Jacob Navok @JNavok

In the United States the games media has been hollowed out by the change in revenue models and users. YouTubers making news and outrage videos get huge dollars and clicks so text-based journalism is on the decline. This leads to situations where you need to get an enthusiast base. This enthusiast base tends to have political leanings the same as the reporters. This is how you get a few websites that are left-leaning websites like Kotaku and Aftermath, now Eurogamer and PC Gamer as well. Right-leaning games journalism exists too but tends to be YouTube and Twitter rather than independent websites and is much more culture war oriented. The politically active game websites websites mix their views with their articles, and the US left's political view is that AI is bad. This is related to various US union views (these unions aren't as powerful in Japan as they are in the United States- writers, actors and artist unions) that are all fearful of AI replacing jobs, which indeed will happen. But the most technical people I know, like Carmack, are pro-AI. x.com/ID_AA_Carmack/… I would trust in them. Anyway, the is how you get to the current state of anti-AI discourse in some games journalism in English.

John Carmack @ID_AA_Carmack

2 days ago

@notch If you are asking “Why push back against anti-datacenter efforts?” I consider it a tragedy that anti-nuclear efforts largely strangled nuclear power in the US based on vibes, and I don’t want to see that happen to AI. Public opinion matters, and it shouldn’t be ceded

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@OKtamajun @synaesthesiajp I think the US media's stance on opposing AI is dumb.

This is awesome.

RoUtility @RoUtilityNews

9 hours ago

Roblox now lets developers use big IPs in their games for a limited time Creators can apply for licenses like Stranger Things, Squid Game, Saw, Twilight, and more for events lasting 3 days to 3 months. Just make sure the IP is removed once the license ends. Read more:

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@synaesthesiajp @pushsquare They are right to do so, but a few tiny stores don't matter

@DeekeTweak @ballmatthew Indeed!

I remember when @ballmatthew got endless grief for calling GTA6 at $80

A dad and his 15-year-old daughter built a full working Roblox game in 7 days. >Every single line of code was written by AI. >A lot of the assets too. She wanted to play as the villain and build her own dungeon. They shipped it start to finish in one week. A 15 year old with zero coding experience can now ship a playable game in 7 days. This is amazing. How many more games like this do you think we’re going to see on Roblox in the next 12 months?

If you are asking “Why push back against anti-datacenter efforts?” I consider it a tragedy that anti-nuclear efforts largely strangled nuclear power in the US based on vibes, and I don’t want to see that happen to AI. Public opinion matters, and it shouldn’t be ceded unchallenged. If you are asking “Why should I support AI efforts at all?” I believe we are in the midst of a transition more vibrant than the industrial revolution. Opinions formed a couple of years ago about the uselessness of AI are no longer valid. Millions of people and organizations are getting great returns from using it, and the demand for data centers is the market responding to the value signal. That is how progress is made!

Given that both Capcom and Konami have been better investments over time this seems to be a specific problem. Additionally, while I agree that gaming is currently challenged, moving the company into being closer to Disney in terms of diversified IP offerings is the right strategy for that take as well.

A 5-point Plan for Re-Rating Square Enix This month Square Enix showed a strong upcoming lineup: FF7 Revelation, Kingdom Hearts 4, Final Fantasy Resonance, and The Adventures of Elliott. The games look good. Square Enix is doing things, finally. But the stock has not meaningfully moved. This is because the problems go beyond the ways Square Enix has mis-executed or missed opportunities. Instead, to regain ground, Square Enix needs a way to become a much bigger, more relevant, and diversified IP company As context, I reported to two CEOs of Square Enix for the better part of a decade. I have no confidential information on current Square Enix management plans. I do not own shares in the company. But if shareholders want Square Enix to re-rate, I believe the company needs a concrete value creation plan. Here is mine: 1. Solve the aging-audience problem 2. Radically revamp internal creative structure 3. Build owned customer and marketing systems 4. License IP and data into AI world-model platforms 5. Sell Taito and redeploy capital Let’s begin with background. Square Enix guidance implies essentially no revenue growth and lower operating profit despite a strong announced pipeline.

@Nedenroth @JezCorden Nonsense

I've also posted this in an easy to read format here: open.substack.com/pub/jacobnavok…

Jacob Navok @JNavok

2 days ago

A 5-point Plan for Re-Rating Square Enix This month Square Enix showed a strong upcoming lineup: FF7 Revelation, Kingdom Hearts 4, Final Fantasy Resonance, and The Adventures of Elliott. The games look good. Square Enix is doing things, finally. But the stock has not

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Next Steps There is a general shareholders meeting on June 26th. What should happen in the next 100 days? I would push for a value creation plan: 1. Launch a strategic review of Taito 2. Review all Digital Entertainment projects against ROIC and audience-growth criteria 3. Create a Global IP Growth Office reporting directly to the CEO 4. Appoint accountable executives for PC, mobile, UGC, community, media, and AI licensing 5. Begin structured partnership talks with Roblox, Epic, Netflix/HBO/Disney, and major AI labs 6. Establish internal greenlight hurdle rates and post-launch performance reviews 7. Open a younger-creator Final Fantasy pitch process 8. Build a global CRM/CDP roadmap around Square Enix ID 9. Commit to quarterly progress disclosure This is how Square Enix becomes investable again. The stock will not grow simply because the next games look good; the market already expects good games. The stock grows when investors believe Square Enix can grow new audiences, create recurring IP revenue, and allocate capital better than it has in the past. Square Enix has extraordinary assets: -Final Fantasy -Dragon Quest -Kingdom Hearts -NieR -Chrono Trigger -SaGa -Secret of Mana -Octopath Traveler -Music, art, characters, monsters, jobs, worlds, and stories that have shaped global gaming for decades But nostalgia is not a growth strategy, despite the fiscal year strategy document being chock full of remakes and remasters. The company needs to turn those assets into a younger, global, cross-platform audience. There is still time. But not much. Square Enix can either become one of the great global IP companies of the next era, or it can continue managing decline around an aging base of fans. The difference will be strategy, speed, and operating discipline.

5. Sell Taito and redeploy capital Taito still has value. Square Enix’s Amusement segment remains profitable. The question is whether Square Enix is the best owner of Taito. I do not believe it is. 3D Investment Partners has argued that since the Taito acquisition, revenue has declined, operating margins lag more focused arcade competitors, and synergies with the core Square Enix business are limited. I agree with the basic point. When Square Enix acquired Taito in 2005, the rationale included regular cash flow and using Taito as a testbed for new game experiments. That made sense in that era. But the world has changed. Square Enix no longer needs an arcade operator to provide strategic cash stability. And Taito has not been the core experimental engine for Square Enix’s future. The company should run a strategic review and pursue a sale, spin-off, or other separation. Use the proceeds to fund the pillars: -Global media co-financing -Customer data infrastructure -PC/community/marketing systems -UGC and AI licensing teams -Creator-led internal development This is basic capital allocation; sell a non-core asset and redeploy into IP growth. Measure the return. That is the kind of decision shareholders should demand.