QUOTE | “I’m thrilled to welcome undoubtedly the most recognizable and accomplished figure in the culinary world to Glu’s family of celebrity partners.” Niccolo de Masi, CEO of Kim Kardashian: Hollywood publisher Glu Mobile, announcing his latest obnoxious celebrity signing, Gordon Ramsay.
Elsewhere in the business of gaming this week...
QUOTE | “This year a variety of talented people will explore engagement and how it deeply affects what they do…” - Martin Rae, president of DICE Summit organizer AIAS, explaining why this year’s edition of the gaming convention features presentations from a Las Vegas magician, automobile industry insiders, and film and TV producers.
QUOTE | “It’s a common occurrence to see men walking around with strollers in those cities as an example but that’s not the case in the US, and we want to change that.” - Unity Technologies chief people officer Elizabeth Brown, explaining part of the motivation behind the company’s increased parental leave benefits for US employees.
QUOTE | “[H]onestly being a publisher is highly overrated these days.” - John Smedley, who left his job running Daybreak Studios (formerly Sony Online Entertainment) and recently founded indie studio Pixelmage Games.
STAT | 75% - The portion of surveyed developers who feel that VR and AR are long-term sustainable markets in games. For eSports, the number was 88%.
STAT | 4 months - App Annie’s average estimated time to maturity (the point at which a game has reached 90% of market potential) for iOS and Android games launched in 2015. For games released in 2012, the time to maturity was closer to three years.
STAT | 6% - The portion of North American PC and console gamers surveyed who expect the PlayStation VR to provide the highest quality VR experience. The Oculus Rift was first with 53%, followed by HTC Vive with 42%.
QUOTE | “[I]n the competitive scene, we’ve seen the rise of a lot of very impressive pad players, which has pretty much shown that Street Fighter is a game that’s not necessarily dictated by the controller you play with; it’s the strategies and tactics you employ. And both of them are essentially on equal playing ground.” - Capcom director of brand marketing and eSports Matt Dahlgren, explaining why pricey arcade sticks aren’t as essential for Street Fighter fans as they once were.
QUOTE | “[A] 15-inch monitor around two feet away.” - Microsoft tech evangelist Bruce Harris, suggesting a comparison for the visible display area of the company’s HoloLens.
QUOTE | “We would see women come into the eSports industry, be compelling and bright-eyed and wonderful and doing cool things and then six months later you turn around and they’re gone and we couldn’t figure out why.” - Twitch programming manager, broadcaster, and partner Prosser Robertson at the company’s #GeekGirlDinner, saying the streaming scene needs to be more welcoming and diverse.
STAT | 10 days - How long it took Steam and iOS game Punch Club to raise $1 million in revenue, thanks in large part to a Twitch Plays promotion that saw the game’s wide release withheld until Twitch users had collectively beaten it.
QUOTE | “[T]o usher in the next era of human-computer interaction by integrating computer vision and machine learning techniques into the expanding landscape of virtual reality.” - The stated goal of Oculus’ new offices in Pittsburgh.
Top image, some food Gordon Ramsay made, via Shutterstock.