This Week In Business: The Quest For Fame

QUOTE | “You get that hit of attention and it makes you feel good, then you come back down. Then you build up a tolerance for it, so you need it just to feel normal, like if you have too much caffeine or something.” – Framed developer Joshua Boggs, talking about his self-destructive quest for indie fame and external validation, which he sees as a major issue in the indie dev scene.

STAT | 14,000 – The number of copies That Dragon, Cancer has sold to date. Developer Ryan Green believes the game’s sales have been stifled by Let’s Play videos.

STAT | 1 million to 2 million – The number of PlayStation VR headsets Sony expects to ship by the end of 2016. The headset was actually delayed from its original release window because Sony needed extra time to meet higher than expected projections from the sales team.

STAT | $US0 ($0) – The amount of money Sony is losing by selling the PlayStation VR at $US399 ($520), according to Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida.

QUOTE | “Someone who gets [the Oculus Rift] has an incredible amount of stuff to do this year and flowing into next year. If I was launching a Touch product this month I wouldn’t feel that way.” – Oculus’ Jason Rubin says a lack of software support was the biggest reason for the Oculus touch controllers’ belated arrival.

QUOTE | “We had this diamond-in-the-rough prototype that I put in front of our executives at Codemasters, and they were not confident.” – Codemasters developer Paul Coleman explains why the established publisher took the unusual route of launching Dirt Rally through Steam’s Early Access program.

QUOTE | “Our small games aren’t going to make a difference to Nintendo’s bottom line, but the discussion that surrounds it might make a difference to our collective conscience.” – Necrosoft founder Brandon Sheffield, explaining why his studio cancelled its Wii U game Gunhouse after Nintendo fired an employee targeted by online harassers.

QUOTE | “This division aims to produce hit titles both domestically and abroad by aggressively utilising the company’s popular IP.” – Capcom, announcing its new Mobile Business Division, a restructuring of its mobile operations that will see new Mega Man and Monster Hunter games launched by this time next year.

QUOTE | “Every day, Filipinos leave the country in search of opportunities elsewhere. I was one of those people eight years ago, and now I’m very happy to come back and bring my own experience in AAA game development.” – Chip Go, studio manager for Ubisoft’s new production studio in the Philippines.

QUOTE | “We’re excited to be collaborating with Scholastic on a series that will bring Azeroth to life for a whole new audience.” – Blizzard senior vice president of story and franchise development Chris Metzen touts a deal for a new line of World of Warcraft books aimed at young readers.

QUOTE | “UCI eSports will be built on four pillars: competition, academics, entertainment and community.” – University of California, Irvine vice chancellor for student affairs Thomas Parham, laying down the guiding principles for its new Riot Games and iBuyPower-sponsored competitive gaming team, which will offer up to 10 students full academic scholarships.

STAT | 21 years – The lifespan of n-Space, which shut its doors this week. The studio had worked on every major console and handheld since its debut, the 1997 PC and PlayStation game Tiger Shark. Its last project was the Dungeons & Dragons game Sword Coast Legends.

Top image via Shutterstock Photo