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MatthewBall.co
Home
About
Gaming
Disney
OTT Video
Film
IP & Storytelling
'The Marveliad'
Netflix
COVID Impacts
Epic Games/Fortnite
The Metaverse
My National Bestselling Book "THE METAVERSE"
Music/Audio
ALL ESSAYS
Home
About
Gaming
Disney
OTT Video
Film
IP & Storytelling
'The Marveliad'
Netflix
COVID Impacts
Epic Games/Fortnite
The Metaverse
My National Bestselling Book "THE METAVERSE"
Music/Audio
ALL ESSAYS
Apple, Its Control Over the iPhone, and The Internet
Epic Games/Fortnite, Video Gaming, Metaverse Matthew Ball 2/2/21 Epic Games/Fortnite, Video Gaming, Metaverse Matthew Ball 2/2/21

Apple, Its Control Over the iPhone, and The Internet

An essay on platforms, power, prosperity, principles, and profits.

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My Blog for ‘The Economist’: The Marvel Cinematic Universe arrives on TV with “WandaVision”
OTT Video, Disney Matthew Ball 1/15/21 OTT Video, Disney Matthew Ball 1/15/21

My Blog for ‘The Economist’: The Marvel Cinematic Universe arrives on TV with “WandaVision”

After a decade of dominance at the box office, the franchise turns its attention to the small screen

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My Blog for ‘The Economist’: The Best Television Series of 2020
OTT Video Matthew Ball 12/15/20 OTT Video Matthew Ball 12/15/20

My Blog for ‘The Economist’: The Best Television Series of 2020

These excellent shows made the long evenings and weekends in isolation tolerable

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How Technology Shapes Content and Business Models (Or Audio’s Opportunity)
Music Matthew Ball 10/15/20 Music Matthew Ball 10/15/20

How Technology Shapes Content and Business Models (Or Audio’s Opportunity)

The content, business models, and health of every media category is driven by technology. And audio technology has never been so diverse and dynamic. After decades of struggles, audio is ready to grow, not just replace.

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My Blog for ‘The Economist’: Despite a changed television landscape, the Emmys had a familiar feel
OTT Video Matthew Ball 9/26/20 OTT Video Matthew Ball 9/26/20

My Blog for ‘The Economist’: Despite a changed television landscape, the Emmys had a familiar feel

With a clutch of awards for “Succession” and “Watchmen”, HBO reigned supreme

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My Blog for ‘The Economist’: Gamers are logging millions of hours a day on Roblox
Matthew Ball 8/23/20 Matthew Ball 8/23/20

My Blog for ‘The Economist’: Gamers are logging millions of hours a day on Roblox

The platform, popular with tweens, allows developers to cash in on its success

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Invest Like the Best Podcast: The Metaverse, Future of Media + Movies, IP + Immersion
OTT Video, Video Gaming Matthew Ball 8/12/20 OTT Video, Video Gaming Matthew Ball 8/12/20

Invest Like the Best Podcast: The Metaverse, Future of Media + Movies, IP + Immersion

Patrick and I went deep into topics including the Metaverse (its technical challenges, opportunities, and philosophy), IP and the role of business model and technical innovation in storytelling, the Unreal Engine, Cloud Gaming, Fortnite as a competitor to Spotify, and more.

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Nintendo, Disney, and Cultural Determinism
Video Gaming, IP & Storytelling Matthew Ball 7/26/20 Video Gaming, IP & Storytelling Matthew Ball 7/26/20

Nintendo, Disney, and Cultural Determinism

An essay on what Nintendo does and doesn’t want to be, why, and what this means for its future

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The Epic Games Primer: Parts I-VI Directory
Epic Games/Fortnite, Video Gaming, Metaverse Matthew Ball & Jacob Navok 5/22/20 Epic Games/Fortnite, Video Gaming, Metaverse Matthew Ball & Jacob Navok 5/22/20

The Epic Games Primer: Parts I-VI Directory

A walk through of one of the most important, but least understood companies of the future.

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Epic Games Primer (Pt VI): Epic's Philosophy and Unprecedented Aspirations
Matthew Ball & Jacob Navok 5/22/20 Matthew Ball & Jacob Navok 5/22/20

Epic Games Primer (Pt VI): Epic's Philosophy and Unprecedented Aspirations

How does one explain Epic’s strategy? What is the Epic Games Flywheel looking to achieve? Why is Epic spending billions to launch new businesses that remove or reduce all the value in that category - and without shifting the remainder to Epic’s own pockets?

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Epic Games Primer (Pt V): Fortnite & How It Built the Epic Flywheel
Matthew Ball & Jacob Navok 5/21/20 Matthew Ball & Jacob Navok 5/21/20

Epic Games Primer (Pt V): Fortnite & How It Built the Epic Flywheel

Walk through of one of the most important, but least understood companies of the future. Part 5 focuses on Fortnite, its creative ethos, and how it built Epic’s flywheel

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Epic Games Primer (Pt IV): Epic Online Services
Matthew Ball & Jacob Navok 5/20/20 Matthew Ball & Jacob Navok 5/20/20

Epic Games Primer (Pt IV): Epic Online Services

Walk through of one of the most important, but least understood companies of the future. Part 4 focuses on Epic Online Services

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Epic Games Primer (Pts II+III): Epic Games Store & Epic Games Publishing
Matthew Ball & Jacob Navok 5/18/20 Matthew Ball & Jacob Navok 5/18/20

Epic Games Primer (Pts II+III): Epic Games Store & Epic Games Publishing

Walk through of one of the most important, but least understood companies of the future. Part 2 focuses on Epic Games Store and Epic Games Publishing.

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Epic Games Primer (Pt I): Epic's Flywheel & Unreal Engine
Matthew Ball & Jacob Navok 5/18/20 Matthew Ball & Jacob Navok 5/18/20

Epic Games Primer (Pt I): Epic's Flywheel & Unreal Engine

An introduction to one of the most important, but little understood companies of the future. Starting with its core business: Unreal Engine

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Cloud Gaming: Why It Matters, What It Can’t Yet Be, and the ‘New’ Types of Games It Will Create
Video Gaming Matthew Ball & Jacob Navok 5/5/20 Video Gaming Matthew Ball & Jacob Navok 5/5/20

Cloud Gaming: Why It Matters, What It Can’t Yet Be, and the ‘New’ Types of Games It Will Create

Cloud gaming is just one part of the future of games, but just as TV wasn’t a visual form of radio, the games built for cloud will look very different from the games of today. Introducing the MILE.

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Content, Cars, and Comparisons in the "Streaming Wars"
Netflix, OTT Video Matthew Ball 5/3/20 Netflix, OTT Video Matthew Ball 5/3/20

Content, Cars, and Comparisons in the "Streaming Wars"

Streaming content spend needs to be handicapped based on the ability of a network to create hits and a library of value. As a result, the gap between the biggest and smallest spenders is tighter than the topline numbers suggest.

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On Fortnite's Travis Scott Concert
Video Gaming, Epic Games/Fortnite Matthew Ball 4/26/20 Video Gaming, Epic Games/Fortnite Matthew Ball 4/26/20

On Fortnite's Travis Scott Concert

The Travis Scott x Fortnite event is commonly understood in comparison to prior Fortnite events, but instead it needs to be viewed as part of Fortnite’s testing and experimentation process/journey. It is technically less impressive than prior events, but creatively much bigger. Both points matter

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Esports and the Dangers of Serving at the Pleasure of a King
Video Gaming Matthew Ball 4/17/20 Video Gaming Matthew Ball 4/17/20

Esports and the Dangers of Serving at the Pleasure of a King

We are years and hundreds of millions of dollars into the rise of esports, but most esports teams and start-ups are struggling (if still operational). And bad luck is rarely to blame.

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Pay-TV and OTT Video
OTT Video, COVID Matthew Ball 3/29/20 OTT Video, COVID Matthew Ball 3/29/20

The Impact of COVID-19 on Pay-TV and OTT Video

We’ll see an accelerated end of Pay-TV subscribers and ad revenues, more competition OTT, and several of Netflix’s short-term woes get worse

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Video Gaming and Our Virtual Lives
COVID, Video Gaming Matthew Ball 3/29/20 COVID, Video Gaming Matthew Ball 3/29/20

The Impact of COVID-19 on Video Gaming and Our Virtual Lives

How esports, cross-play, the Metaverse and more will forever be affected by an ‘IRL’ virus

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