said that the signed agreement details plans that include enhanced safety protocols that will allow the company to responsibly reopen and get thousands of its cast members back to work.

Disneyland Adventure Park

Due to the pandemic, Disney closed its North American parks and resorts, cruise line business and Disneyland Paris in mid-March, while its Asia parks and resorts were closed much earlier.

The Shanghai Disneyland reopened on 11 May with a number of advised health and safety measures, becoming the first among six Disney theme parks worldwide to resume operations again.

“We developed enhanced health and safety protocols for both employees and guests at Shanghai Disney Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort, Florida that have been approved, allowing us to reopen in a responsible manner and bring our cast members back to work,” the company said.

The company said last month that COVID-19’s estimated impact on the entertainment giant’s income from continuing operations before income taxes was as much as $1.4 billion during the second quarter for the fiscal year 2020.

Hong Kong Disneyland

The post Disney further pushes opening of its California theme parks due to COVID-19 spike appeared first on AnimationXpress.

No Comments
Jun 25

The Pacific Gaming: India to witness steady growth in ‘skill sports’ sector in next few years

Posted in: Animation

The Indian gaming sector is the one sector that has seen the brighter side of the COVID-19 lockdown, and game of skill division of the sector has been the flag bearer. On one side where fantasy sports (which comes under the game of skill genre), has witnessed a dip due to cancellation of sporting events, whereas, real money game of skill games like rummy, poker, and others have seen an acceleration during the COVID 19 lockdown.

Since the game of skill sector has been flourishing during the period more and more players are joining the game of skill queue. For example, MyTeam11 which already has fantasy sports offerings like Cricket, Hockey, Volleyball, Basketball, Kabaddi, Football, Handball, and Baseball also launched MyTeam11Quiz followed by the launch of  MyteamRummy. This has followed suit to become the second new offering coming from the fantasy gaming giant in the month of April.

The Pacific Gaming CEO Archit Narayan

Understanding this trend The Pacific Gaming CEO Archit Narayan shared with AnimationXpress is that “As more recognised companies are establishing themselves in the ‘skill gaming’ sector, we have noticed an increased acceptance of real money games like poker and rummy among users during this lockdown.”

If we closely observe the growth of the sector and the rise of the game of skill is directly proportional to the number of the users consuming the game of skill games. Thus their P2P Poker platform PokerSaint has recorded 15 per cent MoM growth in its user base amidst the lockdown period. And Narayan believes that “games of skill will continue to attract more users even after the lockdown is restricted. As the economy slowly gets back on track, we expect new players to become aware of skill games and try their hands at real money skill gaming.”

One of the contributing factors to the success of online skill games is that one can play with a group of people virtually. As COVID-19 pandemic forced all to maintain strict social distancing measures, this has proven to be a growth catalyst for the skill gaming sector. However, he expressed that “Certain game formats such as fantasy sports are heavily dependent on external situations. Evidently, the pandemic has made a huge impact on fantasy sports, which is still reeling under stress from an uncertain future. However, with most of the fantasy game operators being young and dynamic, I am certain that they will make the right moves to re-establish the fantasy sports market in India.”

As people look for more avenues to stay entertained and socialise virtually since multiplayer skill games provide them an outlet to engage with others from the comfort of their homes it will continue to grow. “India will witness steady growth in the ‘skill sports’ sector over the next few years. Irrespective of the lockdown, online gaming will be the fastest-growing sector in India. It is going to be exciting to watch this sector grow and turn into an economically viable standalone industry,” he added.

Thus focusing on the future they are planning to diversify into various game formats globally by the end of this year. They are working on several new social and fantasy games that are already in advanced stages of testing. They will release more details in line with their go-to-market strategy plan to diversify into various game formats globally by the end of this year.

The post The Pacific Gaming: India to witness steady growth in ‘skill sports’ sector in next few years appeared first on AnimationXpress.

No Comments