A thread for gaming companies and news that lack their own active thread. The idea is to have a general discussion about companies operating in the gaming industry, highlight interesting news, discuss different companies from an investor’s perspective, and gather discussants interested in gaming companies into the same thread.
The idea for opening a new thread arose with the latest ideresPod, where Atte and Verneri discussed the current state of the gaming market and superficially went through several gaming companies. Currently, the forum does not have a suitable thread for this topic, where, for example, thoughts about the companies mentioned in this podcast could be exchanged. It is not relevant for all companies to establish their own thread, so let’s see if there is demand for such a general gaming company thread. This particular podcast can also serve as a discussion opener:
It’s great that the podcast inspired you to open this thread! Here are a few sites to start with, which will help you stay quite well informed about industry news.
Here’s another Swedish site where you can spot gaming companies listed on exchanges: https://gamingaktier.com/aktieguide/
Not all of them have analyst coverage/forecasts.
You could bring up a few interesting slides and points from Newzoo’s recent report about the gaming industry’s growth figures, in case some interested parties missed it in the Remedy thread.
We predict the gaming market will grow by 19.6% this year to $174.9 billion. This is $15.6 billion higher than our previous forecast made at the beginning of the pandemic.
PC games will generate $37.4 billion in 2020, compared to our previous forecast of $36.9 billion.
Mobile games will generate $86.3 billion in 2020, up from the previous forecast of $77.2 billion.
Console games will generate $51.2 billion in 2020, compared to our previous forecast of $45.2 billion.
We now predict that the gaming market will grow to $217.9 billion by 2023, representing a strong +9.4% CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) between 2018 and 2023. This is more than our previous forecast of $200.8 billion.
Based on engagement metrics data from recent months, we see that consumers are still engaging in more gaming than before the pandemic - even in markets where lockdowns have long since been lifted.
The first half of 2020 saw a peak in market growth. While some consumers may play less after the pandemic ends, all signs indicate that a significant portion of the revenue growth and engagement is permanent.
Good idea for a thread! Sometimes the discussion in, for example, the Remedy thread, strays from the essential Here, however, we can discuss the entire industry in a broader picture!
Has there been any research on how the release of new console generations affects the gaming market? One would imagine that there would be at least a temporary boost in consumption and new households joining the gaming party. At least in my own circle, there are families who don’t own consoles yet, but have been talking for the past year about waiting for the PS5 release so they can get a console for their kids. And at this point, they wouldn’t dare buy an old one anymore
Surely new console players will join, but at the same time millions of PS4 owners will buy the console only when there is a must-have game for it. EA’s sports games all seemed to come out for the PS4, even though they also work on the PS5, and that lowers the peer pressure to get a console right away, which seems to be too scarce anyway. Of course, the few strong launch titles will sell like hotcakes because you have to get some game with it. I have a huge pile of PS Plus free games in my library that I haven’t even tried. I also understood that initially only the digital version of the console would be available for sale.
Examples would be the previous PlayStation 4 (released 15.11.2013) and Xbox One (released 22.11.2013). The diagram seems to show a small increase, but I suspect that the console itself is not the reason for this, but rather the overall global growth of the gaming market. Sony and Microsoft will, of course, profit from the release of a new platform. A new platform might attract many new players, but there are also those who leave gaming behind and won’t buy a new console.
It also remains to be seen if corona has any significant impact on console sales.
Overall, the dominance of the mobile gaming market, in terms of gaming market revenue, makes the movements in the console segment look quite small. However, historical data is not a guarantee of the future, and I’m no guru either, but these are my thoughts.
I could also be completely wrong.
In InderesPod 81, Verneri talks about how his RTX steams when playing Control. This made me wonder what specs @Verneri_Pulkkinen’s PC has? This thread seemed like a better place to ask than the company-specific game threads..
First of all, a big thanks to InderesPod. It might have been a longer pod than usual, but I would have listened even longer.
As PS5 approaches, I’ve been looking at Sony’s key figures right now. P/E for the next year is 16, EV/sales 1. According to Marketscreener, the average target price of 23 analysts is 12% higher than the current price. Looking at the share price development, one can see the impact of the PS4 release. After 2013, the share price has risen significantly, so I’m considering buying the stock with the PS5 release in mind. Sales are unlikely to disappoint too badly.
I was going to buy the new AC Valhalla on Steam yesterday. I was confused when I didn’t see big banners even though it was release day, and I couldn’t find the game in the whole store either. Bewildered, I went to EGS, where I found the banners and bought the game from there. The reason I’m explaining this on the forum is that I hadn’t realized at all that the game in question was an EGS exclusive for PC, even though I’ve followed the game’s hype quite a bit. According to this observation, consumers are starting to adapt to the EGS strategy, as complaints no longer pour out of every channel as they did 1-2 years ago.
Most people who play Ubisoft games probably get them on Uplay (or rather, the current Ubisoft Connect). Most Ubisoft games are also bundled with graphics cards and processors, so you can get games significantly cheaper that way. For example, I paid 15€ for Valhalla myself.
It’s a good move by Ubisoft not to sell games on Steam. Watch Dogs, for example, was such garbage in terms of PC optimization that the reviews on Steam would have been at most “Mixed” or “Mostly negative”. Conveniently, you can’t leave those reviews on Uplay or the Epic Games Store.
To each their own… I personally wouldn’t buy new hardware for a single game So far I’ve also tried to avoid Uplay as much as possible and buy Bugisoft’s (Ubisoft’s) games either as physical PS4 copies or from the store for PC.
Probably not many others would either, but my point was that almost every slightly more expensive graphics card or processor often comes bundled with a game. The hardware buyer can sell it on, and at the same time, those interested in the game can buy games cheaper than the RRP.
For example, recent bundled games include Watch Dogs Legion, Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Far Cry 6, Death Stranding, Division 2, etc. etc.
And if you have the patience to snag these games from hardware buyers and also belong to those for whom a seller can be found (the demand for the game is usually significantly higher than the available bundle passes), then you’ve certainly earned the discount I haven’t bothered myself, but if one came my way, I’d gladly buy it for 15€ too.
Vepu, if you want some “benchmark,” here are my PC’s specs (the most important ones):
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080ti
Intel i7-9700K
16 GB RAM
So, the CPU is probably a bit overpowered compared to the GPU
Only a Cirrus build is allowed in the holy of holies, so you can surely hear your own heartbeat as your blood pressure rises when the curves on the screen move in undesirable directions
The next time I might get to play would be 2023 or 2024.. I don’t think PS6 will be out by then, so in a few years, a fiver for Black Friday deals.
PC gaming became too expensive for casual gamers a long time ago due to hardware requirements
Well, that was pure off-topic.. well, maybe someone will find Cirrus this way. It revolutionized my concept of a stylish and silent computer back in the day.
Here, however, we can discuss the entire industry in a broader picture! 
I haven’t bothered myself, but if one came my way, I’d gladly buy it for 15€ too.
