What’s happened in the business of video games this past week…
QUOTE | “Push out the lifespan of PS3.” – DFC Intelligence analyst David Cole responds to rumours that Sony is actually preparing to unveil and PlayStation 4 sometime next year.
STAT | $US4.27 million – How much Sony CEO Howard Stringer earned for the fiscal year ended on March 31, as Sony dropped his annual pay from $US5.05 million with company losses piling up.
QUOTE | “Broader than ever before.” – Xbox COO Dennis Durkin notes that the Xbox brand has expanded a great deal in the last 12 months to the point where it’s a “much broader place demographically.”
QUOTE | “Not accepted by core gamers.” – Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata talks about why Wii failed to resonate with the core audience and how Wii U will rectify this problem.
QUOTE | “Put the cart before the horse.” – Interpret VP Michael Cai’s comments that Nintendo may have blown an opportunity with its 3DS launch by failing to provide software gamers desire.
QUOTE | “Brilliant strategic move.” – Wedbush Securities’ Michael Pachter on Blizzard’s decision to make World of Warcraft free to play up to level 20, which he says could be a “pre-emptive” strike against Star Wars: The Old Republic.
STAT | $US21.6 billion – Research firm Newzoo’s estimate for the total gamers in the US will spend in 2011, as mobile, online and download games combined are expected to surpass traditional console games for the first time this year.
QUOTE | “Analytics just aren’t enough.” – Activision associate brand manager on Call of Duty Aland Failde discusses how to survive the social gaming bubble and challenges companies to go beyond analytics.
QUOTE | “Not cannibalising packaged goods.” – As successful as Zynga has been, it’s growth does not spell doom for traditional game companies and packaged goods, says analyst Michael Pachter.
TWIST | The Supreme Court ruling on California’s violent games law is not only a major win for the industry and game makers, but it’s also a tacit admission that games are no longer just for kids.
This Week In the Business courtesy of IndustryGamers.com
Top photo: Shutterstock
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