QUOTE | “I think the old publishing model has died, where it’s just a bunch of suits and they’re doing marketing. It’s changed dramatically.” – Stardock CEO Brad Wardell, explaining why developers need a full partner to help bring games to market
Elsewhere in the business of video games this week…
QUOTE | “eSports is especially attractive to sponsors because it provides a way to target an especially valuable consumer, the engaged PC gamer.” – Patrick Walker of research firm EEDAR, talking about why advertisers see eSports as a goldmine
QUOTE | “It’s up to the consumers. It’s up to the marketplace to choose what is best. And consumers, I think, aren’t choosing iterative titles.” – FunPlus business development head and former App Store games manager Greg Essig, talking about why discoverability is an issue for everyone involved with games
QUOTE | “We believe in view-to-play gaming for a simple reason – it’s faster, cheaper and more fun to watch an ad than pay for an in-app purchase.” – Jami Laes, former head of games for Rovio, talking about how his new startup Future Games wants to make money with mobile games
STAT | 52 million – Number of copies of Grand Theft Auto V sold so far, helped along by the release of the PC version, according to TakeTwo; the company also noted sales of 2.5 million copies of Evolve, 7 million of the NBA 2K franchise, and 25 million copies of the Borderlands franchise
QUOTE | “These games appeal to a wide variety of player types, and it’s an appeal that may grow further with new entrants in the category.” – NPD’s Liam Callahan, talking about the growth of Interactive Gaming Toys (IGT) like Skylanders and Amiibo, which can now be found in 28% of US households
QUOTE | “Ranging from modding to streaming, from cosplay to competitive gaming, the market for gaming presents a much broader and more diverse mix of opportunities and challenges than ever before.” – SuperData CEO Joost van Dreunen, talking about how the growth in gaming is changing the the market
STAT | $113.3 – Estimated global game revenues for 2018, according to Newzoo; China is expected to be the biggest games market by 2018 with $32.8 billion in sales, far surpassing the US’ expected $24.1 billion in sales
QUOTE | “We have a chemistry set of game design, and we knew they were going to find ways to make it explode.” – Jordan Thomas, former BioShock dev and now co-developer of The Magic Circle, talking about how Steam Early Access players have helped the game’s development
