Summary

Eric Kress has spent over 25 years in the video gaming sector on the corporate side at EA and Kabam and more recently through his consultancy Gossamer. On the Group Call Eric’s main message was that investors should be long console and short mobile as we are seeing impressive hardware enter the market, led by Sony and Nintendo, which is resulting in new software which is driving engagement and monetisation. New games so far this year have been generating huge sales. Eric believes the winners are Nintendo, EA, Activision, Sony, Ubisoft, CB Project, Facebook, Take2 and the Losers Playtika, Unity, Applovin, Embracer, Still Front, Roblox. He discussed despite all the hype how VR, AR and Blockchain are years away for the sector as the technology is not there. Generative AI is not saving the development costs which people think. How streaming doesn’t work for gaming. Meanwhile the metaverse is more interesting and how Roblox and now on a much larger scale Epic are tapping into this. On the Microsoft / Activision acquisition Eric has been very vocally against this transaction for the health of the market.

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