Hasbro CEO on the Toymaker’s Digital Gaming Push
Moving from Monopoly the board game, to Monopoly GO!, the app
A Hasbro Monopoly board game arranged in Dobbs Ferry, New York.
Photographer: Tiffany Hagler-Geard/BloombergHasbro has been making toys for decades, including many classic favorites like G.I. Joe and My Little Pony. But in recent years, it's also been going big on digital games. An app version of the classic board game Monopoly — called Monopoly GO! — has become one of the top mobile games of all time and grossed billions in revenue since it launched last year. Hasbro also owns Wizards of the Coast, the publisher of Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, and the best-selling video game Baldur's Gate 3. So why is gaming such a big growth market for a traditional toymaker? Where is the market heading? And how does a big company judge the success of "freemium" apps like Monopoly GO!? On this episode, we speak to Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks about the business of gaming.
Key insights from the pod:
Chris Cocks’s gaming background — 5:31
Hasbro’s push into digital gaming — 7:39
How Monopoly GO! makes money — 10:08
The Shark-Fin effect in games — 16:03
What makes a successful game? — 19:12
Hasbro’s Universe Beyond and licensing deals — 26:02
Gaming art, jobs and AI — 36:54
Open licensing debate — 41:29