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George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · 16d

Perhaps people think this is British Petroleum -> BP type situation? (But yeah, to your point, I do see how this could have been communicated better)

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George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · 16d

🫠

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George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Sep 4

Back in February 2019, when I thought #Silksong was just around the corner 🤣

George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Aug 18

Every mode and map, big or small, just felt like Call of Duty, in the worst possible way 🥲 I'm not the target demographic for these types of FPS games to begin with, but the slight 'tactical' elements of Battlefield 1 for example really appealed to me.

George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Aug 18

Me, when playing Battlefield 6 Open Beta over the weekend.

a man with a mustache is wearing a striped shirt and a tie

ALT: a man with a mustache is wearing a striped shirt and a tie

media.tenor.com

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George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Jul 31

📒 For our clients, my colleague Rob Gallagher's 49-page recent report takes a deep dive into Netflix's games strategy and assesses the outlook for its plans.

🔗 "Netflix's New Games Strategy: A Data-Driven Assessment" report can be accessed via the link below:

omdia.tech.informa.com/om129522/net...

Netflix’s New Games Strategy: A Data-Driven Assessment

In March, Netflix provided a major update on its games strategy, focused on reducing variety and targeting four key genres: mainstream, narrative, kids and party. This report provides context for Netf...

omdia.tech.informa.com

George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Jul 31

Golf Mayhem is the latest indicator of where Netflix might be heading with its games strategy: platform-agnostic, synergistic with its video content, and using games to support 'content moments' rather than build standalone game franchises.

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George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Jul 31

It’s not yet clear to me exactly what tech is being used to deliver the game. It could be cloud streaming, HTML5-based, or something in between, but from a user perspective, the experience was mostly smooth, with only occasional stutters. The phone-as-controller setup worked surprisingly well.

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George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Jul 31

🪩The game leans hard into a ‘retro’ aesthetic – both visually and in its intentionally clunky feel – as a nod to the era when the original Happy Gilmore was released. That stylistic decision fits the nostalgic framing, though it's clearly a novelty rather than a long-term service game.

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George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Jul 31

🪩 The timing aligns directly with a major film release, suggesting Netflix is now beginning to realise its long-speculated strategy of synchronising game and video content drops.

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George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Jul 31

🪩 It’s the latest Netflix Games title to skip mobile platforms entirely, reflecting Netflix’s growing interest in distributing games outside of traditional app stores.

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George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Jul 31

📺🎮 I checked out Netflix’s latest tie-in game: no app store, no downloads – just my TV and my phone as the controller. 👇

Golf Mayhem '98 Demo launched with the release of Happy Gilmore 2, a Netflix original film. I gave it a try and recorded the experience (video below).

🧵

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George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Jul 24

Yep, sadly this is the case everywhere (I live in London). Also, even if your phone says you're on a 5G network, you might not be connected to a true "standalone 5G", but rather an upgraded 4G mast 🫠. Network optimisation could address this, but not all telcos have done it. It's all bit of a mess!

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George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Jul 24

This is what they said about 4G->5G 🙈 5G is more than enough for cloud gaming. I've streamed games over 4G in real-life scenarios just fine too. The problem is consistency/coverage (think playing on a bus/train), plus mobile screen is not optimal for playing console games (small icons/text etc.)

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George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Jul 24

Cloud gaming can (and does) work - be that for trying games before committing to downloads on Game Pass, playing simple family games on TV via Netflix app, or streaming Jack Box games. But I agree that a dedicated CG service 'for gamers' is an extremely tough sell (as Google Stadia found out 👀).

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George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Jul 24

📊 Omdia clients can access the latest version of our Cloud Gaming Partnerships and Bundles Tracker, which now tracks nearly 400 partnerships globally – including all newly added and discontinued telco deals.

omdia.tech.informa.com/om016627/clo...

Cloud Gaming Partnerships and Bundles Tracker

Interactive assessment of partnerships between cloud gaming service providers and telcos, hardware manufacturers, and technology companies, covering pricing of bundled cloud gaming services with netwo...

omdia.tech.informa.com

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George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Jul 24

🛜 So where does this leave telcos and 5G monetization?
Mostly with more of the same – traditional consumer propositions like bigger data bundles, higher speeds, and video/music service offers. Either way, the bet on cloud gaming as 5G’s flagship use case is clearly being scaled back.

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George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Jul 24

The telco partnerships that remain are increasingly concentrated around a few major players – namely Blacknut, Microsoft, and Nvidia. Their services have proven most adaptable to telco needs, offering flexible integration models, broad device support, and in some cases white-label solutions.

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George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Jul 24

Cloud gaming has struggled to garner significant appeal:
➖ Core gamers stick to consoles/PCs.
➖ Casual gamers stick to mobile.
➖ Big-screen games aren't optimal on mobile.
➖ Content availability is limited.
➖ Smooth on-the-go play via 5G remains a challenge.

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George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Jul 24

Fast forward to 2024, the momentum has reversed: the pace of new partnerships has declined, and the number of active deals has dropped by nearly 40% in just two years.

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George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Jul 24

☁️ 🎮 Cloud gaming was supposed to be the killer app for 5G, but the dwindling telco partnerships tells a different story

Between 2019 and 2022, cloud gaming partnerships with telcos surged – seen as the perfect showcase for low latency and high-speed connectivity.

🧵👇

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George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Jul 14

🔗 For a deeper dive into the structural bottlenecks behind this trend, Omdia Games Intelligence/Spotlight service subscribers can access Steve Bailey’s latest report below:

"The Content Crush of a Matured Console Market"

omdia.tech.informa.com/om129704/the...

The Content Crush of a Matured Console Market

<br class="t-last-br" /> This report explores the various content-related bottleneck occurring on game consoles, in terms of catalog permanance, games acting as platforms, impact of game-library subsc...

omdia.tech.informa.com

George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Jul 14

And that’s before factoring in the dominance of ‘forever games’ like Fortnite, EA FC, and Call of Duty, which continue to capture an outsized share of player attention.

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George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Jul 14

I’m not suggesting game release volume should track revenue growth one-to-one. But the gap highlights the growing pressure on developers and publishers to stand out in an increasingly crowded market.

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George Jijiashvili @giokinto.bsky.social · Jul 9

🤝 It was good to reconnect with familiar faces – and meet a few new ones too!

📣 If you're at the show and want to hear more about our work at Omdia, feel free to reach out and I can connect you with my colleagues who are there today: Dom Tait, Liam Deane, and Charlotte Hampson.