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Documents about Memo
Ask George: December 2024
The December 2024 edition of the Video Games Industry Memo serves as a year-end personal reflection, shifting away from standard industry analysis to curate a list of cultural highlights.
- The December 2024 edition of the Video Games Industry Memo serves as a personal year-end reflection rather than a professional industry analysis.
- The report provides a subjective list of media highlights across six categories: fiction, non-fiction, film, television, music, and video games.
- Specific cultural recommendations include The Secret History (1992), Meet Me in the Bathroom (2017), Sing Sing (2023), Tigers Blood (2024), Industry (2020–2024), and Fallout: New Vegas (2010).
Ask George: November 2024
The November 2024 edition of the Video Games Industry Memo serves as a monthly question-and-answer column addressing operational and industry-related inquiries from subscribers.
- The publication maintains its presence on Substack following the platform's early 2024 policy reversal regarding the removal of extremist content.
- The author evaluated alternative hosting platforms including Ghost, Beehiiv, and ButtonDown during late 2023 but determined that the logistical migration burden was unfeasible during a period of high professional stress.
- Continued use of the Substack platform is conditional, with the author prepared to migrate the publication if future moderation failures occur.
Ask George: October 2024
The October 2024 edition of the Video Games Industry Memo serves as a summary of insights shared during a Q&A session at the Education Symposium in Melbourne.
- Video games are currently undervalued as a cultural force despite their widespread influence on daily life and societal dynamics.
- The gaming industry must prioritize the development of better support structures to assist parents in navigating digital gaming environments.
- A shift in public and industry perception is required to recognize gaming as a critical cultural medium rather than a peripheral activity.
Ask George: September 2024
The September 2024 edition of the Video Games Industry Memo serves as a Q&A-style commentary, providing personal insights into the gaming habits of industry analyst George Osborn while touching upon broader sector trends.
- The esports sector is currently undergoing a critical evaluation to determine if the industry has moved past its peak growth phase.
- Regulatory scrutiny is intensifying regarding the intersection of loot box monetization mechanics and legal definitions of gambling.
- Player engagement trends favor titles that prioritize meaningful agency and world-building, exemplified by RPGs like Pentiment and Fallout: New Vegas.
Introducing VGIM Insider
The Video Games Industry Memo (VGIM) has launched a new paid subscription tier, VGIM Insider, designed to establish a sustainable financial foundation for the newsletter’s continued operation.
- The Video Games Industry Memo (VGIM) has launched a paid subscription tier, VGIM Insider, to secure a sustainable financial model for its independent editorial operations.
- The core weekly newsletter will remain free to all readers, continuing to be supported by existing advertising partnerships.
- VGIM Insider is priced at £6 per month or £50 per year, with additional discounts offered for early adopters and group business subscriptions.
Advertise in VGIM
Video Games Industry Memo (VGIM) provides a specialized advertising platform for organizations seeking to reach a high-level audience within the global video games sector.
- VGIM reaches an audience of over 4,000 industry professionals, with nearly 40% of subscribers holding C-level, founder, or director roles.
- The publication maintains high engagement levels, reporting a 44% weekly open rate and a 10% click-through rate per edition.
- The readership is heavily concentrated in the UK (49%) and the US (18%), with over 60% of subscribers working in marketing, business development, law, or policy.
VGIM Insider
The Video Games Industry Memo (VGIM) Insider program functions as a premium subscription tier designed to augment the existing weekly industry newsletter.
- The VGIM Insider program offers a tiered subscription model for industry professionals, with standard monthly access at £6 and an annual rate of £50, representing a 31% discount.
- Group subscriptions are available to organizations at a 20% discount per seat, reducing the annual cost to £40 per user.
- A founding membership tier is available for £100, designed to incentivize early supporters of the platform.
Investing in Influence: Video Games Industry Memo, 15/02/2024
The video games industry is witnessing a strategic shift toward "investing for influence" rather than traditional internal development or full-scale acquisitions.
- Major media and technology firms are shifting from internal development to an 'investing for influence' model to secure presence in digital ecosystems without the operational burden of managing game divisions.
- Disney’s $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games serves as a primary example of this strategy, allowing the company to gain creative influence over a virtual platform while outsourcing technical complexities.
- The industry is moving toward a model of minority stakes, similar to Tencent’s long-standing strategy, to capture audience engagement and foster connections within dominant 'walled garden' platforms.
About Video Games Industry Memo
The Video Games Industry Memo functions as a specialized weekly newsletter designed to provide high-level analysis of the power dynamics, political landscapes, and business developments shaping the global gaming sector.
- The Video Games Industry Memo is a weekly newsletter designed to provide high-level analysis of the global gaming sector's business, policy, and power dynamics.
- Each edition is structured to be consumed in approximately 15 minutes and is delivered to subscribers on Thursday mornings.
- Content includes a deep-dive trend analysis, summaries of five critical news stories, executive job movement tracking, a curated events calendar, and analysis of three significant game releases.
About George Osborn
George Osborn serves as the editor of the Video Games Industry Memo, a publication focused on the intersection of the gaming sector, business strategy, and political influence.
- George Osborn is the editor of the Video Games Industry Memo, a publication specializing in the intersection of gaming, business strategy, and political influence.
- He possesses nearly 15 years of industry experience, including a former leadership role as the Head of Campaigns and Communications at the trade association Ukie.
- Through his firm, Half-Space Consulting, Osborn advises stakeholders on navigating the commercial and regulatory dynamics of the global video game market.
Game of the Year: Everything Else Edition
The final 2023 installment of the Video Games Industry Memo serves as a curated retrospective, shifting focus away from major AAA blockbusters to highlight notable, smaller-scale titles that defined the year for industry professionals.
- The 2023 Video Games Industry Memo highlights eight independent and mid-tier titles that resonated with industry professionals, shifting focus away from major AAA blockbusters.
- The selected titles include Against the Storm, Storyteller, Humanity, Dave the Diver, Cocoon, Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Loddlenaut, and Venba.
- These games were chosen for their specialized design, unique mechanics, and narrative depth, demonstrating the creative breadth of the non-AAA market.
Game of the Year: Blockbuster Edition
The Video Games Industry Memo’s year-end review serves as a community-driven retrospective on the most significant titles of 2023.
- Epic Games secured a landmark antitrust victory against Google in late 2023, signaling a major shift in digital storefront competition and platform dynamics.
- The E3 trade show officially dissolved in 2023, marking a transition toward decentralized promotional models for the video game industry.
- Top-performing titles of 2023 included The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Baldur’s Gate 3, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Super Mario Wonder, Alan Wake 2, Marvel Snap, and Resident Evil 4 (Mercenaries mode).