This Week in the Business_ 'Relic of the 20th Century'

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week… QUOTE | “Superior.” – Xbox CFO Dennis Durkin contends that Microsoft’s first-party games this console cycle have been better in quality and sales than the first-party efforts of Nintendo and Sony.(new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c&cid=872d12ce-453b-4870-845f-955919887e1b'; cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c" }).render("79703296e5134c75a2db6e1b64762017"); }); STAT | 40% – The percentage of the games industry that consoles now comprise, according to EA CEO John Riccitiello, who said it used to be 80% back in 2000. QUOTE | “Abandoned innovation.” Activision Blizzard [[link]] CEO Bobby Kotick actually admits that his company failed to really innovate as the Guitar Hero franchise dragged on QUOTE | “Great investment.” – Seemingly open to the idea of acquisition, Take-Two COO Karl Slatoff talks about the publisher’s games portfolio making them an attractive investment for another company QUOTE | “Slick platform.” – Insomniac Games boss Ted Price weighs in on Sony’s new PlayStation Vita, noting that its graphical horsepower and affordable price point make it a “great proposition for gamers.” STAT | 1 billion – The number of new fans that Angry Birds maker Rovio aims to attract as the company takes an aggressive approach towards the Chinese market QUOTE | “Sweet spot.” – Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter believes $249 would be the perfect price for Nintendo’s Wii U, which will most likely be competing against cheaper Xbox 360s and PS3s when [[link]] it launches. STAT | 13.7 million units – The number of Xbox 360s Microsoft shipped during its just ended fiscal year, as the Xbox division saw revenue grow 45% QUOTE | “Still a pain in the ass.” – Even [[link]] five years after launch, some developers are coming to grips with the PS3’s development architecture, as evidenced by this quote from Darksiders II director Marvin Donald. QUOTE | “People will stop going.” – EA Sports VP Andrew Wilson believes that the end of retail isn’t that far off and people will no longer want to visit a GAME or GameStop location to purchase titles. QUOTE | “Relic of the 20th century.” – Former Sony Worldwide Studios boss Phil Harrison believes the idea of “crunch” on a game project will go away as games evolve from boxed products into services. (Top photo: Shutterstock)