In the mid-1990s, J Moses headed BMG Interactive, a meager group of top-drawer game developers tucked into a subsidiary of private German firm Bertelsmann, known for its diverse global holdings, some of which were in radio, television, and music — as in BMG Music.
By late 1997, BMG Interactive, a little-known division of BMG Music, had developed 13 video games. One of those titles would go on to sell some 350 million copies. It was Grand Theft Auto (GTA).
Moses green-lighted the first version of GTA but says the game’s heavy use of violence made BMG management queasy.
“Let's just say that a game like GTA didn't necessarily fit into the ethos of the business. So after we created the business and built all these games, (BMG) sold most of the games as a package,” Moses tells Streetwise.
Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO:NASDAQ) paid 1.85 million shares or about US$14 million in March 1998 for the titles and some developers. But not Moses.
Moses went to Moscow where he launched MTV Russia before returning to America to manage online community and gaming company UGO Networks.
He guided the sale of UGO to media mogul Hearst Corp. in 2007 (which sold it to Fox in 2020) before joining some familiar faces at Take Two Interactive as an independent director. Over the next 14 years, Moses helped steer the gaming company, known not only for GTA but other hits such as Max Payne and Manhunt, to unprecedented share price highs.
“I'm still very much involved with these titles,” Moses says.
Tracking the Next Steps in J Moses' Career Path
His success in virtual content creation led to his recent appointment as
chairman of GameOn Entertainment Technologies Inc. (GET:CSE; GMETF:OTC; 9E7:FSE), a white-label, business-to-business platform designed to increase audience engagement through the “gamification” of linear, media-like television.
“I don't know where it's going to end up, but I believe [GameOn] will be a very attractive M&A target.” — J Moses
The 61-year-old Moses sees parallels between the GameOn business model and the video game universe.
“People think of the video game business as graphics and storylines, which, of course, is true. But really at its core, you're engaging with content, you're engaging with community members. And you’re impacting the product in the way you play. Those are the defining features of interactive media,” Moses says. “The product that Matt and his team are building is something that's much more akin to the basic elements of video games.”
Matt is Matt Bailey, a former executive with the parent company that owns the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center. He left to become GameOn CEO and director.
GameOn’s first product was a prediction game where a player watching a live sports match could predict things in real time to earn points, climb leaderboards, and compete with peers. More recently, the company advanced to an NFT (non-fungible token) predictor that leverages “collectibles.”
Just what is a non-fungible token, you ask?
Something that isn’t fungible is unique. For example, a dollar is fungible. If someone gives you a dollar and you have another dollar, you would have two identical items. But if someone gives you the original Mona Lisa, that’s non-fungible. It’s one of a kind.
NFTs are a type of unique virtual currency that is part of a blockchain. They can be almost anything digital (video, audio, drawings, music, etc.) and are usually bought, sold, or earned through an online marketplace. GameOn’s recently announced partnership with the bestselling Chibi Dinos NFT project is their latest revenue driver in this space.
An NFT video of a slam dunk by National Basketball Association star LeBron James also made headlines in April when it sold for more than $387,000 on NBA Top Shot, the league’s NFT platform. Since it went live less than a year ago, NBA Top Shot has raked in roughly US$700 million.
That’s the business and community GameOn is targeting.
Breaking Down the GameOn Business Model
“We go to potential partners like sports leagues, TV networks, broadcasters. And if they already have a marketplace with NFTs and collectibles, we add a layer of gamification over the top of it and give those collectibles a utility that's never been seen before,” Bailey explains. “So you're not just buying and selling in a very static engagement (with viewers/customers), you're now able to buy or earn that NFT or collectible and then use it in a game.”
“Empty hulks of businesses that attempted and failed at gamification are strewn along the digital highway. Bailey has seen the carnage. He insists GameOn is different.”
If the partner doesn't have a marketplace, GameOn can do that, too. The tech startup has partnered with New York City-based Blockparty, an NFT blockchain provider to deliver a marketplace. GameOn then adds the gamification layer.
But fan engagement is tricky. Empty hulks of businesses that attempted and failed at gamification are strewn along the digital highway. Bailey has seen the carnage. He insists GameOn is different.
“Gamification isn't a new concept. It's been around for years, decades even. But most (businesses) fail because they're just tapping into one motivation — play and win, play and win. That's one motivation, but it's not really the true motivation that fuels fandom. If you think about office pools, for example, they're not successful and engaging because you're going to win $100 bucks; it's because you get to go to the office after winning the office pool and get the recognition that you've earned and the bragging rights,” explains Bailey.
Bailey sees GameOn entering fantasy sports — After all, GET boasts Sean Hurley, who ran the sportsbook at DraftKings, as an advisor — and Streetwise will keep you up-to-date on any new developments there.
“GameOn will introduce MXPlayer to its free-to-play cricket prediction games. Both companies will split ad revenue 50/50.”
For the moment, Bailey says they'll stick with sports and other nonscripted programming like reality TV. To that end, GameOn has teamed with India’s MX Player, which is broadcasting the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021, which began match play on Oct. 17, 2021.
MX Player has some 280 million viewers in about 20 countries, many of whom are cricket crazed. GameOn will introduce them to its free-to-play cricket prediction games. Both companies will split ad revenue 50/50.
“To exclusively power MX Player's free-to-play prediction games is a huge opportunity to further engage an already passionate fan base that is yearning for cricket and connectivity," Bailey says.
It did another deal with Willow, North America’s over-the-top (OTT) app for cricket, which reaches about 3.5 million homes.
Bailey tells Streetwise that it has a broad pipeline. "We have 50+ active conversations at any one time, with the biggest federations, leagues and media companies in the world."
Moses sees a day when sports leagues will not only want the kind of tech offered by GameOn, they will need it.
“The (revenue) driver for sports has been television broadcasts, broadcast cable, etc. So if the audience continues to get smaller, it's going to have very serious implications for the leagues, the players, the infrastructure,” Moses explains. “If they don't figure out how to engage their customers, it's just going to be a much smaller business than it was 20 or 30 years ago.”
GameOn listed on Canada’s Vancouver-based CSE Venture Exchange on June 1. It was previously known as V2 Games, a spinout from about 20 companies under the Victory Square Technologies umbrella, the brainchild of Vancouver-based entrepreneur Shafin Diamond Tejani.
Victory Square still owns more than 22% of GameOn, and Tejani has a seat on the board.
GameOn went public in July and should start to see revenue in Q4 with a burn rate of about CA$250,000 monthly.
Bailey says the goal is to one day “uplist” and join the best-in-class tech stocks on the NASDAQ. But the opportunity to re-engage dwindling viewership numbers among professional sports leagues might be what keeps GameOn from ever reaching the bigger bourse.
Moses sees another likely path.
“One of the advantages of being a public stock is that your value is determined by the market, which makes it easier to buy,” Moses tells Streetwise. “Right now, large tech companies are buying smaller tech companies, and [share prices] are really largely being driven by acquisitions. I don't know where it's going to end up, but I believe [GameOn] will be a very attractive M&A target.”
What the Analysts Say About Investing in GameOn
Technical analyst Clive Maund is a fan of GET: “On its latest six-month chart we can see that, after it came to market at the very end of May or the start of June, the price plunged before drifting lower still to settle into a base pattern that started to form at the end of August."
“GameOn Entertainment Technologies looks like an immediate buy here.” —Clive Maund
In a conversation with Nick Chen, S
Streetwise Reports recently sat down with NYC-based private investment firm Long State to learn why it put its money on GameOn.
GameOn has a market cap of CA$18.8 million, and it trades in a 52-week range of $0.225 and $0.98 with 61,696,536 million shares outstanding.
Want more information about getting in on the game? Read all about Moses’ latest tech disruptor here.
Disclosure:
1) Brian Sylvester compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor. He or members of his household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. He or members of his household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. His company has a financial relationship with the following companies referred to in this article: None.
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