What's happened in the business of video games this past week...
QUOTE | "Graphics will always matter." - id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead reinforces the motto started by John Carmack, noting that games are nowhere near reality and id still makes graphical trade-offs.
QUOTE | "Total exaggeration." - Sega West boss Mike Hayes says that the supposed impending death of physical games while digital rises is basically a load of malarkey.
QUOTE | "Certainly a possibility." - Google+ Games could spell bad news for Facebook's social gaming dominance, as EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich believes it's possible that Google+ could overtake Facebook.
STAT | 26% - The percentage of year-over-year decline in the U.S. games business at retail during July, which NPD said was the worst month in the industry since October 2006.
QUOTE | "Smartphones are the new battlefield." - Nintendo's facing increasing pressure from iOS and Android as 3DS falters, and investors are calling for Nintendo to buy its way in by acquiring a mobile company.
QUOTE | "We needed key franchises." - Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime finally admits that 3DS blew its launch by not having stronger first-party efforts like a Mario or Zelda, and he says eShop had to come "much sooner."
STAT | 5 million – The number of copies Ubisoft's Just Dance 2 has sold on Wii in North America, making it the very first third-party Wii title to reach the 5 million sales milestone.
TWIST | A Nintendo DS successor would have to do well, right? Wrong. - 3DS has no guarantee and game industry history is littered with examples of surprising successes and failures.
QUOTE | "Warm and fuzzy feelings." - Former Microsoft Game Studios VP Shane Kim thinks the Xbox business will continue to do well and he reminisces about his "friends at Redmond."
STAT | 24 million – The number of copies the still yet to be announced GTA V could sell if it matches the franchise's historical attach rate on consoles, according to analyst Michael Pachter who sees it selling "at least" 18 million.
QUOTE | "Cool stuff in the works." - BioWare's Dr. Ray Muzyka defends the changes made in Dragon Age II while also promising to integrate feedback from the core fans for future content and iterations in the franchise.
