Activision Blizzard is buying King, the makers of Candy Crush Saga; the mobile games maker is probably worth more to a company like Activision Blizzard than they are by themselves. Plus, both EA and Activision Blizzard beat earnings expectations — does that mean the gaming disruption narrative is wrong?
Twitter Follow-up, Nintendo’s Conundrum
Some follow-up and clarification on yesterday’s piece on Twitter’s advertising business, plus a rumination on where exactly Nintendo is going as a company.
YouTube Gaming, Network Defensibility, The Applicability of Metcalfe’s Law
YouTube Gaming is taking on Twitch, which raises a number of interesting questions: is YouTube Gaming like Google+, and if not, why not? Will it succeed, or should Google have simply bought Twitch? Also, a fascinating paper about Metcalfe’s Law and when and where it applies.
Evernote Seeking New CEO, E3 and the End of Exclusives, Playstation Vue’s “A La Carte” Offering
In a shocking — but perhaps not surprising — announcement Evernote CEO Phil Libin said the company would be seeking a new CEO. How well is Evernote doing, and will they ever become a private company?
E3 Day Zero was also yesterday, and while Sony in particular had some compelling announcements for an old guy like me, how sustainable is the current console business given the end of exclusives? Also, Sony’s Playstation Vue announcements sounds like a big deal, but they’re really not interesting at all.
Daily Update: Nintendo to Build Smartphone Games
Good morning, There I was, working merrily on my promised Twitter/Meerkat piece, when truly shocking news came down the pipe. I got rather distracted by an event that perhaps isn’t that important big picture, but sure means a lot to the little boy in me. On to the update: Nintendo to Build Smartphone Games OneSubscribe […]
Daily Update: Microsoft’s Windows 10 Event (and Project HoloLens)
Good morning, Today’s update is all about Microsoft’s myriad of announcements yesterday. I think it makes the most sense to think of the event, billed as being about Windows 10, in three parts: Part 1 was the overview of Windows 10, including the vision underlying the operating system, demos of specific functionality, as well asSubscribe […]
Daily Update: Bandcamp, Tencent Earnings, Twitter’s Analyst Day, plus a Stratechery Announcement
Good morning, A few quick bits of housekeeping: First off, I’ve heard from enough people that they really don’t want to get articles in their email. I’m going to have a think about the best way to proceed Secondly, I’m going to put a brief note up on Stratechery later today announcing some of theSubscribe […]
Daily Update: Tim Cook’s Announcement; Twitter Changes, Again; Nintendo’s Turnaround
Good morning, Today’s update is a little long, so I’ll just get started: Tim Cook’s Announcement Tim Cook publicly came out as gay in an essay that was published in Bloomberg Businessweek. Please read the whole thing if you have not. I feel it a disservice to break out even a paragraph. I myself haveSubscribe […]
Daily Update: The Twitter Mismatch; Microsoft Cuts the Xbox Price, Again; The Office Platform
Good morning, Let’s get to it – on to the update: The Twitter Mismatch Twitter reported its third-quarter results yesterday. From the Wall Street Journal: One year after its initial public offering, Twitter Inc. is still having a hard time convincing investors to look beyond one touchy metric: user growth. The social-media company reported MondaySubscribe […]
Daily Update: Japan and the Distinction Between Consoles and Mobile Gaming, Gaming in China and Asia, Xbox China Launch Delayed
Good morning, Until a few months ago gaming in general was a bit of a blind spot for me, and I think was hardly alone in that among technology observers. Still, it always bothered me that, for example, Apple spent so much time on gaming in their keynotes, yet I simply spaced out. So, asSubscribe […]