Unity CEO John Riccitiello highlights the massive scale of gameplay viewership on video platforms during a discussion on esports and game streaming.
Assertion Not checkable as stated
John Riccitiello: Global gamers outnumber regular TV watchers and music listeners
“There are more players in the world than there are TV watchers or music, music listeners on a regular basis.”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Riccitiello: Video game streaming will rival television in audience size
“It is a massive medium and it's a medium that Is an in and of itself in time will rival television, which is completely crazy from any historical perspective.”
Insight
Riccitiello: Esports economics differ from traditional sports because publishers own the IP
“Ultimately the economics of e-sports is different because it's not an aggregation of teams that make the league. It's the league that owns the teams. Completely different. And in this case, the league is Activision, Electronic Arts, Riot, Take Two, Bethesda, a…”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Riccitiello: Game distribution will move away from captive stores like Steam
“The app store model where you pay to download something runs directly into conflict with the notion we talked about earlier, which is those multi-platform games. So the, You know, the idea that a game would be everywhere as opposed to captive on an individual …”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Riccitiello: Gaming cannot rely exclusively on streaming due to latency constraints
“The gaming industry can't do Streaming exclusively as easily as they can in the movie industry or the music industry because you can't compress it to the same degree and because latency is a controlling factor.”
Prediction Didn’t hold up
Riccitiello: Viewers will walk inside 3D movie scenes within three years
“I am certain within the next two to three years, you'll be able to freeze the frame put on a set of VR or AR glasses or look through your phone and walk into the scene and go anywhere.”