Game Economist Cast

Mar 03 2025 39 ep. 65 mins 11
Game Economist Cast Podcast artwork

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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E37: Is Gaming Better Than Everyone at Experimentation? (w/Dr.Julian Runge)

Mar 03 2025 71 mins  
Send us a text The best tech firm experimentation seems to offer thousands of button color experiments. Dr.Runge has a better approach, which changes at every game development stage. We debate gaming's broken relationship with science, the proper experimentation framework, and how much you'd bet on yourself to complete Cousera assignments. Read Dr.Runge's new paper NOW! Showlinks:

E36: Pokémon Pocket's Gimped Trading and Matthew Ball's State of Gaming

Feb 10 2025 73 mins  
Send us a text Pokémon TCG Pocket is one of a handful of games to implement P2P trading on mobile. Yet it sucks. On purpose. As @Eric explains, their game economy needs high sinks to combat hourly sourcing of card packs. Without the nearly 80% trading tax, prices would tend toward $0. However, that's secondary to a UX that is so gimped it makes Friend Codes look seamless by compar

E35: In Defense of Loot Boxes (w/Dr. Matthew McCaffrey)

Jan 19 2025 82 mins  
Send us a text Loot boxes have all the markings of a moral panic. Dr.McCaffrey reviewed the emerging literature, and like the research on video game violence, it's destined for methodological malfunction. We discuss why everything isn't a loot box, the apathetic interest of economists in games, what George R.R. Martin's economic equilibrium teaches us, and how to get more people in

E34: A Theory of Optimal Economic Balance

Dec 01 2024 80 mins  
Send us a text Is game balance bullshit? The crew goes toe-to-toe debating Sirland’s Don't Use Math in Balancing Games. Chris emerges from his Roblox hibernation, Eric tells us Street Fighter is more accessible than platform fighters, and Phil goes bonanza for All in Hole.

E33: Halo's Economist & Player Price Experiment Complaints? (w/Dr.Jason Arentz)

Nov 03 2024 70 mins  
Send us a text 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-apolo

E32: Should more firms be like Valve? (w/Dr. Peter Klein)

Oct 20 2024 55 mins  
Send us a text Economist Dr.Peter G. Klein joins the cast to discuss Why Managers Matter: The Perils of the Bossless Company. We debate Valve's organizational structure, the evidence for manager economic impact, and Sweden's success. Read more about Dr.Klein here and find his book below: https://hankamer.baylor.edu/person/peter-g-klein-0 https://www.amazon.com/Why-Managers-Matter-B

E31: Potty Mouth & "That" Levitt-King Paper

Oct 06 2024 71 mins  
Send us a text Phil and Chris return from Asia, and it's gachupon from here in-out. Eric talks vertical progression in single player games, while Chris actually agree on the future of web 2.5. The economics of unions weigh heavily: within or between professions? The crew finally makes it to THE KING PAPER; Eric and Chris make surprising revalation. Quantity discounts on a virtual g

E30: The Economics of Game Development

Sep 15 2024 60 mins  
Send us a text Eric develops an economic model to explore or exploit game development decisions, while Phil wants a block-grant style gate process to align incentives. Chris is back at Marvel Snap, and boogies with some new social casino mechanics. The team reviews a new Call of Duty matchmaking paper with some surprising and revealing data...

E29: Can a Stick of Butter Keep You Sober?

Jul 14 2024 77 mins  
Send us a text Can a stick of butter keep you sober during high-stakes diplomatic meetings? Eric is sure to tell us. Chris provides a compelling theory for the death of mods, while Phil undergoes a Supercell detox after analyzing Squad Buster's launch. The crew gets back in touch with their microeconomic selves and looks at one of the most interesting explanations for the gender pa

E28: B-A-N-A-N-A!

Jul 01 2024 58 mins  
Send us a text Play to earn hits Steam, and the crew is here to dissect the phenomenon. Why now, and why bananas? Phil is back into the economics of social casinos, while Chris develops a progression model for Darts. Eric and Phil debate the externalities of bots, while Chris solves for equilibrium.