Gamecraft

Exploring the importance of distribution in the video game industry, discussing the evolution of distribution costs from physical to digital era, and analyzing the impact of platforms like Steam. Delving into the transformation of distribution platforms within the gaming sector, discussing profitability, curation, and innovative marketing approaches. Highlighting Netflix's strategic venture into the gaming industry with a bundled game subscription service.

Discussions on the expansion of gaming in emerging markets like Middle East, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. Insights on the challenges of introducing games in diverse regions and the importance of localization. Exploring the growth potential of Indian gaming market and the regulatory impact on China's gaming industry.

Exploring the definition and origins of indie game developers, the impact of digital distribution platforms, and the success story of Minecraft. Discussing the rise of indie game publishers and the emergence of indie developers on platforms like Roblox and Unreal Engine Fortnite. Exploring monetization opportunities and the importance of the independent games movement in driving innovation.

The podcast discusses the emergence of game-enabling software platforms like Epic, Unity, AppLovin, Discord, and Roblox. It explores their strategies, market value, and Wall Street response. The evolution of Epic Games and Unity is explored, highlighting their adaptability and success. The rise of Apple Oven in the ads business and Discord's evolution into a communication platform are also discussed. The hosts reflect on the pitfalls of industry maps and offer advice for entrepreneurs.

Mitch and Blake discuss game financing, including publishing financing and venture capital. They explore the trade-offs of securing funding and the promises made to venture capitalists. They also discuss aqua hiring, innovation in distribution, spending money in game studios, going public, and the current state of venture investing in the game industry.

The hosts discuss the paradoxical state of the games business, comparing it to the post-pandemic video streaming industry. They explore the implications of increasing consolidation, the end of the ten year surfeit of cheap money, and the over-investment of private capital into studios. They also cover topics such as the evolving definition of gaming, challenges faced by gaming studios, and the impact of COVID-19 on valuation and growth. Additionally, they touch upon the challenges faced by the gaming industry in China.

Mitch and Blake take on the complex topic of in-game economies. They discuss how the endemic problems of trust and arbitrage were present in the earliest in-game economies of the late 1980 and how they have persisted to the present web3 economies. They look at the concept of mudlfation, a unique economic problem of massively multiplayer online games, and the strategies for controlling it, as well as the idea of economic play. Mitch talks about how gold farming and real-money trading were early antecedents of play-to-earn, before taking a look at early web3 economies. They end the episode with a discussion of the speculator problem in web3 gaming, and Mitch explains the trust and gifting based economy of Jenova Chen's Sky. The Story of Habitat Axie Infinity hack Raph Koster on "fun" in virtual economies Under a Killing Moon "Mudflation" 'Flation (Koster) Play Money (Dibbell 2007) Castronova on Everquest GDP CS:GO Skin Economy Explained EVE Online (How Money Works) Is Crypto VC Strategy Securities Fraud? Sorare Sky economy

Mitch and Blake discuss the recurring industry obsession with the idea of virtual reality, beginning in the mid-1980s. Mitch recounts a story about his encounter with VPL and the weird world of digital artists and promoters in the early days of personal computing. They look at the second failed wave of VR investment in the 1990s and the importance of Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash. Mitch talks about how Linden Lab's Second Life anticipated many of the ideas of the modern metaverse. They then look at the Oculus, and Facebook's decade-long failure to generate momentum behind a new wave of virtual reality, and what Apple's entry into the market may mean. They conclude with a look at the idea of the metaverse and its challenges. Links and Show Notes: Mondo 2000 magazine Mark Pauline - Survival Research Labs Neuromancer (William Gibson, 1984) “Spawn of Atari” (Wired Magazine) VPL “Murder She Wrote” VR Episode Hasbro’s Toaster VR Project Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson, 1993) Ready Player One (Ernest Cline, 2011) Beat Saber The Metaverse (Matthew Ball, 2022) Raph Koster’s “real talk about a real metaverse”  

Mitch and Blake debate the continuing relevance of dedicated gaming consoles to the video game business. They begin with a discussion of the economics of the console business, and how console manufacturers built defensible moats that have remained relevant for over 40 years. Mitch compares the current state of the console business to the theatrical feature film business -- and how both have become the domain of big budget blockbusters with cultural significance but dwindling market share. They discuss the history of Nintendo, how its often-contrarian business strategy has paid off over time. Mitch explains how a lawsuit with Nintendo got him into the video game business. They conclude with a look at Sony and Microsoft's different responses to cross-platform play, as powerful platform-based publishers like Epic challenge the traditional console model, and what it means to the future of the business. Links & Show Notes: Atari Alex St. John Xbox GDC Launch Video Nintendo Playing Cards (1889) Valve’s Hardware History “Iwata chooses violence” Pokemon GO / Niantic Atari Games v. Nintendo List of Cross-Platform Games (Q1 2023)

Mitch and Blake propose a framework for understanding user-generated content in games based on two central metaphors -- the playground and the stage -- representing the two ways users "create" content in games through play and performance. They discuss the rise of sandbox games, The Sims, GTA3, Runescape, Second Life, EVE Online, and Minecraft. Mitch explains the evolution of games as performance spaces, beginning with early machinima and progressing to YouTube videos and Twitch streaming. They conclude with a brief look at Roblox and Discord as two "third places" that people hang out online, and the influence of games on the future of social networks. Links & Show Notes: Bartle’s Taxonomy The Sims (WaPo article) GTA 3 (The Ringer retrospective) Second Life and lessons for the metaverse Empires of EVE Minecraft hits 1 trillion views on YouTube Machinima Starcraft on Korean TV (2008) Ninja and Drake on Twitch Roblox S-1 Discord