STAT | 3 million - The number of Dark Souls 3 copies shipped by Namco Bandai in the year ended March 31. The game launched March 24.
Elsewhere in the business of gaming this week...
STAT | 14 million - The number of Star Wars: Battlefront copies Electronic Arts shipped for its “phenomenal” fiscal year ended March 31. It expects a new Star Wars game every year for the next three to four years.
STAT | 300 - The number of game developers out of work after Disney cancelled its toys-to-life franchise Disney Infinity, shuttered development studio Avalanche, and withdrew from console game publishing entirely.
QUOTE | “I suspect that it has seen the cost/effort required to keep Disney Infinity as a fresh proposition in the console market, and found it to be too risky. Contrast this with, say, its licensing success with EA and Star Wars Battlefront last year, and it’s clear where its focus should reside.” - IHS analyst Steve Bailey explains Disney’s motivation in retreating from the game publishing business.
QUOTE | “[T]he Company will promote its profitable digital download sales, in addition to package products that have limited sales runs.” - Capcom tells investors it’s scaling back its retail efforts for its next fiscal year.
QUOTE | “There’s no play like it.” - Nintendo’s new marketing slogan, unveiled alongside a 2DS price cut. We don’t know if the slogan is just for the 2DS or for the entire 3DS family of handhelds or for all of the company’s products, because Nintendo declined to comment on its slogan. Because when you roll out a promotional campaign, the last thing you want is for people to know what you’re talking about.
QUOTE | “They were going, you can’t have a black person on the cover, and you can’t have a woman. And you want a black woman. And I was like, yes, I do, because it’s about be whatever hero you want. No. It’s a white guy. That’s just the way it is.” - Former Lionhead art director John McCormack describes a frustrating discussion with Microsoft’s marketing department over Fable II.
QUOTE | “One of the first things that comes to mind is, ‘Do you have any friends that live in Canada?’” - Enter the Gungeon developer Dave Crooks offers advice for aspiring developers, telling them to take advantage of government aid wherever possible.
QUOTE | “It’s been a real adventure. But it was hard, and if you’d interviewed me at other moments I’d have told you, ‘I hate the world.’” - Asobo Studio chief creative officer David Dedeine paints an imposing picture of what it’s like to develop for augmented reality and HoloLens.
QUOTE | “A minority of players raid. A minority of players participate in PvP. A tiny minority touch Mythic raiding. A tiny minority of players do rated PvP. A minority of players have several max-level alts. A minority of players do pet battles, roleplay, list things for sale on the auction house, do Challenge Mode dungeons, and the list goes on.” - Blizzard designer Ion Hazzikostas explains that World of Warcraft isn’t one big community so much as a cluster of distinct minority groups.
QUOTE | “Bethesda showed how much the release of a solid mobile game could be a key tent pole in the marketing campaign of the HD game. I expect that this trend is only getting started.” - EEDAR VP of insights Patrick Walker, on the recent wave of mobile apps based on AAA franchises like Battleborn Tap and Uncharted: Fortune Hunter.
STAT | 1.1 billion - The number of people who will be aware that eSports is a thing by the end of this year, according to research firm Newzoo. They expect 144 million of those people will be occasional viewers, with 148 million actual eSports enthusiasts.
QUOTE | “eSports is a cultural phenomenon at its tipping point, and we’re excited to work with the IAB to bring this message directly to advertisers as part of the 2016 Digital Content NewFronts.” - Activision Blizzard Media Networks SVP Mike Sepso, announcing a suite of new features at an Interactive Advertising Bureau event this week.