Great (and ugly) Learnings

JAN 6
We did it, another year for Weekly. One of the reasons I started the newsletter was because I heard someone saying “no matter what the fuck you do, find a way to add writing to your skills”. 3 years of +35% open rate, not sure how but we’ll take it.

Thanks everyone for being a part of this. Thanks for the ones who were Patreons before Dexerto. Thanks for keeping up with my bad manners and weird takes. I connected with a lot of dope people because of Weekly, and I’ll be eternally grateful for that.

Alright, it’s 2022, let’s dive in.

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Made by Franco

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Great (and ugly) Learnings
A new year makes everyone magically forget about both fuck ups and glory moments that we had in the last 365 days, and opens up the “prediction fantasy” that news outlets love to put emphasis on. They write 20 points about the future and at the end of 2022 they get close to 5 of them and be like “Bro, I told you esports was going to have an all time high viewership this year”. Jesus christ.

Enough about predictions, let's talk about what we learned and where we are right now.

Gaming & COVID

As long as a virus is not apocalyptic, gaming is the main force of entertainment.
If there is no virus, gaming is still the main force of entertainment.
COVID just accelerated the inevitable growth.

Gaming & Culture
Gaming is dictating how global brands are approaching their product campaigns. From 2019 to 2021 gaming transitioned to be the main connector of all cultures. We’re in a crazy good spot.

We already went through the stage of brands collaborating with gaming as a cash grab. Yes, our eyes were severely damaged with cringe, but we made it. Now, when Gucci or Adidas want to make a new activation they have to look at the latest project from LV and Nike and be like “What’s more original than that?”. Good competition is in the air, and gaming is the pilot.

Previously, the gaming industry was the one on their hurt and dirty knees asking for approval and now every single artist, athlete or actor ain’t afraid to show their passion for games. It has always been cool, we just didn’t know how to say it.

Gaming & Technology
Well, god damn. I don’t think we truly grasp the bond between technology and gaming yet, and how quickly they are growing. Unreal Engine not only brought better graphics through games than in real life but they are also making gaming studios step into Hollywood and be like “yo… we can make movies too you know”. If you ask me, this is what I am most excited about 2022, the gaming x film relationship.

In terms of gaming, technology is making people get involved more and more with games just for their aesthetics. Adventure games are stepping into a new level.
In terms of film, publishers creating movies or series on a streaming platform only adds a positive impact for both newcomers and veterans to their game experience. As long as you do it like Riot Games, where you know what the audience needs and you are involved in every aspect of it, good stuff will come. Other publishers would have made a disaster, since they don’t even play or fix the games that they are releasing.

Esports
I mean, we can’t have everything can we. Esports is a sticky one because I think it’s unpredictable. This is why:

On a death note, publishers being the owners of the competition will continue to be the biggest issue. Their agendas will change depending on what is making more money that year. Several esports teams' owners and FOMO investors received empty promises and now they are mad.
On a deceased note, if the publisher is attached to drama, the game falls too. Blizzard can teach us a thing or two about that one.
On a life note, we’ll always have esports no matter what. Just like sports, most esports teams will run out of loss for years to come. There will always be wealthy people who don't really give a shit about money and place it on a whim. Owning an esports team is a nice flex to have nowadays.
On a hopeful note, the audience is there, the in-venue experience is dope and there are some people in charge of esports startups or teams who are truly dedicated for growth. I have to believe in them. We just need selfless publishers to give them a hand.

Gaming & Crypto
Wild times. This is already a bit too long so I’ll be brief about it:

The user experience, graphics and the competition aspect of crypto games are bad because these are mega new. Once those 3 elements elevate, pro players will transition real quick and AAA studios will have to create their own games for the blockchain if they want to keep up. People like to compete, but they also like to make money and own digital things.

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At the end of the day it all comes down to culture, experiences and technology. Think about it, everything is going so fucking fast that we don’t really know how entertainment is going to look like at the end of 2022.

My advice? Don’t be afraid of being a part of it.

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🎮 Game Spotlight
I just found this on Reddit and I thought it was awesome. I don't know the person behind it or anything, but I just love how he combined passions and trusted the process. Let's giveLaysara: Summit Kingdom some love when it comes out.

🎬 Gaming x Film Hub

Netflix’s January 2022 schedule.
Neftlix’s 2022 schedule.
A Twisted Metal TV show is in the works.
Uncharted exclusive scene.

📖 Read of the Week
The Version of Bully 2 You’ll Never Get to Play, by Blake Hester.

🏆 Esports Highlights

Most watched esports tournaments in 2021.
How to watch LCS 2022 Lock In.
The biggest esports investments of 2021.

🥽 Virtual Reality
Even though we think VR is far away from what we think of it in the future, gaming helped accelerate that process a lot this year. Sony just talked about PlayStation VR2 and PlayStation VR2 Sense Controller during CES. All info here. Horizon: Call of the Mountain and several studios will be a part of PS VR2.

📺 Samsung Wants It
Also searching for the curation platform piece of the pie, Samsung announced their Gaming Hub for smart TVs.

🥇 The Steam Awards 2021
All winners here.

Game of the Year: Resident Evil Village.
VR Game of the Year: Cooking Simulator VR.
Most Innovative Gameplay: Deathloop.
Best Soundtrack: Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.

👉 Tech Specs
I truly don’t know a single fuck about what happens inside gaming laptops and PCs, but during CES all manufacturers announced their latest releases for 2022. I’m sure some of you will be interested, so I’ll let this article explain it for me.

🕹️ Release now, please.
It’s been common currency for publishers and studios to hype up their unreleased games for months or even years. Is it worth it? Probably yes, a little wait ain’t gonna hurt that bad. While you wait, you can play hundreds of thousands of already released games. Good shit takes time to make.

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