Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (ASE)(TPE: 2311) confirmed on Dec. 29 that the company decided to cancel its plan to sell an oversea corporate bond that was worth US$400 million due to the uncertainty in the global capital market.

ASE said that while the global semiconductor industry entered a relatively slow season during the last quarter of 2014, ASE has “lower-than-expected” fund demands at the moment. The world’s biggest integrated circuit packaging and testing services provider said that it will be able to use disposable funds and other available sources to meet its day-to-day financial needs for operations.

ASE said that the company owned a total of US$1.04 billion in cash and cash equivalents by the end of the third quarter. In October, the company announced a plan to issue up to US$400 million in secured oversea corporate bonds, and had tentatively set a coupon rate of zero and a maturity of five years for the purchase of raw materials for production overseas.

Analysts said that borrowing costs in the global market have been on the rise ever since this October, when the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) announced an end to its six-year quantitative easing program and the market expected the Fed to raise its key interest rates by the middle of 2015. ASE, meanwhile, has been gearing up to expand its capacity this year by using large capital expenditures, analysts said, while it is not urgent for the company to raise more funds to shoulder higher borrowing costs.

ASE said that market conditions will remain stable despite the effect of the slow season. It also predicted that the global semiconductor industry will continue to grow in 2015.

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The online creative funding site Patreon is being pressured to scrap a documentary aimed at exposing the alleged corruption of “Social Justice Warriors”.

The documentary in question is called The Sarkeesian Effect, and has raised over $7,000 in monthly contributions on Patreon. It’s being crafted by author/musician Jordan Owen and right-wing blogger Davis Aurini.

The primary goal of the project is to document and expose the controversial topic of how “SJW’s” have “infiltrated” both the media and academic spheres to “consolidate power among a conspiratorial few”.

Anita Sarkeesian is the host of Feminist Frequency, a show that criticizes media in a feminist light.

The film will also directly criticize and investigate popular feminist games critic Anita Sarkeesian (of Feminist Frequency fame), but will focus on the topic as a whole, rather than just Sarkeesian.

“The methodology of Social Justice has a chilling effect on the culture: by demanding perfect diversity, they ensure that true diversity will never be allowed.  By celebrating victims-and-only-victims, the conversation is controlled by the voices that complain the loudest; seldom are these the voices those who have actually been hurt. 

“As a result, the culture winds up being directed by those who are most unscrupulous.  Creators, gamers, and actual victims are excluded from the conversation.”

Due to the controversial nature of the content, Patreon has faced significant backlash from many users on the internet who feel the documentary is offensive and in some cases, sexist.

As a result of the backlash, Jack Conte, CEO and Co-founder of Patreon, took to Twitter to mediate things. Conte was then inundated with emails that expressed users opinions on the film, both positive and negative.

.@meraxes everyone, we’re having an open discussion about the sarkeesian effect on Patreon right now for 15 mins

— Jack Conte (@jackconte) October 1, 2014

Taking down a creator’s page is a SERIOUS action. We wont do it without a detailed investigation. That policy is for the good of creators.

— Jack Conte (@jackconte) October 1, 2014

I’m doing my best to be thoughtful. Clearly lots of people are upset right now. I want to make sure that we give this care and attention.

— Jack Conte (@jackconte) October 1, 2014

Other users echoed the sentiment by saying that The Sarkeesian Effect film is “using Patreon to sell Sexism 101″, and that the content will “gaslight” Sarkeesian if allowed to be funded.

Conversely the possibility of the documentary being pulled by Patreon has caught on by the GamerGate collective. Proponents of the movement see the attempts to thwart production a means of further substantiating the revelations of a cult-like social system that influences media.

Evidence of this collusion has surfaced as part of the Gamergate movement, where prominent games journalists have been caught influencing one another in private e-mail lists.

Other examples include the swath of sensationalized “gamers are dead” articles written in full conjunction of Anita Sarkeesian’s criticism featured on major gaming sites.

Patreon is sort of like Kickstarter’s crowd-funding, but its more personal and is a recurring symbiosis between content creator and fan.

Patreon has been branded as a place where users can “support the creators they love”, but recent events have caused some to raise eyebrows on the ethical implications of the platform.

These implications were raised when key journalists across Polygon and Kotaku were supporting people like Zoe Quinn on the platform, effectively giving an indie developer funds to continue their work.

This was largely seen as unprofessional and could constitute in a conflict of interest, especially since journos had a financial stake in any one developer. As a result Kotaku revised its ethics policy and Polygon writers were forced to offer full disclosure on devs they supported on Patreon.

GamerGate may prove to be a deciding factor in the fate of the documentary; the collective has proven that its a force to be reckoned with.

One Redditor further scrutinizes Patreon as a whole by calling it a “kind of hipster welfare system”. Others claim that Patreon pulling the documentary would inhibit free speech and act as a form of censorship–giving further credence to an overarching conspiracy that controls the media.

Conte has yet to make an official decision on the fate of The Sarkeesian Effect, and it will certainly be interesting to see what Patreon decides to do.

The medium is certainly under pressure from both sides of the community, and runs the risk of earning the ire of the GamerGate collective if the film is scrapped. On the other hand, if the documentary is allowed, Patreon might forever be known as a haven for sexism and misogyny.

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In the world of tech journalism and hardware reviews, AnandTech is considered as a leading source of breaking news and balanced reviews. Founded in 1997 by Anand Lal Shimpi, the site started out with a focus on motherboards, but then evolved along with the times. AnandTech has since branched out into covering and reviewing CPUs, video cards, notebook computers, mobile devices and, in the words of founder Shimpi himself, “anything that mattered.”

Yesterday, Shimpi announced that he was leaving AnandTech, having served the site as publisher and editor for almost 18 years. Unlike most other high-profile departures in the media and technology industry, however, Shimpi said it was not for health reasons, nor was it because of business issues. In fact, AnandTech was doing well, with its editors and specialists having enough experience, know-how and clout to run the business themselves. While he has “enjoyed every minute” of covering technology, he sought much-needed change. “[A]fter 17.5 years of digging, testing, analyzing and writing about the most interesting stuff in tech, it’s time for a change.”

It turns out that Shimpi has joined Apple Inc., as first reported by Re/Code and confirmed by an Apple representative. However, Apple would not provide any details with regard to the seasoned journalist’s new role in the company. Given Shimpi’s experience with computer science, hardware reviews and various brands’ product lines, it’s highly likely that he will work in a product strategy role or some kind of consulting position.

As for AnandTech, editor Ryan Smith has taken over as editor-in-chief. Likewise, while Shimpi says he is now “officially retiring from the tech publishing world,” he says he will still be available to help the editorial team on an advisory level, although he will no longer be part of the editorial process. The dynamics of Shimpi’s continued involvement with AnandTech and his new role at Apple are also not clear at this point. But with the Cupertino company being very secretive in its planning, processes and strategies, there is a question whether or not AnandTech’s editorial team will enjoy some advantage in terms of access to insider information.

Image credit: Anand Lal Shimpi

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The playing field of the gaming industry is changing.

In a market dominated by reboots and sequels, more and more gamers are turning to indie and free-to-play games (commonly abbreviated as F2P) — and as a result the industry is making a paradigm shift. Key companies like Activision and EA are finding F2P and indies as major competitors to their streams of AAA releases, and in order to stay on top, they’ll need to embrace these sectors.

But why move to indies when AAA is still reigning the charts ? What are the benefits of diversifying to incorporate indie-like titles and free-to-play franchises?

Call of Duty is Activision’s cash crop, but how much longer can it churn out AAA sequel hits?

AAA games are huge investments in terms of revenue and manpower. Big-name companies like Activision have massive research and development departments that analyze current trends in the market and compile sales figures of popular games. As more time goes by, publishers become wary of investing time and money into projects that ultimately “bomb”. Crytek’s recent radical transition serves as an apt warning of the dangers of putting too much stock into a single game.

Publishers understandably only want to invest in sure-fire hits which is why the likes of Assassin’s Creed and Call of Duty games saturate the market. These franchises have been key breadwinners for the companies, but this tactic is a double-edged sword: how long before gamers get sick of sequel-after-sequel tactics and re-hashed gameplay mechanics?

The Framework for Change

Indies and free-to-play offer a vast amount of potential in terms of change while having the advantage of being comparatively lower-cost. If handled correctly, publishers can tap into this new stream of entertainment and create diversified games while sitting on the cushion of AAA releases at the same time.

The real challenge for these companies is creating fresh new franchises. In a sense this is the spirit of indies, and traditionally the whole concept of indies is that they’re not constrained by the overseeing hands of publishers. Indies are free to do what they want and tell the story they want, in the style they want.

This freedom is undoubtedly the core of creativity, and AAA publishers could learn many things from the indie process.

Journey was received as one of the best indies of all time for its amazing visual flair.

Key indie hits like Fez, Super Meat Boy and Braid have taken old-school gaming sentiments and incorporated something original and new.  Some games like Journey, Sony’s PS3 exclusive indie, make waves because they introduce gamers to incredible visual adventures that resonate with profound experiences.

Gone Home, Full Bright’s moving indie about personal exploration, was celebrated because of its captivating narrative and cultural overtones that engrossed gamers in a virtual world. This indie gem is a prime example of the myriad ways a game can shine without having to deliver over-the-top graphics and action-packed sequences.

But indies aren’t  just deep emotional narratives and nostalgic bit-style visual splendor: the scope is far greater, and some indies are epic in scale and deliver near-never-ending gameplay.

Minecraft is a superlative example of an indie that keeps on giving, and to date it’s become one of the best-selling games in the history of the industry. Larian’s newly released Divinity: Original Sin delivers a huge ARPG adventure set in a massive medieval fantasy world that you could explore for dozens of hours.

Indies are bold, they are powerful and deliver riveting and enjoyable experiences to gamers–and the represent a new spirit, a new movement in gaming. It may seem radical to advise AAA publishers to tap this magic, but their future lies in these momentum-gaining markets.

Minecraft is one of the most accessible games on the market, with ports on nearly every console that reach a wide audience of gamers.

Another huge benefit to indies is their accessibility.

Many indies are available across all platforms, from console and PC to mobiles and handhelds and are lower-cost on the market. This web of accessibility that brings content across many different mediums and digital stores is no-doubt attractive to publishers like Activision, who release their products across nearly every system. The cost factor, in turn, is attractive to gamers and they are more likely to take a chance on a $10 game rather than a $64 dud.

Big-name companies like Sony and Microsoft have realized that indies are not only a lucrative branch of gaming, but a sector that thrives and fosters the creative game-development process. Both gaming giants have embraced new horizons of gaming centered around the accessibility of indie games, bringing a swath of console-based ports to their respective consoles.

Ubisoft’s foray into the indie-like world culminated in Child of Light, an acclaimed original take on turn-based RPG’s and platformers.

To date Sony has cherry-picked some of the best known indies — from Don’t Starve to Rogue Legacy – to release on the PS4, introducing a swarm of entertaining titles to a brand new audience. Both Microsoft and Sony know the merits of indies and are using them to even out their catalog of AAA hits, making for some healthy competition.

Ubisoft, the label behind the popular Assassin’s Creed franchise, has started branching out into the indie realm. With the highly original platformer/turn-based RPG Child of Light, the company has proven that it’s possible for big-name industry giants to craft a successful indie-esque gem. Ubisoft has furthered its venture into indie-like titles with Valiant Hearts, yet another dynamic and original story accompanied with an amazing visual style.

No Man’s Sky, an upcoming procedurally generated space-exploration sim from Hello Games, is an example of how big an impact indies have over our present industry. Since its reveal at VGX 2013, No Man’s Sky has captured the hearts and minds of millions of gamers across the world and remains one of the most anticipated games in development today.

No Man’s Sky has made waves across every outlet, every publication, and is a truly magnificent specimen of the spirit of indies — and remains a huge signal to AAA companies on the kinds of games we want to play.

League of Legends remains one of the most popular MOBAs on the market, and is a major foundation of eSports.

Free-To-Play: MOBA’s and Gaming as a Sport

Free-to-Play is an obvious solution for publishers. Free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena games (MOBA) like DotA2 and League of Legends have transformed the landscape of eSports, giving rise to a huge new profitable niche within the industry, and have laid the foundations for the entire genre itself.

Twitch-casters and YouTubers perpetuate the hype for many of these MOBA’s with in-game playthroughs and sporting matches, making gamers feel like they’re part of a sporting event–and given the heightened level of competition, MOBA’s are sports in their own right.

Esports is another profitable avenue to be explored. Millions of gamers tune-in and jump in the chaos to combat other players across the world, rooting for their favorite teams along the way. Under the eSports banner, everything from MOBA’s to Call of Duty matches have been deigned as official sporting events.

The international DOTA 2 championships alone generated a prize pool of over $10 million to be divided up between the finalists. Pro gamers are also sponsored by key tech companies in a way that mirrors the best-paid athletes of our era.

Bethesda Softworks (of Skyrim fame) has attempted to get in on the F2P market with its very MOBA-like game BattleCry, which focuses on melee-style third-person combat instead of dynamic RTS-style mechanics. While it may not win over the crowd when DotA2 and LoL are on the market, the owners of Elder Scrolls are doing their best to make an effort and test the waters.

Tera is a leading MMORPG that has gone free-to-play, foregoing the subscription structure in favor of microtransactions.

The Rigors of Pay-To-Win

Free-to-play MMORPG’s which give players free access to expansive virtual worlds, also incorporate micro-transactions as a means to fund development. MMO’s give players a long, winding experience while delivering new content via patches and updates–and more updates on the lucrative micro-transaction market.

Micro-transactions involve gamers shelling out cash for digital items, and often, for in-game currency to exchange for gear. In a gamer’s point of view this practice “free” (and many times pushes gamers away), and the community frowns upon these “pay to win” models.

But free-to-play doesn’t always have to translate to “pay-to-win”.

Path of Exile, a free-to-play indie MMORPG, only lets users buy cosmetic upgrades and abolishes the structure outright. Rather than unlocked powerful weapons and gear, the micro-transactions for PoE instead deliver flair that offers players the chance to distinguish themselves from the online crowd.

The micro-transactions in casual titles remain massive sources of revenue, with mobile “freemium” apps like Candy Crush Saga raking in over $600 million in the first fiscal quarter of 2014.

While the freemium market is generally looked down upon by most gamers, it can be a genuine goldmine of income for major companies considering just about everyone plays games on their phones.

Balancing the micro-transactions for freemium apps and F2P games is quite delicate, and gaming companies have to tread carefully or risk alienating their core gamers. The pay-to-win model can be profitable, sure, but it’s important not to press gamers too hard.

The very nature of indie games inherently celebrates freedom in an industry over-saturated with “FPS clones”, and revels in stripping the bonds of big publishers. Put too much weight on any micro-funded game with exorbitant pay models and it’ll collapse in on itself.

No Man’s Sky has gained incredible momentum, standing up against AAA games with its anticipation and acclaim.

Learning From Indies and F2P

Analyzing these trends it remains clear that publishers can embrace these new trends in the gaming sphere while turning a profit at the same time. Many of the companies already have the revenue to generate the huge development costs that indie devs face, and lower-budget lower-cost projects would in turn lower the risk of losing big investments from a commercial “bomb”.

With lower risks, the pressure is pulled off and gives key development times the time and resources they need to make something different, something special for gamers.

Micro-transactions are enticing to companies, but at the same time they have to weigh the stigmas that will be attached to the games themselves. It’ll take some balancing and experimentation to find the right mix of free-to-play and indie–and even more time to capture that distinct indie magic–but industry titans will need to start adapting in order to stay on top.

The key isn’t to keep churning out sequels and ports and reboots, but to take the time (and effort) to look around for new creative ideas. Gamers want something new, something different to catch their attention, and these companies have the power to make it happen. The answer isn’t to derive what’s successful, to make clones of big-selling indie names, but to take that risk to create something wholly unique, to let those games inspire new ideas.

Activision and EA could learn from indies and free-to-play games in this respect, and while we shouldn’t hope that they’ll invade the indie sector, we should hope that they will pay attention to what gamers want instead of spinning out yet another Call of Duty or Battlefield sequel.

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