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%—The big declines at U.S. retail for the video game industry in September, according to The NPD Group; total sales came to just $848.3 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 U.S. during its first month, which is up a whopping 234% over Borderlands 1.
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%—The percentage of U.S. 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."—Dirk Knemeyer, Founder & Chairman, Involution Studios, talking with other iOS game developers about Apple's approach to App Store management and how it affects devs.
