Specialist
Former C-level Executive at Activision Blizzard Inc
Agenda
- Operating environments for video game publishers – coronavirus impacts on engagement, franchise pipelines and next-generation console releases
- Impact of Fortnite's free-to-play battle royale format on publishers’ approaches to franchise IP
- New growth frontiers – cloud gaming, AR/VR (augmented/virtual reality), eSports and others
- Outlook for 2021 and beyond – mobile gaming growth outlook, console makers’ strategic outlooks and winners and losers
Questions
1.
Could you give an overview of the video game market? What’s your outlook on growth across segments?
2.
How might the shift to free-to-play, which is virtually a SaaS model, affect players’ margins? What are some of the challenges to upholding those? Could Microsoft, Google and Amazon try to enter cloud gaming?
3.
Could you comment on the mobile subscriber drops in China that seem to have been driven by coronavirus? Could that revert post-2020? Do you predict ongoing challenges in China’s mobile market?
4.
What would you say are the challenges of abstracting major IPs [intellectual properties] from their original platforms? Could we hit a replicability barrier as more franchises try to do this?
5.
Could you outline the contentions between Epic Games and Apple? What key aspects are the companies fighting over? What could be the implications for the video game industry depending on how the situation plays out?
6.
Negotiations are also ongoing between Apple and some of the streaming platforms – those seem to be leaning towards an 85/15 revenue share. Where do you think negotiations will settle with the video game platforms? Could it be close to actual cost at 4-8% or somewhere between there and 30%?
7.
Could you highlight any pipeline disruption risks from coronavirus? It’s interesting how insignificant new entrants are in the top 100 at this point. Do you think managing the pipeline will be easier for the more mature franchises? Would it be easier to take in a new game given the lift it requires, especially considering the remote work aspects of the pandemic?
8.
Do you expect cannibalisation effects from abstracting an IP across AAA, mobile and free-to-play simultaneously? Is this a challenge for franchises? Do you think the engagement will be purely incremental?
9.
Could you compare how hardware players such as Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo are strategically approaching video games? Has Amazon done anything noteworthy?
10.
How do you think Microsoft will try to increase its content exclusivity, given its acquisition of Bethesda Studios? Could a subscription model be phase one, cross-gen phase two and then exclusivity of content be phase three?
11.
What risks could tepid consumer spending pose for the next-generation console cycle? Could coronavirus have a negative impact?
12.
How could any transformative initiatives in the video game industry play out over the next couple of years? What are your thoughts on increased IP consolidation and the rise of AR/VR [augmented/virtual reality]? You’ve alluded to cloud gaming, but how could that trend develop if the current approach doesn’t work out?
