Game Economist Cast
Phillip Black
What does the new wave of open economies mean for monetization? Will negative externalities overcome cosmetics economies in the long run? What exactly does a game economist do?
Game Economist Cast is a roundtable discussion of the latest developments in mobile, HD, and crypto games through a bunch of people figuring it out using the economic tool kit.
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Top 10 Game Economist Cast Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Game Economist Cast episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Game Economist Cast for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Game Economist Cast episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
E17: Regressions, Gin Rummy, and a VERY Special Guest (w/David Nelson)
Game Economist Cast
10/30/23 • 75 min
Somehow, the cast wrings another guest, David Nelson, the former VP of Experimentation at King. Christopher Kaczmarczyk-Smith runs a regression on negative price, while Eric Guan explains the economic dynamics of rewarded video - bots and all. The crew debates how to solve the F-99 monetization problem and checks out what the NEW Experimentation Group is up to.
GEC BONUS EP: What's up at GDC 2025 (w/Charlie Hsu)
Game Economist Cast
04/06/25 • 36 min
Phillip & Eric navigate the strangely subdued landscape of GDC 2025, pondering if there really is such a thing as a free lunch. Chris dials in, wondering if his absence is secretly the key to Eric's roundtable success.
They dissect the talks, the conference economics, the rise of mobile's respectability, and a guest in economy designer, Charlie Hsu.
In this episode:
- Is the game industry actually shrinking, or just taking a nap? And if Web3 isn't the savior, what's left besides... sweeps?
- Is GDC just a cleverly disguised wealth transfer from sponsors to developers
- What's the latest "reasonable" pitch for Web3 in games?
- What's the economic model behind those San Francisco walk-up shops overflowing with candy bars right next to the register? High margins? A tourist trap? Something... else
E06: What's the deal with markets anyways?
Game Economist Cast
03/14/23 • 72 min
NEXT EPISODE IS ALL MAIL. We'll read and respond on air. SEND QUESTIONs/COMMENTs to [email protected]!
- The full crew is back after a stealth EP5 drop.
- We refuse to stop talking about Hogwarts, earn our economist bread & butter discussing Eric's new piece on markets, and try to solve for a $6M Super Bowl ad.
E24: Tragedy of the UGC Commons & Gold Bugs
Game Economist Cast
04/13/24 • 63 min
Eric reminds us that The Wizard of Oz is a heated monetarism debate, while Chris goes six layers deep on enforcing royalties. Phil thinks Warzone Mobile is a good executive Powerpoint math muddled with poor execution, but good economics secured him Taylor Swift tickets.
- Subscribe to Chris' Substack and Eric's Substack
- Limit Break's New ERC standard
E21: Subs, Doms, Surprise, and Suspense
Game Economist Cast
01/22/24 • 67 min
Eric starts 2024 with a new paper on League of Legends published by leading researchers. Is there an optimal amount of excitement in matches, and if so, where is it? Chris returns from Italy, and holy cannoli, did he have a "time" while Phil laments subscription-based pricing as the antithesis of game monetization. The crew agrees to spend money on Magic The Gathering this year.
E20: Game Inflation is Misunderstood
Game Economist Cast
12/10/23 • 64 min
Inflation is a wild word, with everyone playing fast and loose with the definition of in-game economies. Eric isn't convinced inflation is the evil Friedman claims it is, while Chris defends the honor of game tokens from Phil's stablecoin inquisition. The crew debates the meaning of game inflation: in what units and for whom? The answer is not as clear as first thought.
E18: Internet Spaceships Are Serious Business (w/Dr.Eyjolfur Gudmundsson)
Game Economist Cast
11/13/23 • 67 min
It's finally here...the EVE episode. The crew speaks to one of the world's first Game Economist, Dr.Gudmundsson, who helped manage and advise on one of gaming's most durable and well-known game economies...ever. We cover the origin of E.V.E. (a simulation!?), his biggest wins at CCP, the role of game economists, and if crypto has a future.
11/04/24 • 70 min
Anti-cheat economics, web3 property rights, Deirdre McCloskey, institutional incentives, Halo UGC, and the if single player games have a natural advantage outside the West. Oh my.
Dr.Jason Arentz finally guest stars, and he's bringing the econ juice, finally striking a 50/50 web3 split on the case.
Zynga Car Price Experiment: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/zynga-apologizes-for-random-dlc-pricing-experiment
E19: Why Doesn't Apple or Steam Use Regional Pricing? (w/Bill Grosso)
Game Economist Cast
11/26/23 • 64 min
Price discrimination is the economist "duh," yet few firms engage in the *welfare* enhancing practice. What's with that? Dr. Bill Grosso, CEO of Game Data Pros, joins the crew to tell us that sometimes it's just about more columns in the database... We cover his efforts to build price personalization at scale, community pushback, the pricing power of brands, and the best things about game economists.
[1] A two-armed bandit theory of market pricing
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FAQ
How many episodes does Game Economist Cast have?
Game Economist Cast currently has 40 episodes available.
What topics does Game Economist Cast cover?
The podcast is about Game Design, Leisure, Analytics, Freakonomics, Podcasts, Economics, Video Games, Business and Academic.
What is the most popular episode on Game Economist Cast?
The episode title 'E20: Game Inflation is Misunderstood' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Game Economist Cast?
The average episode length on Game Economist Cast is 65 minutes.
How often are episodes of Game Economist Cast released?
Episodes of Game Economist Cast are typically released every 20 days, 5 hours.
When was the first episode of Game Economist Cast?
The first episode of Game Economist Cast was released on Nov 21, 2022.
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