Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

JULY 22
Hello friends! I’m drunk.
This week:

Netflix’s short-term plans for gaming.
Ads on Twitch are a problem.
All tasty new game trailers.
100 Thieves’ apparel drama.

And everything happening on the world wide web. But first...

Made by Franco

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Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

Oh yes, you read the title right. I’m about to be extra positive about gaming for this week’s beer. Mainly because our beloved industry is evolving in front of our tiny innocent eyes.

A whole new set of bags of money is about to pass right in front of you, grouped into three (mixable) categories:

Sugar — Streaming x Gaming
Spice — Music x Gaming
Everything Nice — Crypto x Gaming

Let's look at specific examples.

Streaming x Gaming — Netflix’s POV
“The reason Netflix is launching more initiatives around consumer products and gaming isn’t to make more money. It’s to support the core product by increasing engagement around titles,” Reed Hastings.

What Happened
The folks at Netflix sent a letter to their investors to talk about things, Stranger Things. Nah, but forreal the letter pretty much announced their strategy towards gaming:

Games will be included in the subscription.
Focused on mobile gaming.
Start with titles such as Black Mirror and Stranger Things.

Big Picture
It’s inevitable to think “ah here we go, another Apple Arcade bullshit”. The difference is that Netflix has the IP element. The relationship between books-films could possibly change to gaming-films. I’m not saying books will disappear, don’t cancel me yet, but in no time we could be saying “Did you see X movie? The game was way better than the film”.

If they don’t go Apple Arcade mode, it means they have to release great games, and I don’t think Netflix really understands how fucking expensive and complicated is to pull off a successful title.

Devil’s Advocate
If you see Netflix's Q2 2021 report, the small viewer growth and the departure of 400K subscriber souls from the U.S brings room for haters to say “Netflix is losing to other streaming services, so they will use gaming as a band-aid to fix growth”.

There might be a bit of truth there, but even if Netflix’s numbers were golden I still believe the next move for them was always going to be gaming. IP is too sweet not to expect great outcomes out of it. Media is not just one category anymore, a media company has to combine everything in order to be at the top.

Music x Gaming — Studios are Poppin’
The music industry is not in a vibe of being besties with streaming and gaming unless they receive several dolaroos. However, a new musical approach is on the horizon. We first saw Riot Games creating free music for their fans and now 100 Thieves is doing the same thing.

Where’s Negative Nancy?
Nowhere at the moment really. This is why:

Thanks to figures like Adin Ross, Twitch is going through a transition where people stream not just for games, but for everything else. Adin is incorporating both up-and-coming and established rappers to the platform, increasing artists’ savviness towards independent possibilities outside a strict music label.
The field is wide open for esports teams, companies, startups, and studios to create their own music strategy for this specific situation.

Bottom Line
Good music will be released for free to streamers by independent studios, there will be spicy drama and shady moves with music labels. Labels will realize that this is a lost battle in the long-term, and they will change DMCA restrictions around. Told you, I’m very positive today, not sure what the fuck is going on.

Crypto x Gaming — Make a Living
Everything nice, only when crypto and gaming connect the dots property.

A Bad Example...
Would be when public figures scam their fans by telling them to buy a new shit coin for a good cause and then instantly abandon the project.

A Good Example...
Would be Axie Infinity. A game built on the Ethereum blockchain where people buy digital pets, called Axies. Each of them are NFTs, which you can breed, battle, and trade. Don’t underestimate the game because it’s just cute.

To Have in Mind
Revenue? Numbers are boring, I know, but holy damn:

In April, $670K.
In May, $3M.
In June, $12.2M.
In July so far, $80M.

They generate revenue by taking a 4.25% fee when players buy and sell Axies NFTs in its marketplace. Several people are making a decent living out of this game; the first time it’s not related to streaming or esports.

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💣 New Games & Trailers

FRACKED PS VR — Trailer & Demo
GHOST OF TSUSHIMA DIRECTOR’S CUT — Trailer
NEW WORLD by Amazon — Beta Performance
XDEFIANT — Trailer
YU-GI-OH! Digital Next — Demo
SKATE 4 — Behind the Scenes

❓ Out of Curiosity
The streaming ads system is just not working for me. Not an expert on this shit, but if I watch a stream for 45 minutes and I see the same two commercials, four times each, then go to another channel and get attacked by the same ads, what’s the point?

It isn’t like before where brands had to fight for TV time to get the little real estate available for ads. Now, online ads are so common that repeated ones instantly make me want to buy their competition. Straight up.

🏆 Esports Highlights

Mang0 wins Smash Summit 11.
Riot’s thoughts on Wild Rift Esports.
Top 10 CDL Plays Minnesota Home Series.
Na’Vi wins IEM Cologne 2021.

🕹️ Long-Live Handheld Consoles
For us clueless deers who thought handheld consoles were going to die, well, not very smart are we? Valve announced the new Steam Deck: all updates here.

🐦 Tweet of the Week
Rocket Science and Gaming, by Keano Raubun.

Context: Jeff Bezos made it back safe from an 11-min flight to space. 7,600 people participated in the auction for a seat; the winning bid was $28 million, according to the New York Times.

📱 Mobile is Here
The world where Candy Crush and Subway Surfers are the only mobile chart breakers doesn’t exist anymore. Yes, your mom probably reached level 3500 in Candy Crush, but that’s not the big news anymore. Free Fire just passed 1B downloads.

📖 Read of the Week
Reflecting on the last 8 years of Assassin's Creed Games, by Laura Halls.

💼 Cool Job of the Week
Literally all jobs available at Esports Engine.

🌐 Metaverse Facts
From Framework for the Metaverse, this is key:
The Metaverse isn't virtual reality, a social network, coding, or a virtual space. We need to think of the Metaverse as a sort of successor state to the mobile internet. And while consumers will have core devices and platforms through which they interact with the Metaverse, the Metaverse depends on so much more. There’s a reason we don’t say Facebook or Google is an internet.

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How LeBron and Epic created his Fortnite outfit IRL.
Pokemon UNITE is out. Manual on how to play.
The new Nintendo Switch Boxing grips look like knuckle dusters.
Pizza Hut Gaming is a thing now.
Guitar Hero but for fitness, oh, and you’re a wheel.

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Deadmau5 x Core Games

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Fortnite x Up-and-Coming Creators

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Pac-Man x Casio

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Permanently Ending Soon
Pro Evolution Soccer is better mechanically to some players, but it’s always lost the popularity contest with EA’s FIFA. Konami, primarily due to the lack of teams it can license the brands of, are sick of playing second best -- and that could bleed over into esports, too. PES is no more, making way for eFootball.

Even more encouraging is that the title is ditching the annual release cycle and will receive frequent updates on Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, meaning that the gameplay could far surpass FIFA in the long-run and encourage new clubs to get involved too. If eFootball becomes a hit casually, there’s a valid chance its esports scene can also take over FIFA.

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COOLER MASTER - ORB X IMMERSIVE

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Gems don’t need text. For this time only, I’ll add some thoughts since several people get confused when it comes to gems, and this is one perfect example. 100 Thieves released their collection Foundations and have now partnered with Gucci, both drops are more expensive than gamers are used to seeing or spending. It’s simple:

Believe or not, they ain’t making as much money as you think. Their cost of production is real high since the design and material quality is top notch. If you don’t like it or can’t afford it (like me), move on.
If brands like 100T or FNATIC didn't exist, Gucci would never kick it with esports teams. Now that fashion brands have tested apparel, the next step will be in-game items or ideas (which could be cheaper).
In the end, you will win at the expense of bitching about 100T’s apparel being expensive. If it costs $35 you still won’t buy it because if it ain't free it aint’ worth it right? Support the cause, even if you can’t buy it. We’re all winning.

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