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Rob Fahey, Contributing Editor

Rob Fahey is a former editor of GamesIndustry.biz who spent several years living in Japan and probably still has a mint condition Dreamcast Samba de Amigo set.

Recent articles by Rob Fahey

Unionisation is set to be one of the biggest stories in 2022 | Opinion

As employees seek to retain flexible work styles, and endless scandals sink the reputation of management and HR departments, collective bargaining is back on the menu

By Rob Fahey

Sony's VR ambitions go far beyond PlayStation | Opinion

A new prototype headset shown off this week helps to explain Sony's ongoing commitment to PSVR -- as a powerful starting point for the company's wider plans

By Rob Fahey

Shortages amid record sales: Consumers face a frustrating Christmas | Opinion

It's common for consoles to sell out around the holidays, but it's more irritating after a year in which supply never met demand

By Rob Fahey

Game remasters must respect creative history, not just make a fast buck | Opinion

The disastrous launch of GTA Definitive Edition fails to respect the importance of the games, and shows a lack of regard for the value of the IP itself

By Rob Fahey

Kotick's poor decision-making has only deepened Activision Blizzard's crisis | Opinion

The Activision Blizzard boss has prioritised his own survival as CEO over the company's best interests in recent months - a competent board would demand his resignation

By Rob Fahey

Unity's Weta acquisition doesn't need the Metaverse to make sense | Opinion

Zuckerberg's 'metaverse' pivot has likely condemned us to hearing the buzzword a lot, but Unity buying Weta Digital is much more practical than a science fiction dream

By Rob Fahey

Baseless NFT hype hits a crescendo - but play-to-earn is worth watching | Opinion

As top execs pay lip service to blockchain buzzwords, it's the future visions they boost by association that are of real interest

By Rob Fahey

Nintendo draws attention (and ire) to its weak online offering | Opinion

A ham-fisted attempt to entice customers to a higher-priced subscription with poorly emulated retro games reveals just how weak Nintendo's service pillar still is

By Rob Fahey

A missed target reveals Game Pass' growing pains | Opinion

The subscription service may be beloved for its back catalogue - but even more so than Xbox itself, it desperately needs high-profile new software to drive growth

By Rob Fahey

Fantasy and Destiny: Designing for returning players | Opinion

Choice of business model impacts game design in far-reaching ways, as seen in the very different experiences of returning to Destiny 2 and Final Fantasy 14

By Rob Fahey

Amazon could be Valve's only serious challenger | Opinion

With Twitch as its springboard, leaked Steam competitor Vapor could be the biggest disruption to the PC market in decades

By Rob Fahey

Can Marvel's Avengers find long-tail success on Game Pass? | Opinion

Square Enix' game met a lukewarm reception despite its world-class IP -- now its arrival on Game Pass highlights the opportunity for games to outlive disappointing launches

By Rob Fahey

The Epic vs Apple judgement leaves much undecided | Opinion

Apple must allow app developers to point consumers at alternative payment methods - but there will be many more legal wrangles before the impact on mobile games is clear

By Rob Fahey

Cross-gen software is still Sony's Achilles' Heel | Opinion

With supply problems still frustrating many consumers, Sony slapping a fee on software upgrades feels tone-deaf at best

By Rob Fahey

South Korea's App Store law is a grand experiment | Opinion

With legislation regulating app stores considered by many regions, South Korea's typically early-mover approach will be watched carefully

By Rob Fahey

The industry should follow EA in using patents to defend accessibility | Opinion

Software patents are a controversial topic but employed defensively, they can help to protect essential accessibility features from the chilling effects of a flawed system

By Rob Fahey

Lopsided contracts remain a fact of life for developers | Opinion

Innovation in funding, distribution and market access has changed the industry's power dynamics - but many devs still find themselves signing contracts that are far from ideal

By Rob Fahey

FFXIV shows a toxic community isn't an inevitability | Opinion

A bust-up over World of Warcraft's unwelcoming community highlights FFXIV's success: properly enforcing sensible rules

By Rob Fahey

“Spiritual Opium”: China's stroke-of-pen risks continue to grow | Opinion

A blink-and-you'll-miss-it incident highlights the authorities' increasingly negative attitude to games and tech - and should trouble investors or companies over-exposed to this market

By Rob Fahey

Activision Blizzard's nasty frat-boy culture is an industry-wide ailment | Opinion

The roots of a culture enabling harassment and discrimination are found across the industry - and only structural change will dig them out

By Rob Fahey

Netflix's games won't be the Netflix of Games | Opinion

Those expecting the streaming giant to take a Stadia-like approach to games will be disappointed - but what Netflix is doing instead could be more creative and interesting.

By Rob Fahey

Nintendo's Switch strategy is increasingly handheld-focused | Opinion

The OLED Switch may not be the new hardware some consumers hoped for - but it's a good signal of Nintendo's strategy and the new markets it hopes to win over

By Rob Fahey

Sony's PS Plus missteps risk the PS5's consumer image | Opinion

Publishers locking subscribers out of PS5 updates is a minor issue on paper - but in a critical year, the missteps may stack up

By Rob Fahey

Virtual reality still needs to find its business model | Opinion

Facebook's trial for ads in VR games attracted criticism but the medium still needs to wrestle with how it will make money

By Rob Fahey

E3 is no longer a clear lens on the industry | Opinion

This year's show did a good job of focusing on participants - but underlying changes mean its central role is a thing of the past

By Rob Fahey

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