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Joost crunches data. Laine rummages in archives. Together on UNBOXING, these two NYU professors unlock the secrets of the games business they share with their students and cover the games news for insiders and newbies alike. A weekly podcast for anyone curious about why games matter in today's economy, dropping every Friday. Logo by Moira Zhang, theeverdrift.cargo.site
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An unholy amalgam of politics, historical anecdotes, cocktail recipes, performances by talented people, and interviews with people who are doing interesting things with their lives.
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051 - These People Are Not Your Friends (August Mailbag)
45:18
45:18
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Questions Kyle and Jennie join me for an unusually strong mailbag. In this first part we talk the wild events of the last month in the presidential election, fielding several questions about what is and isn't different now that Harris-Walz has replaced Biden-Harris. Is "You're weird" a good strategy? Do they have their shit together at long last? W…
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Questions Kyle and Jennie join me for a close look at three of the wildest weeks in recent American political history - we talk the Trump assassination attempt, Biden's brain, JD Vance, and (checks notes) former Buffalo Bills kicker Scott Norwood. You are currently listening to the first half (free!) of a two-part episode; Part II is available to P…
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Unboxing is back with a fresh summer season! Hosts Joost and Laine catch up and discuss the top four stories they missed: Sony's new CEO duo, Disney's investment in Epic Games, GDC 2023, and the hosts' experience at the U.S. Copyright Office video game hearings. They also cover the latest GameStop stock price antics and share thoughts on Chaim Ging…
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049 - Race to the Future with Kassia St. Clair
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Kassia St. Clair, author of the 2017 best-seller The Secret Lives of Color and the Sunday Times Book of the Year follow-up The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History (2019) joins me to talk about her new book, Race to the Future: The Adventure that Accelerated the 20th Century. It's the story of the utterly bonkers 1907 auto race from Peking to …
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In 1972 a middling team from the Scottish Premier League played four exhibition matches in Nigeria and distinguished itself so profoundly with its pitiful play (and boorish attitude) that its name became a synonym for stupidity. Grousing about how much your host country sucks while losing 4-1 to a team of amateurs called "Stationery Stores FC" leav…
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Question Kyle and Question Jennie join me as we discuss the 18th century fad of using the emerging understanding of the phenomenon of electricity to entertain. Men who considered themselves worldly natural philosophers and amateur scientists found it relatively easy to blow the minds of party guests by demonstrating some basic concepts that we're t…
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Perhaps you've heard of Operation Gladio, the infamous post-World War II NATO program to train "stay-behind" agents to fight guerilla-style against a future hypothetical Soviet invasion of Western Europe. Believe it or not, the United States Air Force, briefly in partnership with the FBI, devised exactly such a program it carried out in Alaska betw…
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Building the creator economy part 2: Minecraft
1:17:27
1:17:27
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Another Unboxing exclusive. We interview Minecraft's Kayla Kinnunen on Mojang's vision on user-generated content. Plus, why The Game Awards can't win
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UNBOXING's live reaction to the GTA6 trailer
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The worst of Florida as a canvas for the best in gaming. Join team UNBOXING breaking down the long-awaited trailer. We discuss female protagonist Lucia, the nostalgic return to Vice City, and the evolution of boundary pushing blockbuster franchise.
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Why Emmett Shear's stint was short-lived. PC Gamer's history issue causes Twitter fury over sexism, but did critics get it right? Plus: lighthouse tech, Dune fandom, and why historical narratives matter when it comes to diversity in tech.
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048 - The Apple II Age (with Laine Nooney)
43:24
43:24
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Dr. Laine Nooney (NYU) joins me to discuss the early days of personal computing - particularly how people figured out what to do with home computers after they became convinced that they needed one - in their 2023 book The Apple II Age: How the Computer Became Personal. If you were alive in the pre-internet era, this book is both a great trip down …
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The political economy of games journalism: Interview with David Nieborg
1:35:55
1:35:55
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1:35:55
Amazon Games layoffs lead Laine and Joost to consider what it might signal about the economy at large. Roblox beats expectations and Take-Two drops the announcement of the trailer for GTA6 for a 6% share price bump. We also welcome to the show games researcher David Nieborg and talk about his newly released, co-authored book Mainstreaming and Games…
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FaZe falls short, Bungie bungles layoffs, and Netflix can't convert
1:29:44
1:29:44
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1:29:44
Laine and Joost give you the highlights on FaZe's Icarus-like fall from grace, as it recently got picked up by GameSquare for a fraction of its IPO price. Bungie is laying off workers and disappoints its player community. And lastly, what to make of Netflix converting less than 1% of its subscribers to play games on its platform.…
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047 - The Great American Transit Disaster
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56:26
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Professor and author Nicholas Dagen Bloom joins me to discuss his new book The Great American Transit Disaster: Austerity, Autocentric Planning, and White Flight (University of Chicago Press). You know transit is a mess in the United States but take my word for it: after reading this book you will understand how and why in a brand new way. If you t…
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Building the creator economy, part 1: Roblox
1:29:44
1:29:44
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Another Unboxing exclusive. We interview Roblox's VP of Economy, Enrico D'Angelo, on where one of the most popular games for kids is headed next. Plus, our view on the Microsoft/Activision Blizzard saga coming to a close.
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Riccitiello retires from Unity and Polish dev unite
58:52
58:52
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What's next for engine maker Unity post-Riccitiello, Poland gets its first game union, and fossil fuels are fun in Fortnite says Big Oil. We discuss the tyranny of the pumpkin spice flavor palette, Laine shares a long-held secret, and Joost finally opens up about his fear of straws.
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Epic layoffs, EA's FIFA fallout, and the future of gaming haptics
1:15:33
1:15:33
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1:15:33
Joost phones it in from an investor summit in Las Vegas, while Laine regales with tales of a weekend spent at the New York Renaissance Festival. Tune in as they discuss Epic's extensive layoffs, EA's triumph over FIFA following their split, and the frontier of haptics tech with insights from expert David Parisi.…
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Video game actors vote to strike, Unity's walk-back, and the Xbox data leak
1:04:32
1:04:32
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1:04:32
It's a week of gaming shakeups--SAG-AFTRA performers vote to authorize a strike, Unity rolls back its revenue plans, and there were some glaring discrepancies in last week's leaked Xbox documents.
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Continuing a topic we broached on a recent bonus episode on Patreon, Questions Kyle and Jennie join me as we sort through the wonderful if baffling world of school assemblies submitted by listeners and readers. You have to hear some of this stuff to believe it, but suffice it to say America's educational system is very concerned about abstinence an…
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Worst games industry decision of 2023
1:04:32
1:04:32
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Unity has always been a cornerstone for game developers, but their recent price alteration has sent shockwaves throughout the industry. In this episode, Laine and Joost dive deep into the heart of the controversy and dissect the motivations, potential outcomes, and broader impact on the gaming ecosystem.…
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Roblox's child gambling lawsuit. Starfield lights Xbox's plans. And, boy, do our students love the Switch
1:03:11
1:03:11
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1:03:11
Laine and Joost debate the relative responsibilities of corporate actors vs. distracted parents. Microsoft's new release Starfield may not be its Game Pass killer app, but it could still hold the key to Xbox's future.
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Venture capital's role in gaming. Gamescom 2023 kick off. And Microsoft's second run at Activision Blizzard
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49:12
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49:12
In this solo episode, Joost talks to Shan Shan, a partner at Light Speed Venture Partners, to discuss the difference between being a strategic investor and "tourist capital." He also takes an early look at Gamescom 2023, and lays out the latest on Microsoft endgame to earn the UK's approval and finally buy Activision Blizzard.…
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Asia gaming declines. Embracer loses sugar daddy. Nicki Minaj dolls up for CoD.
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48:53
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48:53
Joost unravels the financial struggle of Southeast Asian tech giant, Sea Limited, and its ripple effects on the regional market. Laine unpacks what it means now that we know who walked away from Embracer to the tune of $2 billion. And does Nicki Minaj as a playable character in Call of Duty make tactical sense?…
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Why Wall Street doesn't love Roblox but is smitten with Take-Two. And an insider's look into the PS5 giveaway turned "riot"
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57:20
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This week, Laine and Joost disagree on Roblox’s strained financial situation and explore what makes Take-Two such a favorite among Wall Street investors instead. And who's at fault for the chaos that followed Twitch streamer Kai Cenat's botched PS5 giveaway?
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Activision takes Diablo 4 to the bank. UNBOXING Goes Gang Gang for NPC Streaming. And an informed look into ESA's Essential Facts Report.
1:02:01
1:02:01
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1:02:01
This week, Joost and Laine explore the second quarter earnings of gaming giants Activision and Ubisoft before diving head first into the viral sensation of NPC Streaming to discuss implications and provide context around this cultural phenomenon. Finally, Laine and Joost gawk at ESA's annual Essential Facts Report––no punches barred.…
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Question Cathy returns for a long overdue dip into the mailbag. We hit a range of topics including: how the recent Supreme Court ruling will affect college admissions, 90s cultural fads, the mind-bending heat affecting much of the planet this summer, what the DeSantis campaign's flop tells us about the war on "wokeness," and how some state-level De…
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Overwatch League faces elimination. Microsoft starts overtime. And the plea for game preservation
54:07
54:07
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Joost offers insight into Sony and Microsoft's cheeky 10-year deal over the Call of Duty franchise. We review the devaluation of the Overwatch League since 2018. And as a special treat, Laine and Phil Salvador of the Video Game History Foundation discuss the preservation of classic video games and the risk of extinction according to a recent report…
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044 - The He-Man Effect with Brian 'Box' Brown
50:11
50:11
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Artist and author Brian Brown joins me to discuss his new book The He-Man Effect: How American Toy Makers Sold You Your Childhood. We talk about our memories of toy advertising and cartoons from the Eighties and the political and regulatory changes that opened the floodgates to marketing at children. Inhumanoids, M.A.S.K., SilverHawks, and Sectaurs…
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