Stay ConnectedDeconstructor of Fun podcast is created by games professionals for games professionals. We explore the business side of the games industry with the goal of bringing listeners content that is relevant, insightful, and entertaining on a weekly basis.
Hosts:
Michail Katkoff www.linkedin.com/in/michailkatkoff/
Eric Kress www.linkedin.com/in/erickress/
Phillip Black www.linkedin.com/in/phillip-black-economist/
Jen Donahoe www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferdonahoe
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By deciding not to hear the appeal of the Epic v. Apple case, the injection against Apple's anti-steering rules stands. This means that developers are now free to push US iOS players into web shops. But what doest that mean for the industry? And if this conversation doesn’t tickle your toes, the crew talks Palworld. A real Pokemon killer.
The doom and gloom of this episode is brought to you by Eric Kress, Jen Donahoe, Philip Black and Laura Taranto.
Josh Wilson, CEO of Sciplay returns to the podcast to tell the story behind the company’s evolution over the last two years. SciPlay has grown every quarter despite the economic and privacy headwinds thanks to strategic initiatives discussed in this episode. We also talk about the accusations the company has made and why it has been itself acquired.
Istanbul Gaming Summit
https://rsvp.withgoogle.com/events/think-games-istanbul-i-google-x-deconstructor-of-fun
segments:
Last two years at SciPlay: (0:00)
Why SciPlay keeps growing: (26:20)
Why SciPlay was acquired: (40:50)
Outro: (51:50)
Istanbul Gaming Summit pre-signup:
https://rsvp.withgoogle.com/events/think-games-istanbul-i-google-x-deconstructor-of-fun
The squad dips their spoons into the Monopoly Go drama by giving their take on the profitability of Scopely’s blockbuster. We discuss the real reason why NetEase and Activision have suddenly kissed and made up. Scratch our heads as to why Tencent is launching yet another mobile MOBA and dive deep into the state of mobile.
The doom and gloom of this episode is brought to you by Eric Kress, Jen Donahoe, Philip Black, and Michail Katkoff.
stanbul Gaming Summit https://rsvp.withgoogle.com/events/think-games-istanbul-i-google-x-deconstructor-of-fun Elena Grigorian joins the podcast after recently taking over as the CEO of MyGames. In this podcast, we cover both business and personal topics starting with what a new CEO should accomplish in their first 100 days in the position and ending with the challenges of balancing work and life in leadership positions. segments: Intro: (0:00) The role of a CEO role: (5:25) Work-life Balance: (11:56) MyGames SWOT: (16:52) Leadership Team: (21:54) Intercompany Knowledge Sharing: (24:05) Portfolio Strategy: (28:53) Organization Structure: (33:21) Expansion: (41:59) Market Predictions: (47:52)
2024 starts where 2023 ended - and that means layoffs. Unity slashes 1,800 jobs while Twitch fires every third person in the latest layoff rounds at these companies.
In this episode, we announce the Golden Twig "winners", discuss Clash Mini, and continue to scratch our heads about Netflix Games.
Thanks to the show's sponsors: Xsolla, AppsFlyer, Data.ai, and Heroic Labs!
Eric Seufert is a one-of-a-kind marketing expert. He has headed marketing at Rovio, Wooga, and N3TWORK. He has built Mobile Dev Memo into the leading site for marketing professionals. He became a venture capitalist after founding Heracles Capital.
In this podcast, Eric Seufert returns back to the podcast to discuss predictions for mobile marketing. A must-listen for all of us!
sign-up to our PGC event: https://event.appsflyer.com/appsflyerandheroiclabs
Happy New Year, and welcome to the first podcast of 2024! After checking in on the holiday activities, the cast digs into the big news hitting the Chinese game industy. Kress makes predictions about how companies around the world will react to the proposed China game regulations (limiting daily spend, removing loot boxes, etc).
Phil pulled out key insights from the Insomniac leak, and the cast discussed how Sony should approach live service across its console business.
The Survey: https://forms.gle/W1Cy2dRcvsaZhyiW9
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Which company took the most damage in 2023? What was the most disappointing game of the year? Who had the worst layoffs what were some of our most inaccurate takes?
Tune in to the realest awards show in the industry and hear our picks for each category on many more!
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In-app ads are either important or crucial depending on the genre of games you’re making. In this episode, I’m joined by Felix Braberg, a true ad monetization expert. Together we discuss the effect of privacy changes on ad monetization, practical ways for games to double their ad revenue, the efficacy of different ad formats, and the changes onset by Apple, Amazon, and Google to the whole ad monetization ecosystem. connect with Felix (www.felixbraberg.com)
Host Jen Donahoe sits down with Xsolla's Interim CEO and President, Chris Hewish, to get the juicy facts from Xsolla's State of Play Report. The insights apply to all platforms and regions, so be sure to listen in.
They cover 4 key topics:
- The rise of real-time payments
- Alternative Payments
- Web shops with new data from the top 100 companies
- The upcoming EU DMA and side-loading in iOS 17.2 beta
For more information about the State of Play report visit the Xsolla Blog here
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