This Week In The Business: Kids And Their Cash

“It’s six figures of big money showered upon teenage boys, what can possibly go wrong?” — Peter Moore, head of EA’s competitive gaming division, discussing the publisher’s approach to EA Sports, which includes helping pro players properly handle their winnings.

Top image via Shutterstock Photo

Elsewhere in the business of gaming this week…

QUOTE | “We have put huge amounts of money into the ecosystem, more than any of our competitors.” — Oculus Head of Content Jason Rubin talking about big investments in exclusives and how Oculus believes it’s good for the VR industry.

STAT | 20 per cent — The ownership stake in Ubisoft that media conglomerate Vivendi now controls; Vivendi is talking about a “fruitful cooperation” and denying that a hostile takeover bid is imminent.

STAT | $US377.6 ($505) million — The amount that the Warcraft movie has taken in, making it the single highest-grossing game adaptation in movie history.

QUOTE | “Tencent will now finally make serious mobile revenues outside of its home turf.” — Newzoo analyst Peter Warman, commenting on the impact of the massive $US8.6 ($12) billion majority stake purchased by Chinese giant Tencent in Clash of Clans firm Supercell.

QUOTE | “Overwatch dominates rankings leaving Battleborn in the dust.” — SuperData analyst Joost van Dreunen talking about the impressive performance of Blizzard’s Overwatch, which generated $US269 ($360) million in digital revenues in May.

QUOTE | “Game development is a very exclusive club.” — Variable State developer Jonathan Burroughs commenting on one of the lessons learned while developing the indie studio’s Virginia.

QUOTE | “We can be the Silicon Valley of the Caribbean.” — Martinez de Dios, dean of technology and marketing at Atlantic University College, talking about the untapped potential of Puerto Rico in tech and game development.

QUOTE | “If eBay allowed you to sell merchandise without verifying sellers’ credentials … they’d probably [be] under similar fire right now as they’d facilitate stolen goods trade.” — tinyBuild CEO Alex Nichiporchik lamenting the role G2A has allegedly played in selling game keys on the grey market, costing the developer hundreds of thousands of dollars.

QUOTE | “For the second year in a row, peak E3 Twitch viewership occurred during the Electronic Arts press event.” — EEDAR VP of Insights Patrick Walker providing an analysis of who came out on top in terms of Twitch streams during the major E3 press events.