Episode 140: E3, WISE FWOM YAW GWAVE (News Show)
E3 lives, Stadia dies, and Twitch continues to make bad moves that alienate its community. Also: Saudi Arabia and Tencent look to step up investments, and a beefy labor report.
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Episode 137: Embracer Group Ate Middle-earth Enterprises for Second Breakfast (News Show)
Embracer Group’s latest spending spree nets them one of the world’s most recognizable IPs (and much more). Also: Unity slumps amid hostile takeover, Take-Two posts losses on Zynga acquisition, Nintendo is in the hot seat again, Activision commits to the union-busting bit, and NPD for July 2022 as spending continues its slide back to pre-pandemic levels.
Read MoreEpisode 136: Activision Is Bleeding Players (News Show)
Call of Duty is in a slump, and Activision is waiting out the clock until the acquisition having reportedly canceled a long in-development mobile World of Warcraft game. Also: Earnings, GameStop’s terrible NFT marketplace, Square Enix’s bananas comments about its former Western teams, and more.
Read MoreEpisode 128: You Can Stop Buying GTA V Now (Earnings Show)
No really. They’ve sold 165 million copies. Do you really need more? It’s a busy earnings show, but we coast through it smooth as Strauss Zelnick’s haircut. On this episode: Zynga, Nintendo, Sony, EA, Roblox, Bandai Namco, Starbreeze, Remedy, Capcom, Unity, Sega, Square Enix, and Take-Two. You can support Virtual Economy’s growth via our Ko-Fi…
Read MoreEpisode 125: Activision Union Busters Rack Up Another L (News Show)
QA workers at Activision-owned Raven Software have been given the go-ahead from the NLRB to unionize. Also: Hardware supply continues to be challenging according to latest NPD report, Nintendo is facing its own labor issues, and Sony scores a partial victory in court.
Read MoreEpisode 121: You Can Listen to This Episode While Playing Elden Ring (News Show)
Let’s talk about Elden Ring! So… which class did you roll? Have you found any good weapons? Why is that angry giant shouting at me?! Oh wait… uh… shoot… news… um… OKAY! Call of Duty hits some bumps, Nintendo makes an acquisition, Paradox and EG7 earnings, and how YOU can help fight discrimination in Texas…
Read MoreEpisode 120: Does Nintendo Have an Obligation to Preserve Its Legacy? (News Show)
It’s almost time to say goodbye to the 3DS and Wii U eShops… but what about all that lost software? Also: Microsoft moved fast to acquire Activision when stocks tanked, Team17 promises change, Paradox has hard work ahead, and the NLRB hears arguments on Raven QA unionization.
Read MoreEpisode 118: Bad Management Decisions Open a Can of Worms (News Show)
Team17’s decision to dabble in NFTs has empowered employees to talk about the company’s history of workplace problems. Also: Trouble at Intellivision, Microsoft gets ahead of regulation, and SPACs run into problems…
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Beyond Tom Nook: Reflecting on Animal Crossing One Year Later
A year after Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ launch, we examine the cultural zeitgeist and business implications of the game’s incredible successes.
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2020’s Biggest Trends … and Where They’re Heading in 2021
Each year, we take a moment to reflect on the trends that defined the past year and what we expect from the coming 12 months.
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