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/ [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/ [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 [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://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.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://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://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.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 [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://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.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.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/ [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://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 [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://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://twitter.com/XboxP3/status/1484273335139651585] https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sony-shares-fell-7-following-news-of-xboxs-activision-blizzard-deal/ [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 [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 [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 [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 [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 [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 [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.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/ [https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2021/11/17/bobby-kotick-resignation-shareholders/] Devolver - https://www.devolverdigital.com/propaganda/devo [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 [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://hypebeast.com/2021/10/fifa-ea-sports-end-exclusive-partnership-deal-info] https://twitter.com/BRGaming/status/1450130185228103684 [https://twitter.com/BRGaming/status/1450130185228103684] Xbox - https://www.axios.com/xbox-microsoft-subscription-gaming-d047cf43-e9b4-4a33-bd25-1ab2c0ad9346.html [https://www.axios.com/xbox-microsoft-subscription-gaming-d047cf43-e9b4-4a33-bd25-1ab2c0ad9346.html] https://twitter.com/BenjiSales/status/1448635480887730177 [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://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/1453752309918404618] https://twitter.com/ZhugeEX/status/1453744621469769733 [https://twitter.com/ZhugeEX/status/1453744621469769733] PlayStation PC and GoW - https://twitter.com/shinobi602/status/1450848857215193088 [https://twitter.com/shinobi602/status/1450848857215193088] https://twitter.com/Nibellion/status/1450838857390362631 [https://twitter.com/Nibellion/status/1450838857390362631] https://twitter.com/BenjiSales/status/1450851414784229376 [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.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/ [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://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/tomwarren/status/1450087102755004423] https://twitter.com/Nibellion/status/1448614327334866945 [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 [https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-10-18-valve-ban-deals-blockchain-gaming-a-big-blow-opinion]