My Blog for ‘The Economist’: The Marvel Cinematic Universe arrives on TV with “WandaVision”
After a decade of dominance at the box office, the franchise turns its attention to the small screen
My Blog for ‘The Economist’: The Best Television Series of 2020
These excellent shows made the long evenings and weekends in isolation tolerable
How Technology Shapes Content and Business Models (Or Audio’s Opportunity)
The content, business models, and health of every media category is driven by technology. And audio technology has never been so diverse and dynamic. After decades of struggles, audio is ready to grow, not just replace.
My Blog for ‘The Economist’: Despite a changed television landscape, the Emmys had a familiar feel
With a clutch of awards for “Succession” and “Watchmen”, HBO reigned supreme
My Blog for ‘The Economist’: Gamers are logging millions of hours a day on Roblox
The platform, popular with tweens, allows developers to cash in on its success
Invest Like the Best Podcast: The Metaverse, Future of Media + Movies, IP + Immersion
Patrick and I went deep into topics including the Metaverse (its technical challenges, opportunities, and philosophy), IP and the role of business model and technical innovation in storytelling, the Unreal Engine, Cloud Gaming, Fortnite as a competitor to Spotify, and more.
Nintendo, Disney, and Cultural Determinism
An essay on what Nintendo does and doesn’t want to be, why, and what this means for its future
The Epic Games Primer: Parts I-VI Directory
A walk through of one of the most important, but least understood companies of the future.
Epic Games Primer (Pt VI): Epic's Philosophy and Unprecedented Aspirations
How does one explain Epic’s strategy? What is the Epic Games Flywheel looking to achieve? Why is Epic spending billions to launch new businesses that remove or reduce all the value in that category - and without shifting the remainder to Epic’s own pockets?
Epic Games Primer (Pt V): Fortnite & How It Built the Epic Flywheel
Walk through of one of the most important, but least understood companies of the future. Part 5 focuses on Fortnite, its creative ethos, and how it built Epic’s flywheel
Epic Games Primer (Pt IV): Epic Online Services
Walk through of one of the most important, but least understood companies of the future. Part 4 focuses on Epic Online Services
Epic Games Primer (Pts II+III): Epic Games Store & Epic Games Publishing
Walk through of one of the most important, but least understood companies of the future. Part 2 focuses on Epic Games Store and Epic Games Publishing.
Epic Games Primer (Pt I): Epic's Flywheel & Unreal Engine
An introduction to one of the most important, but little understood companies of the future. Starting with its core business: Unreal Engine
Cloud Gaming: Why It Matters, What It Can’t Yet Be, and the ‘New’ Types of Games It Will Create
Cloud gaming is just one part of the future of games, but just as TV wasn’t a visual form of radio, the games built for cloud will look very different from the games of today. Introducing the MILE.
Content, Cars, and Comparisons in the "Streaming Wars"
Streaming content spend needs to be handicapped based on the ability of a network to create hits and a library of value. As a result, the gap between the biggest and smallest spenders is tighter than the topline numbers suggest.
On Fortnite's Travis Scott Concert
The Travis Scott x Fortnite event is commonly understood in comparison to prior Fortnite events, but instead it needs to be viewed as part of Fortnite’s testing and experimentation process/journey. It is technically less impressive than prior events, but creatively much bigger. Both points matter
Esports and the Dangers of Serving at the Pleasure of a King
We are years and hundreds of millions of dollars into the rise of esports, but most esports teams and start-ups are struggling (if still operational). And bad luck is rarely to blame.
The Impact of COVID-19 on Pay-TV and OTT Video
We’ll see an accelerated end of Pay-TV subscribers and ad revenues, more competition OTT, and several of Netflix’s short-term woes get worse
The Impact of COVID-19 on Video Gaming and Our Virtual Lives
How esports, cross-play, the Metaverse and more will forever be affected by an ‘IRL’ virus
The Impact of COVID-19 on the Movie/Theater Industry
COVID-19 will exacerbate and accelerate all underlying trends and grow the gaps between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’.