Roblox’s earnings disappointed as kids went back to school; CEO David Baszucki, though, is building for the long term, and has for a long time.
The Open App Markets Act, Apple Versus the Netherlands, Microsoft and the Console Question
Breaking down the Open App Markets Act and the ways in which Apple might seek to usurp it.
Gaming the Smiling Curve
The spate of recent acquisitions in the gaming space — Take-Two and Zynga, Microsoft and Activision, and Sony and Bungie — make sense in the context of the Smiling Curve.
Microsoft Acquires Activision Blizzard, Notes on the Acquisition, An Interview With Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer
Breaking down Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, plus an interview with Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer
Follow-up: Zynga, NYT All Access, The Athletic, Facebook Antitrust, and Apple in South Korea
Follow-up on Zynga’s financials, the New York Times All Access bundle, The Athletic’s focus on quantity over quality, Facebook’s antitrust loss, and Apple’s South Korea App Store change
Take-Two Acquires Zynga, The New York Times Buys The Athletic
Take-Two buys its way into mobile, and the New York Times re-bundles.
Unity, Weta, and Faceless Platforms
Unity’s acquisition of Weta digital makes sense for both sides, and positions Unity to be an essential platform for tech’s future.
Unity Buys Weta Digital, An Interview with Unity CEO John Riccitiello
The Weta acquisition, Unity’s ambitions, their advertising business and relationship with Apple, and why Riccitiello thinks my understanding of the metaverse isn’t quite right.
An Interview with Eric Seufert about the Impact of ATT
An interview with Eric Seufert about the impact of ATT and the future of advertising, Apple, and Facebook.
Apple Makes the Rules, Reader and Productivity Apps, High-spending Gamers
Digging into the implications of the injunction on Apple’s anti-steering provision, and why Apple still has something to lose.