GameMakers Joseph Kim

We compare two major gaming companies, Embracer and Ubisoft, on this episode of Pixels and Profits.

✅ Business performance

✅ Valuation

✅ Future outlook of both companies

We analyze their strategies, financials, and potential for growth.

Timeline Summary:

00:00 - Introduction to the topic and overview of Embracer's business

03:00 - Discussion of Embracer's financials and debt situation

10:15 - Embracer's restructuring efforts and asset sales

13:45 - Embracer's tabletop gaming business and profitability

16:20 - Outlook for Embracer's PC and console division

21:20 - Embracer's mobile gaming business and challenges

24:25 - Valuation and investment potential for Embracer

26:45 - Introduction to Ubisoft's business and strategy

29:55 - Ubisoft's financials and revenue per employee issues

37:10 - Ubisoft's upcoming titles for fiscal year 2024



42:40 - Ubisoft's future outlook and titles for fiscal year 2025

49:50 - Valuation and investment potential for Ubisoft

52:05 - Concerns about Ubisoft's development strategies and efficiency

56:10 - Ubisoft's mobile gaming efforts and challenges

58:30 - Closing thoughts on Embracer and Ubisoft's future prospects

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😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/

— POPULAR CONTENT —
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🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI
🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s
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🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso
🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA
🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY


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We discuss key themes & trends, critical takeaways, GDC panels/talks, and rumors from GDC 2024.



OUTLINE:
0:00 Intro
2:35 VC, publisher investment in gaming is down
3:50 Moving to tighter efficiency in game development
7:05 More pain coming, 3-6 more months of industry rationalization
15:30 UA deterioriation since beginning of year
17:17 AI & Liveops key areas of focus
21:40 Importance of marketing and UA for mobile game success
23:45 Sensor Tower acquisition of data.ai
30:45 GDC Talks
37:10 Frank + Frank Supercell Brawlstars talk
41:20 King’s AI Talk - how they improve liveops on Candy Crush Soda Saga
43:15 Epic’s UEFN talks
49:05 Ken’s GDC tips
55:10 Key takeaways
1:05:40 GDC rumors

SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/


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Ludovic Bodin is an entrepreneur, investor, and now author of the book Atomic Scaling. Ludovic has learned lessons from the titans of the games industry and created a framework he believes can be applied to any other industry.

Learn more about the lessons from Supercell, Valve, Zynga, and others and how they can apply to your games studio or company outside of games.

OUTLINE:
0:00 Intro
1:20 How Ilkka Paananen, CEO of Supercell inspired Atomic Scaling - Keeping teams small for as long as possible
7:08 How Gabe Newell, CEO of Valve, further inspired Atomic Scaling - Lessons from the games industry are widely applicable
9:35 Ludovic’s great book endorsements, learning from game industry experts, and the sharing culture in gaming
12:21 Motivation to write Atomic Scaling
14:10 3Ps 3Rs framework explanation- People, Prediction, Playbook and Revenue, Reach, Retention
14:52 People principle
22:00 Prediction principle: prediction vs. prophecy - hypothesis, measurement, then change
34:22 Playbook principle - getting the team on the same page
42:13 Revenue, Reach, and Retention
44:05 LiveOps and the LOVE framework - Live product development, Organized event calendar, Very special sales & offers, Engagement and re-engagement
47:10 What should readers take away?



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Eve Chang shares her invaluable experiences and lessons from working on iconic mobile games like Temple Run and Bejeweled Blitz. Get ready for a session full of actionable insights and strategies that could redefine your approach to game development and live operations.

Outline:

[00:00] Introduction to Eve Chang and Overview
[01:10] Eve Chang's Journey in Game Development
[02:10] Eve's Approach to LiveOps
[06:55] Designing and Product Decisions for Live Games
[13:45] Biggest Lessons Learned from LiveOps
[22:55] Eve's Take on the Current Market Environment
[26:35] Final Thoughts and Where to Find Eve Online

Key Highlights:

🔑 Eve reveals her strategic framework for LiveOps, emphasizing market analysis, player desires, and aligning game objectives.
🔑 Insights on making design and product decisions that resonate with players while enhancing game longevity.
🔑 Eve shares candid lessons from her extensive career, including successes and missteps that have shaped her approach to LiveOps.
🔑 A look into the current state of the mobile gaming market and advice for developers navigating these challenging times.

Links:
Eve Chang LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evechang/

Subscribe to our channel for more insights from industry leaders and game development veterans. Don't forget to like, share, and comment below with your thoughts or questions for Eve!


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Matthew Kanterman, Joseph Kim, and Brian Peganoff discuss Nvidia as well as gaming related offerings from the company:


Nvidia business overview
Future growth drivers
Valuation
Competitive landscape
Future outlook




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We are seeing severe impacts around privacy and the ability to measure any post-device ID kind of fingerprinting world. So, we wanted to put together a five-part series helping advertisers understand the measurement crisis and the different tools and measurement signals available.

#1. The first podcast in the series will be the overview of the measurement crisis.
#2. The second podcast will be the actual state of last touch and the real value that last touch is bringing you.
#3. The third podcast will educate on incrementality testing and how it can be leveraged in a privacy-first world.
#4. The fourth one will be the promise of MTA 2. 0 and data clean rooms. So you understand some of the more fringe benefits of tools coming to you that may impact last touch.
#5. The last podcast is a summary roadmap to measurement success, helping you, the advertiser, take everything you've been educated on, turn it into action and succeed.

OUTLINE:
0:00 New series: State of Measurement in a Privacy-first World introduction
2:24 Intro to the Measurement Crisis in mobile user acquisition (UA)
4:30 Recap on why we have problems attributing installs today
8:17 How incentives exacerbate the measurement problem
11:42 What is the actual impact of IDFA deprecation to UA?
16:43 Andrew believes that incrementality shows that the impact of IDFA may be a perceived rather than actual problem
22:12 Warren's dynamic polling approach, how to make goal based buying work, and overview of IDFA workarounds
31:16 What does Kwalee and other game studios do for UA now?
33:30 How to react to loss of fingerprinting
40:00 What are limitations of MMM or incrementality?
46:35 Who will be impacted most by loss of fingerprinting?
47:40 What does the future state of measurement look like?

SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.com/


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