What’s happened in the business of video games this past week …
QUOTE | “The days of Kevin Butler are over.” — Scott Steinberg, talking along with other PR and marketing experts about Sony’s future PlayStation strategy now that Kevin Butler is most likely dead.
QUOTE | “Microsoft and its next generation Xbox appears to offer up the most ambitious plans for a console operating system going forward.” — Rich Leadbetter, Eurogamer’s technology expert, talking about why Wii U dedicates 1GB to its background operating system and how Microsoft’s Durango could see that double.
QUOTE | “Let’s just make a f***ing game.” — Veteran game maker Stuart Black reveals his new indie studio and talks about his being sick of politicking at companies.
QUOTE | “The Windows Store is largely a consequence of Windows 8’s own identity crisis.” — Former GamesIndustry.biz editor Rob Fahey talking about the problems for developers and consumers dealing with Windows 8 and the Windows Store.
STAT | 24 per cent — The big declines at US retail for the video game industry in September, according to The NPD Group; total sales came to just $US848.3 million.
QUOTE | “Freemium is the most radical form of entertainment socialism since Obama got elected.” — Scott Dodson, chief product officer of Bobber Interactive, talking about the ethical questions raised by free-to-play during a GDC Online panel.
QUOTE | “I predict that, moving forward, even triple-A titles will be shifting toward play-for-free.” — Toylogic president Yoichi Take, who just released the first ever F2P game on Xbox Live, Happy Wars, talks about the increasingly popular business model.
STAT | 1.4 million — The number of copies Borderlands 2 sold at retail on consoles in the US during its first month, which is up a whopping 234 per cent over Borderlands.
QUOTE | “When the hardcore fans are satisfied, I think [Wii U] sales are going to drop precipitously.” — Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter talking about the problems he’s anticipating for Nintendo’s Wii U compared to the huge success that was the Wii.
STAT | 40 per cent — The percentage of US teens who now own an iPhone, according to research firm Piper Jaffray, which says that Apple is “the preeminent technology brand for teens”.
QUOTE | “We’ve got crazy ideas that will take us through another 20 years of development.” — Jonathan Lander of CCP talking about the huge lifespan he expects for new first-person shooter Dust 514, which should long outlive the PS3 itself.
QUOTE | “It’s all about that suspension of disbelief.” — Chris Roberts, creator of the Wing Commander series, returns to gaming after producing a number of movies, and talks about his new project, Star Citizen.
QUOTE | “Apple’s Draconian approach is why they provide products and ecosystems that are generally superior to their competition.” — DirkKnemeyer, Founder & Chairman, Involution Studios, talking with other iOS game developers about Apple’s approach to App Store management and how it affects devs.
This Week in the Business courtesy of GamesIndustry International
Image from Shutterstock
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