UNBOXING: Play & Profit for the Gaming Curious.

Jun 14 2024 41 ep. 61 mins 18
UNBOXING: Play & Profit for the Gaming Curious. Podcast artwork

Joost crunches data. Laine rummages in archives. Together on UNBOXING, these two NYU professors unlock the secrets of the games business they share with their students and cover the games news for insiders and newbies alike. A weekly podcast for anyone curious about why games matter in today's economy, dropping every Friday. Logo by Moira Zhang, theeverdrift.cargo.site

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We Missed You. Have an Episode.

Jun 14 2024 88 mins  
Unboxing is back with a fresh summer season! Hosts Joost and Laine catch up and discuss the top four stories they missed: Sony's new CEO duo, Disney's investment in Epic Games, GDC 2023, and the hosts' experience at the U.S. Copyright Office video game hearings. They also cover the latest GameStop stock price antics and share thoughts on Chaim Gingold's new book &qu

Building the creator economy part 2: Minecraft

Dec 14 2023 77 mins  
Another Unboxing exclusive. We interview Minecraft's Kayla Kinnunen on Mojang's vision on user-generated content. Plus, why The Game Awards can't win

UNBOXING's live reaction to the GTA6 trailer

Dec 05 2023 35 mins  
The worst of Florida as a canvas for the best in gaming. Join team UNBOXING breaking down the long-awaited trailer. We discuss female protagonist Lucia, the nostalgic return to Vice City, and the evolution of boundary pushing blockbuster franchise.

OpenAI's CEO musical chairs

Nov 26 2023 55 mins  
Why Emmett Shear's stint was short-lived. PC Gamer's history issue causes Twitter fury over sexism, but did critics get it right? Plus: lighthouse tech, Dune fandom, and why historical narratives matter when it comes to diversity in tech.

The political economy of games journalism: Interview with David Nieborg

Nov 15 2023 95 mins  
Amazon Games layoffs lead Laine and Joost to consider what it might signal about the economy at large. Roblox beats expectations and Take-Two drops the announcement of the trailer for GTA6 for a 6% share price bump. We also welcome to the show games researcher David Nieborg and talk about his newly released, co-authored book Mainstreaming and Games Journalism, written with Maxwell

FaZe falls short, Bungie bungles layoffs, and Netflix can't convert

Nov 08 2023 89 mins  
Laine and Joost give you the highlights on FaZe's Icarus-like fall from grace, as it recently got picked up by GameSquare for a fraction of its IPO price. Bungie is laying off workers and disappoints its player community. And lastly, what to make of Netflix converting less than 1% of its subscribers to play games on its platform.

Building the creator economy, part 1: Roblox

Oct 18 2023 89 mins  
Another Unboxing exclusive. We interview Roblox's VP of Economy, Enrico D'Angelo, on where one of the most popular games for kids is headed next. Plus, our view on the Microsoft/Activision Blizzard saga coming to a close.

Riccitiello retires from Unity and Polish dev unite

Oct 11 2023 58 mins  
What's next for engine maker Unity post-Riccitiello, Poland gets its first game union, and fossil fuels are fun in Fortnite says Big Oil. We discuss the tyranny of the pumpkin spice flavor palette, Laine shares a long-held secret, and Joost finally opens up about his fear of straws.

Epic layoffs, EA's FIFA fallout, and the future of gaming haptics

Oct 04 2023 75 mins  
Joost phones it in from an investor summit in Las Vegas, while Laine regales with tales of a weekend spent at the New York Renaissance Festival. Tune in as they discuss Epic's extensive layoffs, EA's triumph over FIFA following their split, and the frontier of haptics tech with insights from expert David Parisi.

Video game actors vote to strike, Unity's walk-back, and the Xbox data leak

Sep 27 2023 64 mins  
It's a week of gaming shakeups--SAG-AFTRA performers vote to authorize a strike, Unity rolls back its revenue plans, and there were some glaring discrepancies in last week's leaked Xbox documents.