This Week in the Business_ 'Graphics will always matter.'

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week… QUOTE | “Graphics will always matter.” – id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead reinforces the motto started by John Carmack, noting that games are nowhere near reality and id still makes graphical trade-offs(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"); }); QUOTE | “Total exaggeration.” – Sega West boss Mike Hayes says that the supposed impending death of physical games while digital rises is basically a load of malarkey. QUOTE | “Certainly a possibility.” – Google+ Games could spell bad news for Facebook’s social gaming dominance, as EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich believes it’s possible that Google+ could overtake Facebook STAT | 26% – The percentage of year-over-year decline in the U.S. games business at retail during July, which NPD said was the worst month in the industry since October 2006 QUOTE | “Smartphones are the new battlefield.” – Nintendo’s facing increasing pressure from iOS and Android as 3DS falters, and investors are calling for Nintendo to buy its way in by acquiring a mobile company QUOTE | “We needed key [[link]] franchises.” – Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime finally admits that 3DS blew its launch by not having stronger first-party efforts like a Mario or Zelda, and he says eShop had to come “much sooner.” STAT | 5 million – The number of copies Ubisoft’s Just Dance 2 has sold on Wii in North America, making it the very first third-party Wii title to [[link]] reach the 5 million sales milestone TWIST | A Nintendo DS successor would have to do well, right? Wrong. – 3DS has no guarantee and game industry history is littered with examples of surprising successes and failures QUOTE | “Warm and fuzzy feelings.” – Former Microsoft Game Studios VP Shane Kim thinks the Xbox business will continue to do well and he reminisces about his “friends at Redmond.” STAT | 24 [[link]] million – The number of copies the still yet to be announced GTA V could sell if it matches the franchise’s historical attach rate on consoles, according to analyst Michael Pachter who sees it selling “at least” 18 million. QUOTE | “Cool stuff in the works.” – BioWare’s Dr. Ray Muzyka defends the changes made in Dragon Age II while also promising to integrate feedback from the core fans for future content and iterations in the franchise. This Week In the Business courtesy of IndustryGamers.com