Latest news with #AndrewWilson
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Rotorua tourism, hospo businesses concered about exchange rate fluctuations
The Rotorua Museum - Most survey respondents were from tourism, accommodation, or hospitality and food service. Photo: LDR / Laura Smith The latest Rotorua business sentiment survey shows local companies are not immune to global instability. Geopolitical volatility was the highest-ranked concern for business leaders, with 43 percent very or extremely concerned about its effect on their business. This was the first time global concerns had outweighed local issues, such as finding skilled staff, the survey showed. RotoruaNZ chief executive Andrew Wilson said this showed many business leaders were very connected with their global markets. Most respondents were from tourism, accommodation, or hospitality and food service. While these might be less affected by tariffs then export-led industries, Wilson said geopolitical volatility led to fluctuations in exchange rates, which effected the value of a visitor dollar. "Obviously, when we've got a weaker New Zealand dollar, we look very favourable for international tourism." He said the key for businesses riding out this volatility was having diversity in the markets they targeted. "Within those international markets, have you got a good spread in terms of the types of countries you are focused on, so you're not ending up in a scenario where you've got all your eggs in one basket." This was similar to other industries, like agriculture , which was also encouraged to look for new markets. Wilson said he wasn't completely surprised to see the survey result. "We've got a local economy, which is quite export-focused, so from that perspective, whether it is tourism or forest or wood processing, what's happening in that global environment is really important for local businesses." RotoruaNZ began the business sentiment survey three years ago to get a better view of what was happening in the city's economy. "A lot of banks do business confidence surveys, but we found a lot of the data was aggregated up at a regional or national level, so it was really about making sure we've got a view about what is going on in our local economy here in Rotorua," he said. Business sentiment was up 14 percent since the last survey in October 2024, but was still a net negative of minus-11 percent - higher than the national figure of minus-29 percent, but Wilson said the trend toward positivity was a good sign. "Certainly, that advance-metric of the positivity trend up is a really good signal in terms of what we will start to see over the next 12-24 months in terms of business activity." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
See - Sada Elbalad
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- See - Sada Elbalad
Electronic Arts Cancels "Black Panther" Video Game, Closes Cliffhanger Studios
Yara Sameh A long-awaited video game based on Disney and Marvel's cultural phenomenon movie 'Black Panther' has been scrapped at publisher Electronic Arts as part of the closure of the game's developer, Cliffhanger Games. As a result of EA shuttering Cliffhanger, multiple employees have been laid off at both that studio and across EA's mobile and central teams. The number of staffers cut is less than the 300 that EA let go last month when it canceled its next planned 'Titanfall' game, and the company is working to place these individuals with other teams throughout EA. In an email sent to staff Wednesday, EA Entertainment president Laura Miele said the moves were made to 'sharpen our focus and put our creative energy behind the most significant growth opportunities.' The cuts come as EA chief Andrew Wilson has made it clear the company's priority is its biggest franchises, including EA Sports, 'The Sims,' 'Battlefield,' 'Apex Legends,' and the upcoming game 'Skate,' rather than making licensed games. 'These decisions are hard,' Miele said. 'They affect people we've worked with, learned from and shared real moments with. We're doing everything we can to support them — including finding opportunities within EA, where we've had success helping people land in new roles.' This marks the third round of layoffs EA has made this year. In April, EA reduced its staff by more than 300 employees with approximately one third of the cuts made at developer Respawn, which was making 'Titanfall' and one additional project, both of which were in 'early-stage incubation,' according to Respawn. The layoffs mainly affected the teams working on games 'Apex Legends' and 'Star Wars Jedi.' read more New Tourism Route To Launch in Old Cairo Ahmed El Sakka-Led Play 'Sayidati Al Jamila' to Be Staged in KSA on Dec. 6 Mandy Moore Joins Season 2 of "Dr. Death" Anthology Series Don't Miss These Movies at 44th Cairo Int'l Film Festival Today Amr Diab to Headline KSA's MDLBEAST Soundstorm 2022 Festival Arts & Culture Mai Omar Stuns in Latest Instagram Photos Arts & Culture "The Flash" to End with Season 9 Arts & Culture Ministry of Culture Organizes four day Children's Film Festival Arts & Culture Canadian PM wishes Muslims Eid-al-Adha News Egypt confirms denial of airspace access to US B-52 bombers News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia News Australia Fines Telegram $600,000 Over Terrorism, Child Abuse Content Arts & Culture Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's $4.7M LA Home Burglarized Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Sports Neymar Announced for Brazil's Preliminary List for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers News Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly Inaugurates Two Indian Companies Arts & Culture New Archaeological Discovery from 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Karnak Temple Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War Arts & Culture Zahi Hawass: Claims of Columns Beneath the Pyramid of Khafre Are Lies
Engadget
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Engadget
EA cancels Black Panther game and closes studio developing it
EA is cancelling its Black Panther game and closing the studio creating it, Cliffhanger Games, as part of a larger round of layoffs at the company, IGN reports. The third-person action-adventure game was originally announced in July 2023 as one of several Marvel projects being developed at EA studios. IGN writes that a smaller number of people are being laid off than the previous round of cuts that impacted Titanfall developer Respawn, but EA is still eliminating roles outside of Cliffhanger, including people on the publisher's "mobile and central teams." EA is reportedly telling staff that the layoffs are a way to "sharpen our focus and put our creative energy behind the most significant growth opportunities." As of right now, those "opportunities" include an Iron Man game in development at EA Motive, the next Star Wars Jedi game from Respawn, and new entries in a few key franchises, like The Sims, Battlefield, Skate and Apex Legends. Beyond that, the company has EA Sports and the next Mass Effect game, though Bioware has gone through multiple rounds of layoffs since 2023, so there's uncertainty there, too. In a similar way to how it approached Bioware's restructuring, IGN reports that EA is trying to find roles for at least some Cliffhanger Games staff in other parts of the company. Engadget has contacted EA for comment and will update this article if we hear back. EA growing disinterest in licensed games as been public since at least February 2024, when CEO Andrew Wilson announced that the company was "moving away from development of future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry." The company recently announced a new strategy game using the Star Wars license — Star Wars Zero Company — but that seems more like an outlier than the norm. EA's Black Panther game wasn't the only project featuring the character — Amy Hennig's Marvel 19943: Rise of Hydra hasn't been cancelled yet — but it does seems strange the company gave up so easily. Black Panther made over $1.3 billion during its original run in theaters. It seems entirely possible the same audience that enjoyed the movie would show up for a new game featuring their favorite Marvel character.
Gizmodo
2 days ago
- Business
- Gizmodo
EA Kills Its ‘Black Panther' Game Along With Developer Cliffhanger Games
Two years ago, EA announced a game based on Marvel hero Black Panther from new developer Cliffhanger Games. Now, that project has been canceled. Per IGN, EA Entertainment president Laura Miele sent out an email confirming the game was scrapped and Cliffhanger is closing. At time of writing, it's unclear how many employees are affected, as the publisher is trying to move staff onto other projects where possible. The cuts, per Miele, were done to 'sharpen our focus and put our creative energy behind the most significant growth opportunities.' 'These decisions are hard. They affect people we've worked with, learned from, and shared real moments with,' she continued. 'We're doing everything we can to support them—including finding opportunities within EA, where we've had success helping people land in new roles.' In late February 2024, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said the publisher would 'move away from development of future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry.' This directive doesn't appear to affect its two known Star Wars games, Bit Reactor's Zero Company due in 2026, and the third Jedi title in development at Respawn Entertainment. Details on the Black Panther game have been nonexistent since the project's reveal, though a job listing from 2024 indicated it would be a single-player, open-world game. This was also the second of a three-part game collaboration between EA and Marvel: one based on Iron Man from developed by Dead Space studio Motive, and a third, currently unannounced game. At time of writing, both of those are thought to still be in development. Marvel has currently not provided a comment on the game's cancellation.
Scoop
3 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Rotorua Bucks National Trends With Growth Across Key Economic Indicators
The city has recorded a 1.4% increase in guest nights a strong contrast to the national decline of 2.7%. Rotorua is standing out from the rest of the country, according to the latest Infometrics Quarterly Economic Monitor, with the district recording positive movement across several key areas, despite a challenging national economic environment. The city has recorded a 1.4% increase in guest nights – a strong contrast to the national decline of 2.7%. The housing market is the standout area, with residential consents in Rotorua surging by 40%, compared to a national decline of 3.3%. House values rose by 3.8% (against a national drop of 2.1%) and house sales jumped 15.7%, exceeding the national growth rate of 12.5%. These results point to growing confidence in the local property market. Rotorua Lakes Council, GM destination development, Jean-Paul Gaston said, 'Increases in the average residential rent in the district of 4.4% in the year to March 2025 (higher than the national increase of 2.7%) highlight sustained demand and the need to encourage further housing development.' Further positives include a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 1.3%, ahead of the national decrease of 1.0%, and growth in new businesses, with business unit numbers lifting by 0.5%. RotoruaNZ chief executive Andrew Wilson says the results signal a positive trajectory for the district. 'The numbers are a strong indication that Rotorua is heading in the right direction. Despite the national context, we're seeing resilience and renewed energy in our tourism and housing sectors. The growth in guest nights and tourism spending speaks to Rotorua's enduring appeal, and the uplift in residential development and house sales reflects real confidence in our future. 'We still have work to do, especially around employment, but the momentum is shifting, and these results highlight the strength of Rotorua as a great place to live, visit and invest in.' Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell said, 'These positive results are massive news for Rotorua and shows how focused and committed we've been to ensure the best future possible for our community. 'We've not only turned Rotorua around but managed to rise above the bar and boost our local economy through smart investment to grow much needed housing, as well as achieving standout statistics in our visitor economy.' The full Infometrics Quarterly Economic Monitor report for the March 2025 quarter can be found here at: About RotoruaNZ RotoruaNZ is a values-led organisation committed to developing and promoting Rotorua as a destination of choice to work, study, visit, invest and live in. We connect people, land, capital and ideas. Our work directly supports the development of the Rotorua economy, unlocking opportunities for commercial investment and providing employment, wealth and wellbeing for all our people. RotoruaNZ works in partnership with iwi, the private sector, community organisations, and local and central governments to support the growth aspirations of Rotorua and enhance the city's identity and reputation.
