Sony PlayStation has reportedly laid off around 90 employees in North America in an apparent move to focus more on direct-to-consumer marketing over brick-and-mortar sales.

According to a report by Axios, Sony is shutting down its "merchandiser" team in the US, a group that included individuals whose job it was to connect with retail store staff and prepare them to sell PlayStation products. Other retail marketing jobs were also impacted by the layoffs.

Leadership reportedly explained the cuts as a part of a "global transformation" of Sony's sales and business operations. This suggests a move away from focusing on retail sales in favor of direct-to-consumer marketing, especially as digital sales of games continue to grow and thrive.

Sony has yet to comment on the layoffs.

In the same week, Sony unveiled its Xbox Game Pass competitor in a revamped PlayStation Plus, combining the existing PS Plus and PS Now into a three-tier subscription service including up to 700 games. The service is planned to start rolling out in June, and will include a number of first-party titles such as Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel's Spider-Man, and others at launch. However, first-party exclusives will not be launched into the service, unlike Xbox Game Pass.

Sony has also been in the process of expanding its PlayStation Direct program, effectively an online store for it to sell consoles, games, and merchandise direct to consumers without going through retailers. The service started in 2019 in the US, and late last year began to expand to Europe and the UK.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Sony PlayStation has reportedly laid off around 90 employees in North America in an apparent move to focus more on direct-to-consumer marketing over brick-and-mortar sales.

According to a report by Axios, Sony is shutting down its "merchandiser" team in the US, a group that included individuals whose job it was to connect with retail store staff and prepare them to sell PlayStation products. Other retail marketing jobs were also impacted by the layoffs.

Leadership reportedly explained the cuts as a part of a "global transformation" of Sony's sales and business operations. This suggests a move away from focusing on retail sales in favor of direct-to-consumer marketing, especially as digital sales of games continue to grow and thrive.

Sony has yet to comment on the layoffs.

In the same week, Sony unveiled its Xbox Game Pass competitor in a revamped PlayStation Plus, combining the existing PS Plus and PS Now into a three-tier subscription service including up to 700 games. The service is planned to start rolling out in June, and will include a number of first-party titles such as Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel's Spider-Man, and others at launch. However, first-party exclusives will not be launched into the service, unlike Xbox Game Pass.

Sony has also been in the process of expanding its PlayStation Direct program, effectively an online store for it to sell consoles, games, and merchandise direct to consumers without going through retailers. The service started in 2019 in the US, and late last year began to expand to Europe and the UK.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

AMC's The Walking Dead has filmed its final scene ever, marking the end of a 12-year run that has spanned 11 seasons and 177 episodes.

The zombie drama's official Twitter account shared a collection of cast photos alongside a statement regarding the series wrap today:

"Today is the big day! Filming for #TheWalkingDead is coming to an end. It's been an incredible 12 years and we hope all the amazing cast and crew have a fantastic wrap day. #TWDFamily forever!"

Today is the big day! Filming for #TheWalkingDead is coming to an end. It's been an incredible 12 years and we hope all the amazing cast and crew have a fantastic wrap day. #TWDFamily forever! pic.twitter.com/ybGR8jqa9O

— The Walking Dead (@TheWalkingDead) March 31, 2022

The final day of filming was originally delayed when earlier this month actor Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl Dixon on the show, suffered a concussion during filming. Explicit details regarding how Reedus was injured haven't been shared, but the actor shared on Instagram that he was in an unspecified accident. He has since made a recovery.

Based on a comic book series co-created by Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead is one of the most popular zombie series in recent history.

Though The Walking Dead is coming to an end, the universe it spawned on AMC will live on through a variety of spinoffs. Fear the Walking Dead is now in its seventh season and has been renewed for an eighth, while The Walking Dead: World Beyond wrapped up its two-season run late last year.

Three other spinoffs are in the pipeline for 2022 and 2023, too. Among them is a six-episode anthology series called Tales of the Walking Dead which will tell stories about new and returning characters from the original show. Meanwhile, an untitled entry in the franchise will focus on fan-favorite characters Daryl and Carol, though plot details surrounding the team-up are thin at this time.

More recently, AMC announced Isle of the Dead, a six-episode spinoff that will see the unlikely duo Maggie and Negan explore "a post-apocalyptic Manhattan long ago cut off from the mainland." The episode's premise is particularly notable since Negan notoriously murdered Maggie's husband and beloved character Glenn — a point of significant tension in recent seasons of The Walking Dead.

The Walking Dead's final season is currently airing in three parts, with the Part 2 finale airing on April 10. The show's final 8 episodes will launch later this year on AMC.

AMC's The Walking Dead has filmed its final scene ever, marking the end of a 12-year run that has spanned 11 seasons and 177 episodes.

The zombie drama's official Twitter account shared a collection of cast photos alongside a statement regarding the series wrap today:

"Today is the big day! Filming for #TheWalkingDead is coming to an end. It's been an incredible 12 years and we hope all the amazing cast and crew have a fantastic wrap day. #TWDFamily forever!"

Today is the big day! Filming for #TheWalkingDead is coming to an end. It's been an incredible 12 years and we hope all the amazing cast and crew have a fantastic wrap day. #TWDFamily forever! pic.twitter.com/ybGR8jqa9O

— The Walking Dead (@TheWalkingDead) March 31, 2022

The final day of filming was originally delayed when earlier this month actor Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl Dixon on the show, suffered a concussion during filming. Explicit details regarding how Reedus was injured haven't been shared, but the actor shared on Instagram that he was in an unspecified accident. He has since made a recovery.

Based on a comic book series co-created by Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead is one of the most popular zombie series in recent history.

Though The Walking Dead is coming to an end, the universe it spawned on AMC will live on through a variety of spinoffs. Fear the Walking Dead is now in its seventh season and has been renewed for an eighth, while The Walking Dead: World Beyond wrapped up its two-season run late last year.

Three other spinoffs are in the pipeline for 2022 and 2023, too. Among them is a six-episode anthology series called Tales of the Walking Dead which will tell stories about new and returning characters from the original show. Meanwhile, an untitled entry in the franchise will focus on fan-favorite characters Daryl and Carol, though plot details surrounding the team-up are thin at this time.

More recently, AMC announced Isle of the Dead, a six-episode spinoff that will see the unlikely duo Maggie and Negan explore "a post-apocalyptic Manhattan long ago cut off from the mainland." The episode's premise is particularly notable since Negan notoriously murdered Maggie's husband and beloved character Glenn — a point of significant tension in recent seasons of The Walking Dead.

The Walking Dead's final season is currently airing in three parts, with the Part 2 finale airing on April 10. The show's final 8 episodes will launch later this year on AMC.

David Gaider and the team at Summerfall Games are combining their love of narrative and music with Stray Gods, a roleplaying musical. But fans who are familiar with Gaider’s past work as lead writer on Dragon Age will find that Summerfall Games is pursuing a similar route for how their story unfolds, albeit much more musically.

Stray Gods is the first game from Summerfall Studios, an Australian-based team of veterans and rising stars across the industry. Stray Gods centers on Grace, a singer who inherits the powers of the Last Muse. The problem is that Grace now has to convince the other gods that she wasn’t responsible for the Muse’s death.

As a narrative RPG, players will not only make dialogue choices but lyrical ones as well. And considering Gaider was the lead writer on Dragon Age, fans of his work at BioWare will find similarities in Stray Gods.

“If someone has played the Dragon Age games, the dialogue part of the game is going to feel very familiar to them,” Gaider tells IGN in an interview. “It is playing the dialogue portion with the story and making choices during the dialogue, having traits that determine sometimes which options are available to you, and it changes the story. Lots of branching along the way, so yeah, it will feel quite familiar.”

Where Stray Gods charts its own path is the music which, along with Journey composer Austin Wintory and a team of lyricists, looks to bring narrative choices directly into a musical.

“The choice is in the music. That’s really the key to the entire project because we have about four hours total content of music that we’ve planned, but a player’s only going to hear a smaller portion of that,” Gaider says.

He explains that it’s similar to a Broadway musical where it’s not just about the beat or chorus line in the lyrics, but about the emotion and story conveyed during the song. “So you’re making choices as you go, and they’re timed so that you can maintain sort of the consistency and the flow of the song. And the choices you make determine how the song evolved. So it’s not just what the next lyrics are, the music itself actually changes.”

Along with Wintory, the music team includes Montaigne, Australia’s Eurovision representative for the last two years, as well as Scott Edgar, Steven Gates, and Simon Hall, a team of local lyricists based out of Melbourne.

Of course, a team working on a musical adventure will naturally have favorite musicals they can look towards. “One of my favorites is Into the Woods, and I know that is a reference we keep using,” says Gaider. “I also keep going to the Buffy musical [episode] as well, just because that is an example… of the musical numbers being diegetic, as in it’s a conceit as part of the story as well. Plus, it is actually a really good musical.”

Gaider and Summerfall Games co-founder Liam Esler also cite Hadestown, which coincidentally is a Broadway musical about Greek gods also. But Summerfall's team of veteran writers and musicians have a unique vision of their own with Stray Gods.

Check here for everything announced at this year's Humble Games Showcase.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

David Gaider and the team at Summerfall Games are combining their love of narrative and music with Stray Gods, a roleplaying musical. But fans who are familiar with Gaider’s past work as lead writer on Dragon Age will find that Summerfall Games is pursuing a similar route for how their story unfolds, albeit much more musically.

Stray Gods is the first game from Summerfall Studios, an Australian-based team of veterans and rising stars across the industry. Stray Gods centers on Grace, a singer who inherits the powers of the Last Muse. The problem is that Grace now has to convince the other gods that she wasn’t responsible for the Muse’s death.

As a narrative RPG, players will not only make dialogue choices but lyrical ones as well. And considering Gaider was the lead writer on Dragon Age, fans of his work at BioWare will find similarities in Stray Gods.

“If someone has played the Dragon Age games, the dialogue part of the game is going to feel very familiar to them,” Gaider tells IGN in an interview. “It is playing the dialogue portion with the story and making choices during the dialogue, having traits that determine sometimes which options are available to you, and it changes the story. Lots of branching along the way, so yeah, it will feel quite familiar.”

Where Stray Gods charts its own path is the music which, along with Journey composer Austin Wintory and a team of lyricists, looks to bring narrative choices directly into a musical.

“The choice is in the music. That’s really the key to the entire project because we have about four hours total content of music that we’ve planned, but a player’s only going to hear a smaller portion of that,” Gaider says.

He explains that it’s similar to a Broadway musical where it’s not just about the beat or chorus line in the lyrics, but about the emotion and story conveyed during the song. “So you’re making choices as you go, and they’re timed so that you can maintain sort of the consistency and the flow of the song. And the choices you make determine how the song evolved. So it’s not just what the next lyrics are, the music itself actually changes.”

Along with Wintory, the music team includes Montaigne, Australia’s Eurovision representative for the last two years, as well as Scott Edgar, Steven Gates, and Simon Hall, a team of local lyricists based out of Melbourne.

Of course, a team working on a musical adventure will naturally have favorite musicals they can look towards. “One of my favorites is Into the Woods, and I know that is a reference we keep using,” says Gaider. “I also keep going to the Buffy musical [episode] as well, just because that is an example… of the musical numbers being diegetic, as in it’s a conceit as part of the story as well. Plus, it is actually a really good musical.”

Gaider and Summerfall Games co-founder Liam Esler also cite Hadestown, which coincidentally is a Broadway musical about Greek gods also. But Summerfall's team of veteran writers and musicians have a unique vision of their own with Stray Gods.

Check here for everything announced at this year's Humble Games Showcase.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Actor and comedian Jim Carrey is considering retiring after starring in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

During an interview with Access Hollywood (transcribed by Variety), the 60-year-old actor revealed that his latest movie, a sequel to family flick Sonic the Hedgehog, may be his last.

“Well, I’m retiring,” he said. “Yeah, probably. I’m being fairly serious. It depends. If the angels bring some sort of script that’s written in gold ink that says to me that it’s going to be really important for people to see, I might continue down the road, but I’m taking a break.”

Carrey shot to fame in 1994 with several breakout roles including Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber. Since then, he’s carved out a career as the quintessential 90s rubber-faced funny man, following up his early successes with classics such as Liar Liar, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. He even nabbed a villainous role as The Riddler in 1995 superhero film, Batman Forever, whose “unsanctioned buffoonery” saved the movie.

However, in later years he became known for his surprising depth. The leading role in Man on the Moon showcased what Carrey was capable of as he stepped into the shoes of legendary comedian, Andy Kaufman.

If he does retire, it would make Sonic the Hedgehog 2 his somewhat unlikely final film.

“I really like my quiet life and I really like putting paint on canvas,” he added. “I really love my spiritual life and I feel like — and this is something you might never hear another celebrity say as long as time exists — I have enough. I’ve done enough. I am enough.”

Carrey’s certainly been slowing down of late. His role as Doctor Robotnik in the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie was his first major studio role since 2014’s Dumb and Dumber To.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 stars Ben Schwartz, Jim Carrey, Tika Sumpter, James Marsden, and Natasha Rothwell. Jeff Fowler directed the film with a script by Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whittington.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Thumbnail image by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images

Actor and comedian Jim Carrey is considering retiring after starring in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

During an interview with Access Hollywood (transcribed by Variety), the 60-year-old actor revealed that his latest movie, a sequel to family flick Sonic the Hedgehog, may be his last.

“Well, I’m retiring,” he said. “Yeah, probably. I’m being fairly serious. It depends. If the angels bring some sort of script that’s written in gold ink that says to me that it’s going to be really important for people to see, I might continue down the road, but I’m taking a break.”

Carrey shot to fame in 1994 with several breakout roles including Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber. Since then, he’s carved out a career as the quintessential 90s rubber-faced funny man, following up his early successes with classics such as Liar Liar, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. He even nabbed a villainous role as The Riddler in 1995 superhero film, Batman Forever, whose “unsanctioned buffoonery” saved the movie.

However, in later years he became known for his surprising depth. The leading role in Man on the Moon showcased what Carrey was capable of as he stepped into the shoes of legendary comedian, Andy Kaufman.

If he does retire, it would make Sonic the Hedgehog 2 his somewhat unlikely final film.

“I really like my quiet life and I really like putting paint on canvas,” he added. “I really love my spiritual life and I feel like — and this is something you might never hear another celebrity say as long as time exists — I have enough. I’ve done enough. I am enough.”

Carrey’s certainly been slowing down of late. His role as Doctor Robotnik in the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie was his first major studio role since 2014’s Dumb and Dumber To.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 stars Ben Schwartz, Jim Carrey, Tika Sumpter, James Marsden, and Natasha Rothwell. Jeff Fowler directed the film with a script by Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whittington.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Thumbnail image by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images

Nintendo’s original HQ building in Kyoto has been renovated and reopened as a boutique hotel that preserves many of the building’s original features.

Hotel Marufukuro opened for business today, April 1, marking the first time this historic location has been open to the public – although we should note that it is not a museum, and is a fairly expensive hotel that will make it difficult for many game fans to stay the night. IGN Japan visited with camera in hand.

Before Nintendo was called Nintendo, it was the business of Fusajiro Yamauchi, who began making and selling Japanese playing cards called “hanafuda” in 1889. As his business grew, it moved into its first proper HQ in 1933, and later was named Marufuku Co, Ltd, which is where the hotel gets its name. The company later changed its name to Nintendo Playing Card Co., Ltd, and eventually vacated the building in 1959. It has remained standing ever since.

At Hotel Marufukuro, you can see many remnants of the original Nintendo HQ. The original Marufuku nameplate still remains on the top of the front of the building, written in stylised Japanese kanji characters, and can be seen stenciled on old supply crates along with the Japanese characters for “Nintendo”. Meanwhile, a plaque on the exterior wall remains untouched, reading “Nintendo Yamauchi” and listing the “trump cards and carta” that the company made at the time. The plaque is so old that the text reads from right to left, as Japanese used to be written.

The building is divided into four parts, named for the suits of a deck of cards. Spades is where Nintendo’s office functions were originally located; Hearts is the former residence of the Yamauchi family, who ran the business; Clubs is where the warehouse was located; and Diamonds is brand new wing that was added with the restoration, designed by world-famous architect Tadao Ando.

With the exception of the additional wing, the building has largely retained its original structure. Much of the exterior is just as it was in 1933, although the interior has been renovated. The freight elevator is no longer functional but has remained as decor. The chairs from the original conference room remain in what has now become a lounge, while the antique clock at the entrance is also period, which is why it does not tell the correct time. Some original doors and pieces of scratched wallpaper have been repurposed. The Japanese Suite is housed in the Yamauchi family’s original quarters, refurbished to conjure the style of the period, so guests can feel like the president of Nintendo.

Many old Nintendo hanafuda cards that were made in the building have been framed and displayed, while classic Nintendo hardware such as the NES and GameCube (which were created long after Nintendo vacated the building) have been turned into artful ornaments.

Rooms at Hotel Marufukuro start at around 108,000 yen (about $880) per night. Accommodation plans are all-inclusive, meaning guests get gourmet meals, use of the bar, local-brewed beer and more included in the price. Currently entry to the building is only available for guests, but in future, the restaurant housed in the original warehouse wing will be opened for non-guests.

For further information, visit https://marufukuro.com/en/

Daniel Robson is Chief Editor of IGN Japan, and you can find him on Twitter here. Younasi is a freelance writer for IGN Japan.

Nintendo’s original HQ building in Kyoto has been renovated and reopened as a boutique hotel that preserves many of the building’s original features.

Hotel Marufukuro opened for business today, April 1, marking the first time this historic location has been open to the public – although we should note that it is not a museum, and is a fairly expensive hotel that will make it difficult for many game fans to stay the night. IGN Japan visited with camera in hand.

Before Nintendo was called Nintendo, it was the business of Fusajiro Yamauchi, who began making and selling Japanese playing cards called “hanafuda” in 1889. As his business grew, it moved into its first proper HQ in 1933, and later was named Marufuku Co, Ltd, which is where the hotel gets its name. The company later changed its name to Nintendo Playing Card Co., Ltd, and eventually vacated the building in 1959. It has remained standing ever since.

At Hotel Marufukuro, you can see many remnants of the original Nintendo HQ. The original Marufuku nameplate still remains on the top of the front of the building, written in stylised Japanese kanji characters, and can be seen stenciled on old supply crates along with the Japanese characters for “Nintendo”. Meanwhile, a plaque on the exterior wall remains untouched, reading “Nintendo Yamauchi” and listing the “trump cards and carta” that the company made at the time. The plaque is so old that the text reads from right to left, as Japanese used to be written.

The building is divided into four parts, named for the suits of a deck of cards. Spades is where Nintendo’s office functions were originally located; Hearts is the former residence of the Yamauchi family, who ran the business; Clubs is where the warehouse was located; and Diamonds is brand new wing that was added with the restoration, designed by world-famous architect Tadao Ando.

With the exception of the additional wing, the building has largely retained its original structure. Much of the exterior is just as it was in 1933, although the interior has been renovated. The freight elevator is no longer functional but has remained as decor. The chairs from the original conference room remain in what has now become a lounge, while the antique clock at the entrance is also period, which is why it does not tell the correct time. Some original doors and pieces of scratched wallpaper have been repurposed. The Japanese Suite is housed in the Yamauchi family’s original quarters, refurbished to conjure the style of the period, so guests can feel like the president of Nintendo.

Many old Nintendo hanafuda cards that were made in the building have been framed and displayed, while classic Nintendo hardware such as the NES and GameCube (which were created long after Nintendo vacated the building) have been turned into artful ornaments.

Rooms at Hotel Marufukuro start at around 108,000 yen (about $880) per night. Accommodation plans are all-inclusive, meaning guests get gourmet meals, use of the bar, local-brewed beer and more included in the price. Currently entry to the building is only available for guests, but in future, the restaurant housed in the original warehouse wing will be opened for non-guests.

For further information, visit https://marufukuro.com/en/

Daniel Robson is Chief Editor of IGN Japan, and you can find him on Twitter here. Younasi is a freelance writer for IGN Japan.