Level 59: Mixer is Dead, Long Live Mixer
Streaming, Animal Crossing's new update, an ongoing class war across GTA V
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💡 Industry Content
Mixer is Dead, Long Live Mixer: With the dust settling on Microsoft’s surprise announcement to close Mixer, the question still lingers: What went wrong? In this article, author Rhys Wallace outlines his hypothesis on what led to Mixer’s downfall; namely not playing to competitive advantages. When it comes to gaming it isn't enough for Mixer to be “a faster Twitch” — rather Mixer needed to be something wholly different, with its own features, community, and creators. Link
As a follow-up, ex-Mixer streamer Ninja kicked off his first livestream since the platform closure opting to try his luck on YouTube. Despite not having signed an “official” agreement with any platform, he easily crossed 100K viewers, thanks to his strong existing presence on the platform. His unofficial “return” bodes well for whichever platform he eventually signs with. Link
Labor in Streaming: Mixer’s closure also begets other questions around the treatment and unionization of labor in a profession characterized by instability and self-reliance. The closest comparable to this are gig workers who, at companies like Uber and DoorDash, don’t receive health insurance or benefits from their employers. It’s a fraught position, but perhaps finding a middle ground — between full time employee and part-time employee — makes the most sense. Link
The Billion Dollar Mobile Game: Nearly four years after it’s launch, Pokemon Go has reportedly crossed over $3.6B in revenue. Most surprisingly, the game had its best month ever in the first half of 2020, despite a majority of players not being able to “Go” due to shelter-in-place orders. Developer Niantic Games is charting a path to mobile domination, imagine if they could create another game of this caliber? Link
The Shadow of Tech Giants in Gaming: Over the course of the last year, both Google & Amazon have made massive investments in gaming, through offerings like Stadia, or the recently “un-released” Crucible. In this piece, author Rob Fahey outlines why big tech companies will continue to miss when it comes to gaming. His main thesis: Companies prioritize greed over passion — spinning up a gaming division to push cloud hardware (Google Cloud & AWS) isn’t a path to success in gaming. Link
🎮 Fun & Games
The Class War of GTA V: Grand Theft Auto V might be the most successful online multiplayer game of all time. Since its release in 2013, the game has sold over 130M copies, and has one of gaming’s most active online fan bases. After giving the game away for free via Epic’s Game Store a few months ago, the game’s online community has exploded with new players. For the game’s seasoned veterans, the explosion comes after years of dedication and investment into the community. The result has created a one-sided class war that includes tanks, orbital laser cannons, and lots and lots of frustration. Link
Speaking of Epic Games, Sony announced yesterday a 250 million dollar investment for a minority stake in Epic. Lots of synergies here: game development in Unreal, PS5’s close ties with Unreal Engine 5, better royalties and pricing. Sony is so thoughtful about strategic investments and partnerships. (another recent one was their Microsoft Azure partnership). Link
Children’s Books: God of War II has been adapted into a children’s book. Another win for transmedia and extending the brand/longevity of IP. Link
😎 Other Cool Reads
Street Fighter’s Oral History: Polygon’s bread and butter features are oral histories. Check out their most recent one about Street Fighter. Link
Tackling Abuse At Its Roots: As the weeks pass, stories continue to come out regarding the games industry reckoning with sexual assault and harassment. Countless industry leaders, athletes, developers are being held accountable for actions that hold no place in the industry. In this piece, narrative designer Kim Belair discusses her experiences and feelings around the abuse across gaming, and the need for systemic movement to drive long-term change. Link
Why Animal Crossing's New Update Doesn't Fit: This week in game design Twitter, Game Studio Lead Tanya Short breaks down why Animal Crossing’s newest water-based update actually gets in the way of some of the game’s core mechanics. Link
😍 Our Current Favorites
Fawzi (@fawzitani): I read Maria Konnikova’s new book, The Biggest Bluff, this week and have now caught the Poker bug after someone taught me to play. This week, it’s Zynga Poker for the win (low stakes, no real money being gambled to save myself from utter destruction). I just love diving into statistics and skill-based chance.
Max (@maxlowenthal): After reading all 58 of our previous issues, I’ve finally convinced my partner to give video games a shot. Watching her play reminds me of all the subtle nuances of gaming that I’ve learned through the years. ‘A’ Button = Jump. Red = Health, and so on. A few of the articles I’ve read on the subject dub this knowledge “Video Game Literacy”. One of the best pieces of content I found on the topic was by YouTuber Razbuten, who let his wife play a few famous games, and analyzed her experiences Link
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Interesting to read about the Pokemon GO spike this year. I redownloaded the app for the first time in ~3 years mostly due to the fact that I got Pokemon GO Eevee for the Switch and wanted to take advantage of the integration. But turns out it's a pretty good COVID-19 activity: go on a walk, get some exercise, don't have to interact with anyone face-to-face, plus there's a PokeStop within range of my apartment so I can check in throughout the day.