Sounds similar. Maybe the difference is that my field has a very strong "publish or perish" mentality. It's pretty much how you are evaluated at the end of the year, and if you're like me who doesn't really have many connections, if I don't have some papers out I'm kinda done if I want to find a job at a university after the current one ends (it's for a maximum of 2 years). You also need papers if you want to get grants.
Sure, publishing is part of academia, but its importance has been, IMO, taken out of proportion. It's also a reason for malpractice and results that can't be replicated.