Quick Take: Games News That Matters, but You May Have Missed Due To Coronavirus
- Google Stadia launched
Stadia Maker
s to get independent developers on board: If this works, it could play apivotal role in the success of the service. Especially in the times of
lockdowns and cocooning,
consumers will need a wider-than-usual variety of content not to get bored and will
keep loyal to services. With much of professional video production on halt,
games have a big gap to fill. Having a reliable, effective and diverse supply
chain of indie games titles might become one of the key points of distinction
in the games subscription race.
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Find out more…- Epic
Games gets into publishing
– could a subscriptionservice be next?
While tech giants are entering the market, smart pure-play companies are
diversifying and ramping up their entertainment portfolios. Epic Games is doing
just that, having announced a publishing partnership with a number of top-class
studios. In doing so, it offers tempting 50/50 fully-funded deals to
developers. This gives Epic Games a better chance to compete in the newly-emerging
landscape which will likely be dominated by the tech giants. Extending its
catalogue could also set it up to consider a subscription service, leveraging
Fortnite as a unique marketing tool for other games – something that would
appeal to many developers.
- F1 is cancelled, so drivers are racing in a video game – cue e-sports media rights: E-sports, media rights and games-related videos will benefit from the current disruption. As sports are on hold, e-sports and games-related video content more generally have the potential to eat into the video market. It is not only sports that may look to gaming as an alternative to keep fanbases engaged, but also the TV networks and video services which need to fill the live sports gap with compelling and entertaining content to retain advertising dollars. Meanwhile, advertisers are going to be looking for an alternative advertising staple while sports are on hold, so the field is wide open. It’s early days, but the timing has never been better for e-sports media rights. Onwards and upwards!
- Sony says it doesn’t expect a PS5 release delay, for now: Given current circumstances, PlayStation cannot afford to miss the winter holiday period. Long after COVID-19 is done, there will be the aftermath of a global recession. While that bodes well for engagement numbers, it doesn’t bode so well for trying to sell a $500 console in times of financial difficulties, coupled with entries of offerings which don’t require expensive games-dedicated hardware. If consumers spend a significant amount of money in the upcoming climate, it ought to be during the winter holiday/festive period. If current circumstances extend and cause any delays for the winter holiday season console releases, PlayStation (as well as Xbox), may find its market share challenged by new entrants like Stadia, Arcade, and probably in the future, Amazon.
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