On December 27, 2013, Kotaku’s Stephen Totilo told us to bookmark a post and check back three years later. So we did. And now, at the end of 2016, we can finally see how soothsayer Michael Pachter’s 2013 predictions turned out.
Members of the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) are threatening to strike against eleven game industry employers in a protest seeking changes to their contracts.
QUOTE | “I think there are a lot of caveats [Sony’s] giving customers right now around 4K.” – Albert Penello, senior director of product management and planning at Xbox, commenting on how PS4 Pro compares to Microsoft’s upcoming Scorpio console.
QUOTE | “London Studio have done a great job in leading the way in VR development…” - A Sony representative announcing a round of layoffs at the PlayStation VR Worlds developer just weeks before the team’s game and the PSVR headset launch.
QUOTE | “Really this could be a final nail in the coffin for Xbox One now that Microsoft has told consumers to wait until 2017 [for Scorpio]. Sony will have the powerful system with VR now and a well-executed plan that leaves consumers no reason to wait.” - DFC Intelligence’s David Cole says PlayStation 4 Pro offers…
QUOTE | “The reality of doing business in the games industry is much more nuanced than prevailing industry opinions would suggest, namely because those opinions lack appropriate context.” - Butterscotch Shenanigans’ Sam Coster explains why the studio ignored everyone telling it a simultaneous mobile-PC launch for its Crashlands was a…
QUOTE | “What’s changed is that there is proof in the market that people want it…” - EA Studios executive VP Patrick Soderlund on the company’s reversal when it comes to remastered re-releases of games. Less than a year ago, EA’s Peter Moore decried the practice as a sign companies had run out of ideas.
QUOTE | “Nobody gets sleep anymore. How is this acceptable? ... They hang out on our lawns, trample landscaping, look in vehicles... We don’t feel safe... I don’t feel safe sitting on our porch.” - A lawsuit filed by a Detroit-area couple because Pokemon Go put Pokestops and gyms near their property and players had…
QUOTE | “Premium is dead. That’s a fact, so let’s deal with it.” - Valiant Hearts director and Digixart head Yoan Fanise, explaining the company’s mindset after Lost in Harmony launched as a premium iOS app and failed to perform.
QUOTE | “We need to make money. That’s the motivation. Computer games make money.” - Seaman designer Yoot Saito, explaining why his company is returning to game development after several years building apps.
STAT | $3.2 billion - Sony’s gaming revenue for the quarter ended June 30, up 15% year-over-year as its software sales surged and PS4 production costs shrank.
QUOTE | “Worry is the gun to your head. It changes how you make decisions.” - Obsidian Entertainment CEO Feargus Urquhart on surviving 13 years in AAA development and how “I thought we would have been purchased by now.”
QUOTE | “What’s too gay for them, what’s too sexual for them?” - Developer Robert Yang talking about his sexual-themed games and how he’s “now the third-most-banned game developer from Twitch.”
QUOTE | “The DLC shitstorm hit full force and washed away people’s enthusiasm, dragging us further and further from that first magical pick-up-and-play experience.” - Turtle Rock’s Chris Ashton and Phil Robb explaining to its community why the studio is now taking Evolve to a free-to-play model with a beta starting…
QUOTE | “We’ve all gone online and had our asses kicked by obnoxious 12 year olds.” - EA chief competition officer Peter Moore talking about wanting to “make stars out of players” but that proper matchmaking is paramount.
QUOTE | “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.
QUOTE | “Me and my son have an Xbox One, and we wanted to play Battlefield 1 or Titanfall 2, and we didn’t get that opportunity. I was like, c’mon man, I didn’t come here to buy stuff. I came here to enjoy games.” - A father discusses the “really disappointing” open-to-the-public E3 Live show this week. The ESA said…
QUOTE | “It is indeed a safety net for gamers, but it’s not perceived as some type of time-limited demo they can make use of - certainly not for our type of games.” - Slitherine Software marketing director Marco Minoli defends Steam’s refunds policy, saying less than 2% of the PC strategy publisher’s games sold in the…
QUOTE | “[I]ncredibly disappointing” - Mad Catz CEO Karen McGinnis sums up the company’s involvement with Rock Band 4.
QUOTE | “We see this as an excellent opportunity to build on the rich legacy of the Mega Man video game series and introduce the famous boy robot to a whole new generation of kids worldwide.” - DHX chief content officer Asaph Fipke gets everyone stoked for a new Mega Man cartoon.
