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UNBOXING: Play & Profit for the Gaming Curious

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September 14, 2023

Roblox's child gambling lawsuit. Starfield lights Xbox's plans. And, boy, do our students love the Switch

Starfield may not be the Game Pass' killer app, but it could still hold the key to Xbox's future

Our back-to-school episode is late because Laine had an unexpected root canal—but still managed to weigh in on the Unity debacle with a mouth full of Novocaine.

On this week’s episode, Laine and Joost debate the relative responsibilities of corporate actors vs. distracted parents. A new class action lawsuit brought by two northern California parents accuses Roblox of facilitating child gambling. The plaintiffs argue that while Roblox formally doesn’t permit gambling on its platform, it has done little to thwart third-party websites like BoxFlip and RBLXWild, which access Robux for betting purposes. Joost comes out hard against the literal mommy state that is letting kids run wild with credit cards to begin with, while Laine philosophizes on whether “personal responsibility” makes sense when talking about the interactions between individuals and multi-billion-dollar corporations. What remains clear is that Roblox could be doing more given its de facto status as a children’s media company.

“Starfield…speaks more to retention and loyalty than it does to user acquisition.”

Joost then discusses his time spent in Starfield, Microsoft’s newest Game Pass darling. While not yet convinced of its epic status, Joost plots out a future for the franchise built around modding and user-generated content, while Laine unpacks just what it means to call Starfield a “killer app” for Game Pass. Will Microsoft boldly go where no game company has gone before, or will Starfield be all ad astra, no per aspera?

Speaking of Starfield, don’t miss out on the potato physics.

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