What’s happened in the business of video games this past week…
QUOTE | “We’ll be able to squeeze more from Xbox 360.” – Epic design director Cliff Bleszinski notes that if Epic ships another 360 title this generation they should still be able to extract even more power from the console
QUOTE | “We’ve learned how to take on Zynga.” – EA Playfish executive John Earner talks about the likelihood of The Sims Social overtaking Zynga’s CityVille to become #1 on Facebook
QUOTE | “Social stealing play time from core games.” – New research from Information Solutions Group (on behalf of Kabam) shows that social gaming has led to a 50% average decline in money spent on console games
QUOTE | “The market for 3DS and Vita is shrinking.” – Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter weighs in on the portable battle and the impact of the imminent launch of iPhone 5
QUOTE | “It was a bit shocking to see.” – Sony Computer Entertainment boss of Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida, reacts to the confirmation that Nintendo is going to launch a second analog add-on for the 3DS.
QUOTE | “These people will push you around forever.” – Ex-GameStop writer and Giant Bomb founder Jeff Gerstmann talks about how to deal with angry PR in a piece on becoming a games journalist.
QUOTE | “A complete shift to digital gaming delivery.” – Despite the growing presence of digital games every day, EA CFO Eric Brown still does not envision the industry going all digital in “the foreseeable future.”
STAT | $27 million – The money generated by 451,000 units sold of NHL 12 in its first week, which set a new franchise record for EA Sports’ hockey series
STAT | 1.5 million – The number of copies already pre-ordered for EA’s Battlefield 3, which should see critical ratings of “at least” 80, according to Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia.
QUOTE | “The last large scale MMO to use subscriptions.” – Sony Online Entertainment boss John Smedley talks about the prospects of BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic and how the industry is going free-to-play.
QUOTE | “PS Vita’s in a league of its own.” – Jon Peddie Research analyst Ted Pollak does not see Sony’s portable being affected by smartphones as much as Nintendo 3DS
This Week In the Business courtesy of IndustryGamers.com
(Top photo: Shutterstock)
