Jason Citron

Calling Investors: Invest in the original Xbox “Duke” controller… I am working with a new gaming peripherals company set to take the world by storm and they are looking for investors to join the team. Founded by Duke Schnepf, son of gaming visionary, and Xbox founder, Brett Schnepf, backed by multiple founding fathers of the Xbox, this company is pushing the boundaries of the gaming peripherals sector. Their journey began with Brett Schnepf, a luminary whose contributions to gaming history are etched in stone. As a founding member of the Xbox console team, Brett's design prowess shaped modern gaming, with iconic creations like the Sidewinder PC controller and the legendary Duke controller. Today, Duke Schnepf carries forth his father's legacy. Upside and a half! In late 2024, a major streaming platform will release a series chronicling the founding of a pioneering gaming console (can you guess which one) and the launch of Duke's ground-breaking products, offering an intimate look at the visionary minds behind this revolution. Looking for investments of $10K, $20K, $50K, $100K, $250, $500K, and $1M. Higher investments with equity shares are available for discussion. We foresee full returns and profits delivered within 1 year. If you're interested in being part of this exciting journey, please get in touch to set up a call ASAP. #Gaming #InvestmentOpportunity #Innovation #GamingPeripherals #TechInvestments #gamedev #investors #angelinvestors #gameinvestor #PEinvestment #AngelInvestment

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My Apple Vision delay rumor take: After Meta's Orion revealed, there is a chance Apple recognized a longer term adjust was needed. It isn't just that there is a delay but I suspect leadership changed alongside AI incorporation alongside pointing toward a different product altogether. That M5 chip might have Apple Intelligence implications. We can see with Meta that there is a shift toward App Store models. If Android XR arrives in 2025 there will be two Android based storefronts fighting for the market. Meta and Google. Vision OS as a platform will remain but the M5 rumored model will possibly have local AI assistive capabilities. Meaning it works regardless of connectivity. In a world where Apple can know that two competitors will battle for market they might watch and build. This is very on brand. I hate that the cheaper model delay rumor has hit, but the overall business strategy unfortunately makes sense to me. Vision Pro is my favorite headset. I love it. But it had major issues... - Way too expensive - Comfort and weight - Interactive gaming oversight This put the Quest market at such a high value proposition in comparison. To Meta's huge credit! And fostering a gaming platform that works well for games has allowed for technological innovation and proven so many concepts. Meta did this very well. For Apple to catch up in gaming, it would take at least a year or two giving funds to devs to port because they would need to focus their IP for hand tracking use on a platform that is very small. This puts us in unrealistic territory. The push to 2027 makes sense if we see them going back toward a puck compute design. My suspicion is Orion hype's impact on financial industry was noted. We are seeing down wind shifts of these tactical adjustments. For developers, this means being realistic. Apple Vision Pro is amazing tech but look toward Meta XR and perhaps the incoming Android XR likely coming in 2025. Familiarity in all XR platforms is key. 🫡

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I'm a massive Fallout fan. Going back to Wasteland, then the original Interplay Fallouts (FO1, FO2, Tactics), and into FO3 (still the best in the series, IMO -- don't waste your time talking to me about NV), etc. I've talked a lot about how FO3 was a big inspiration for TLD. So know that I am as big a fan as probably can be. I was really interested to hear from both gamer and non-gamer folks in my social circle who really bounced off of the Amazon series, due to what they described as the "extreme violence". This includes people who are fans of the game, and people for whom the TV series is their first entry point into the IP. I've only seen the first episode so far, but I have to say...I agree with them? It's very clear that Nolan/Joy are huge fans of the IP, and I know the show was developed under the watchful eye of Bethesda, as it should be. But IMO, they really missed the mark on the depiction of violence. It's massively overdone and 100% unnecessary. And I think it speaks to the challenges of adaptation from interactive to non-interactive media. Over-the-top violence is a hallmark of the Fallout IP, no question. Actually, I think it's fair to say that "OTT" is really the core pillar of the Fallout IP in general. There's a huge wink behind everything in the game. And you accept it, because you're the one pulling the trigger. You're the one choosing the "Bloody Mess" perk so you can see enemies literally explode (which I have to assume is an homage to Wasteland, and the "___ exploded like a blood sausage..." combat description). But this stuff just does not translate well to linear media. When we are playing games, we are immersed in those worlds, and we don't stop to think of how brutally violent we are in them, how casually we dispatch hundreds or thousands of enemies during the course of completing a game. We are desensitized to it in the game. And it's ok, because we know it's not real. It's part of the magic, part of the covenant we have between ourselves and the game. TV isn't real either. But it's made of the "real world". Amazon's Fallout is not animated or 3D, it's live-action. It's made of pieces of the world we live in. We can see ourselves in this violence. As OTT as the IP is, and as successful as the show has been so far, I personally feel that they missed the mark with the depiction of violence. I think they have unnecessarily alienated folks who would have otherwise really enjoyed the show. (And yes, I know videogame violence doesn't translate to violence in the real world. I'm not talking about that.) I'll keep watching, but for me I wish Nolan/Joy and Bethesda had had the foresight to recognize that straight up adapting the level of violence in the game was not necessary for the adaptation to be successful. I don't think the game fans would have enjoyed it any less if the violence had been less graphic, and I think a lot of the folks who are newly discovering Fallout might have had a better experience with it.

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Capcom has released a less-than-positive annual report. There's nothing critical in it; all the declines are tied to a pause in releases. Capcom certainly has a vast catalog of successful franchises for upcoming releases. Resident Evil (RE) stands out distinctly. While Capcom didn't start with RE, it played a crucial role in their history and has had a significant impact on the gaming industry as a whole. Today, RE comprises 32 releases across 33 platforms. These are incredible numbers and a testament to success. Moreover, judging by Metacritic scores, Capcom manages to maintain a high standard of quality. I gathered a timeline of all RE releases on one website (link in the comments). I thoroughly enjoyed watching videos, reading books, reminiscing about my own experiences playing the games, and playing with friends and colleagues. Here are a few interesting facts about RE and Capcom: - Resident Evil 4 was released on 14 platforms. - The first RE took 3 years to develop, instead of the usual 3-6 months for Capcom in 1996. Consultants hired from the U.S. advised shutting down the project when it was almost complete, predicting its failure. - Devil May Cry and Dino Crisis were born while searching for fresh gameplay for RE. - Capcom was one of the first companies to start paying revenue shares to developers, which is particularly noteworthy for Japanese companies. - Toy Story I and RE I were released around the same time. - For a while, music for RE was composed by a well-known Japanese composer who was said to be deaf. It later turned out that he wasn't actually deaf and didn't compose the music himself. PS. In 2026, the series will celebrate its 30th anniversary, and there will likely be a special release or edition. Or perhaps they'll simply release a version with full DualSense support.

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WBD has a$30.68b market cap. Studios & DTC revenue is 55% of total. That implies a ~$17b valuation for the Studios & DTC business. Comcast can buy that, but so can many others.

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Mere days after I wrote about how "prediction and betting markets incentivize corruption, cheating and fraud. As such they are inherently parasitical" and how the industry fails to recognize the substantial, associated badwill risks, we get this:

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Roblox will give 𝟐𝟓% 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐮𝐱 for non-mobile purchases — that'll tip the scales from app store (Google, Apple) to retailer (Walmart, Target, Amazon), and put more money in the hands of players & creators: The 30% transaction fee on mobile platforms, often called the 'app store tax,' has long been protested by developers. At times, this can mean a legal fight, as with Epic Games v. Apple in 2020. But lawyers need not be involved. After all, the 'tax' only applies to purchases made through mobile systems — find ways for spend to come through other avenues, and you're golden. Hence why so many games with virtual currencies have been encouraging players to purchase gift cards online or at retail stores... a plan Roblox is now doubling down on. 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬: 1️⃣ A win for retailers... ...and, not just for extra purchases. Sure, they'll get some margin on gift card sales, but, more importantly, this will drive major foot traffic to their stores & websites, causing tons of extra purchases (who ever just buys 1 item?) It's for this reason that retailers are the more agreeable partner — the value they gain lies beyond the gift card's price. Where app stores must take from a set pie, retailers can grow it and take from the difference. That's a winning formula. 2️⃣ Most of Roblox Traffic is Mobile While this is a major change, do remember, it will largely apply to a minority. Last we heard, 78% of sessions occur on phones, meaning even with incentive to pay otherwise, many will still purchase through them. Will +25% affect some? Sure. But given so much spending is mid session, it's a habit that needs to be built — and that's why deals which give exclusive items with gift cards, like the recent Walmart x Paramount Spongebob one, will be huge in causing the shift. Because 'more' & 'better' can be trumped by convenience. Exclusivity can't. 3️⃣ The Roblox Tax Cuts If you think about it, that's what's happening: the government (platform) is leaving more disposable income for citizens (players), which they hope will be spent on small businesses (creators). I except to see the normal accelerated growth we do IRL, but am curious how far the resemblance could go — eg, do creators start raising prices? In either case, we've seen as developer pay-outs go up (now $800+ million the last 12 months) the quality of work rises with it... So if there's any incredible projects in the next few months: we'll know why.

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"Kenn's the guy you bring in to un#%$& the craziest $%#&." This was the referral message that got me my interview at Crunchyroll back in 2015. It wasn't just a referral - it was a championing of me that I'll never forget (thanks, Jeff Pineda - I still owe you for that). We spent a lot of time today in the Game Industry Coffee Chat discussing the value of referrals. It's a common subject as we push the idea that it's by far the most effective way to get into the game industry, with vets sharing story after story of how we got in based on who we knew (and who they knew). Whenever I see stories of folks who sent out some X-hundred resumes over the course of a few months without any response, I find myself wondering what else they're doing besides just clicking on application-after-application, uploading the same generic resume. I think of my own job hunt in 2023 and look at the spreadsheet I used to track those applications and realize that my experience was seeing more than 30% callback rates. The difference of course isn't that I have a super amazing resume format or that I just have experience that's THAT much better - some of the folks having the most trouble are in many ways even more experienced than I am, having worked on bigger games or more titles. No, the difference to me looking through this spreadsheet from back then is obvious to me - I had internal direct referrals for me on more than 80% of the jobs I applied to back then. In fact, the actual role I ended up landing here at Daybreak wasn't even one I applied for - it was a direct ask to the recruiter from the EP on the team at the time (hi James!). Years earlier, James and I had spoken about potentially having me come to work with him at Microsoft and while that didn't end up materializing, we'd maintained our connection since. In fact, even while the market was melting down and I was dealing with personal tragedies in my life at that time, once you accounted for the time I took out due to those issues, I realized that my experience in the job hunt wasn't actually all THAT different from other years. More competitive, slightly longer search - but that could have just as easily been accounted for due to the level of position I was looking for compared against earlier years. It's referrals that made the difference for me. But not all referrals are the same. Knowing someone who is willing to go above for you is FAR better than just someone willing to pass your name along or give you a referring link. Find your champions. Be a champion for others. #GameIndustry #Referrals #WorkSmarterNotHarder #TodayYouTomorrowMe

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A fresh batch of recruitment news here

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Dear Stretch Network Partners, Please allow me to inform you about additional changes that will take place in the global network on July 8. 🍀 All Heads-up tables will be removed 🍀 Badugi cash tables will be removed 🍀 Sonic cash tables will become 6-max 🍀 The minimum buy-in for Sonic Omaha cash tables will be 20 BB 🍀 Sonic Omaha 7 card cash tables will be added These changes apply only to cash tables and only to our Global Network. In your local networks, you decide your product strategy, but we would be happy to assist you in managing your local networks as well. If you need our help, please contact us. The above-mentioned changes are part of the new strategy for the Stretch Network Global Network, which prioritizes the comfort of novice players and casual traffic to maintain the proper balance of our ecosystem between amateurs and professionals. Caring for the ecosystem of the Global Network is our priority. The changes we are implementing now and will continue to implement will significantly improve the user experience for your players, extend their LTV, ARPU, and, of course, Revenue.

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The open source AI community is full of people building all sorts of things, and sharing them with the world. I'm one of those people, though my personal contributions are miniscule in the big picture. Most recently though, I had the idea to merge a version of two of my all-time favorite fine tuned versions of the Mistral AI 7B language model: the Dolphin version and the OpenHermes 2.5 version. Without getting too technical, you can basically create "new" AI models by blending the weights of other, previously fine tuned models. There are a few other details involved, but basically that is how merged models are made. By blending them "just right", you can get a bit of the best of both versions. You could also get the worst, so this can involve some trial and error, also known as time and patience. That's what I did, and when I ran it through a benchmark tool, it spanked any previous models I've built based on that same Mistral model. So, of course I have to share it here as well. I call it "Rudolph Finn Hermes", or RuDolph-Hermes-7B, and it's free to download and mess around with via Hugging Face. Get it here: https://lnkd.in/g_ptG4zg

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ACTION SHOT: Iconic Arts Chief Technology Officer Omar Abdelwahed breaking down to our investors how our proprietary AI World Builder works. "Think of what Wix or Squarespace did to empower anyone wanting to make websites without knowing how to code. Our tool enables creators to materialize worlds for UGC platforms such as Fortnite, Roblox or any multiplayer native environment, as if they were painting." What once took a dev team minimum 3 months, now takes anyone 3 days - all while remaining control of art direction. It's been a complete game-changer for us to market test our IP within multiple types of game formats, content strategies and merchandising plays on these UGC platforms while simultaneously building a participating community and fan-base. But this only works if the cost is ultra low and the speed is ultra high. Traditionally, market testing and validation for original IP happens after hundreds of thousands / millions are already spent to get something made that is good enough to test. But by then, it's usually too late when studios realize it's not going to work and all that money goes down the drain. We see this all the time with games, films and shows getting shelved or even worst, entering "development hell". And then we wonder why they say the "entertainment industry is broken". This is why. The economics simply do not make sense for a sustainable and scalable model. For this reason, we took a "Silicon Valley approach" when building Iconic Arts as the premier next-gen entertainment company that doesn't just embrace and leverage new technology, we build the very tools that solve the problems of a broken industry. I love our team and honored to be building very powerful tools that I know will also empower creators and storytellers around the world. Benjamin Grubbs Shane Kokkines Motoki Tani Alec Griffen Roth Matthew Medney Mo Yazdani Rob Carroll

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Mixed reality glasses are the future of computing. We're gonna have the PC at home, the phone in the pocket and the MR glasses on our nose. I mean, think about it, 60-70% of the things you do on your phone can be EASILY done on glasses (changing volume, checking notifications, messages, replying and so on). And this is, basically, the thesis that we had when we raised money for MixRift. The article linked below is the confirmation of the thesis by Meta. It might not work, I agree. But at this moment, I'm more bullish then ever on the future of Mixed Reality. #mixedreality #mr #metaorion #meta https://lnkd.in/dAtDA-qj

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Keep an eye on Rembrand, a digital platform using AI to add virtual product placement into videos. They just raised $23 million from savvy investors like Tom Chavez and others. The concept is relatively simple and has been around for a while, but the company is definitely getting some traction. Rembrand began with YouTube and expanded to LinkedIn, TikTok and Instagram. They’ve also worked with about 20 brands including those under PepsiCo, L'Oréal, and Amazon. The company is led by CEO Omar Tawakol, who has great startup experience. He sold data management platform BlueKai to Oracle in 2014 and voice collaboration platform Voicea to Cisco in 2019. It’s another intriguing use of AI and video, and it gives advertisers another weapon in their arsenal as they monetize content. What other uses of AI advertising have you seen that impresses you?

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