Season 3 begins! Sega's past gets exposed. Niantic cuts staff
The Sega data dump explained. Niantic layoffs are a mixed reality. And a preview of the coming summer semester. [s03e01]
UNBOXING is your weekly dose of insight into play and profit for the gaming curious, hosted by NYU professors Laine Nooney and Joost van Dreunen.
Summer is here and UNBOXING IS BACK!
Laine and Joost kick off Unboxing’s third season with new and improved audio quality, production, and content.
The return episode opens with the mandatory speedrun of the current legal controversy between Microsoft and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). They break down the FTC's attempt to pause Microsoft's rapid acquisition deal, highlighting the complexities of antitrust legislation and its varying applications across the US and UK. With the ruling expected to land before the deal between Microsoft and Activision proceeds on July 12th, there’ll be a deeper analysis to come in future episodes.
We’ll also delve into the latest developments at Niantic Labs, creators of Pokémon Go, who have recently reduced their workforce by 25%, canned a couple of games, and shut down their Los Angeles studio. We discuss the challenges Niantic faces in the industry's hit-driven model, critiquing the expectations and financial cycles that often stifle creative development.
And to cap it all off, UNBOXING dives into an intriguing piece of gaming history: a 272-page PDF of leaked internal Sega documents from the mid-late 1990s. This document, shared by a Sega Saturn enthusiast, reveals never-before-seen insights into Sega's strategies during its competition with Sony. Joost reflects on the unique perspective this material offers on the evolution of the gaming industry, while Laine goes wild about what it may offer future historians.
Listen in.