Latest news with #AndrewWilson
The Sun
14 hours ago
- The Sun
‘Nightmare neighbour' arrested for posting smoke bombs and throwing eggs is found with sick pictures of children
A MAN dubbed a "nightmare neighbour" by police for posting smoke bombs and throwing eggs was found with sick pictures of children after being arrested. Andrew Wilson, 53, from Lichfield, Staffordshire, was jailed for multiple offences on June 19 at Stafford Crown Court. 1 Wilson was jailed after cutting off his neighbour's internet access and throwing smoke bombs and eggs. Staffordshire Police said Wilson had taken a dislike to his neighbour merely because they had a dog who they would play with in the garden. When officers arrested him he was then found with indecent images of children on his device. Police said he put smoke bombs through his neighbour's letterbox, threatened them with a baseball bat and cut off their internet access as part of the dispute. Wilson was jailed for two years and four months after admitting multiple offences. This included two counts of stalking involving alarm and distress which involved him throwing stones, smoke bombs and eggs at a neighbour. This is in addition to threatening them with the baseball bat and interfering with their wi-fi and CCTV cameras. Wilson also admitted to three counts of making an indecent photograph of a child relating to category A, B and C images. As part of his sentence, Wilson was handed a sexual harm prevention order and a notification order for ten years. He was made the subject of a restraining order indefinitely. Wilson was ordered to forfeit the internet tampering device and mobile phone to police as well as pay a victim surcharge of £228. An officer who lead the case from Lichfield local policing team, said: 'Wilson's conviction and sentence sends a clear message that those who engage in such disturbing and harmful behaviour will be prosecuted and brought to justice. "The safety and wellbeing of our community is our absolute priority, and we remain committed to protecting residents from those who pose a threat - whether through stalking or any other form of abuse. "We continue to work closely with partner agencies to support victims and ensure Lichfield remains a safe place for everyone.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
5 Revealing Analyst Questions From Electronic Arts's Q1 Earnings Call
Electronic Arts delivered first quarter results that exceeded Wall Street's expectations, driven by a rebound in flagship sports franchises and a successful new game launch. Management pointed to renewed engagement in the EA SPORTS FC series following major gameplay updates, as well as strong momentum in American football titles and double-digit growth in The Sims. CEO Andrew Wilson credited the company's rapid response to community feedback and targeted content drops for restoring player engagement, especially after a temporary slowdown in FC. The launch of new intellectual property, Split Fiction, also outperformed internal expectations, reflecting the strength of EA's diversified portfolio. Is now the time to buy EA? Find out in our full research report (it's free). Revenue: $1.9 billion vs analyst estimates of $1.76 billion (6.5% year-on-year growth, 7.6% beat) EPS (GAAP): $0.98 vs analyst estimates of $0.91 (8.2% beat) Revenue Guidance for Q2 CY2025 is $1.6 billion at the midpoint, above analyst estimates of $1.45 billion EPS (GAAP) guidance for the upcoming financial year 2026 is $3.44 at the midpoint, missing analyst estimates by 23.4% Operating Margin: 20.8%, up from 13.2% in the same quarter last year Market Capitalization: $39.63 billion While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention. Matthew Cost (Morgan Stanley) asked about the drivers of the EA SPORTS FC rebound. CEO Andrew Wilson explained that a combination of personalized marketing and a significant gameplay update restored player engagement among key cohorts. Eric Sheridan (Goldman Sachs) questioned Battlefield's development and go-to-market investments. Wilson emphasized deeper community collaboration through Battlefield Labs, while CFO Stuart Canfield clarified that increased marketing costs were the main driver of incremental expenses. Doug Creutz (TD Cowen) inquired about American football's growth outlook. Wilson pointed to broader fandom for both NFL and college football, while Canfield signaled balanced guidance to account for tough year-over-year comparisons. Chris Schoell (UBS) asked about macroeconomic risks and pricing power. Wilson highlighted the resilience of major franchises during downturns and described pricing as focused on quality and value, with no immediate changes planned. Eric Handler (ROTH Capital Partners) sought insight into World Cup monetization. Wilson stated that such global events consistently drive player acquisition and engagement, especially in North America, benefiting the EA SPORTS FC franchise. Looking forward, our analysts will be monitoring (1) the player reception and engagement levels for new releases like Battlefield and Skate, (2) ongoing progress in mobile expansion and international football market penetration, and (3) the effectiveness of live service content and real-world sports event tie-ins. The trajectory of Apex Legends and the impact of resource realignment will also be important to track. Electronic Arts currently trades at $157.40, up from $154.55 just before the earnings. Is the company at an inflection point that warrants a buy or sell? See for yourself in our full research report (it's free). The market surged in 2024 and reached record highs after Donald Trump's presidential victory in November, but questions about new economic policies are adding much uncertainty for 2025. While the crowd speculates what might happen next, we're homing in on the companies that can succeed regardless of the political or macroeconomic environment. Put yourself in the driver's seat and build a durable portfolio by checking out our Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025). Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.
Techday NZ
3 days ago
- Business
- Techday NZ
Sumsub & Data Zoo partner to boost global fraud prevention
Sumsub has entered into a partnership with Data Zoo to offer improved compliance and fraud prevention solutions aimed at supporting financial institutions worldwide. The partnership is designed to bring together Sumsub's full compliance suite, which includes verification and anti-fraud tools, with Data Zoo's array of identity verification data sources across multiple global markets. Global compliance Financial entities are under increasing pressure as regulatory requirements become more demanding and fraud attempts grow in sophistication. Access to reliable, authoritative data has become essential for institutions to ensure regulatory compliance and mitigate fraud risks. However, many companies in the sector face challenges managing data that is often dispersed across disconnected systems and geographies. By collaborating, Sumsub and Data Zoo aim to provide a comprehensive solution that will enable institutions and businesses to streamline onboarding and authentication processes, thereby reducing operational inefficiencies and supporting regulatory compliance across jurisdictions. Combined technology and data Sumsub's platform will allow clients to onboard users efficiently, conduct anti-money laundering (AML) checks, verify business customers, and monitor transactions for suspicious activity. All these features can be managed from a single platform. Data Zoo will extend the reach of Sumsub's verification and monitoring capabilities by providing direct data checks. These checks are intended to help distinguish legitimate customer behaviour, prevent fraudulent account access, and ensure more reliable identification. By combining Data Zoo's data source network with Sumsub's compliance tools, the partnership is aimed at delivering end-to-end KYC (Know Your Customer) and KYB (Know Your Business) solutions. This integration is also expected to support banks, financial institutions, and fintech companies in upholding their reputations while reducing vulnerability to security breaches and fraud-related losses. Industry perspectives Andrew Wilson, Chief Executive Officer at Data Zoo, commented on the increasing demand for reliable verification and orchestration technologies, saying: "Customers are increasingly seeking authoritative identity verification data combined with leading edge orchestration technology to verify customers in real-time. We are pleased to partner with Sumsub who are a recognized industry leader in innovation, bringing the latest technological advances to the market". Chris Manson, who leads Strategic Partnerships at Sumsub, highlighted the evolving fraud landscape, with new threats such as deepfake attacks emerging rapidly. Manson noted the importance of a multi-layered strategy for fraud prevention, stating: "Partnering with Data Zoo enables us to continue helping businesses verify users and clients smoothly, while continually mitigating fraud threats. Our recent internal findings show that deepfake fraud, among other emerging AI-driven techniques, surged fourfold globally last year. While robust KYC remains essential, we see that three quarters of fraud actually occurs post-onboarding – reaffirming the need for a multi-layered approach that includes ongoing monitoring. Together with Data Zoo, we're expanding our ability to help businesses stay compliant, fight fraud, and protect their users at each step of their journey." Onboarding and fraud mitigation The set of solutions made possible by the partnership is intended not only to help with compliance, but also to streamline the onboarding of new customers for financial services companies. By integrating Sumsub's platform, organisations may be able to adopt identity verification, AML screening, and transaction monitoring processes with less complexity and improved operational speed. Sumsub's recent findings indicate a rising trend in sophisticated digital fraud, driven by the adoption of new technologies such as AI-based deepfakes. The company maintains that ongoing customer monitoring, beyond the initial onboarding, is essential to reduce exposure to such risks. With coverage spanning over 170 jurisdictions, Data Zoo provides access to a wide variety of independent data sources. By integrating with Sumsub's technology, clients will be able to develop a risk-based approach to compliance and identity verification that is scalable and adaptable to multiple regulatory environments. Both companies have said that, through their joint offering, banks, fintechs, and other financial institutions can expect enhanced fraud prevention, improved operational efficiency, and better protection for their end users during each stage of the customer life cycle.
Los Angeles Times
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Inside the ‘Dragon Age' debacle that gutted EA's BioWare Studio
In early November, on the eve of the holiday shopping season, staffers at the video game studio BioWare were feeling optimistic. After an excruciating development cycle, they had finally released their latest game, 'Dragon Age: The Veilguard,' and the early reception was largely positive. The role-playing game was topping sales charts on Steam, and solid, if not spectacular, reviews were rolling in. But in the weeks that followed, the early buzz cooled as players delved deeper into the fantasy world, and some BioWare employees grew anxious. For months, everyone at the subsidiary of the video game publisher Electronic Arts had been under intense pressure. The studio's previous two games, 'Mass Effect: Andromeda' and 'Anthem,' had flopped, and there were rumors that if 'Dragon Age' underperformed, BioWare might become another of EA's many casualties. Not long after Christmas, the bad news surfaced. EA announced in January that the new 'Dragon Age' had reached only 1.5 million players, missing the company's expectations by 50%. The holiday performance of another recently released title, 'EA Sports FC 25,' was also subpar, compounding the problem. As a result of the struggling titles, EA Chief Executive Officer Andrew Wilson said, the company would be significantly lowering its sales forecast for the fiscal year ahead. EA's share price promptly plunged 18%. ''Dragon Age' had a high-quality launch and was well-reviewed by critics and those who played,' Wilson said on an earnings call. 'However, it did not resonate with a broad enough audience in this highly competitive market.' Days after the sales revision, EA laid off a chunk of BioWare's staff at the studio's headquarters in Edmonton, Canada, and permanently transferred many of the remaining workers to other divisions. For the storied, 30-year-old game maker, it was a stunning fall that left many fans wondering how things had gone so haywire — and what might come next for the stricken studio. According to interviews with nearly two dozen people who worked on 'Dragon Age: The Veilguard,' there were several reasons behind its failure, including marketing misfires, poor word of mouth and a 10-year gap since the previous title. Above all, sources point to the rebooting of the product from a single-player game to a multiplayer one — and then back again — a switch that muddled development and inflated the title's budget, they say, ultimately setting the stage for EA's potentially unrealistic sales expectations. A spokesperson for EA declined to comment. The union between BioWare and EA started off with lofty aspirations. In 2007, EA executives announced they were acquiring BioWare and another gaming studio in a deal worth $860 million. The goal was to diversify their slate of games, which was heavy in sports titles, such as 'Madden NFL,' and light in the kind of adventure and role-playing games that BioWare was known for. Initially, it looked like a smart move thanks to a string of big hits. In 2014, BioWare released 'Dragon Age: Inquisition,' the third installment in a popular action series dropping players in a semi-open world full of magic, elves and fire-spewing dragons. The fantasy title won the Game of the Year award and sold 12 million copies, according to its executive producer Mark Darrah — a major validation of EA's diversification strategy. Before long, Darrah and Mike Laidlaw, the creative director, began kicking around ideas for the next 'Dragon Age' installment, aiming for a game that would be smaller in scope. But before much could get done, BioWare shifted the studio's focus to more pressing titles coming down the pike. In 2017, BioWare released 'Mass Effect: Andromeda,' the fourth installment in a big-budget action series set in space. Unlike its critically successful predecessors, the game received mediocre reviews and was widely mocked by fans. A few months after the disappointing release, the head of BioWare stepped down and was soon replaced by Microsoft's Casey Hudson, an alumnus of BioWare's early, formative years. Like much of the industry, EA executives were growing increasingly enamored of so-called live-service games, such as 'Destiny' and 'Overwatch,' in which players continue to engage with and spend money on a title for months or even years after its initial release. With EA aiming to make a splash in the fast-growing category, BioWare poured resources into 'Anthem,' a live-service shooter game that checked all the right boxes. One day in October 2017, Laidlaw summoned his colleagues into a conference room and pulled out a few pricey bottles of whiskey. The next 'Dragon Age' sequel, he told the room, would also be pivoting to an online, live-service game — a decision from above that he disagreed with. He was resigning from the studio. The assembled staff stayed late through the night, drinking and reminiscing about the franchise they loved. 'I wish that pivot had never occurred,' Darrah would later recount on YouTube. 'EA said, 'Make this a live service.' We said, 'We don't know how to do that. We should basically start the project over.'' Former art director Matt Goldman replaced Laidlaw as creative director, and with a tiny team began pushing ahead on a new multiplayer version of 'Dragon Age' while everyone else helped to finish 'Anthem,' which was struggling to coalesce. Goldman pushed for a 'pulpy,' more lighthearted tone than previous entries, which suited an online game but was a drastic departure from the dark, dynamic stories that fans loved in the fantasy series. In February 2019, BioWare released 'Anthem.' Reviews were scathing, calling the game tedious and convoluted. Fans were similarly displeased. On social media, players demanded to know why a studio renowned for beloved stories and characters had made an online shooter with a scattershot narrative. In the wake of BioWare's second consecutive flop, the multiplayer version of 'Dragon Age' continued to take shape. While the previous games in the franchise had featured tactical combat, this one would be all action. Instead of quests that players would experience only once, it would be full of missions that could be replayed repeatedly with friends and strangers. Important characters couldn't die because they had to persist for multiple players across never-ending gameplay. As the game evolved over the next two years, the failure of 'Anthem' hovered over the studio. Were they making the same mistakes? Some BioWare employees scoffed that they were simply building ''Anthem' with dragons.' Throughout 2020, the pandemic disrupted the game's already fraught development. In December, Hudson, the head of the studio, and Darrah, the head of the franchise, resigned. Shortly thereafter, Gary McKay, BioWare's new studio head, revealed yet another shift in strategy. Moving forward, the next 'Dragon Age' would no longer be multiplayer. 'We were thinking, 'Does this make sense, does this play into our strengths, or is this going to be another challenge we have to face?'' McKay told Bloomberg News. 'No, we need to get back to what we're really great at.' In theory, the reversion back to the series' tried-and-true, single-player format should have been welcome news inside BioWare. But there was a catch. Typically, this kind of pivot would be coupled with a reset and a period of pre-production allowing the designers to formulate a new vision for the game. Instead, the team was asked to change the game's fundamental structure and recast the entire story on the fly, according to people familiar with the new marching orders. They were given a year and a half to finish and told to aim for as wide a market as possible. This strict deadline became a recurring problem. The development team would make decisions believing that they had less than a year to release the game, which severely limited the stories they could tell and the world they could build. Then the title would inevitably be delayed a few months, at which point they'd be stuck with those old decisions with no chance to stop and reevaluate what was working. At the end of 2022, amid continually dizzying leadership changes, the studio started distributing an 'alpha' build of 'Dragon Age' to get feedback internally and from outside playtesters. According to people familiar with the process, the reactions were concerning. The game's biggest problem, early players agreed, was a lack of satisfying choices and consequences. Previous BioWare titles had presented players with gut-wrenching decisions. Which allies to save? Which factions to spare? Which enemies to slay? Such dilemmas made fans feel like they were shaping the narrative — historically, a big draw for many BioWare games. But the multiplayer roots of 'Dragon Age' limited such choices, according to people familiar with the development. BioWare delayed the game's release again while the team shoehorned in a few major decisions, such as which of two cities to save from a dragon attack. But because most of the parameters were already well established, the designers struggled to pair the newly retrofitted choices for players with meaningful consequences downstream. In 2023, to help finish game, BioWare brought in a second, internal team, which was working on the next 'Mass Effect.' For decades there'd been tension between the two well-established camps, known for their starkly divergent ways of doing things. BioWare developers like to joke that the 'Dragon Age' crew was like a pirate ship, meandering and sometimes traveling off course but eventually reaching the port. In contrast, the 'Mass Effect' group was called the USS Enterprise, after the 'Star Trek' ship, because commands were issued straight from the top and executed zealously. As the 'Mass Effect' directors took control, they scoffed that the 'Dragon Age' squad had been doing a shoddy job and began excluding their leaders from pivotal meetings, according to people familiar with the internal friction. Over time, the 'Mass Effect' team went on to overhaul parts of the game and design a number of additional scenes, including a rich, emotional finale that players loved. But even changes that appeared to improve the game stoked the simmering rancor inside BioWare, infuriating 'Dragon Age' leaders who had been told they didn't have the budget for such big, ambitious swings. 'It always seemed that, when the 'Mass Effect' team made its demands in meetings with EA regarding the resources it needed, it got its way,' said David Gaider, a former lead writer on the 'Dragon Age' franchise who left before development of the new game started. 'But 'Dragon Age' always had to fight against headwinds.' Early testers and 'Mass Effect' leads complained about the game's snarky tone — a style of video game storytelling, once ascendant, that was quickly falling out of fashion in pop culture but had been part of Goldman's vision for the multiplayer game. Worried that 'Dragon Age' could face the same outcome as 'Forspoken' — a recent title that had been hammered over its impertinent banter — BioWare leaders ordered a belated rewrite of the game's dialogue to make it sound more serious. (In the end, the resulting tonal inconsistencies would only add to the game's poor reception with fans.) A mass layoff at BioWare and a mandate to work overtime depleted morale while a voice actors' strike limited the writers' ability to revise the dialogue and create new scenes. An initial trailer made the next 'Dragon Age' seem more like 'Fortnite' than a dark fantasy role-playing game, triggering concerns that EA didn't know how to market the game. When 'Dragon Age: The Veilguard' finally premiered on Halloween after many internal delays, some staff members thought there was a lot to like, including the game's new combat system. But players were less impressed, and sales sputtered. 'The reactions of the fan base are mixed, to put it gently,' said Caitie, a popular 'Dragon Age' YouTuber. 'Some, like myself, adore it for various reasons. Others feel utterly betrayed by certain design choices.' Following the layoffs and staff reassignments at BioWare earlier in the year, a small team of a few dozen employees is working on the next 'Mass Effect.' After three high-profile failures in a row, questions linger about EA's commitment to the studio. In May, the company relabeled its Edmonton headquarters from a BioWare office to a hub for all EA staff in the area. Historically, BioWare has never been the most important studio at EA, which generates more than $7 billion in annual revenue largely from its sports games and shooters. Depending on the timing of its launches, BioWare typically accounts for just 5% of EA's annual bookings, according to estimates by Colin Sebastian, an analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co. Even so, there may be strategic reasons for EA to keep supporting BioWare. Single-player role-playing games are expensive to make but can lead to huge windfalls when successful, as demonstrated by recent hits such as 'Cyberpunk 2077,' 'Elden Ring' and 'Baldur's Gate 3.' In order to grow, EA needs more than just sports franchises, said TD Cowen analyst Doug Creutz. Trying to fix its fantasy-focused studio may be easier than starting something new. 'That said, if they shuttered the doors tomorrow I wouldn't be totally surprised,' Creutz added. 'It has been over a decade since they produced a hit.' Schreier writes for Bloomberg.
ABC News
13-06-2025
- ABC News
Duo aim to speak to all 177 nationalities who now call Tasmania home
Tasmania is a small island, but there are 177 nations represented among its population. Mark Thomson and Andrew Wilson have set out to interview and photograph at least one person from each country.
