Will Activision Blizzard Stock Rise After Youtube Streaming Deal?

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) dropped a big announcement just days before its Q4 earnings are due. On Jan. 24, the video game company announced a new partnership with Alphabet’s(NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google. The deal will see Activision Blizzard’s popular esports leagues stream exclusively on YouTube. In addition, Google Cloud becomes the preferred provider for the company’s online gaming. After a disastrous 2018 that saw the stock fall off a cliff and lose over 40% of its value in three months, Activision was in recovery mode in 2019. The Google deal, added to the boost from new game console launches this fall, will help ATVI stock continue on the growth path.

Activision will be dumping Amazon’s(NASDAQ:AMZN) Twitch to stream its esports league events exclusively on YouTube. This brings the popular Call of Duty, Hearthstone and Overwatch leagues to YouTube.

Esports not only helps to drive video game sales, the popularity of live streaming games is becoming an advertising bonanza. According to Neilson, Overwatch had a global average-minute audience of 313,000 viewers. That’s enough to bring in big-name advertisers including Coca Cola (NYSE:KO). Those numbers were up 18% last year, and the reach of YouTube could drive growth higher.

Terms of the deal weren’t released. However, Amazon had paid Activision $90 million for a two-year deal on Twitch for Overwatch. The YouTube deal is almost certainly richer.

Could the Relationship With Google Expand?

One interesting possibility that’s been raised by the deal with YouTube, is ATVI’s relationship with Google. There haven’t been any Activision Blizzard titles released for Google’s Stadia video game streaming service. However, as part of the YouTube deal, Google Cloud becomes the preferred provider for ATVI’s online gaming infrastructure.

This has raised hopes that the close relationship could turn into popular Activision Blizzard games like Call of Duty making their way to Stadia. 

New Game Consoles Will Spur Sales

Activision Blizzard Stock was relatively flat between 2009 and the start of 2013. That’s when it entered a period of rapid growth. ATVI ended 2012 under $11, and by the fall of 2018, it had topped $83. One of the biggest catalysSts for that performance? Video game consoles. In 2013, Microsoft(NASDAQ:MSFT) launched the Xbox One and Sony (NYSE:SNE) released the PlayStation 4. The next-gen game consoles kickstarted demand for video games.

Bottom Line on ATVI stock

Those who bought Activision Blizzard at its peak in 2018 watched their investment break a five-year growth streak to plummet in value. In the final three months of that year, ATVI stock lost over 40% of its value. Last year, the company had its ups and downs and it was a period of slow recovery, with the stock gaining 27% over the course of the year.

This year has the makings of a banner year for the company. Investment analysts see that, and ATVI stock continues to be a consensus “buy.”

Esports saw revenue top $1 billion globally in 2019, and Activision Blizzard is well-positioned to take a bigger chunk of that. The new deal to have Call of Duty, Hearthstone and Overwatch leagues stream exclusively on YouTube, is expected to expand the company’s reach. Add the launch of new game consoles in the mix — just in time for the holiday shopping season — and ATVI stock is poised to continue its 2019 recovery through 2020.

#YouTube, #google, #Activision, #blizzard, #esports, #EA

Stardew Valley Top 10 Tips and Tricks for Console

If you're a couch potato like me during the holidays, then you have found a good game to invest 10 or 24 hours of your vacation time.  For me, I have found this highly addicted game called Stardew Valley.

I paid like $20 for the game, and it was well worth the invest.  This game has everything: dating/marriage simulator, exploration, farming, city build, tower defense, level up, fighting, shooting, and trading.  The sole purpose of this game is to grow crops on your grandfather's farm and get along with the citizens in the nearby town.

I have played through the game a few times, so I will give you 10 tricks and tips to get be successful on the game.

1.  Unlock the Community Center and take note of all the crops or resources townsfolk requested.  Basically this is your cheat sheet for which crops are worth growing each season and which resources are valuable in the game.

2. Hold off on Getting Married/ Be good friends first.  I'm not saying be a player, but I will say keep your options open.  Most character have recipes or give good gifts one you reach level 7 friendship.  The only character that I befriended that was a waste of time was Maru.  I gave her a lot of gifts but she never gave anything back even up to level 10 friendship.  I married Emily, but she did not do much as a wife.

3. Use staircases to go deeper into the mines.  I was fighting and mining level by level, and I completely forgot that a staircase can take me to the next level.

4. Click on the journal when it's past 2 AM.  No joke.  You can click on the journal and it will give you an extra 15 minutes in game time to get to your home without the penalty.  If you stay out past 2 AM, then you will pass out and will be found by a citizen or JoJo Mart Representative without most of your money and items.

5. Upgrade your equipment in the off seasons when it's not useful. In the fall or summer upgrade your Ax.  In the winter upgrade your water can and hoe.

6. Check the bulletin board to gain extra cash and friendship points.  Citizens will for extra items that you have or seasonal items you can obtain.

7. Fishing and foraging are your best sources of income - Basically you can fish and get a quick $1000 in a day.  Foraging for will berry or items can net good money in pinch.  Also, you don't have to wait until the end of the day to put items in the chest for sell.  Pierre buy most goods, and Willy will buy most fishing goods.

8. Make Scarecrow ASAP - The crows will eat your seeds without a scarecrow.  Note that the scarecrow range is 8 x 8 so make sure you are covered.

9. Make a Silo ASAP and don't cut down grass until the Fall - If you have chickens, ducks or cows, then the animals will eat the grass and you won't have to feed them $50 hay bells every day.  Those hay bells will become costly in the winter.  I don't know if you're animals die if you don't feed them for a while, but I do know they will not produce product when they're hungry or irritated. Don't forget to feed your animals on rainy or snow days.  Also no grass in the winter, so get a Silo asap and start stocking up on hay.

10.  Pace yourself - Don't grow too much too soon or raise too many animals.  Too many crops to tend to means you have water them everyday and tend to them.  Too many animal mean you have to feed all them, and in the winter that will be costly when you run out of hay.

Bonus - Marnie and the Mayor are having an affair.  You can collect evidence such as the Mayor's underwear in Marnie's room.  It's a little joke developers put in there for gamers who don't pay attention to the items they collect and why its collected

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YouTube's New Standards Cost Them Its Top Earner and Talent Casey Neistat

If you're a blogger, Millennial or entrepreneur then you know who Casey Neistat.  Basically, Casey is one of the few YouTube blogger that used his content to become a self-made multi-millionaire and celebrity.

Casey Neistat is a former movie maker and professional marketer that redefined YouTube and created the profitable vlogging or video blogging.  Everyone in New York recognizes Casey and even the police give him special treatment when creating videos in his city.  YouTube on the other hand threw the book at Casey and held him to a higher standard than anyone else.

YouTube's new standards and rules really upset a lot of bloggers when it comes to monetizing blogs or digital content.  You can read the new standards if you want to because i'm not going to post it.   Basically you have to choose certain ads and comply to standards in order to monetize your content.  The problem with this is YouTube have no government compliance to base their rules off.  It seems like they are picking top earner or anyone to bully and force them to lose money that goes back to YouTube.  It's pure greed and aggressive bullying.

Casey Neistat kept his daily content family friendly, high quality and consistent.  He never offended anyone, and he was one of YouTubes shining stars.  Everyone followed his struggle then congratulated Casey on his success.  When he left we all understood why.  NO ONE will stick around a place where they are unfairly compensated and have new rules created on a whim just to target and bully him.

Casey parted ways with YouTube, and he partner with CNN, a larger platform.  Casey signed an insanely better deal than he every would make creating videos for YouTube and getting a fraction of the compensation for his highly viewed content.  CNN purchased Casey's app Beme and compensated him with $25 million.  Well YouTube, you just lost the only original content creator plus his 5.8 million subscribers to a large platform CNN. I hope you learn a lesson about what greed, pettiness, and bullying get you in the end.