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
Copyright: © Deconstructor of Fun
With Miska resuming his jet-set life, Jen reviews hygiene at Blizzcon, while Kress tells us his opinion on the unexpected departure of PlayStation CEO and reminds us of the difference between Trekkies and fans. Laura and Phil go deep on Brawl Stars' new announcement - it's due or die. Phil can't understand The Finals, and neither can Eric. Omega Strikers is dead, and the team performs an autopsy.
BIG ups to our sponsors AppsFlyer, Heroic Labs, Data.ai and Xsolla!
Are you ready for the Merger & Acquisition Masterclass? Learn from Chris Petrovic, former Zynga Head of Corporate Strategy, why game companies venture into M&A, what are the biggest challenges and reasons leading to failed deals, current M&A trends, and more.
As Microsoft reorgs Xbox leadership, we debate who could be the perfect person to replace Bobby Kotick as the CEO of Activision. We also discuss why our industry has all the layoffs in the middle of breaking sales records. And we also talk about games: Mario Wonder, Supercell's Mo.Co and Wonder Blast from Good Game Studios.
shoutout to our world-class spornsors: AppsFlyer, Xsolla, Heroic Labs, and Data.ai
In this episode, we explore the unique challenges and successes of a remarkable woman CEO in the gaming industry.
Our guest, Carol Miu, has shattered glass ceilings and achieved incredible milestones throughout her career. We'll dive deep into her journey, discussing gender disparities in the CEO role, her most memorable achievements in maintaining work-life balance, industry evolution, and her reflections on her career. Y
ou won't want to miss this inspiring conversation with a trailblazing leader in the gaming world. Stay tuned for valuable insights and advice!
How do game companies get press for their new games, big company moments, or new hires? We ask Neil Long, founder and editor of Mobilegamer.biz, for tips and tricks on how to approach game media to get press.
Neil Long is the founder and editor of mobilegamer.biz, a new site for the mobile games business. He started out in games industry journalism almost 20 years ago, and before launching mobilegamer.biz he spent seven years at Apple as an App Store games editor, working out of the London office.
The non-sick trifecta of Kress, Phil, and Jen hold down the fort. Kress pushed back on the India opportunity, arguing it's only for the top-of-the-top games. The gang revisits the Unity runtime fee news with new insights and quotes reported by Mobilegamer.biz. Shameless speculation ensues about Microsoft's declining success with Game Pass, meaning they might want to cancel it. What happened to Payday3? Trading was canceled in Rocket League.
All this and the top game industry news of the week.
How to deal with negative feedback? And the importance of self-esteem, self-awareness, self-reflection, and self-evaluation.
In today’s Episode joined by my friend and former colleague, Sophie Vo. Sophie comes with 15 years of experience in the games industry working at companies like Gameloft, Wooga, Rovio, Voodoo, and Savage Game Studios.
Sophie is perhaps best known for her Rise & Play podcast and newsletter, which focuses on leadership challenges in the gaming industry.
According to Niko Partners, the India games market is projected to generate almost $900M in 2023 with almost ½ a billion players. That's growth of 21% YOY from 2022 for revenue and 12% for the number of players. Probably the most interesting stat is that 97% of India’s gamers play on smartphones.
To dig in, we got the platform experts to come and highlight the various opportunities, from overall revenue to implementing new payment methods, sub-dollar price point IAP, exclusive products, and marketing tips.
We welcome Vinay Charaniya and Ash Dixit from the Google Play Partnerships team focused on India and SEA. Both of them consult gaming developers, helping them grow their games on the Google Play Platform.
For developers who want to reach out to get more info on scaling their games for India (or other emerging markets), we have this simple form to fill out, and the Google Play Partnership team will reach out. Or, need India localization tips? Check out Ash's Medium article.
Laura and Phil deep dive into Monster Hunter's early positive numbers in Japan before arguing over Warcraft Rumble's design and art choice. Jen and Kress put the Activision and Microsoft merger to rest while setting up their fantasy drafts for new CEOs of Activision, post-Bobby Kotick's departure at the end of 2023, and Unity, post-John Riccitiello's departures. Finally, the team reviews all the reasons why Disney shouldn't, can't, and won't buy EA.
Is there an opportunity for AR gaming on mobile after all the attention coming to AR from the Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro?
Here to unpack that topic is Asad J Malik, CEO of Jaru AR.
Asad is an augmented reality pioneer whose critically acclaimed narrative storytelling projects positioned him as a visionary in the space before completing his undergraduate degree. He has directed next-generation AR experiences featuring icons like Serena Williams and Lil Nas X and runs the AR company Jadu, launching a first-of-its-kind multiplayer augmented reality fighting game for mobile.
Check our Jadu Fight in AR
Available on iOS and Android
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