Response: Data science will not save you

This article is a critical response to the Gamasutra blog "Steam has a lack of data scientists." While it is an opinion piece, the article was widely shared and contains a number of contestable statements with regards to Steam's role, Valve's capabilities, and the ability of data science to solve structural issues for game developers. …

The Justified Skepticism of the New Telltale Games

A year after its closure, Telltale Games is back after its assets were purchased by LCG Entertainment. The new company has committed to offering employees of the old Telltale positions at the new company. The gesture is significant given that the original studio's closure was sudden and the staff were dismissed laid off without severance. …

Renting Games

The proliferation of subscription services and the announcement of multiple cloud gaming services has produced some curiously alarmist responses. Cloud gaming is a relatively new technology, but gaming subscriptions and comparable payment models predate the internet. With a wide enough perspective, it's hard to see either development as particularly new when applied to gaming. Steam …

Epic’s Tactics Are The System Working As Intended

The most perplexing feature of the commentary surrounding the Epic Games Store (EGS) is that the loudest voices assign criticism to Epic that is more appropriately targeted at Valve. The criticism that has gotten the most attention is the one that says Epic is using its timed exclusives in order to take over digital distribution, …

When Exclusives Are Consumer Friendly

There's an old business punchline where the owner of a firm says "I'll sell at a loss but make it up on volume." I've heard the punchline in three slightly different variations but have never heard the joke that was once attached to it. A business owner maximizing their losses is the kind of galaxy …

Share and Share Dislike

The takes industry works overtime during earnings season and between EA reporting sales for Battlefield V and Activision Blizzard announcing layoffs, there was no shortage of material. Earnings should not generate the kind of hyperventilation they do, since they are a standard measure intended to provide everyone access to the same information at the same …

Valve’s Bloody Nose

I normally put the disclaimer at the end, I should mention that since the previous article I have joined Epic’s Support-a-Creator program which provides me revenue for referrals (use the tag SYSTEMCHALK 😉 ) and the links will reflect this change moving forward. This is especially important since this is a pure opinion piece which …

Valve’s Cut

Over half of developers surveyed do not think Steam justifies its 30% share of revenues according to GDC’s State of the Game Industry report. Over half of developers responding make 75-100% of their sales on Steam. The difference is not surprising since, just as gamers will think $5 is a fair price for this year’s …

Diversity for the Amoral

The new year started off with a fresh set of outrages to scourge Real Gamers™: Kick McKeand wrote a good article about diversity in games, Emily Grace Buck (who's started a new program for story games) reminded us that old gaming quip about story and pornos isn't all that clever, and it turns out Soldier …

Two Art Movies

In 16 1/2 minutes a Canadian left an indelible mark on one of the greatest filmmakers and one of the most financially successful. His first film was nominated for an Academy Award when he was 25 and Stanley Kubrick called it “one of the most imaginative and brilliant uses of the movie screen and soundtrack …