Game Economist Cast

Send us a textCan a stick of butter keep you sober during high-stakes diplomatic meetings? Eric is sure to tell us. Chris provides a compelling theory for the death of mods, while Phil undergoes a Supercell detox after analyzing Squad Buster's launch. The crew gets back in touch with their microeconomic selves and looks at one of the most interesting explanations for the gender pay gap.ONE COHORT AT A TIME: A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON THE DECLINING GENDER PAY GAP

Send us a textPlay to earn hits Steam, and the crew is here to dissect the phenomenon. Why now, and why bananas? Phil is back into the economics of social casinos, while Chris develops a progression model for Darts. Eric and Phil debate the externalities of bots, while Chris solves for equilibrium. 

The crew debates the best game economy of all time, explores the impact of cryptocurrency and web 3 tech, discusses Bellatro's unique gameplay, touches on skill-based matchmaking in X Defiant, and analyzes monetization strategies in shooter games like SquadBusters.

Send us a textPhil gets Eric pilled into a trio of roguelikes, where we prime the pump for Squad Buster's eventual shake-up of the genre. Chris ran another NFT sale and lived to tell about it. We Snap our fingers for Eric's take on Snap's doubling cube mechanic. Should all ranked systems use it? Should the bet limit expand to infinity? We conclude with a discussion of Eurovision's political economy.https://ericguan.substack.com/https://chriseconomics.substack.com/

Send us a textDr. Sam Rosen of Temple University finally unleashes the Veblen Goods model for which every Game Economist yearns. We discuss:Why don't sold-out artists raise ticket prices?Why do NFT projects go boom or bust?Should auction-based goods mask demand for their products?What types of Pokémon are optimal for collecting in Go?Dr.Rosen's paper, co-authored with Dr.Anthony Lee Zhang & Sebeom Oh, is out now!

Send us a textEric reminds us that The Wizard of Oz is a heated monetarism debate, while Chris goes six layers deep on enforcing royalties. Phil thinks Warzone Mobile is a good executive Powerpoint math muddled with poor execution, but good economics secured him Taylor Swift tickets. Subscribe to Chris' Substack and Eric's SubstackLimit Break's New ERC standard

Experts discuss the economics of the video game job market, frustrations in big gaming companies, persona and personalization in transportation, and web3 UGC games. They touch on topics like utility in shared spaces, listing hotels on Airbnb, job searching post GDC 2024, Monopoly Go's success, player personas in gaming, web three technology trends, indie game innovation, and the intersection of gaming with venture capitalism.

Send us a textMatthew Melnyk joins the crew to finally tell us what's social about social casinos. Eric discovers a genre outside of CCG roguelikes...Psych, this time, it's Cobalt Core. Chris bends the supply survey backward to explain progression windfalls, while Phil tries to connect the dots between leaderboards and auction systems.

Send us a textNo Palword take is too late; something is not lost on the Game Economist Cast crew. Eric beguiles us with Cassette Beasts' analysis, while Chris reminds us of web3's oft-forgotten but newly popular Airdrop mechanics. Bonk? Phil can't get over the post-COVID decline in weekly gaming hours, but Eric cooks on a theory that a growing leisure pie might save us all. [1] Sub to Eric and Chris's Substack! [2] It's a bubble, it's a market, it's an Airdop![3] The Tremendous Yet Troubled State of Gaming in 2024

Send us a textEric starts 2024 with a new paper on League of Legends published by leading researchers. Is there an optimal amount of excitement in matches, and if so, where is it? Chris returns from Italy, and holy cannoli, did he have a "time" while  Phil laments subscription-based pricing as the antithesis of game monetization.  The crew agrees to spend money on Magic The Gathering this year.