Deep Pockets 💸🌊
Microsoft acquired some strong IP and set the record for an acquisition in gaming in the process💰, Amazon is going deep with Alexa-enabled everything 🌊
Why Build When You Can Buy?
Last week Xbox announced it was willing to part with 7.5 billion of their dollars in order to acquire ZeniMax, the parent company of game development studios like Bethesda Softworks, Id Software and Arkane Games, to name a few. Now they’re addressing that gaping hole in their offering I mentioned again and again, the lack of BIG exclusive games; now we’re moving in the right direction.
But with their new strategy of hedging risk between hardware consoles and services and eventually game streaming, the new acquisition doesn’t mean the ZeniMax games will be exclusive to Xbox devices —like it would have been the case if Sony would have made said acquisition—, instead, they will likely span across every distribution channel is owned by Microsoft. That’s what I think Xbox bosses meant when they said the company would be ‘evaluating multiplatform releases on a case-by-case basis’: coming up with a strategy to spread the games created by these studios in the future across the various Microsoft outlets; an not that they’ll consider releasing said games for rival hardware.
If Microsoft’s Plan B scenario comes true, that of this being the last of the hardware console generations and the need to sell hardware disappears, I have no doubt this strategy will quickly change. In that status quo, Microsoft’s position would pivot to that of a holding company that owns a lot of top-notch game development studios that will only benefit from making their product available to as many users as possible, regardless of any other factor.
Some products will probably be timed exclusives if they want to promote a channel more than others —e.g. temporary efforts in driving things like Game Pass subscriptions by bundling games with it or boosting Xbox hardware sales over the holidays— but I can imagine over the long term products will be pushed in all of Microsoft’s sources at the same time. One thing’s for certain, all these newly acquired franchises will do wonders when it comes to new GamePass subscribers which, in turn, will bump up Xbox Series X/S sales at least to some extent.
Whilst it’s a good deal in the right direction, with a little more vision, Microsoft could have closed this, or a similar, acquisition a while ago. Now they’ll have to go through the awkward situation of being publishers to not one, but two exclusive PlayStation 5 games that were agreed upon previously: Deathloop and GhostWire Tokyo.
The Yearly Swelling
Amazon presented *a lot* of new things in their Fall event last week, most of them being hardware that will continue to enable their advance in the home surveillance space, but there was an interesting addition to. But first, the boring stuff…
The Alexa-enabled Echo line of devices is transitioning from a roughly-hockey-puck-shaped thing into a roughly-sphere-shaped thing and there’s a version for kids now that’s decorated with cute tiger faces (yep, really). The Echo Show 10 is a smart display device you can use for calls or watching video and you’ll be happy to know the device can rotate the camera and screen so it can follow you around the room while you’re on a call and feel like traveling. You’ve probably already seen the Alexa-connected indoor flying security drone from Ring but they also have new security products for cars. There are also updates to the Fire Stick line in the form of HD streaming, Dolby Atmos Support, and ofc, an Alexa-enabled remote control. Amazon is also building their own microchip to speed up Alexa commands for the new devices, saving entire milliseconds on each search and enabling them to process commands on-device instead of in the cloud. And to close the user tracking loop, Amazon also updated their Eero line of WiFi routers to include WiFi6 support and a Zigbee hub where you can connect all of your smart home devices.
You can find out more about the second-order implications of such devices on the long-format article here, from here on out we’ll keep the ‘boring’ at a minimum…
You’re here about some of my insights on Luna. I know it, you know it, everyone knows it, but there’s not much to be had from the initial announcement if we’re honest.
Amazon’s game streaming project has been rumored for over a year now but last week it became Facebook-official. If that’s even a thing anymore. The service is slated for PC, Mac, Fire TV sticks, and mobile iOS devices but and Android version will be released later on. ‘iOS?’ I hear you not ask? Yes, as long as you’re happy playing in a web app.
US-based consumers can apply for early access now if they have the $5.99/mo to spare, there’s no news on worldwide availability just yet but something tells me it’s gonna be a while until they flush out all the kinks while something else tells me Europe and SE Asia will be the next regions in line.
The product itself, however, is quite a bit different in presentation compared to Stadia or xCloud. Players will subscribe to individual Amazon-curated gaming channels containings various games from which an individual can later choose a title they prefer. The Twitch was very much expected, players will be able to both watch others or instantly play games they see within the various channels if they are also subscribers.
This is far from Amazon’s first foray into gaming as the company is trying to spend all that profit to enter new industries. Amazon’s own game development studios retracted Crucible from public launch this summer and delayed NewWorld, their second big title that was supposed to release this year until 2021. With only Ubisoft slated to provide games of some quality at launch, there are very few reasons to subscribe to Luna, a thing that’s only made worse when looking at the offer showcased by the competition.
Stadia underestimated the importance of exclusive content at their own peril, seeing very low traction in the early months after the launch. Now Xbox is trying to acquire just that, but the service quality when it comes to xCloud is, by most accounts, mediocre, while Sony is nowhere to be found on the game streaming map. It’s hard to say which of these companies will end up creating the best package first —if it’s even viable to do it at this point in time—, but then again, gaming is a big space in entertainment one that will only become bigger with time if current trends continue. Second and third places will still take home a good chunk of change, it’s not like Pepsi is going bankrupt behind Coca Cola anytime soon.
Seeing the big names involved in this new non-profit of Apple critics, I can’t but ponder that a reckoning day is imminent for the Cupertino outfit. The new group plans to demand regulators to contest Apple’s practices on its virtual store regarding both the amount of the fees and also the obligation to use the company’s own payment option. Apple has slowly started to relent on their commission over the past month, with Facebook event fees now being excluded from the infamous 30% cut, we can expect more of this over the near future. It wasn’t clear a few weeks ago how exactly Apple proceed in will join the zeitgeist when it comes to eCommerce, but now it looks like action are being taken towards this end, although admittedly slowly 🐌🛍️
Supercell, probably the most prolific mobile game developing company of the past decade, has lost a patent infringement lawsuit against GREE and is expected to pay $8.5M in damages to the Japanese company. For context, Clash Royale, one of the company’s games was making around $4M per day at launch. Looking at the willful nature of the infringement and the magnitude of the gains obtained by Supercell by using GREE’s software this sum should be increased by at least one order of magnitude, if not two 📱🎮
Spotify is striking the podcast metal while hot with a new deal for developing movies and TV shows based on their original content. The idea of podcasts being valuable IP that can be leveraged in other kinds of media is on the rise, it only makes sense that the dominant player in the field is jumping at the opportunity of capitalizing on their valuable propriety 📻➡️📺
Those of you reading this thing every week might have noticed I have a thing for bad names. As proof that it’s not always Apple or Sony I’m picking on, here’s one from Microsoft. Sales of the Xbox One X —i.e. the 3-year-old console currently on sale— skyrocketed on the day preorders for the Series X went live. it begs the question, how much of this was an accident and how much intentional marketing strategy? 😕
This week’s industrial design link show’s a new look for Snapchat’s AR glasses. The look, feel and functionality look to perfectly address the target audience of the company, the always-recording young individuals that care about accessories👏
It feels like Anya Taylor-Joy has been acting for a century now…she’s 24 😲
This experience was made from scratch inside ‘Dreams’, a PS4 game😍
Of course, Apple’s streetview-capturing gear is the most stylish out there💎
If I were you, I’d consider subscribing below⤵️⤵️ and check us on Medium or Twitter