Join Transform 2021 this July 12-16. Register for the AI event of the year. The metaverse had a couple of Big Bangs this week that should put it on everyone’s radar. First, Epic Games raised $1 billion at a $28.7 billion valuation. That is $11.4 billion more valuable than Epic Games was just nine months […]
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The DeanBeat: What Ready Player Two tells us about the metaverse
I was a fanboy for Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One book and the 2018 Steven Spielberg movie based on it. And so when the sequel novel Ready Player Two came out in December, I was all over it. The critics panned it, and I understood why as it was a sequel that wasn’t as innovative […]
The DeanBeat: The best of CES 2021 as seen from afar
Last year, at CES 2020, the big tech trade show in Las Vegas, I walked more than 37.45 miles (over 84,385 steps) to scout for the best ideas and products of the show. This week, for CES 2021, I walked about 20 feet to the fridge and 20 more feet to the bathroom and back […]
The DeanBeat: My favorite games of 2020
Many people’s memories of 2020 will reflect a horrible year. But games offered us an escape from that reality. They let us maintain social distance while still connecting remotely with our friends. And they kept us sane at a time when the pandemic and the U.S. presidential election were tearing us apart. Despite an unrelenting […]
The DeanBeat: Apple v. Epic — a briefing on the antitrust arguments and interesting facts
We’re at a huge moment in tech and antitrust history with the litigation initiated by Fortnite maker Epic Games against Apple and Google. While the Google dispute has taken a backseat in the news, the conflict with Apple has gone hot because of that company’s retaliatory strike and a request for a temporary restraining order […]
The DeanBeat: Gamers count down the days to The Last of Us Part II
The countdown to the launch of Sony’s The Last of Us Part II has gamers spellbound. It surged as a topic of conversation this week as Sony and Naughty Dog revealed more of the exclusive game coming to the PlayStation 4 on June 19. The signs of fan anticipation are there. More than a million […]
The DeanBeat: Supercell CEO’s 10 takeaways from 10 years of mobile games
Supercell has been one of the most successful game companies in history, with games like Clash of Clans and Clash Royale generating billions of dollars in revenue. Helsinki-based Supercell has had five games played by more than a billion unique players. The company’s founder reflected on its 10-year history in a blog post yesterday. Paananen […]
The DeanBeat: The game industry rolls with the punches of the coronavirus
Another week has gone by, and the game industry has rolled with the punches of the coronavirus. It demonstrates how resilient game companies are and how they can adapt to almost anything. But our collective experience shows it’s hard to dodge something as apocalyptic as a pandemic that shuts down many parts of the global […]
The DeanBeat: Esports pivots to digital because of the coronavirus
As the coronavirus epidemic accelerated, esports had to change. The first sign was when Blizzard canceled its events in China on January 29, to protect the safety of people who gathered at live events at stadiums in China to cheer on their favorite esports stars. And now, all of the esports events are being canceled […]