This Week In The Business: ‘The Leading System Of This Generation’

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week …
QUOTE | “The leading system of this generation.” — Research firm DFC Intelligence asserting that Sony’s PS4 will indeed be the number one selling console of the new generation, but the company doesn’t see PS4 surpassing the lifetime numbers of Wii or PS2.

QUOTE | “I think the successful launches for the PS4 and the Xbox One prove obviously that console gaming is alive and well.” — Take-Two president Karl Slatoff on how the publisher views its investments and considering “whether this console cycle will have the same juice as the previous console cycle.”

QUOTE | “Demand continues to overwhelm supply, but we’re working hard to get PS4 units into the hands of customers throughout the holiday season.” — Sony Computer Entertainment America boss Jack Tretton on the very successful launch of the PS4, which outsold all other consoles in the US in November.

QUOTE | “The traditional publisher/developer model is kind of like the prisoner’s dilemma.” — Kabam Game Studios president Andrew Sheppard on why most traditional game publishers have failed to succeed with free-to-play.

STAT | $US2.74 billion — The total industry sales generated at US retail in November, driving overall numbers up 7%; hardware sales soared on Xbox One and PS4 purchases but software declined.

STAT | 10 million — Nintendo announced following the NPD report that lifetime sales of 3DS have reached almost 10.5 million units in North America, with Pokemon X and Y reaching 2.35 million.

QUOTE | “The ability to deliver emotion is something that I don’t think has ever really been seen in sports video games.” — NBA 2K14 senior producer Rob Jones on the challenge and opportunity in developing sports games on the next-gen consoles.

QUOTE | “In over 30 years in the business, I have no doubt this is the most creative and exciting time in terms of potential and possibility.” — Google chief game designer, and former Lucasfilm Games employee, Noah Falstein on the bright future of the industry as he looks back fondly on the old Lucasfilm studio.

QUOTE | “We think that there will be a faster overall transition than in the past.” — Ubisoft’s EMEA executive director Alain Corre on why he believes more gamers will switch to the newly released consoles at a faster pace than in previous transitions.

QUOTE | “I don’t think quantity and fast follow works anymore, and I don’t think it worked that well to begin with.” — TinyCo head of business operations Andrew N. Green on his company’s strategy with the new mobile game based on Family Guy and how past strategies in mobile failed.

This Week in the Business courtesy of GamesIndustry International
Image by Jorge Casais [Shutterstock]