This Week In The Business: Steam’s Importance To Independents

This Week In The Business: Steam’s Importance To Independents

QUOTE | “I think Steam is … probably the most important thing that’s happened to indie games in the last 10 years.” — Fullbright Company co-founder Steve Gaynor on reactions to his game Gone Home and how indies must think about sales platforms.

Elsewhere in the business of video games this week …

QUOTE | “We expect both Sony and Microsoft to be very profitable in the next generation.” — Analyst Michael Pachter, discussing the prospects for the console business over the next several years, though he is “sceptical” that Nintendo will turn a profit on the Wii U.

QUOTE | “There’s no measuring spoon for love. You can’t quantify it. Retention is not the same as happiness.” — Laralyn McWilliams, former creative lead on Free Realms, on why metrics can’t judge a player’s love for a game.

STAT | $US77 billion — Worldwide game revenue for 2014, as forecast by analyst firm DFC Intelligence; the firm sees global game revenues reaching $US96 billion by 2018.

QUOTE | “We expect that Destiny will become the best-selling new video game IP in history when it launches.” — Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, expressing his optimism for Bungie’s new game launching September 9.

QUOTE | “They want to engage in our console franchises, they want to see them on mobile devices, but we really aren’t doing very well at helping them out with that.” — Ubisoft VP of digital Chris Early, on the challenge of creating tablet/console crossover titles.

QUOTE | “The fear and trepidation is something I feel like to a large degree we’ve overcome.” — NPD’s David McQuillan, on how difficult it’s been to get publishers to share data on digital game sales.

STAT | 48 per cent — Amount of PS Vita software sales that are digital downloads, according to Sony; also, so far one-third of PS Vita owners have purchased a PlayStation 4.

STAT | 47 per cent — Amount US video game hardware sales rose in January versus January 2013, once you adjust it for the extra week in January 2013’s numbers; by contrast, software revenues dropped by 25 per cent by the same figuring.

QUOTE | “It’s a talent business. The office isn’t valuable because of the computers, or the kettle, it’s the people.” — Tony Beckwith of Studio Gobo, on why they are “extremely fussy” when it comes to hiring people.

STAT | $US689 million — Revenue that mobile game maker Supercell brought in during 2013; the company brought in a gross profit of $US322 million, all on two games: Clash of Clans and Hay Day.

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


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