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
Namaste everyone and welcome to TWIG #58!
Today we have just myself Joe Kim and Eric Kress.
Miska and Adam are out for the rest of the year.
The full news we discuss is as follows:
#1. N3twork raises $40 million for platform to help mobile games gain traction
#2. How a Chinese Developer at Tencent Is Shaping the Future of Gaming
#3. Has the hypercasual game genre peaked?
#4. We review some of the predictions and actuals for Call of Duty Mobile, Harry Potter, Mario Kart, and other predictions we've made
Hit us up on Twitter with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @adamwtelfer @m_katkoff
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
Welcome to TWIG #57.
Today we have your usual hosts Joe Kim, Eric Kress, and Adam Telfer (Miska's out for the rest of the year). We do have a guest host Alex Collins though: a software engineer at Jam City and DOF blog contributor.
The full news we discuss is as follows:
#2. Everything Announced at X019’s Inside Xbox Conference
#3. Fortnite’s Android installer is now a launcher for Epic mobile games
#4. The world is waiting for Google Stadia to flop
Hit us up on Twitter with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @adamwtelfer @m_katkoff
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
Welcome to TWIG #56 everybody. This week we focus on live ops companies like DECA and now Rogue Games who will live operate Vainglory for Super Evil Megacorp.
Today we have your usual hosts Joe Kim, Eric Kress, and Adam Telfer (Miska's out today). Joining us however is Ken Go CEO of DECA who will talk about DECA's business and the business of live ops specialists.
The full news we discuss is as follows:
#1. Deca Games plays F2P’s long tail, buying 4 one-time hits from GREE
#4. BlizzCon 2019’s biggest announcements: Diablo 4, Overwatch 2, and an apology
Watch the Ironsource Gamefest video on GameMakers: HERE
Watch the video interview with Mike DeLaet CEO of Rogue Games on GameMakers: HERE
Hit us up on Twitter with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @adamwtelfer @m_katkoff
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
Welcome to TWIG #55 everybody.
This week we get a bit of a battle between Eric and Miska over Zynga growth prospects so stay tuned for that!
This week we cover:
#1. EA games are coming back to Steam
#2. Mobile game firm Scopely raises $200 million
#3. One Million players now subscribe to PlayStation Now
#4. Zynga posts record-setting revenues, net bookings in Q3
Hit us up on Twitter with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @adamwtelfer @m_katkoff
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
Apple Arcade launched on September 19 earlier this year and has been praised by many in the media and significantly backed by Apple. Having said that: #1. What are the future prospects for this service? #2. Who is the audience? #3. What are key strengths/weaknesses of the service? #4. Finally, how well do we think Apple Arcade will do in the long-term? Find out in our discussion today with myself Joseph Kim, Eric Kress (Principal, Gossamer Consulting), and Steve Palley (Head of Business Development & Strategy, Pixelberry Studios). Comments? Questions? Hit us up on Twitter: @jokim1 (JK Kim), @ekress (Eric Kress), @spall03 (Steve Palley)
Welcome to TWIG 54! This week we cover: #1. Ghost Recon Breakpoint’s spectacular bomb blows up Ubisoft’s plans for 2019 #2. Google is making a "spectrum of bets" on Stadia content #3. Fallout 76 Now Has a $100-a-year subscription service, Fallout 1st #4. Why have hyper-casual games replaced gacha in Japan? Hit us up on Twitter: @jokim1, @ekress, @adamwtelfer, @m_katkoff Let us know which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to let us know how we can improve. Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
Welcome to TWIG 53.
This week we cover:
#1. Everything Riot announced for League of Legends’ 10th anniversary
#2. The 4 Features that matter on PS5 - and 5 that don’t
#3. Call of Duty is the biggest mobile game launch ever, with 100 million downloads
#4. CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE POST-LAUNCH APPROACH TO NEW CONTENT
We are joined by Paul Bellezza who actually works on Project A at Riot Games!
Hit us up on Twitter: @jokim1, @ekress, @adamwtelfer, @m_katkoff, @pabro
Let us know which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to let us know how we can improve.
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
Riot Games got hit with a tsunami in the form of the infamous Kotaku article Inside The Culture Of Sexism At Riot Games. The article was followed by several people writing publicly about their own experience with the company that underlined the same story and signalled a clear message - Riot’s culture needed healing.
The person who took the ownership for leading the healing process was Angela Roseboro who joined the company as a Chief Diversity Officer & Talent Acquisition Lead little less than a year ago. And in such a relatively short time Angela and her team have had a massive impact showing not only the work they put in but also Riot’s willingness to accept and transform. You can (and should) read about all the initiatives and actions Angela has put into motion in this incredibly insightful blog post she wrote Riot Games One Year Later: My Reflections.
In this interview with Angela we talk about a sensitive but critical topics, which include Company Culture & Diversity in gaming companies today. And just to be clear we want to not just focus on the Diversity & Inclusion topic, which many folks in the media tend to focus on. Thus during this interview we will also talk about Culture more generally and the profound impact of culture on an organisation.
Welcome to TWIG 52. 1 Year of TWIGS!
This week we cover:
#1. Fortnite US July revenues down 52% year-over-year
#2. App revenue climbs 23% year-over-year to $21.9B in Q3
#3. Blizzard's President On Making Sure Nothing Changes
#4. Playable Worlds has a different mindset on engagement
Hit us up on Twitter: @jokim1, @ekress, @adamwtelfer, @m_katkoff
Let us know which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to let us know how we can improve.
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
Today we are joined by guest host Eric Seufert who writes the really great marketing & UA focused blog: https://mobiledevmemo.com/
Also check out Eric's F2P Marketing/UA site: https://quantmar.com/
This week we cover:
#1. The future of mobile growth teams
#2, Acquisition and conversion costs threaten a mobile bust | Opinion
#3. Call of Duty: Mobile is live after a troubled launch
#4. Transparent Loot Boxes: CSGO in France + Rocket League Blueprints
#5. Facebook announces Horizon, a VR massive-multiplayer world
Hit us up on Twitter: @jokim1, @ekress, @adamwtelfer, @m_katkoff, and @eric_seufert
Let us know which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to let us know how we can improve.
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
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