E21: Subs, Doms, Surprise, and Suspense

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.

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E20: Game Inflation is Misunderstood

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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.

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E22: Airdropping The Missing Web3 Palworld Take

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No Palword take is too late; something is not lost on the Game Economist Cast crew. Eric beguiles us with Cassette Beasts' analysis, while Chris reminds us of web3's oft-forgotten but newly popular Airdrop mechanics. Bonk? Phil can't get over the post-COVID decline in weekly gaming hours, but Eric cooks on a theory that a growing leisure pie might save us all.
[1] Sub to Eric and Chris's Substack!
[2] It's a bubble, it's a market, it's an Airdop!
[3] The Tremendous Yet Troubled State of Gaming in 2024

Game Economist Cast - E21: Subs, Doms, Surprise, and Suspense

Transcript

Speaker 100:00:00.059

It's pretty . I don't know how to describe it . It's hard to describe because I have to watch it , but yeah , I guess . So this YouTuber got super big off these memes and they just made a bunch of meme videos about this egg dog thing , and then I guess there's it's a random dude in Seattle who's a millionaire and is like I don't know what to do with this money . So they jus