The Gamebiz Podcast

Let's talk about PlayStation's Live Service Strategy™ All sources are in the show notes. All opinions are my own. Follow me @gamebizpod on twitter Topic (0:53) - Amazon Game Studios’ boss has stepped down (4:28) - Xbox’s The Initiative studio has seen a “fast and furious” wave of senior departures in the past 12 months (11:43) - Ampere Analysis: Console market grew to record $60bn in 2021 (15:27) - Topic of the week Show notes Amazon: https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/amazon-game-studios-boss-has-stepped-down/ Initiative: https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/insiders-describe-fast-and-furious-exits-from-xboxs-perfect-dark-studio/ Ampere article: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2022-03-01-ampere-analysis-console-market-grew-to-record-usd60bn-in-2021 Topic of the Week: https://twitter.com/ZhugeEX/status/1488759075672309762?s=20&t=MqL2AeeHLs-8HYUbLHH2rQ https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2022-03-21-playstation-to-buy-jade-raymonds-haven-studios-sonys-first-developer-in-canada https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/25/22996376/sony-playstation-spartacus-subscription-game-pass-rumor-ps5 https://twitter.com/ZhugeEX/status/1506310640092299276?s=20&t=uv-HilgOTitJ5Ql6bSbjCA https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2022-01-31-sony-buying-bungie-for-usd3-6-billion https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/2/22914016/sony-playstation-live-service-games-launch-march-2026?utm_campaign=theverge&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

First episode of 2022 and what a topic to be coming back to cover. This episode I'll be going over Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard for a near $69bn (nice). All sources are in the show notes. All opinions are my own. Follow me @gamebizpod on twitter Topic (1:12) - What is this deal? (3:30) - What does it mean for Xbox? (10:46) - What does it mean for Activision Blizzard? (13:21) - What does it mean for Sony? Show notes IGN acquisitions comparisons  https://www.ign.com/articles/xbox-activision-blizzard-acquisition-comparison Xbox - https://twitter.com/tomwarren/status/1489343287035150340 https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2022-01-18-xboxs-activision-blizzard-is-about-more-than-beating-sony-opinion https://www.axios.com/microsoft-activision-blizzard-phil-spencer-45dbec0a-652c-4f1d-9397-730752562d00.html https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/xbox-is-pushing-phil-spencer-to-line-up-a-successor/ Activision Blizzard - https://dotesports.com/business/news/activision-blizzard-employees-voice-concerns-microsoft-acquisition https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsofts-videogame-boss-and-the-long-battle-to-reinvent-the-company-11643912561 Sony - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2022-01-20-sony-says-it-expects-games-to-stay-multiplatform-due-to-contractual-agreements https://twitter.com/XboxP3/status/1484273335139651585 https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sony-shares-fell-7-following-news-of-xboxs-activision-blizzard-deal/

Last episode of 2021!!!!! And it's a short and sweet one too. Ubisoft making NFTs for their games, why don't they just NFT themselves at this point.  Follow me @gamebizpod on twitter News (0:50) - Judge dismisses Wolfire’s antitrust lawsuit against Valve (2:23) - Sony is planning a new subscription service, code-named Spartacus (4:36) - PlayStation acquires Valkyrie Entertainment (7:11) - Bungie's toxic workplace culture (8:08) - Ubisoft adding NFTs in games (10:43) - Kickstarter is moving to blockchain (12:49) - Thoughts on Ubisoft and Kickstarter news Shownotes Bungie Toxic workplace - https://www.ign.com/articles/bungie-report-battle-soul-work-culture-harassment-crunch Wolfire lawsuit against Valve - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-22-judge-dismisses-wolfires-antitrust-lawsuit-against-valve PlayStation Game Pass - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-03/playstation-plans-new-service-to-take-on-xbox-game-pass PlayStation Acquisition - https://www.ign.com/articles/playstation-fifth-acquisition-valkyrie-entertainment Ubisoft NFTs - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-12-07-ubisoft-adding-nfts-to-ghost-recon Kickstarter - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-12-09-kickstarter-shifting-to-the-blockchain

I'M NOT LAZY (too lazy to write a real description :P) Follow me @gamebizpod on twitter News (0:48) - Bobby Kotick is very sus  Topic of the week (13:51) - Devolver Digital goes public Shownotes Bobby must go - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-16-report-activision-blizzards-kotick-knew-about-sexual-misconduct-allegations-for-years https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2021/11/17/bobby-kotick-resignation-shareholders/ Devolver - https://www.devolverdigital.com/propaganda/devo https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-04-devolver-digital-valued-at-usd950m-as-it-floats-on-london-stock-exchange

Good question, I'll tell you why if you listen to it. I'm back, soft of. Let's catch up on some news from the last 3 weeks.  Follow me @gamebizpod on twitter News (0:33) - FIFA ending exclusive partnership with EA Sports (3:28) - Xbox sales and Xbox Game Pass growth slowing (6:06) - PlayStation Sales numbers (8:44) - Sony forms 'PlayStation PC’ and God of War PC port coming (10:53) - Former Apple Arcade head leading PlayStation's mobile strategy News Quickie (12:58) - Cyberpunk 2077 next gen upgrade (13:27) - September 2021 NPD: PS5 Snaps Nintendo Switch's 33-Month Hardware Win Streak (15:03) - Topic of the Week shownotes FIFA - https://hypebeast.com/2021/10/fifa-ea-sports-end-exclusive-partnership-deal-info https://twitter.com/BRGaming/status/1450130185228103684 Xbox - https://www.axios.com/xbox-microsoft-subscription-gaming-d047cf43-e9b4-4a33-bd25-1ab2c0ad9346.html https://twitter.com/BenjiSales/status/1448635480887730177 PlayStation sales - https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps5-sales-reach-13-4-million-worldwide-ps-plus-passes-47-million-users/1100-6497482/?ftag=CAD-01-10abi2f https://twitter.com/ZhugeEX/status/1453752309918404618 https://twitter.com/ZhugeEX/status/1453744621469769733 PlayStation PC and GoW - https://twitter.com/shinobi602/status/1450848857215193088 https://twitter.com/Nibellion/status/1450838857390362631 https://twitter.com/BenjiSales/status/1450851414784229376 PlayStation Mobile - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-10-12-former-apple-arcade-head-leading-playstations-mobile-strategy https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/playstation-has-seemingly-appointed-apple-arcades-former-content-boss-to-lead-its-mobile-push/ September NPD - https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2021/10/september-2021-npd-ps5-snaps-nintendo-switchs-33-month-hardware-win-streak https://twitter.com/tomwarren/status/1450087102755004423 https://twitter.com/Nibellion/status/1448614327334866945 Blockchain Gaming - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-10-18-valve-ban-deals-blockchain-gaming-a-big-blow-opinion

Back with another week of talking about changes in gaming. First AAA studio changing to a 4 day work week. Yakuza series creator leaves studio. Topic for this week is summarizing PlayStation acquisitions and partnerships so far this year. They have certainly been amassing some fire power. Follow me @gamebizpod on twitter News (0:39) - Edios Montreal and Eidos-Sherbrooke Studios will be the first AAA studio to shift to a 4-day work week (3:09) - Yakuza series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi departs from studio with leadership changes News quickies (5:22) - Bunch of acquisitions announced (7:15) - Sony's Play At Home program did well (7:54) - MEG3 remake in the works? (8:26) - GTA trilogy is real (9:12) - Topic of the Week Show notes Edios - https://www.eidosmontreal.com/news/eidos-montreal-and-eidos-sherbrooke-shifting-to-the-4-day-work-week/ Yakuza - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-10-08-new-leadership-at-yakuza-studio-as-series-creator-toshihiro-nagoshi-departs Acquisitions - https://nightschoolstudio.com/joining-netflix/ https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-09-29-firesprite-acquires-fabrik-games https://blog.playstation.com/2021/09/30/welcoming-bluepoint-games-to-the-playstation-studios-family/ Play-At-Home - https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2021/10/play-at-home-pushes-over-60-million-downloads-on-ps5-ps4 MGS3 remake - https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/konami-is-set-to-revive-metal-gear-castlevania-and-silent-hill/ Bluepoint IGN - https://www.ign.com/articles/sony-acquires-bluepoint-next-game-playstation-exclusive Housemarque GQ - https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/housemarque-sony-playstation-acquisition

Just two weeks after I posted the Epic v. Apple update, we actually got a judgment made on the court case. Lots of losers in this week's episode of the podcast but also some winners, like Insomniac Games. Follow me @gamebizpod on twitter News (1:14) - Tripwire Interactive CEO faces consequences (6:44) - PlayStation acquires Firesprite, who? (10:40) - Thoughts on PlayStation Showcase (14:00) - Epic v. Apple case over? shownotes Tripwire - https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1434576394340737027?s=20 https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1435045506779070466?s=20 https://twitter.com/TornBanner/status/1434703859314724864 PlayStation - https://blog.playstation.com/2021/09/08/welcoming-firesprite-to-the-playstation-studios-family/ https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-09-08-why-playstation-is-buying-firesprite-one-of-the-uks-fastest-growing-games-studios https://venturebeat.com/2021/09/08/playstations-acquisition-season-is-about-purchasing-variety-within-limits/ Epic v. Apple - https://twitter.com/ZhugeEX/status/1437146447200333825 https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1436372920285204481 https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-09-10-judge-orders-apple-to-allow-apps-that-link-to-external-payment-options https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-09-16-does-the-epic-vs-apple-judgement-open-ios-to-more-legal-attacks https://twitter.com/CNBCnow/status/1436352708680851458

Tim Sweeney's favorite term that's also been used around so much as of late. This week's topic, I dive into what is a metaverse and that problems its facing right now. Follow me @gamebizpod on twitter News (0:31) - China's new policy regulation on youth gamers (6:18) - Xbox’s Tomb Raider timed exclusivity deal was reportedly ‘worth $100m’ (8:35) - Shawn Laydon says price of making AAA games is becoming too much (11:40) - Topic of the week  show notes China - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-30/china-s-netease-in-talks-to-hire-creator-of-sega-yakuza-series https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/06/shanghai-begins-construction-of-a-898-million-e-sports-arena.html https://www.ft.com/content/ade15372-a3f6-4b60-807a-06a4fde919dd Xbox - https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/xboxs-tomb-raider-timed-exclusivity-deal-was-reportedly-worth-100m/ PlayStation - https://www.ign.com/articles/former-playstation-boss-shawn-layden-departure-avoid-burnout https://www.ign.com/articles/horizon-forbidden-west-ps4-ps5-upgrade? Metaverse - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-08-20-what-is-the-metaverse-and-why-is-it-worth-so-much-money

Over 800 documents read and documented in an easy to read way, thanks to Sean Hollister @the Verge for putting this article together. I'll be cherry picking what I thought was interesting new information from all the documents released from the Epic v. Apple case. Follow me @gamebizpod on twitter No news segment this week, more info on Housekeeping (0:18) - Housekeeping (2:55) - Topic of the week show notes SWEETHEART DEALS AND PLASTIC KNIVES: All the best emails from the Apple vs. Epic trial https://www.theverge.com/22611236/epic-v-apple-emails-project-liberty-app-store-schiller-sweeney-cook-jobs

Bit of a reverse this week, long news segment with short topic of the week. I couldn't think of a good inspiring topic, so I just talked about what came to my mind while I was laying in bed. Follow me @gamebizpod on twitter News (0:36) - Update on Starbreeze’s financials (3:06) - Update on Embracer group: financial results and of course more acquisitions to announce (7:28) - Outriders developer doesn't even know how many copies the game sold (9:35) - Epic Games Store begins closed beta for self-publishing (12:29) - Indie dev and publisher contracts beware (16:08) - Topic of the Week: Why did Zenimax sell to Microsoft Show notes Starbreeze - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-08-18-starbreeze-net-sales-up-in-q2-but-losses-increase-832-percent-year-over-year Embracer group - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-08-18-biomutants-1m-sales-and-gearbox-easybrain-acquisitions-drive-embracer-sales-to-usd389m https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-08-18-embracers-next-three-acquisitions-are-demiurge-studios-fractured-byte-and-smartphone-labs Outriders developer - https://www.pcgamer.com/outriders-developer-doesnt-even-know-how-many-copies-the-game-sold/ Epic Games Store - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-08-19-epic-games-store-begins-closed-beta-for-self-publishing Indie dev and publisher - https://twitter.com/jakefriend_dev/status/1426227560057298952?s=20