Regulators ‘biggest threat to innovation’

In a surprise move last week, the UK Competition and Markets Authority Block Activision Blizzard’s $68.7 billion merger with MicrosoftActivision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who has blockbusters such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush, declined to comment specifically on the future of the merger. shared their thoughts on the future of the gaming industry and how over-regulation is stifling innovation.

Lydia: What’s keeping you from sleeping at night? What are the biggest concerns for the industry?

Bobby: The biggest threat to Western innovation is government regulation, primarily by the UK and US. Regulators charged with protecting consumers and encouraging competition are actually the biggest obstacles to competition. Europe has always maintained a vibrant gaming economy, and the past decade has witnessed an enormous amount of talent across Europe. Countries such as Poland, Romania and Ukraine have joined Germany, France and Spain as leaders in gaming innovation and development. Even countries in the Middle East and North Africa are beginning to embrace the opportunity to demonstrate innovation and develop their local gaming industry.

My biggest fear is that the industry that was invented in the US by Atari in the 1970s could end up like many other overregulated industries that are slow to innovate. about it. Understand the industry they are trying to regulate. From cancer cures. From games that connect people through joy, fun, and fulfillment, many of the industries invented in the United States will die if we don’t fix the K-12 education system and elect government officials who embrace capitalism and entrepreneurship. This is the foundation of what made America’s success possible.

Lydia: How important is AI to the gaming industry?

Bobby: China’s K-12 education system is superior to the U.S. and most Western education systems, so more highly skilled mathematics and science students graduate from China than anywhere else in the world. is increasing in Within a decade, China could have better AI and machine learning programmers than anywhere else. I think this will ensure that the best game companies will continue to be in China. What impresses me most about Chinese games is their innovation and creativity. That, combined with excellent long-term vision, speed of execution, and an excellent management team, has made Chinese game companies the world’s largest global competitors.

Lydia: Video games, TV, movies, and social media industries have all invested billions of dollars in their products, but humans still only have 24 hours in a day. Are you concerned about the impact on your business when you read that a third of Americans use TikTok and spend an average of 3 hours a day on TikTok?

Bobby: Ever since the introduction of the Atari 2600 in 1977, there has been constant speculation as to whether video games will become more than a passing fad. Today, the global market for video games is approaching $200 billion, bigger than movies and growing faster than television. It’s an incredibly fragmented market, but there are currently 3 billion people playing his games worldwide.

Lydia: Analysts have predicted the demise of TV-connected game consoles for over a decade. When will gaming just be over broadband? Or do you think consumers will have to keep buying next-gen boxes for years to come?

Bobby: Over the last decade, gaming has become a mainstream medium thanks to mobile phones. Dedicated gaming consoles such as the Xbox and market-dominant PlayStation are expensive and have been wildly successful in developed countries with middle-class consumers. I think high-end dedicated game consoles will always have a role to play in providing the best gaming experience for wealthy gamers.

Lydia: How have mobile phones changed the game?

Bobby: The democratization of gaming was driven by mobile phones, but the gaming market will continue to be driven by mobile games. Apple and Google are the giants of mobile phone games. The computing power of mobile phones is increasing at breakneck speed, and we believe games will be played primarily on mobile phones for the next decade or more.

A lot has been invested in game streaming. I believe Amazon has the largest number of game streaming customers in the world through their Luna game service, which is free with Prime. Netflix entered game streaming and Google entered and left game streaming. I realized that the computing power provided by the cloud was actually less efficient than an Android phone. Companies will continue to invest in so-called “cloud gaming,” which is not really a market. The cloud has storage, it has broadband to support content downloads and multiplayer play, and there are efforts to provide ‘processing’ in the cloud, but so far without success.

Lydia: Will enough people actually pay for high-end immersive experiences? Is there still innovation in that space?

Bobby: Fortunately, there are still some hardware innovations taking place in the US. Meta leads the development of virtual reality-based games that create a whole new immersive experience for gamers. And the majority of chips in gaming phones are still designed in the United States.