Business of Esports Minute 006 – Game Price Increase, Ninja Returns, Stimulus Check Spending

006 – July 12, 2020

From the keyboard to the boardroom, this is the Business of Esports Minute! Every single week, I, Paul Dawalibi, the prophet of esports, will be bringing you my hottest takes from the week, basically everything you need to know about the business of esports all in about one minute. Let’s go.

This week, we got a hint of a major change coming with the new generation of consoles. No, I’m not referring to next generation graphics or streaming capabilities. Instead, it seems that the standard retail price for games is increasing from $60 to $70 – the first increase in over a decade and a half. This seems contrary to the trend towards free to play games, but perhaps we will see fewer games dependent on DLC for monetization as a consequence of the higher sticker price. In general, gaming remains one of the most cost-effective forms of entertainment, especially when you consider the sheer number of hours of enjoyment that a single game can deliver. 

This week also saw Ninja return to streaming after the Mixer shutdown. The gaming world has been waiting for word on where he and Shroud would end up, especially given the rumors that they turned down very lucrative new contracts with Facebook Gaming. While none of the major streamers orphaned by Mixer have announced any new official partnerships, Ninja did appear on his YouTube channel livestreaming with friends. It remains to be seen if he will commit to an exclusive deal there, but it  makes sense in the short-term for him to take advantage of his 24M subscribers there. 

Finally, gamers have been making the most of their coronavirus stimulus cheques, spending $400 on average on games since March. That’s about one-third the value of the $1200 stimulus check that the government issued  to Americans in April. A survey found that 25% of gamers have upped their spending on gaming since the pandemic began, proving that gaming is not only recession-proof, but pandemic-proof as well. 

For far more detailed insight and discussion into the business of esports, as well as the most exceptional line-up of guests, please tune in every week to the Business of Esports podcast and every Wednesday evening into the Business of Esports after-show livestream. Also make sure to follow us on Twitter @bizesports and on YouTube at The Business of Esports.