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March 16 · Issue #14 · View online
Martin Walfisz distracted by games, technology and politics.
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Hello, dear reader! Itās been a while, but now itās time for another hit of shiny links and great reads. This issue focuses a lot on game stuff (again). We can never get enough of that, can we!? š¤©
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The history of Snake: How the Nokia game defined a new era for the mobile industry
Letās start with a throwback to the 90ās. Nokiaās Snake was truly the first mobile game (outside of Japan) to make it biiiiig. Everyone played it. And not long after it was launched, I (at my old company Massive), was asked by Ericsson to make a pre-study of what games could fit their upcoming T28 phone. We actually ended up developing Eritris/ Tetris (yes, Ericsson did run in to some copyright issues); perhaps the most ābest-sellingā game Iāve ever had the chance to contribute to. š
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Microsoft debuts its AR/VR meetings platform Mesh ā TechCrunch
And now a quick jump into the future. Check out the video in this link. VR is (once again) becoming all the rage in the games industry, but I think AR/VR will be much bigger outside of games. True augmented reality will be a no-brainer a few decades from now. Seeing the world āblankā (with no enhancements) will be considered sooo retro. š
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Sorry PS5, Xbox Series X Has Unexpectedly Become My Preferred Console
Iām a big fan of PlayStation, and Iāve had the PS5 since launch (yaay!); great console, the (lack of) load times is just amazing. But I have to say that it sounds like Xbox has made some great decisions this generation (not least with GamePass). Although Sony is clearly in the lead now, I wouldnāt be surprised if Microsoft ends up the end-game winner in this generation.
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How Google's Grand Plan to Make Stadia Games Fell Apart | WIRED
If Microsoft and Sony (and Nintendo) compete for being the winner this generation, itās already clear that Google is the loser. I was always sceptical to Googleās approach to their streaming games offering. They were focusing, imho, too much on hardcore gamers and not really providing any clear upside compared to regular PC and console play. Had they invested into exclusive games (for a much broader audience) and just offered one subscription price for everything, they would have eventually won. It could likely have required an investment of USD 10-20 billion (!) and Google was apparently not ready to put that in, even though they easily could. In any case, I think Google just didnāt have the stamina required to make it in the games industry. In my experience, setting up a new studio to produce top-quality games easily takes five years, if not ten. Or, as Guardian put it: āThe Amazon andĀ GoogleĀ studios are filled with talented, brilliant people, but even thatās not enough without a sense of purpose and direction, without resources, without time. Money can buy art, but it canāt in the end, simply generate it.ā
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EA Pledges Total Freedom For Studios With Game Development, Including Dragon Age, Titanfall, And More - Game Informer
I think this is a great move by EA. Although, I canāt help but wonder what āTotal Freedomā and ācreative autonomyā really means. It is certainly a good thing to aspire to, but not so easy for a big corporate to actually deliver on. āWhile EAĀ retains the right to have the final say as the publisher, the company is moving in a direction to provide more "creative autonomyā that has always existed on some level, but will now be a bigger focus.ā
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Ten Reasons Why Big Firms Stick With Obsolete Management
Ending this issue not with games, but with leadership. Anyone in an executive leadership position should take a moment to read this, and reflect. This final quote relates well to the challenges of running a games studios: ā21stĀ Century management requires a different way of thinking. The firm is viewed, not as a machine, but rather as a complex adaptive system, like a garden. This means that the firm canāt be mechanically programmed or fixed. It canāt be analyzed separately from its context. Its behavior canāt be fully predicted. It can only be understood through its interactions with its environment. There needs to be a recognition that the environment may well push back.ā Part two of the article is available here.
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