@@jcace13 Have ONE PERSON question it. Have no one else notice it. You get the right actors and it just adds another layer to it all and manages to be that little bit of humor that offsets everything.
I've worked in restaurants all my life, and every single time a great restaurant or restaurant group was sold to investors, and became corporate, that restaurant would go downhill. Every time, without fail. Company gets flipped, investors have the final say, everything goes to shit. No different with games.
If the workers had their share of control over the company they're working in, flipping wouldn't be as commonplace, since the higher-ups would need to try and convince their workforce to approve it, or else be torn to shreds when the workforce grows sharp claws and pointed teeth in response to treachery.
It's the difference between people who make money by trying to draw in customers with a decent product at a decent price and people who make money by buying the people who did that. The two require vastly different skillsets and ways of doing business. Doesn't mean that something bought out has to get worse. But it will.
@@GmodPlusWoWMost people don’t want that level of responsibility on top of their existing role. Plus, you get the problem of having too many cooks where decisions take way longer to choose or implement. Whether they’re actually in board meetings or just selecting a multiple choice option. It’s also foolish to think people would make well-informed decisions and do research into what works/is best, and not just go with whatever random feeling they have at that time. They’re not getting paid for it, that’s someone else’s job to worry about.
@@mrshmuga9 I mean horizantal structures and related programs are a thing in several companies and work just fine. Doesn't affect decision making since shareholders frankly ain't part of the function side for the most part. Similar deal for responsibilities. It's mostly not a thing because of some historical social movements getting us a shareholder value model of business even if it doesn't work for the most part
This feels like the drunk episode of Cold Take, where Frost just gave into the depressing state of the industry, downed a bottle of jack, put on a sombrero and started recording. And then yelled at Nick to publish it like that because it was good as is. And I am thankful he did
The ruin of every industry is the moment business bros with no knowledge of or passion for the industry jump in and start treating it as a commodity to buy low and sell high. They shit all over everyone who built anything and take all the money out. Then they move on to another venture and leave rubble in their wake.
*We should replace executives with AI!* "Ha! An AI, replacing us? Preposterous! A computer program could never replicate the vital role we bring to the company." *What do you mean? It's already overhyped and makes bad decisions. it just needs a three piece suit and tie.*
AI poses no threat to middle managers and above. Not because it lacks the capacity to replace them, but because the tools that render those positions redundant have existed since the late 90s.
The C-Suite is already using AI and the almighty algorithm to drive their "decisions". Might as well cut out the middle men and put the AI in charge, and see no difference in company leadership. Except for the sharp declines in both expenses and sexual harassments.
In reality, they are well aware that they are actually some of the biggest candidates for replacement. They're currently in the 'market themselves and make the idea seem preposterous' phase, but this is not just random people talking, this is across the economy influential voices in glass towers talking.
@@SimuLord And if you're careful and patient you can get them at a great price. There's always sales happening (unless you're Nintendo) and you can snatch titles for 50, 60, 80% off. I just got the $150 edition of AC:Valhalla for $20 because I've always enjoyed spending time in AC games, and the price point worked for me.
"Say it ain't so Lars. People won't buy stuff if you have nothing worth selling? If it could happen to you it could happen to me!" Ice cold delivery. Perfection.
I wonder if it would be that difficult for a billionaire to set up as an experiment... All you'd need is $1 million and a Barney for an AI to make buy and sell orders.
Funny story about taht. Saw an article about a middle manager that tried to pitch AI to the CEo to replace lower level employees. This same middle manager was apparntly know for exploiting workers. CEO looked over his proposal and agreed ... to replace HIM with AI because you still want the decision making of a human when actually writing code. But middle mannagement routine work is easily replacable by AI.
Anyone else never get tired of seeing CEOs who made their bones flipping physical products run straight into a brick wall when they enter the world of Intellectual Property? You can't corner the market on products that cost millions to make but can be copied an infinite number of times for pennies per unit. The Doyle estate made money for generations doing their best to lock Sherlock Holmes in a vault but they couldn't do a thing about the Expys, The parodies, the "homages" and every other legitimate way to file off the serial numbers.
Aspyr has *NEVER* made their own game before, all theyve done up to now is port other peoples work to new platforms. Not a single original idea has ever come out of their offices. It was very much a case of production Hell behind the scenes, with them basically having to start over from scratch at one point. Sure, we can blame CEOs and execs sitting around doing nothing, and we'd be right to do that. But they were absolutely not a studio that shouldve handled this project
@@Kaarl_Mills Aspyr has more experience working with kotor than anyone. They took the opportunity to scale up the studio so it was equipped for the project. There were plenty of industry veterans on the project, and by all accounts it was going well. It was Embracers sudden overcorrection to sonys feedback that seems to have caused the hell the game fell into. Handing it to an unknown saber team with no communication with Aspyr. People have been hating on the remake since it was announced but if you find actual reputable info a clear picture isn't hard to find.
@@Kaarl_Mills "Sure, we can blame CEOs and execs sitting around doing nothing" well yeah, it's not like it was the janitor that allowed Aspyr to work on the project.
If anything it would be more compassionate and humane than current CEOs, at the very least they wouldn't be able to be in a sexual harrassment lawsuit...
AI (as in a trained learning model for the task, not just ChatGPT) does what's most efficient, so we'd finally get 4 day work weeks. It's proven to make people far more profitable, I don't know of a business that didn't improve after implementing it...but people fight back MUCH more often against abuses of power when they have the time and sleep to. So companies avoid it since it would cut into thier power trip, the only thing more important than money to them. Since the money's just for the power trip anyway after a certain point.
One thing not mentioned is that Embracer doesn't just own video game companies, they also own Asmodee, one of the largest board game publishers. And part of their restructuring has been to saddle Asmodee with a ton of debt that can never be paid off. So expect a major crash in the board game market soon.
Nailed it. I think of all my managers & CEOs over the years with massive salaries constantly “cutting costs” by laying off the worker bees… and how each and every one of them could be easily replaced by an AI. The AI would just need to give pretty speeches now and then on “synergy” and quarterly earnings. Done. Think of the savings!
I too once recorded an analysis of a large company in moody black and white while wearing a sombrero. Though I was very drunk and not nearly as articulate.
I can still remeber how a lot of people were appluading them for "saving beleaguered studios and IPs" when it was pretty obvious from the beginning that at some point someone would ask for ROI.
Add Lars to the infamously disgusting club of all the Tim Sweeneys or Sarah Bonds of the gaming industry who don't care about their employees, games, consumer satifaction, they care about 'securing funding to the metaverse" , they care about " the xbox brand" they care about investors and shareholders, and any other thing that isn't gaming related. Would be nice to know how big Lars', Sweeney's and Bond's, Spencer's, etc bonuses were last year
Just recently, Embracer split their game studios into three separate companies: Coffee Stain & Friends which has Goat Simulator and similar value-focused IPs, Middle Earth Enterprises & Friends for the high-profile IPs like Tomb Raider and LOTR, and Asmodee Group which has their board game IPs like Catan and Ticket to Ride. The two video game companies dumped a refinanced debt onto Asmodee to the tune of 900 million euros. Asmodee is probably the most well-positioned to handle the debt, as they do 1.2 billion in sales yearly, but I fear for what it's going to mean for the very small teams that make games like X-Wing: The Miniatures Game or Marvel Champions. Meanwhile, these two "new" video game companies are now poised to be flipped, unshackled by debt, more focused in their holdings, and with product ready to roll out soon.
This is one of the things I actually enjoy about working and running conventions where I am. The "investors" are the attendees and the artists/vendors that want to sell their stuff. No shareholders, no big investment groups... if we satisfy the investors, we grow AND the fans are happy.
I miss the elementary school concept of capitalism, where you made a good product and people bought it. Not creatively empty executive-types buying and selling companies to trick and cajole as much money out of the system as possible, then pouring gas on everything and running as soon as their schemes fail, destroying the creator's lives and the things they created as they run.
Your opening expresses the struggle many of us have. Trapped between the the social obligation of being an ethical consumer and the struggle of staying emotionally afloat in the modern world.
Complete with a name that sounds like it was a final-round cut of name ideas for a creepy cult. *"Come, let the love of our all-powerful lord fill you. Let it complete you. Let it... EMBRACE... you...."*
@@christophergarcia9022 Oh is that what this is all about? Throw in some syncing issues and an outtake to show it's really real? Makes it worse to watch lol
"He, like many executives, are the real redundancies. They themselves make nothing of value, cut those who do, and take it out on the customers." The best summation of the slow motion disaster happening in most aspects of our economy.
I'm honestly surprised nobody ever thought of a CEO AI before. It'd make so much sense: cut the highest costs for a company to zero while getting some basic min-max calculations and executions.
It's been a minor trope in sci-fi for a while (I recall the game Shenzhen I/O has you do a couple jobs for a "Decentralized Autonomous Corporation" that is fully AI-run), and we do already have AIs that do stock trading... So yeah, why not?
Savvy Games basically pulled the old "Put a dollar on a fishing line and reel it in when guy leans to pick it up" Gag and Embracer fell hook line and sinker
"What if we had tipping?" I dunno, what if you paid your employees a fair, livable wage and didn't juice them like grapes for wine with your production schedule so they stayed fruitful and productive! You''d think a multi-billion dollar industry could figure out how to hire some functional project managers to manage their game creation projects.
Coming from non-gaming IT corp, I can assure you they really don't know how to lead, let alone put the right people into key positions and enabling them to create a both healthier *and* more productive environment. If you're wondering why: So do I.
Genuine question: If a group like Embracer wants to buy your company, do you have a say in the matter? As in, can you say no or is it easier just to say yes? It's just, I've seen a lot of good companies, not just gaming ones, be swallowed up by the big corporations, only to be lost to time, sometimes within a few short years of being picked up. And it's not like the big corpos have only just started doing this. You don't have to search for long to find these horror stories. Is it really just about the money? If I start a gaming company, become successful and Embracer/EA/Warner Bros come knocking at my door, am I allowed to say, "No thanks?" even if they try to shove a suitcase of money into my hands? Edit: Whoa, I didn't expect so many detailed replies. Thanks for taking the time to educate me.
As long as there are no protections for small companies to avoid being bullied out of the market by the ability of their larger competitors by means of price, leverage, or coverage, you can say no, but they'll just slowly kill you until you say yes for a fraction of the asking price.
Pretty sure. I mean, its them saying 'they sold so and so' (like minecraft, Notch sold Mojang and therefore minecraft) So long as you're not publicly traded and you retain shares to maintain holding the company you can't really be 'forced' to part with your assets barring debt. Its just these massive companies have so much money that they can continually increasing the price til what they offer you is actually stupid to not take. Also, by selling, you immediately and cleanly drop all responsibility related to your company or product within a week. It comes down to a question of value. Do you value your company, your product more than you value the ability to live however you might want for the rest of your life?
That depends on the ownership of your company and the laws of the country you're in. But in most cases, if you as a person own the company, you can say no. If the company is publicly traded, the shareholders get to say yes or no. If enough of them say yes the remaining shareholders have to live with the decision, which is how hostile takeovers work when the buyer gets enough shares over time to force the decision. . In practice, if you own a mid sized developer and someone offers you tens or hundreds of millions in cash for it, you aren't going to say no. It's VERY hard to argue with a lifetime's worth of financial security. Doubly so if you've hit your 50s or 60s and your health is starting to fail you, or maybe your wife's health is failing, or you're about to become a grand parent, or your parents need carers. It's easy to think you'll say no when you're 20-something and nobody depends on you, it's much harder later on.
Nobody can compel you to sell anything... typically. Selling your game studio to a large publisher or holding company is attractive up front. They'll foot the bill for marketing and a lot of the non game development stuff. You'll get a big chunk of change up front which you can either pocket or use to develop your next game. You can negotiate some benefits for you and/or your employees. Lots of reasons that you might want to do this. There are coercive tactics which can be used to pressure a studio into selling. One could argue, based on what we've seen, that even the supposed benefits of selling to a large publisher are actually coercive as the promise rarely lives up to the reality. Ya know, join the army, be all you can be, never mind the PTSD and the recruitment centers being set up predominately in poor neighborhoods. Manipulation comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes. But generally, like 99% of the time, studios are looking to sell when they get bought. Always keep in mind that small studios are started by developers. They want to build games. They generally don't want their full time job to become managing a business. When it inevitably does if the studio grows, they start looking for an out. Sometimes they step aside early and put a business person in charge. That can be disastrous too. But it's not worth getting into the whys and wherefores. Just think, there are a million ways that a business can go wrong and only a few where they can go right.
Typically yes you can just say no. If you're a little indie studio you'll probably have suits come over every now and then trying to strong arm you, but you can still say no. Chances are you'll say yes though, take the cash, and then eventually leave and start or join another studio. I've seen numerous devs do this. It's why old studios that start pumping out garbage have things like, "studio in name only, all the good devs left long ago" said about them.
This is why I'm dead serious about wanting to help fund a Second Wind publishing group. Sure it would need to start very small, but demonstrating that the model is viable will hopefully inspire others, similar to how the success of indie studios helped to inspire other indie studios. There are some other publishers in the indie scene doing similar things already but the more the merrier. Strength in numbers and all that. In our capitalist system people are not treated as people. Work and creations are not rewarded or valued. The only way I can think of to fight against this, since capitalism isn't going anywhere, is to build a company with the deliberate intent not to sell once someone with a big check comes knocking. The casuals will keep buying Madden or CoD every year dutifully but at least there can be a haven for developers who want to be treated as humans and buyers who don't want to support Bobby Kotick buying another yacht while threatening to murder his secretary.
For real, AI is perfect for generating a lot of strings of words that look good at first but are ultimately meaningless when you look closer. If that isn't what a CEO does, i don't know what is
I was a developer in Mad Head Games, under Saber, when Embracer purchased Koch and everything else. We were so happy when this happened - seemed like a bright future is ahead. Luckly Saber kept all the studios under them when they bought off their autonomy.... But people like this guy deserve the worst, destroying peoples lives in huge, morally bankrupt, swathes
This is the first video of yours I have ever watched. I turned it on, and stumbled into the kitchen, high as absolute shit, to make a PB&J Taco. Words cannot describe my delight upon coming back and seeing you in that hat.
Embracer always has me worried about what it will do with Coffee Stain. It's such a good studio and Embracer could just decide "fuck it" and ditch it any time
The financialization of everything is truly to blame for the soar states of the industry and the economy as a whole. All these MBA CEO only thinks about how much profit they can milk out of a business asset and IP. They have no idea how to make new asset and IP - only how to acquire them and sell them.
Try Guys are attempting to shift their business model to a "streaming service," a la Dropout. I watched a video they put out about the launch, and they mentioned that after the drama of the ex-guy they stopped obsessing over feeding the algo. They loved it, fans loved it, but engagement and revenue tanked because they weren't following the obligatory YT formula. Instead of dumping employees, they took pay cuts. Now, while it's to be seen how 2nd Try does, they seem to be getting right along again. It's not fucking hard, and while I'm sure these aren't THEIR numbers, but it is for most executives of these companies purging jobs left and right- If you pay yourself 10m, you can probably get by on 5m for one or two fucking years to keep your people around.
"Shareholder value" at the expense of the actual company has been the death of... well... everything. If anyone wants a deep dive on the start of that trend, check out the Jack Welch episodes of Behind the Bastards.
I have to say watching you talk is both more interesting and easier to edit than the typical stock-footage keyword matching. I love the new direction of Cold Take. Well played.
Christ Frost, why the hell do you have such an amazing voice? And the punchline is one of my favourite topics: Automating away the directors, bosses, and anyone in the C-suite. Thanks for another great video.
I enjoyed the video because I could listen to Frost read a grocery shopping list and still be entertained. Having said that, I have questions about the sombrero.
This is my favourite of your videos so far. The usual acerbic eloquence combined with specific hard facts on a topic I didnt know about - a killer combo, in my opinion. Actually seeing you speak is a big improvement, too, rather than just loosely-related gameplay footage. I really enjoyed this one. Thank you!
I love mondays, first the Jimquisition and then Cold Take, and all with the same moral: Greed is a choice, and developers/customers are the ones paying the price.
@@matthewbrown3981 My thoughts exactly. Jim became a bit too unhinged for my liking quite some time ago. I actually forgot the channel existed until now. Just checked the channel's social blade and it's been bleeding subscribers left and right for a long while.
Why the Jimquisition? Sterling's always so late with anything resembling news, that they're usually a week behind. People on desert islands who communicate with notes in bottles are more up to date.
While today's video covered a similar theme to this one about Corpo greed, their negative fixation on Multiverses two weeks ago came across as petty and stank of boomer "kids these days liking what I don't like" energy. Not to mention that obsession soild last week's trashing of the Silent Hill 2 remake.
"trying to find the energy to fold the laundry instead of relocating it to the bed, the basket, then back to the bed again." Jeez you didn't have to hurt me like that.
Embracer group is just the latest EA. They are not game developers they are a stock company. They buy a studio with a decent IP; milk the last good product so they recoup their costs and then kill the company that made it. Their core business is not the creation of games - its buying a company that is going to launch a game with some form of potential; reek in the profits and then gut the company. Embracer could have just chosen to do the same in movie corporations, newspapers of fast-food brands. It should be prohibited; but its not so here we are. Eventually the IP's of these games will slowly trickle back into the market...in a year of ten. EA is currently searching to be bought by something like Microsoft. EA used to be like Embracer - buy up game creators and milk their products or let em rot in their IP vault. Now they are begging to be bought since they are slowly dying. Embracer is doing the same but they are failing faster. Creating games is a balance between making a good product that will sell and understanding how much your target group is willing to spend. Embracer fails in both of these - They have zero knowledge of game development and since they want to spend as little and earn as much as possible they create poor products that do not sell. Its no surprise at all the embracer groups is about the witness the extinction part of the circle.
The sombrero, I imagine, was a time saver with the various streams this weekend and all. But I like the touch it adds honestly. Adds to the humorous lines.
Hey Frost and second wind team, amazing video as always. Just wanted to say the regular formula is so much better. I absolutely enjoyed every single clip or design aesthetic that went into these videos before. Made it feel well thought out with a lot of effort and the Noire vibe was on point. UA-cam grows tiresome with people who just set and talk despite how perfect the writing and voice over is. Thank you again for this.
With the audio syncing and the takes that had to be redone midsentence, I wonder if this was accidentally released before the final edit was done cooking
I think this is symptomatic of a wider problem: That investments must prioritise the goals of their investors over their own goals, approaches, and consumers.
damn those yaoguai all have tig ol biddies. uhh anyways...gotta say i'm really thankful to the formation of Second Wind for introducing me to cold take. this shit is so consistently brilliant, and i absolutely love it.
Ive been watching Frost’s videos for almost 2 years now so I knew what to expect. Still, this one caught me off guard by some of the sharpest, polished and to the point critique of corporate practices not only in gaming but general. I rarely comment and I dont say this lightly but this is truly impressive stuff.
This is what film noir has been missing: sombreros.
And that mustache.
I’d gladly watch a full noir movie where the detective wears a sombrero and nobody ever questions it.
@@jcace13 Have ONE PERSON question it. Have no one else notice it. You get the right actors and it just adds another layer to it all and manages to be that little bit of humor that offsets everything.
This is something straight from the Police Squad Files/Naked Gun films
Technically, sombrero is "hat" in Spanish, and there was always hats
I've worked in restaurants all my life, and every single time a great restaurant or restaurant group was sold to investors, and became corporate, that restaurant would go downhill.
Every time, without fail. Company gets flipped, investors have the final say, everything goes to shit.
No different with games.
If the workers had their share of control over the company they're working in, flipping wouldn't be as commonplace, since the higher-ups would need to try and convince their workforce to approve it, or else be torn to shreds when the workforce grows sharp claws and pointed teeth in response to treachery.
It's the difference between people who make money by trying to draw in customers with a decent product at a decent price and people who make money by buying the people who did that. The two require vastly different skillsets and ways of doing business. Doesn't mean that something bought out has to get worse. But it will.
@@GmodPlusWoWMost people don’t want that level of responsibility on top of their existing role. Plus, you get the problem of having too many cooks where decisions take way longer to choose or implement. Whether they’re actually in board meetings or just selecting a multiple choice option. It’s also foolish to think people would make well-informed decisions and do research into what works/is best, and not just go with whatever random feeling they have at that time. They’re not getting paid for it, that’s someone else’s job to worry about.
@@mrshmuga9 not like there isn't obviously extra capital in the system to pay them for it, but its also not like that would fully work anyways.
@@mrshmuga9 I mean horizantal structures and related programs are a thing in several companies and work just fine. Doesn't affect decision making since shareholders frankly ain't part of the function side for the most part. Similar deal for responsibilities. It's mostly not a thing because of some historical social movements getting us a shareholder value model of business even if it doesn't work for the most part
This feels like the drunk episode of Cold Take, where Frost just gave into the depressing state of the industry, downed a bottle of jack, put on a sombrero and started recording. And then yelled at Nick to publish it like that because it was good as is. And I am thankful he did
The ruin of every industry is the moment business bros with no knowledge of or passion for the industry jump in and start treating it as a commodity to buy low and sell high. They shit all over everyone who built anything and take all the money out. Then they move on to another venture and leave rubble in their wake.
they're capitalist locusts basically
Gotta get that green, the molla, the dosh. 10 dollars today is better than 20 tomorrow, cuz you still might get that 20 the next day anyway.
Quite literally the cancer cells of our society
vulture capitalism
everything gets reduced to yet another investment scheme
*We should replace executives with AI!*
"Ha! An AI, replacing us? Preposterous! A computer program could never replicate the vital role we bring to the company."
*What do you mean? It's already overhyped and makes bad decisions. it just needs a three piece suit and tie.*
AIs don't understand the gaming business and have no humanity to speak of. They are over qualified and much cheaper than human ones.
AI poses no threat to middle managers and above.
Not because it lacks the capacity to replace them, but because the tools that render those positions redundant have existed since the late 90s.
"I mean my rolodex, and tech bro connections. With that who needs to know how to run a business?"
The C-Suite is already using AI and the almighty algorithm to drive their "decisions". Might as well cut out the middle men and put the AI in charge, and see no difference in company leadership.
Except for the sharp declines in both expenses and sexual harassments.
In reality, they are well aware that they are actually some of the biggest candidates for replacement. They're currently in the 'market themselves and make the idea seem preposterous' phase, but this is not just random people talking, this is across the economy influential voices in glass towers talking.
2024: "Nobody's tried raising game prices!"
2023: $70 continues to be cemented as the new normal price for mainstream games
Still have yet to pay 70$ for a standard edition of game.
Given that the 50$ price in 2000 would be 90$ today just from inflation, that one is a point.
I paid 70 euro for Medal Of Honour: Allied Assault on the PS2 back in 2002
@@SimuLord And if you're careful and patient you can get them at a great price. There's always sales happening (unless you're Nintendo) and you can snatch titles for 50, 60, 80% off. I just got the $150 edition of AC:Valhalla for $20 because I've always enjoyed spending time in AC games, and the price point worked for me.
@@Nowolf given that 50 was largely due to physical, which is by far and large dead, I would say 60 is just fine for them.
"Say it ain't so Lars. People won't buy stuff if you have nothing worth selling? If it could happen to you it could happen to me!"
Ice cold delivery. Perfection.
"It's not like the machine would have to learn too much." That hit the sweet spot.
The voice: detective fedora
The man: Mariachi sombrero
Grim Frostdango.
I have to admit: Frost looks nothing like I imagined... XD
“Relocating it from Bed, to Basket, then back to Bed.”
That touched a little too close to home.😨
It motivated me to fold laundry while I listened to this 😂
Nah, that doesn't affect me at all.
*moves clothes from laundry bag to chair*
You guys have baskets?
"don't you guys have floors?!"
I'll have you know I also use the floor
AI replacing CEOs is the only thing corporate suites would be against when it comes to AI replacing anyone.
No pay AND probably do a better job, least an AI can fake feelings unlike these fricking boulders of people
I wonder if it would be that difficult for a billionaire to set up as an experiment...
All you'd need is $1 million and a Barney for an AI to make buy and sell orders.
Funny story about taht. Saw an article about a middle manager that tried to pitch AI to the CEo to replace lower level employees. This same middle manager was apparntly know for exploiting workers.
CEO looked over his proposal and agreed ... to replace HIM with AI because you still want the decision making of a human when actually writing code. But middle mannagement routine work is easily replacable by AI.
Wouldn't even need to pay the millions in golden parachutes.
Almost as if perfect market efficiency goes out the window when it goes against the management and ownership classes’ interests.
Anyone else never get tired of seeing CEOs who made their bones flipping physical products run straight into a brick wall when they enter the world of Intellectual Property?
You can't corner the market on products that cost millions to make but can be copied an infinite number of times for pennies per unit.
The Doyle estate made money for generations doing their best to lock Sherlock Holmes in a vault but they couldn't do a thing about the Expys, The parodies, the "homages" and every other legitimate way to file off the serial numbers.
Their treatment of the kotor remake and the downfall of aspyr is the most underrated screwup of Embracer
@@Fernando-ek8jp thankfully it's not any longer, they sold it
Smh ill never forgive them for it
Aspyr has *NEVER* made their own game before, all theyve done up to now is port other peoples work to new platforms. Not a single original idea has ever come out of their offices. It was very much a case of production Hell behind the scenes, with them basically having to start over from scratch at one point.
Sure, we can blame CEOs and execs sitting around doing nothing, and we'd be right to do that. But they were absolutely not a studio that shouldve handled this project
@@Kaarl_Mills Aspyr has more experience working with kotor than anyone. They took the opportunity to scale up the studio so it was equipped for the project. There were plenty of industry veterans on the project, and by all accounts it was going well.
It was Embracers sudden overcorrection to sonys feedback that seems to have caused the hell the game fell into. Handing it to an unknown saber team with no communication with Aspyr. People have been hating on the remake since it was announced but if you find actual reputable info a clear picture isn't hard to find.
@@Kaarl_Mills "Sure, we can blame CEOs and execs sitting around doing nothing" well yeah, it's not like it was the janitor that allowed Aspyr to work on the project.
"To a hammer, every problem is a nail. To a middleman, every problem is someone else's problem."
Damn, that's clever.
Honestly an AI CEO couldn't be worse for workers at this point.
Always been said: if AI ever replaces workers, it should be the managerial staff and CEOs, not regular workers.
It can always get worse
If anything it would be more compassionate and humane than current CEOs, at the very least they wouldn't be able to be in a sexual harrassment lawsuit...
AI (as in a trained learning model for the task, not just ChatGPT) does what's most efficient, so we'd finally get 4 day work weeks. It's proven to make people far more profitable, I don't know of a business that didn't improve after implementing it...but people fight back MUCH more often against abuses of power when they have the time and sleep to. So companies avoid it since it would cut into thier power trip, the only thing more important than money to them. Since the money's just for the power trip anyway after a certain point.
Investors would probably want it replaced if it didn't favor their profits over all else.
Is it just me or does the video/audio sync look slightly off?
Was about to comment this.
Yeah, I think I see/hear it too.
It definitely is.
I prefer to think that we're watching the English dub.
It is slightly off
One thing not mentioned is that Embracer doesn't just own video game companies, they also own Asmodee, one of the largest board game publishers. And part of their restructuring has been to saddle Asmodee with a ton of debt that can never be paid off. So expect a major crash in the board game market soon.
Roughly $900million worth of debt isn't it? So a large part of the debt mentioned in the video
Oh, that sucks. Asmodee owns some incredible board game properties.
Nailed it. I think of all my managers & CEOs over the years with massive salaries constantly “cutting costs” by laying off the worker bees… and how each and every one of them could be easily replaced by an AI. The AI would just need to give pretty speeches now and then on “synergy” and quarterly earnings. Done. Think of the savings!
I too once recorded an analysis of a large company in moody black and white while wearing a sombrero. Though I was very drunk and not nearly as articulate.
The irony that they call themselves the "Embracer" group when all they do is buy game studios and IPs and then kill them off.
Constrictor? ...I'm guessing Python & Anaconda have been used by others.
The sweet embrace of a bear hug.
Death's embrace. ☠
It's not called Embracer, Extender, Extinguisher for nothing... D:
I can still remeber how a lot of people were appluading them for "saving beleaguered studios and IPs" when it was pretty obvious from the beginning that at some point someone would ask for ROI.
Add Lars to the infamously disgusting club of all the Tim Sweeneys or Sarah Bonds of the gaming industry who don't care about their employees, games, consumer satifaction, they care about 'securing funding to the metaverse" , they care about " the xbox brand" they care about investors and shareholders, and any other thing that isn't gaming related.
Would be nice to know how big Lars', Sweeney's and Bond's, Spencer's, etc bonuses were last year
I'll bet that there were at least two commas in those bonus checks for each of them.
@@JimTheFly Without a doubt sadly ..
Just recently, Embracer split their game studios into three separate companies: Coffee Stain & Friends which has Goat Simulator and similar value-focused IPs, Middle Earth Enterprises & Friends for the high-profile IPs like Tomb Raider and LOTR, and Asmodee Group which has their board game IPs like Catan and Ticket to Ride. The two video game companies dumped a refinanced debt onto Asmodee to the tune of 900 million euros. Asmodee is probably the most well-positioned to handle the debt, as they do 1.2 billion in sales yearly, but I fear for what it's going to mean for the very small teams that make games like X-Wing: The Miniatures Game or Marvel Champions. Meanwhile, these two "new" video game companies are now poised to be flipped, unshackled by debt, more focused in their holdings, and with product ready to roll out soon.
As a scandinavian, there is nothing worse than people who wanna satisfy their investors. R.I.P Deux Ex...
What a shame. What a rotten way to die.
This is one of the things I actually enjoy about working and running conventions where I am. The "investors" are the attendees and the artists/vendors that want to sell their stuff. No shareholders, no big investment groups... if we satisfy the investors, we grow AND the fans are happy.
We'll just have to wait for Trois Ex.
@@JimTheFly Nothing wrong with investment if it is personal.
I feel like Cold Take is becoming more and more about trashing Evil Game Companies.
Mind you, I'm not complaining.
Evil Game Companies are a nearly endless source of content.
When that's basically all there is to talk about now. That makes sense.
What's a colder take than reminding us all that evil is evil (whatever its shape or form)? The title says it all.
I blame the idea that profit = success. As in more profit = more success. We worship the almighty dollar a wee little bit too much.
The line must go up
I miss the elementary school concept of capitalism, where you made a good product and people bought it. Not creatively empty executive-types buying and selling companies to trick and cajole as much money out of the system as possible, then pouring gas on everything and running as soon as their schemes fail, destroying the creator's lives and the things they created as they run.
Welcome to real life....
Your opening expresses the struggle many of us have. Trapped between the the social obligation of being an ethical consumer and the struggle of staying emotionally afloat in the modern world.
Embracer group sounds like a dystopian corpo entity
Complete with a name that sounds like it was a final-round cut of name ideas for a creepy cult.
*"Come, let the love of our all-powerful lord fill you. Let it complete you. Let it... EMBRACE... you...."*
@@JimTheFly Yeah, I think he meant the name sounds like a dystopian group, not the reputation, but it was a bit unclear.
Has Embracer actually made anything? Every franchise they buy doesn’t seem to make another game since.
"Don't worry, though; it's decaf" is an underappreciated sleeper.
The rare facecam for the video
Nice hat btw
He's leaning into the whole "sexy mexican" vibe.
@@richardhunter9779 Sexican!
He took the "AI voice" comments personally.
@@christophergarcia9022 Oh is that what this is all about? Throw in some syncing issues and an outtake to show it's really real? Makes it worse to watch lol
"He, like many executives, are the real redundancies. They themselves make nothing of value, cut those who do, and take it out on the customers."
The best summation of the slow motion disaster happening in most aspects of our economy.
Now we just need the next Fully Ramblomatic to be Yahtzee, drunk in front of his webcam wearing a sombrero.
I'm honestly surprised nobody ever thought of a CEO AI before.
It'd make so much sense: cut the highest costs for a company to zero while getting some basic min-max calculations and executions.
It's been a minor trope in sci-fi for a while (I recall the game Shenzhen I/O has you do a couple jobs for a "Decentralized Autonomous Corporation" that is fully AI-run), and we do already have AIs that do stock trading... So yeah, why not?
People have thought of it before this, but getting it worked on and introduced into the market has afaik not happened yet
Just what we need, another soulless automaton to attempt to min-max our work lives
@@CAMSLAYER13 To be fair, if its set up well enough it will probably lower work hours. Not that it would be
Savvy Games basically pulled the old "Put a dollar on a fishing line and reel it in when guy leans to pick it up" Gag and Embracer fell hook line and sinker
Once again I am deeply shocked Frost is not a hard boiled detective in his 50's.
I love that you slowed down your talking speed in the edit - really helps me follow things along easy. Second Wind is the best
[Frost has small stroke] as part of the subtitles caught me so off guard I had to pause the video hahaha.
"What if we had tipping?" I dunno, what if you paid your employees a fair, livable wage and didn't juice them like grapes for wine with your production schedule so they stayed fruitful and productive! You''d think a multi-billion dollar industry could figure out how to hire some functional project managers to manage their game creation projects.
Coming from non-gaming IT corp, I can assure you they really don't know how to lead, let alone put the right people into key positions and enabling them to create a both healthier *and* more productive environment.
If you're wondering why: So do I.
You think the tip would go to the developers? Or it'll be used like actual tips to lower the wages of developers
@@SirButtz I am sure ways would be found to rip the lower ranks off in some cases, just like with shady restaurants.
Embracer group really giving new meaning to ‘hug of death’
Genuine question: If a group like Embracer wants to buy your company, do you have a say in the matter? As in, can you say no or is it easier just to say yes?
It's just, I've seen a lot of good companies, not just gaming ones, be swallowed up by the big corporations, only to be lost to time, sometimes within a few short years of being picked up. And it's not like the big corpos have only just started doing this. You don't have to search for long to find these horror stories. Is it really just about the money? If I start a gaming company, become successful and Embracer/EA/Warner Bros come knocking at my door, am I allowed to say, "No thanks?" even if they try to shove a suitcase of money into my hands?
Edit: Whoa, I didn't expect so many detailed replies. Thanks for taking the time to educate me.
As long as there are no protections for small companies to avoid being bullied out of the market by the ability of their larger competitors by means of price, leverage, or coverage, you can say no, but they'll just slowly kill you until you say yes for a fraction of the asking price.
Pretty sure. I mean, its them saying 'they sold so and so' (like minecraft, Notch sold Mojang and therefore minecraft)
So long as you're not publicly traded and you retain shares to maintain holding the company you can't really be 'forced' to part with your assets barring debt.
Its just these massive companies have so much money that they can continually increasing the price til what they offer you is actually stupid to not take. Also, by selling, you immediately and cleanly drop all responsibility related to your company or product within a week.
It comes down to a question of value. Do you value your company, your product more than you value the ability to live however you might want for the rest of your life?
That depends on the ownership of your company and the laws of the country you're in. But in most cases, if you as a person own the company, you can say no. If the company is publicly traded, the shareholders get to say yes or no. If enough of them say yes the remaining shareholders have to live with the decision, which is how hostile takeovers work when the buyer gets enough shares over time to force the decision.
.
In practice, if you own a mid sized developer and someone offers you tens or hundreds of millions in cash for it, you aren't going to say no. It's VERY hard to argue with a lifetime's worth of financial security. Doubly so if you've hit your 50s or 60s and your health is starting to fail you, or maybe your wife's health is failing, or you're about to become a grand parent, or your parents need carers. It's easy to think you'll say no when you're 20-something and nobody depends on you, it's much harder later on.
Nobody can compel you to sell anything... typically.
Selling your game studio to a large publisher or holding company is attractive up front. They'll foot the bill for marketing and a lot of the non game development stuff. You'll get a big chunk of change up front which you can either pocket or use to develop your next game. You can negotiate some benefits for you and/or your employees. Lots of reasons that you might want to do this.
There are coercive tactics which can be used to pressure a studio into selling. One could argue, based on what we've seen, that even the supposed benefits of selling to a large publisher are actually coercive as the promise rarely lives up to the reality. Ya know, join the army, be all you can be, never mind the PTSD and the recruitment centers being set up predominately in poor neighborhoods. Manipulation comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes.
But generally, like 99% of the time, studios are looking to sell when they get bought. Always keep in mind that small studios are started by developers. They want to build games. They generally don't want their full time job to become managing a business. When it inevitably does if the studio grows, they start looking for an out. Sometimes they step aside early and put a business person in charge. That can be disastrous too. But it's not worth getting into the whys and wherefores. Just think, there are a million ways that a business can go wrong and only a few where they can go right.
Typically yes you can just say no. If you're a little indie studio you'll probably have suits come over every now and then trying to strong arm you, but you can still say no.
Chances are you'll say yes though, take the cash, and then eventually leave and start or join another studio. I've seen numerous devs do this. It's why old studios that start pumping out garbage have things like, "studio in name only, all the good devs left long ago" said about them.
This is why I'm dead serious about wanting to help fund a Second Wind publishing group. Sure it would need to start very small, but demonstrating that the model is viable will hopefully inspire others, similar to how the success of indie studios helped to inspire other indie studios. There are some other publishers in the indie scene doing similar things already but the more the merrier. Strength in numbers and all that.
In our capitalist system people are not treated as people. Work and creations are not rewarded or valued. The only way I can think of to fight against this, since capitalism isn't going anywhere, is to build a company with the deliberate intent not to sell once someone with a big check comes knocking.
The casuals will keep buying Madden or CoD every year dutifully but at least there can be a haven for developers who want to be treated as humans and buyers who don't want to support Bobby Kotick buying another yacht while threatening to murder his secretary.
When frost shows up to the video with a sombrero and face cam, you know it’s about to get serious.
Noir Frost Sombrero is a goldmine merch idea.
I could listen to Nick read a telephone book, that voice is just so smooth.
Not me, it's Frost (Sebastian)!
Nah pretty sure they were talking about Nick :P
Both? Why not both?
Imagine if they'd make that a patron reward for funsies haha
For real, AI is perfect for generating a lot of strings of words that look good at first but are ultimately meaningless when you look closer. If that isn't what a CEO does, i don't know what is
I kinda miss the more visual heavy presentation and hope it makes a comeback
I was a developer in Mad Head Games, under Saber, when Embracer purchased Koch and everything else. We were so happy when this happened - seemed like a bright future is ahead. Luckly Saber kept all the studios under them when they bought off their autonomy.... But people like this guy deserve the worst, destroying peoples lives in huge, morally bankrupt, swathes
Remember kids, in Corporate America, you don't have a job. Job has YOU!
cant tell whether this audios out of sync or i desperately need a tolerance break
Pretty sure it's a stylistic choice
You're not crazy, it's out of sync, the cadence is off, and there's a mistake in the reading of the script left in. 😂
I think it's intentional stylistically, but it's close enough that it feels off.
He's lipsyncing to an AI voice.
Not sure if the flubs were supposed to stay in the final edit or not.
...I literally started watching this video as I was relocating my laundry from my bed back to the basket. I'm completely serious.
Non-violent way? WHY?! The French created the perfect machine to deal with this problem, which is, in fact, not restricted to gaming...
This is the first video of yours I have ever watched. I turned it on, and stumbled into the kitchen, high as absolute shit, to make a PB&J Taco. Words cannot describe my delight upon coming back and seeing you in that hat.
Embracer always has me worried about what it will do with Coffee Stain. It's such a good studio and Embracer could just decide "fuck it" and ditch it any time
The financialization of everything is truly to blame for the soar states of the industry and the economy as a whole.
All these MBA CEO only thinks about how much profit they can milk out of a business asset and IP. They have no idea how to make new asset and IP - only how to acquire them and sell them.
sore* or sour*
It’s always great to see the beautiful man behind the voice
"its not like the AI would have to learn much" is a burn I'm going to save
A silky smooth voice and a fabulous mustache
You, sir, are the full package
Try Guys are attempting to shift their business model to a "streaming service," a la Dropout. I watched a video they put out about the launch, and they mentioned that after the drama of the ex-guy they stopped obsessing over feeding the algo. They loved it, fans loved it, but engagement and revenue tanked because they weren't following the obligatory YT formula.
Instead of dumping employees, they took pay cuts. Now, while it's to be seen how 2nd Try does, they seem to be getting right along again. It's not fucking hard, and while I'm sure these aren't THEIR numbers, but it is for most executives of these companies purging jobs left and right- If you pay yourself 10m, you can probably get by on 5m for one or two fucking years to keep your people around.
god forbid my salary goes from 100m to 90m just so thousands off employees can have a living wage
@@loke5052 wtf do they even use all of that salary for anyway?? y'know, besides insane vanity purchases
As someone who just moved the laundry from the bed, back to the basket... I feel called out.
I love how much the gloves are off in this one
"Shareholder value" at the expense of the actual company has been the death of... well... everything. If anyone wants a deep dive on the start of that trend, check out the Jack Welch episodes of Behind the Bastards.
WHAT A VOICE. If you're not a voice actor, you should be. Not just the voice but also the narration skills, diction and flair. Holy moly my guy.
I have to say watching you talk is both more interesting and easier to edit than the typical stock-footage keyword matching. I love the new direction of Cold Take. Well played.
Christ Frost, why the hell do you have such an amazing voice? And the punchline is one of my favourite topics: Automating away the directors, bosses, and anyone in the C-suite. Thanks for another great video.
"The cycle of moving the laundry from the basket, to the bed, to the basket, to the bed."
I've never felt so SEEN before.
Please do more videos in this format, just Frost talking to the camera like that, absolutely loved it and the message of the video
I have say, I can't look away from Frost's mustache throughout this video, it's magnificent!
I enjoyed the video because I could listen to Frost read a grocery shopping list and still be entertained. Having said that, I have questions about the sombrero.
"it's not like they would have to learn much" was the most savage burn of the video
Lmao, the credits scene is gold. These videos are probably the best I have ever seen that discuss random topics on the industry
The sombrero really ties the whole "noir detective" thing together!
Thanks for the video!
This is my favourite of your videos so far. The usual acerbic eloquence combined with specific hard facts on a topic I didnt know about - a killer combo, in my opinion. Actually seeing you speak is a big improvement, too, rather than just loosely-related gameplay footage. I really enjoyed this one. Thank you!
Literally putting away the laundry while watching and listening to this 😂
I love mondays, first the Jimquisition and then Cold Take, and all with the same moral: Greed is a choice, and developers/customers are the ones paying the price.
People still watch Jim? I genuinely forgot about his channel until I saw this comment.
@@matthewbrown3981 My thoughts exactly. Jim became a bit too unhinged for my liking quite some time ago. I actually forgot the channel existed until now. Just checked the channel's social blade and it's been bleeding subscribers left and right for a long while.
Why the Jimquisition? Sterling's always so late with anything resembling news, that they're usually a week behind. People on desert islands who communicate with notes in bottles are more up to date.
While today's video covered a similar theme to this one about Corpo greed, their negative fixation on Multiverses two weeks ago came across as petty and stank of boomer "kids these days liking what I don't like" energy. Not to mention that obsession soild last week's trashing of the Silent Hill 2 remake.
Two of the best things about mondays, which otherwise kinda suck.
This one felt very personal. I like it.
"trying to find the energy to fold the laundry instead of relocating it to the bed, the basket, then back to the bed again."
Jeez you didn't have to hurt me like that.
Embracer group is just the latest EA. They are not game developers they are a stock company. They buy a studio with a decent IP; milk the last good product so they recoup their costs and then kill the company that made it. Their core business is not the creation of games - its buying a company that is going to launch a game with some form of potential; reek in the profits and then gut the company.
Embracer could have just chosen to do the same in movie corporations, newspapers of fast-food brands. It should be prohibited; but its not so here we are.
Eventually the IP's of these games will slowly trickle back into the market...in a year of ten.
EA is currently searching to be bought by something like Microsoft. EA used to be like Embracer - buy up game creators and milk their products or let em rot in their IP vault. Now they are begging to be bought since they are slowly dying. Embracer is doing the same but they are failing faster.
Creating games is a balance between making a good product that will sell and understanding how much your target group is willing to spend. Embracer fails in both of these - They have zero knowledge of game development and since they want to spend as little and earn as much as possible they create poor products that do not sell. Its no surprise at all the embracer groups is about the witness the extinction part of the circle.
I am currently sitting on 3.725 baskets worth of clean laundry with another half basket already on the bed.
1:07 Oh dear lord that sombrero de mariachi you wear here makes my wish of you dubbing these videos to Spanish increase at least tenfold
The sombrero, I imagine, was a time saver with the various streams this weekend and all. But I like the touch it adds honestly. Adds to the humorous lines.
I come for the cold takes, but I stay for the sombrero.
Hey Frost and second wind team, amazing video as always.
Just wanted to say the regular formula is so much better.
I absolutely enjoyed every single clip or design aesthetic that went into these videos before. Made it feel well thought out with a lot of effort and the Noire vibe was on point.
UA-cam grows tiresome with people who just set and talk despite how perfect the writing and voice over is.
Thank you again for this.
With the audio syncing and the takes that had to be redone midsentence, I wonder if this was accidentally released before the final edit was done cooking
Frost's pronunciation of "JRR Tolkien" is sending me
I think this is symptomatic of a wider problem: That investments must prioritise the goals of their investors over their own goals, approaches, and consumers.
I thought Cold Take couldn't get any better, but that majestic sombrero has me thinking I stand corrected.
You Sir are a glorious Man. Please never change.
damn those yaoguai all have tig ol biddies.
uhh anyways...gotta say i'm really thankful to the formation of Second Wind for introducing me to cold take. this shit is so consistently brilliant, and i absolutely love it.
Respectfully, I'd prefer the facecam off. It's more distracting this way.
1:11 I wasn't expecting to be attacked right off the bat like that, but how am I to argue against a man with such a glorious sombrero?
As said, nice to see the beautiful man, behind the beautiful voice. Keep up the good work!!
Frost's credit blurbs are the only interesting ones worth listening to. Instead of feeling like an obligation to keep engagement up.
Frost, it's a realllllly good thing you're the kind of person you are. With that sweet velvety voice, you could so easily use your magnetism for evil
you have such a wonderful voice and a beautful delivery
im not opposed to the new format, but please sync your audio a little better :)
i believe its on purpose
I'm pretty sure the format is just because they've been pretty busy co-streaming SGF, and he acknowledged the sync error
“It’s not like the machine would have to learn too much”
Absolutely savage
Brilliant take, Frost!! And that comes from a Swede who's ashamed of having Lars as a fellow country man.
Ive been watching Frost’s videos for almost 2 years now so I knew what to expect. Still, this one caught me off guard by some of the sharpest, polished and to the point critique of corporate practices not only in gaming but general. I rarely comment and I dont say this lightly but this is truly impressive stuff.