2023: A Year In Review

Select and Start

2023 was one of the best years for video games, but it was one of the worst for the video game industry. In the first episode of 2024, Keifer takes an episode to reflect on the year by analyzing The Game Awards 2023, and explaining how it's symptomatic of the issues plaguing the industry.

Select and Start is a video game podcast where the host, Keifer Lirette, talks with his guests about their most meaningful and memorable video game experiences. It is part of the Moonshot podcast network.

0:00 - Intro and Housekeeping 6:22 - The Game Awards 2023 17:02 - Geoff Keighley versus the World 22:25 - The Time Problem 27:39 - Games for Impact 31:43 - Best Independent Game 33:45 - The Sam Lake of it all 39:24 - Fixing the Presenters 42:20 - Best Adaptation 45:18 - Video Game Layoffs 55:12 - Conclusion

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Artwork provided by Avry Ott: https://linktr.ee/HotSodaDesigns

Theme Music Provided by Mike Pettry: https://linktr.ee/mikepettry

Sources for this episode:

Time Spent Issuing Awards:

Nolan, Liam. “The Biggest Problem at This Year’s Game Awards Was Disrespecting the Winners.” The Escapist, The Escapist, 8 Dec. 2023, www.escapistmagazine.com/the-biggest-problem-at-this-years-game-awards-was-disrespecting-the-winners/.

IGN - Awards and Speeches: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc9Tc4RCYSQ

Layoffs:

2023 - Game Industry Layoffs - Obsidian Publish, publish.obsidian.md/vg-layoffs/Archive/2023. Gach, Ethan. “Last of US Studio Naughty Dog Is Cutting Developers.” Kotaku, Kotaku, 3 Oct. 2023, kotaku.com/naughty-dog-ps5-playstation-sony-last-us-part-3-layoffs-1850893794.

Parvini, Sarah. “The Video Game Industry Boomed during the Pandemic. Now Thousands Are Being Laid Off.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov. 2023, www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-11-20/video-game-industry-layoffs.

Zhou, Cissy. “Tiktok Parent Bytedance to Cut 1,000 Gaming Jobs in Strategic Shift.” Nikkei Asia, Nikkei Asia, 27 Nov. 2023, asia.nikkei.com/Business/China-tech/TikTok-parent-ByteDance-to-cut-1-000-gaming-jobs-in-strategic-shift.

Sinclair, Brendan. “EA Restructuring, Laying off 6% of Workforce.” GamesIndustry.Biz, GamesIndustry.biz, 29 Mar. 2023, www.gamesindustry.biz/ea-restructuring-laying-off-6-of-workforce.

Tong, Anna. “Exclusive: Unity Software to Cut 25% of Staff in ‘company Reset ...” Reuters, Reuters, 8 Jan. 2024, www.reuters.com/technology/unity-software-cutting-25-staff-company-reset-continuation-2024-01-08/. SEGA Unionization fight:

Gach, Ethan. “Workers Accuse Sega of Threatening Mass Layoffs over Unionizing.” Kotaku, Kotaku, 15 Nov. 2023, kotaku.com/sega-sonic-union-layoffs-persona-yakuza-1851026309.

Parrish, Ash. “Sega Workers Form Largest Multi-Department Video Game Union in the US.” The Verge, The Verge, 10 July 2023, www.theverge.com/23789935/sega-union-cwa-unionization-activision-blizzard.

Bobby Kotick:

Sorkin, Andrew Ross, and Lauren Hirsch. “California Drops Sexual Harassment Suit in $54 Million Settlement with Activision.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 Dec. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/12/15/business/dealbook/california-activision-blizzard-sexual-harassment.html.

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