List of top United Kingdom Gaming Companies - Crunchbase
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UK gaming industry has the power to take it to the next
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top gaming companies uk - win
There’s a one day Middle Earth tournament and a one day Battle Companies tournament going on this coming weekend at the Top Table Legacy Weekender at Element Games in Stockport, UK. Full details can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/2653973597965989/?ti=icl
Twitter has announced a permanent suspension of President Donald Trump’s account, citing "the risk of further incitement of violence" after conducting a review of recent activity. Twitter issued a temporary suspension earlier this week following the events taking place at the US Capitol and required the removal of three specific tweets before the account would be eligible for reinstatement. Prior to this, President Trump used Twitter to announce policy positions and campaign decisions. See the announcement from Twitter’s Safety Team here.
[Warhammer 40k] Gaming Company Makes Money, but Demoralizes Fanbase
I’m a semi-avid Warhammer 40k player and the game has been hit by a number of small, cumulating drama bits over the last few years, so I thought I’d write them out here in case anyone was interested in learning about them. Disclaimer: I do have some strong opinions on the drama and I have done my best to keep things neutral in this post. Please do feel free to call me out if I let my thoughts about the Stupidface McSpaceymarines show too much. Background information: Warhammer 40k is a tabletop miniature game distributed by Games Workshop (GW). The poster children of 40k have long been Space Marines: the elite, genetically augmented human super-soldiers and it is around them that this story revolves. Warhammer 40k is currently in its 9th edition, with rules for each army distributed in its codex. The factions in Warhammer can be broken down into 3 broad categories. Remember this for later. As listed on GW’s website, they are: the Imperium (all flavors of “good guy” humans, including the aforementioned Space Marines), Chaos (daemons and fallen humans), and Xenos (myriad alien races, including Egyptian robot zombies, communist fish weebs shogunate cow weebs , clown elves, and British soccer hooligan orks). In 2017, GW’s general manager stepped down and new company leadership took over. This is where our story begins. For a while it was good: GW was making record profits, fans were fairly happy, and the hobby seemed in a good place. Then players started realizing that something didn’t smell quite right. 8th Edition and the coming of the Primaris: 8e was released in June 2017, with the new rulebook alongside a Space Marine codex and “Index” books with units for all other armies, so nobody had to wait to play their respective faction. The indices were bare-bones and contained few of the abilities, relics, and special rules that each faction would receive when their full codex was released. 8th edition was also heralded with an entirely new line of Space Marine models, the “Primaris.” These are the tacticool bigger brothers of the “oldmarines” and a massive refresh of the aging Space Marine model line. They are bigger, badder, and shootier. Primaris marines were a hit and sold extremely well and GW profits reach new heights. Over the next year and a half, a new faction’s Codex would release every 3-6 weeks. In a game with 20+ factions, this meant - if you were lucky - you’d get full access to your army’s abilities/relics/units in 6 months. Most armies were covered by the time the edition had been out a year. Depending on whom you ask, this is either an unacceptably long time to wait or surprisingly quick compared to previous editions. At this point, fan morale was fairly high: we saw lots of quality new content, a more-responsive and friendly community face, and promises of hotly-demanded future releases (whooo Sisters!). GW released a steady stream of new Primaris models throughout this edition, flushing out the new line. Capitalizing on the popularity of Primaris, GW took the previously-unheard-of step and released new, turned-up-to-11 Marine codices in 2019, as well as 6 extra Space Marine sub-faction supplements and a new Chaos Space Marine codex. The meta had been fairly healthy and consistently evolving, but these supplements resulted in massive imbalance, buffing a specific Space Marine chapter so much that it near-exclusively dominated tournaments until it was patched. In retrospect, this was a sign of things to come. The long-awaited Sisters of Battle also came out in fall 2019 (whose preorder sold out within minutes) and an expansion called “Psychic Awakening” was released from Oct 2019-July 2020. It was neat lore-wise and contained a few new rules/units, but not otherwise noteworthy. The Gathering Storm: 9th edition was released in July 2020, but was touted as an “8.5e” where your old books and rules would still be valid, with some modifications as to the game itself. This was met with general good will from the players, as the books they bought a month earlier wouldn’t be instantly outdated. As is tradition, it was released with a new, now third Space Marine codex and one for the Necrons (the aforementioned Egyptian zombie robots), as well as a box set containing new units for each army. Unfortunately, this is also where the crux of our drama kicks in. The release box set contained incredibly powerful and divisive Primaris units, Eradicators, which could only be obtained from this $200 USD box. Eradicators are an anti-tank unit new to 9th edition whose mere existence single handedly pushed tanks/armoured units and the factions that relied on them out of the meta. Additional criticism came because the design of the Eradicators came across as “stealing” a specialist xenos unit - Eldar Fire Dragons. For perspective, Fire Dragons and Eradicators cost about the same in-game and have the same role, but Eradicators output far more damage at a longer range and are significantly harder to kill. Fire Dragon models are also 30 years old and look it; the Eldar range is one of the oldest still sold and in desperate need of updating. Understandably, Eldar players were upset. The box also contained the extremely powerful Bladeguard, but they went largely ignored due to the fecal storm Eradicators kicked up. GW then doubled down. Unlike in the previous editions, where the supplement books were saved until the vast majority of codices were released, GW chose to near-exclusively prioritize releasing the Marine supplements, resulting in months of only new Marine books. By now, the strategy was clear: the Primaris money printer was in full BRRR mode. At the time of this writing, seven months into 9th edition, the following rule books are available: 1 xenos faction, 1 chaos faction, 0 Imperium, and 5 Space Marine. Oh...wait. Did I separate Space Marines from Imperium, despite saying above that they’re all one happy family? Apparently not so much. During all of this, GW’s website broke Space Marines out into their own, separate 4th listing that is categorized on top of all other Imperium, chaos, and xenos factions. Players began to notice the trend in model releases more and more, as if the Eradicators were the watershed moment. Since 8e, Marines alone have received the vast plurality/majority of new model releases over the last 3+ years. Remember, they’re still just one faction of about 20 who are now receiving the support of the other 19 combined. While the new Primaris line was positively received initially, the constant drumbeat of new Space Marines with only token attention to other factions began to drive a wedge between players and blowing up grimdank with memes. Even factions that got large rework releases paled in comparison. Other players questioned why so many new Marines were being released when armies were stuck with aged resin models that date back to the Clinton administration (and much older than the pre-Primaris Marines). For example, older armies were stuck with models like this. Worse, GW’s brand of resin (FineCast) is commonly referred to as “FailCast” in the community due to its poor quality and difficulty to work with. This feeling of neglect hit xenos players in particular, though some Imperial factions also had good reason to be upset at the quality of their old old models. Rumbles in the Warp: In retrospect, there were a number of warning signs from GW that issues were brewing. A Hobby Drama post could probably be written about any of these individual events, but here is a TL;DR of each:
The app - GW recently released a long-awaited mobile app that has been plagued with rules errors, intense attempted monetization, and was missing key features like army builders. In GW’s defense, they have been improving it regularly and providing many features for free in the meantime.
Hiding price hikes as “localization” - in response to Brexit and the weakening GBP, GW adopted a locally-based pricing model that came with hidden and significant price hikes in other countries. Fun story: it was cheaper for me to buy models off of their UK website, pay to have them shipped to a reshipping company, and pay for the reshipping and any import taxes to the US rather than to purchase them directly. A lot cheaper.
The Primaris Lieutenant - a meme that emerged after GW released model after model for the same in-game unit (one that most armies would never need more than a couple of), each with slightly different poses. Criticism centered around the idea that the resources to constantly remake this same unit could have been better-allocated.
Death of the Phoenix - a rare xenos vs xenos box set that starred 1 updated hero and 1 updated infantry unit each. Hurray! Except the box was also chock full of less-popular and very old models that there was little demand for. Many still sit unsold on store shelves.
Hobby fatigue and the Bore-us Heresy - with so many rapid-fire Marine releases, some players complained of difficulty keeping pace with both money to buy them and time devoted to modeling. Worse, Marines have been pushed so hard for so long, they have come to dominate the meta such that Marine vs. Marine games are commonplace, which can become repetitive or dull.
Forgotten weapon updates - Several Imperial/Chaos weapons were significantly buffed at the start of 9e, with GW promising to do the same for identical xenos gear...except, when the update came, they hadn’t. The changes appeared haphazard and were missing many weapons that players had reasonably expected to be included. (Sidenote: my personal theory is that they paid an intern to ctrl+f weapon names for updating, but said intern didn’t realize that the names can change based on the faction. For example, this is why the update to flamers was correctly mapped to the Eldar “Dragon’s breath flamer” but the “melta gun” update didn’t apply to the identical-in-all-but-name “fusion gun.” Oops.)
In Defense of Marines: Players on the pro-Marine side frequently point out that a good cause for their preferential treatment exists: money. Undoubtedly, Marines are the most successful single product line, and can you blame GW for milking it? The equally-common counterargument is that it’s a chicken-and-egg issue: that Marines are only the top seller because they get the majority of the new kits, updates, and advertising. Defenders of GW point to a number of other factors on their side: promises of future updates to other factions, that very real possibility Covid may be affecting production, and that older editions have been far more sluggish with content. They also point out that the Necron and Sisters of Battle factions each have received much-needed new model refreshes in the last few years, albeit nowhere near as expansive as their own. Marines were certainly in need of updating when the Primaris line was introduced and it went a long way in helping the supersoldiers fit their lore on the tabletop. While some Marine players were initially concerned that the pre-Primaris armies that they dumped thousands of dollars and at least 3 hours into painting would be suddenly outdated or unusable, GW has continued to support them and point to this as a sign of goodwill. Finale: Unfortunately, there has been no real happy ending to this drama. For some players, the lack of resolution has caused them to hit a stage of burnout: a place of feeling that non-Marine factions deserve attention, but that the complaints are so commonplace that people are just whining now. On the other side of the spectrum, xenos players can feel a learned helplessness, as there’s not much they can but accept their fate and make snarky comments on WarhammerCompetitive. Some people try to hold optimism that the new and improved GW will pull through, burning themselves out on the Primaris line while others put their head down and play as they always have. But the issue barrels forward as the Primaris money printer hums its “brrr” in the background. TL;DR - Gaming company builds bridges of goodwill with fans, then torches them due to impressions of favoritism and greed.
Developer: Tarsier Studios Publisher: BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Review Aggregator: OpenCritic - 83 average - 92% recommended - 84 reviews NB: to fit Reddit's character limit, the following list is not including non-English written reviews.
Being placed in a world akin to a setting kids might be whisked away to if they were transported to a nightmarish version of their own imagination -- by that interdimensional beast that lives underneath their floorbirds -- it's, yeah, terrifying.
Being almost double the length of its predecessor, Little Nightmares II is a larger, more disgusting beast that is essential to gamers that are intrigued by the morbid. Whether you enjoy art, cinema, or games that explore themes of the grotesque, there are not many examples of it being done this well.
Little Nightmares 2 is a game where the central theme is escapism through the journey of Mono and Six. The title will explore the consequences of living a life full of distractions while hiding from the painful truth of existence. Undoubtedly a great game that despite its short duration, will keep you tense and will make you think a little to solve its puzzles.
Little Nightmares 2 is an ambitious, thrilling sequel that occasionally reaches just beyond its grasp, but stays engrossing and terrifying the whole way through.
Little Nightmares 2 is undoubtedly unmissable. [...] The insidious nature that carries its twisted aura throughout the campaign, ensures to encapsulate apprehension, awe, disgust, dismay, hatred, panic, abhorrence and terror.
A Nintendo Switch copy of this game was provided for review purposes. Little Nightmares II is out February 11 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC for £29.99.
Little Nightmares II builds greatly upon what the first title achieved, and pushes with great effort to accomplish even more in its setting, design, and gameplay - and it absolutely succeeds in every area of the game.
Whether you're a seasoned survivor or an all-new player, you'll have a thrilling time with the sequel. It's ideal to start from the beginning, but it's not mandatory – this freaky story stands on its own.
Little Nightmares II builds on the original's macabre formula of unsettling imagery and clever puzzles by crafting more diverse environments and expanding the player's toolset for solving and escaping tense situations.
Despite some rather annoying trial-&-error sections and puzzles which feel a bit too easy, Little Nightmares 2 managed to excite us from start to finish. Visuals are great, sound design is awesome, gameplay offers a fair amount of variety and the environmental story-telling again works excellent. Sadly this scary adventure is already over after roughly seven hours.
Little Nightmares 2 succeeds in building on the foundation that the original game laid out. The folks at Tarsier Studios have expanded on the story and lore with new characters and settings, added gameplay mechanics that don’t overcomplicate the action or bloat the pacing, and proven themselves worryingly imaginative when it comes to thinking up dastardly denizens of a perfectly grim world.
If you enjoy dark stories, difficult gameplay and the original game, Little Nightmares 2 is absolutely a must-play dark fairytale that you shouldn’t miss out on (if you can help it)! LN2 is a triumph for Tarsier Studios, but definitely needs to rethink accessibility.
A fantastic sequel soaked in atmosphere and tension. Little Nightmares II surpasses its predecessor far beyond what anyone would have expected. An outstanding finale which stretches from the finale boss fight from the closing credits will have fans desperate for a third installment.
Little Nightmares II is a great continuation of the grotesque exploration puzzle series. The game is a solo adventure, yet you’ll be joined by the protagonist of the previous game, both working together to discover the reason behind the strange signal and put an end to its hypnotic control. Some parts can get frustrating when trying to run away or solve a puzzle with a timer before you get slaughtered, but this only leads to a lot of satisfaction upon completion. Aside from a few issues with the controls, there’s very little to complain about within this brilliant no hand-holding horror game. Whereas the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in terms of the gameplay, the updated visuals, immersive sound, confusing yet interesting story, and new gruesome freaks, all combine to ensure that after playing Little Nightmares II, you’ll be having ‘Little Nightmares’ of your own…
Little Nightmares II is a true evolution from the first game. Tarsier Studios has done a fantastic job in creating a world that’s even more terrifying, brought to life with absolutely sublime art and sound.
Not only does Little Nightmares 2 live up to its name, but it also improves on nearly every aspect of the first game. Players may run into a few frustrating hiccups along the way, but exploring this horrific world with Mono and Six is immensely satisfying. At the end of the day, I'd recommend this one to any fan of surreal horror stories with emotional twists, though you might have trouble sleeping when it's all said and done.
Little Nightmares 2 improves upon the original with more terror, better puzzles, and a fantastic atmosphere. Fans of horror or puzzle games shouldn't hesitate to pick this one up.
Little Nightmares 2 makes every single moment count to craft a truly unsettling experience and to wordlessly deliver an expertly paced and impactful story.
Little Nightmares II tells a beautiful yet fragile story of friendship, sadness, and searching for the light among the darkness. The puzzles are well-designed, the music is stunning, and the visuals are on another level.
Tarsier Studios has created a dark and depressing world like no other. A gripping tale of adversity that has you begging for more. Little Nightmares II is the light at the end of the tunnel that you never knew you needed.
That same distortion and monstrous-like exaggeration of previous may be out in full force once again, but Little Nightmares II succeeds on its bolder and more refined continuation from the 2017 original.
With a presentation that will give you the creeps, a premise that's still very original and a gameplay formula that adds some welcome improvements, Little Nightmares II has every ingredient to make fans that liked (feared?) the first game love this one too.
Little Nightmares 2 is a decisive step forward for Tarsier Studios. The art style is set to an high standard, but the gameplay noverlties don't all work perfectly. It remains a fascinating adventure, a must for anyone who loved the first Little Nightmares.
Little Nightmares 2 brings a tremendously beautiful artistic mix and sound design, filled with very fun puzzles and some refreshing elements to gameplay, yet however, we still see some issues from the first game returns here and a missed chance for co-op gameplay
Little Nightmares II arrives as a sequel that delivers a dark adventure full of puzzles and feels like a journey through a charming nightmare. Being that it is so similar to its predecessor, you should also expect the same setbacks, such as short duration, clunky controls and poor replayability.
A thoroughly entertaining work of video game art that improves mechanically on the original and proves thought-provoking in terms of more than just the puzzle-solving.
Little Nightmares II improves on the first game's formula in every way: better narrative, more varied puzzles and gameplay, better design overall. It still suffers from the experience only lasting a handful of hours, but it's definitely a worthy one.
Little Nightmares II has far surpassed the original, and it holds true that this series remains one of the most terrifying and emotionally provocative experiences you will ever face! Once again Tarsier Studios have enthralled me, gripping me for a solid 9 hours straight playthrough that I just could not step away from. I have experienced loneliness, companionship, hope, joy, despair, terror and betrayal. Overall, I feel like my heart has been ripped out, but I would willingly go through it all again. If I had to find fault with anything, the controls can be a little cumbersome and may take some getting used to, and at times my jumps did not quite land the way I wanted. I only encountered one bug where a hatch would not open by a checkpoint, but this was easily resolved by restarting from that point. Will I be revisiting? Yes, it appears I truly am a masochist, but there are collectible, wearable hats and sorrowful glitches I must go back for. I am sure this is not the last we will see of Six and Mono’s story, and I am genuinely excited to see what comes next!
Little Nightmares 2 is an absolutely brilliant puzzle platformer, with just enough creepy to keep you on the edge of your seat. An excellent step-up from their first outing, Tarsier Studios has created a phenomenal world, tackling incredibly adult concepts from the perspective of a child.
Little Nightmares II is one of those "experience" kind of games. It is similar to titles such as Journey and Abzu, where it's all about the journey, not the destination. Little Nightmares II revels in its use of compelling level design to tell a deep and saddening tale of discovery. The stealth sections in particular provided some truly intense moments, with the world of Pale City always providing a constant, creepy atmosphere. My time spent exploring dark hallways, brooding corridors, and creepy streets will be something I'll always remember.
Little Nightmares II is nothing less than engaging from start to finish, with superb pacing, entertainingly varied level design and excellent graphics and performance. Its only real flaws are based on the imprecision that comes with all games in its sub-genre, as well as a few sections that feel more about trial and error than reactive survival. In our view, though, this doesn't detract from a far superior sequel and one of the best cinematic platformers we've had the privilege of enjoying. A real stylish treat.
Little Nightmares II is easily going to be one of the best games of 2021. Its horror themes weigh on the player throughout the entirety of the adventure to a climax that will leave you breathless. Pacing through the various puzzles creates a nice balance of linear game design and subtle exploration. It's a game that anyone can get through if they can stand to be scared a little, but the trial-and-error approach makes it an easy recommendation to gamers of all skill levels.
Little Nightmares II's ambition makes the original look like its introduction, and although this added ambition contributes to some of its frustrations, they ultimately don't prevent it from becoming even more clever, gripping and chilling than its predecessor.
Little Nightmares 2 is a game that pulls together every aspect of a game's presentation and pulls it off miraculously. Everything here is amplified from the original and moments feel like true cinematic wonders, unlike anything you have seen before. Combat doesn't always work, but the whole package is truly impressive and a showcase of the talent Tarsier Studios possess.
Little Nightmares II isn't content with just iterating on its predecessor, instead improving on it in practically every way. The puzzles are challenging and rewarding, combat surprisingly functional, and the imagery is as striking as ever. While trial-and-error design bogs down Little Nightmares II considerably, it's far and away a better game than the original.
Little Nightmares II is bigger and bolder, which builds upon the foundations from the first game. The game is host to a disgusting, decaying world that opens up as you progress through each chapter. Its inhabitants will haunt your dreams for days and the emotional connection it draws between Mono and Six with absolutely no dialogue is powerful. It is worth noting that certain combat encounters and high stakes moments can become troublesome and do provide occasional road blocks which prevent the game from reaching its full potential. As it stands though, Little Nightmares II is a thrill ride filled with visually striking moments of pure nightmare fuel, which may invite you to leave your lamp on for the foreseeable future.
Little Nightmares II is worth experiencing for its art direction alone, although its hand cramping controls can be an obstacle at times. The title relies far too heavily on trial and error, which frustrates, but many of its encounters will live with you long after the credits roll, and so it's successful at creating a lasting impression. It's a stiff and rigid release, but its puzzles are constantly reinventing themselves, and each frame draws you in with its surreal and unsettling imagery.
Little Nightmares 2 is made up of creatures that would even keep the worst of demons up at night, waking up in cold sweats of terror too afraid to sleep alone in the dark.
Franklin Roosevelt once famously said that we have nothing to fear but fear itself. Then again, he was never chased by the oversized head of a giant schoolmarm with a serpentine neck. It’s just one example of the many surprises that Little Nightmares II has in store for players who wander into its bizarre and melancholic world. If you love creepy adventure thrillers with puzzle platforming to boot, this is one nightmare you’d want to tuck into.
A perfect sequel. Expanding on what worked last time, improving what did not work, adding ideas that were missing, and taking the story to places we have never seen before. As a fan of Little Nightmares, you could not ask for more.
Little Nightmares II is based on the relationship between Six and Mono, both from a narrative and a gameplay perspective, and there will be heart-pounding situations where you will come to wonder how much you are willing to push yourself to get both children safe from this spiral of pure terror. If you enjoyed the original game, this new chapter is another little gem worth buying.
It's rather obvious, but if enjoyed the first Little Nightmares then you will enjoy the Little Nightmares II. While some new elements have been added it is more of a next chapter to the story than a full blown sequel. The attention detail is incredible, bringing the story to life without a single spoken word. It's unsettling, creepy, darkly amusing, and at times a little frustrating, but immensely enjoyable. Another little, slime covered gem from Tarsier Studios.
With Little Nightmares 2 Tarsier Studios has once again dreamt up a wonderfully unnerving world filled with grotesque and fantastical creatures that is a horrifying pleasure to explore.
Chase sequences and the overall ambiance are as bone-chilling and thrilling as ever, while puzzles are even more challenging and satisfying to complete thanks to the tragic duo of Mono and Six. Even if you aren’t a horror fan, I’d highly recommend you play Little Nightmares II, as it currently sits as my favorite game of 2021 so far.
Little Nightmares 2 is a superb sequel that carries on the impressive tone of the original, but improves in all key areas. This isn’t explosive horror, there’s no gore or torture, and for the most part you’re jumping onto levers, solving puzzles, and climbing up furniture, but that doesn’t mean Tarsier hasn’t created a standout horror experience.
GOOD - Little Nightmares II is a delight to play, but its weak narrative and overarching goal dissuade from a wonderfully immersive world. Running away from big bad enemies and solving frantic puzzles in dark rooms are incredibly fun and surprisingly addictive. The game is fairly small with a very short campaign spread over three or four main locales (hopefully future DLC will alleviate this feeling). The game’s reliance on external sources for lore is also a bit disappointing. Fortunately, the minor caveats are forgotten courtesy of the wonderfully scary and well thought out world on offer. Little Nightmares II is a wonderfully scary delight, a great addition to the Little Nightmares Collection, and is a must play for anyone who enjoyed the first title.
It's worth pointing out that few other studios have the confidence to take this approach to horror: not to jolt you with sudden frights or to ration your ammunition, but to probe and puncture your emotional ease by putting foulness in such close proximity to the childish.
“Little Nightmares 2″ shattered my expectations. I expected something scary, but the impeccable sound design, terrifying enemy encounters and clever puzzles make it worth revisiting, even after completion. This nightmarish experience has a lot to offer. Just don’t expect to get much sleep after playing.
Little Nightmares II often manages to recapture the unsettling essence of Tarsier Studios' original game, but almost every attempt to expand the formula falls flat, resulting in an experience as lumpy and misshapen as the game's shambling monstrosities. If you loved the original Little Nightmares and need to know what happens to Six next, this sequel might be worth your time, but more fair-weather fans may regret reliving this particular bad dream.
With its delightfully scary monster designs and ominous atmosphere, Little Nightmares II stands out as a truly unique horror experience. Sure, it falters in some of its puzzles and clunky controls, but it makes up for it with its art and level design.
Little Nightmares II doesn't break the mould established by its predecessor but it improves on it in a number of small ways while introducing fans to a new cast of creepy characters to be kept up at night by
Little Nightmares II builds on its predecessor as a sequel should, expanding the scope of the universe both in terms of lore and mechanics. Little Nightmares II is one of 2021's first must-play titles.
Little Nightmares II is a gem of a game that successfully builds on everything that made the first one great. It's a short but well-polished and atmospheric horror-platformer that oozes with creepy charm. While its core physics-based platformer gameplay hasn't seen many radical changes, the setting, storytelling, and world-building alone make it worth experiencing. If you're a fan of the first entry or the likes of Limbo or Inside, LM2 is well worth the adventure … if you dare.
Despite contriving its fair share of unsettling moments, Little Nightmares II is a disappointing follow-up to one of 2017's most pleasant surprises. It might be a bigger game than its forebear, but it certainly isn't better.
Little Nightmares II is a wonderful sequel that adds unnecessary combat to the mix. The journey is still worth pushing through just to experience the horrors the team has delivered. I love these type of games as it stimulates that certain part of my brain that creates a sense of discomfort while also letting me solve puzzles to stay alive. The lighter price point and promise of next-gen updates also make it worth your time. Don’t miss out on the first genuinely disturbing game of 2021.
DisclaimerI want to thank everyone for the gilds, replies and suggestions. I just do not have time to reply to everyone, but I am reading everything. I am not sure how much bigger the thread can be, I already typed this but it vanished so I think I'm at the limit. I will try to keep updating, but I don't expect the thread to be up top for much longer and will likely vanish soon, so if you need anything save it. Yes, it's hard, it sucks, it's depressing. It is something we all have to do if you want to see this virus go. Everyone knows the deal, too many think they're the exception but no one is. However, staying home is hard so maybe I can help at least one or two people with some incentives. I'll try to give links to some things that can help cure the boredom, and some support if you need it. Most of this might be obvious to some, some might not even have internet and of course, money is a big issue, so I'll try to give some suggestions: For streaming and on demand things such as Netflix et al, don't forget you can subscribe for free for your first month. This goes for most things in the list. If you are worried about putting in your payment details and forgetting to cancel a month later, don't worry! You can sign up and immediately cancel and you still get your free month! For people who don't have a smart TV, you can buy a cheap Amazon Fire TV stick or a Roku box. The Fire stick can go as low as £20 often for 1080p. It will drop to £30 for 4k. I picked up a 4k Roku device for £18 on Amazon once. It's fast and snappy. currently it's going for £33 for the 4k version. Having both, there is little difference between the devices. NowTV also do their own roku powered device. Subscription based streaming sites that all offer 2-4 weeks free for first timers
Netflix *According to comments the second month is free.
Amazon Prime You can either get Amazon video on its own, or take prime with other benefits. I strongly urge those who use Amazon for buying off their store front to use [https://smile.amazon.co.uk/] as there is literally no difference except everything you buy amazon donates to a charity of your choice.
Amazon channels. I believe you can get all these individually but Amazon offers them as channels bound to your prime account, and they are again either free for a couple weeks (again, take them, cancel instantly) or very cheap. I recently subscribed to Starzplay for £1 for 3 months. It has some good shows on it like Fringe, doom patrol. It also has channels like Curiosity stream and shudder
If you have not subscribed to the any of the above, you can get a few months of free TV by signing up and cancelling instantly. I suggest waiting at least 5 minutes just to let it go through the system. Some tips for Now TV. IF you already have a subscription, I've noticed you can get it cheaper by cancelling. When you cancel they will beg you to stay. Select "I can not afford it this month" and they should beg again, telling you what shows they have. If you say you still want to cancel, they'll beg one last time and offer you the subscription for cheaper. This won't work every month, but I've noticed they'll always offer it the first time, then again after a couple months. If you're subscribed to both films and entertainment do the most expensive one as it may not work both times (but it might!). You can also pick up passes from storefronts a lot cheaper sometimes, before I could pick one up on Amazon for £3 but, they seem to have cracked down on it. If you shop around (or if anyone knows of a legitimate store please let me know) you might be able to pick it up cheaper. Lastly, check their website and under your account they should have an "offers for you" section. Completely free TV
If you do have a smart TV and/or device, there are some good free streaming apps. One I really love is called PlutoTV. I know this is on both Roku and the fire stick, as well as Ps4/Ps5 and xbox. Pluto offers a bunch of live channels and now an on demand section, all for free. It has adverts but they are actually short (shorter than regular TV and fewer of them). Some of the channels are just streaming certain shows like Mythbusters 24/7 or Dog the bounty hunter, but it has a lot of old movie channels as well as 24/7 kickboxing and MMA. It also has a 24/7 poker channel I quite like. Another one I like is Rakuten Viki however, I haven't watched it for a while as my fire stick is only 1080p and I have too many other devices attached. I believe it is on Roku but you have to jump through some hoops and have an account. The last I checked on the fire stick you did not. Viki offers a metric ton of Asian shows, mainly from Japan and South Korea but it does have chinese, Malaysian etc. It has subtitles. Some Japanese shows are hysterical, albeit weird. Roku also do their own channels with free shows if you own a device. For those who don't have a smart TV or a Streaming device, you can set up your own computer as a dedicated streaming device with Plex. It's been a while since I used it but I believe it now also offers free movies and TV. Anime If you are into Anime there is
The first 2 are free to watch, or offer premium without ads which you can have a trial with. Crunchyroll is the better of the two with more original choice for Japanese voice and subs, while Funimation has more Dubs. I don't believe HiDive is free to watch but you do get a 2 week trial. These are more exclusives than the previous two. PC Centric software If you are a gamer or like Audiobooks or anything that uses computers for things like music making, programming or graphic design
Humble Bundle offers, as per the name, bundles. A long running site that got bought out by IGN. It offers both single items and bundles you can buy individually/as a pack while also offering a separate monthly subscription for around £8-9. The subscription gives you 12 games on average per month. That's the simplest explanation but it changes somewhat as sometimes you get to pick 10 out of 14 games, or get all 12. Humble bundle offers more than just games though. Every Tuesday they bring a new bundle of games, while Thursday (I "think) a new bundle of books. They very often have books from the Black Library giving you a ton of Warhammer books. Sometimes it's standard E-books, other times it's audiobooks. A few times a year they do bundles for graphic design, a typical bundle would include programs like Paintshop Pro Corel Painter etc, They usually go for £0.76 for tier 1 up to around £18 for tier 3, which would include 4-6 full titles with 10+ addons. They also often have Music making bundles or video editing software as well as Programming or video game development. The bundles change often, they usually have around 11 bundles at a time that last for 20 days. Sometimes it's trash but they do often have some very good deals. Fanatical offers the same as humble bundle except usually not as high quality, but sometimes they do have some incredible deals, and they are very very cheap. Both humble and fanatical are safe, trusted and been around a long time, and they are NOT grey market key sites. They work with the publishers and developers. You can buy games both old and new for a lot cheaper than you would most other places. Unless it states otherwise, keys are usually for steam. **BOTH HB and Fanatical (HB much more common) offer free games fairly often. The catch is linking your steam account to them (at least HB). It is safe however. IndieGala is another site like above. Except, these are much much lower quality. However, they offer a metric ton of free games. Quality is low but it is legitimate, and a lot of free stuff. Game Store Fronts
Steam This one is so obvious I didn't add it, but apparently many want me to. It is the best out there, and you can find almost everything, with fantastic deals.
Greenmangaming offers games cheaply. Again, not a grey market site (which are legal but unethical) and they sometimes do bundles.
GoG (Good old games) is a DRM free site run by CDPR, the makers of the Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk. They offer you games quite cheap and not needing DRM (such as Steam, Uplay etc which is less invasive versions of dodgy DRM from the olden days).
Epic Games Despite the controversy whether you care about their rivalry with valve, they offer free games ever week. Without ever having bought anything I have gained over 170 games. literally. Good games for the most part. They often give you £10 coupons as well.
Twitch Everyone knows twitch, but if you don't, it's a streaming service for watching gamers and girls with low cut tops accidentally bending over in front of the game. However, if you're signed up to prime, you get free games each month (and randomly between the set bunch).
Playstation Store Currently has January sales. Currently the free games for PS+ are for PS4: Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Greedfall. For the Ps5 it is Maneater
Games with GoldBleed 2 and the King of Fighters XIII is available until Janurary 15th whilst little Nightmares is available until January 31st.
Gaming Subscriptions Like the TV versions, you can sign up to these for a free trial (or very cheap). If you do sign up to only one at a time, it should keep you busy for a few months
Xbox Game Pass You can do this on both/either an Xbox or PC. If you sign up to the regular one, you can get a month (maybe three!) for £1. After you have done that, you can sign up to the premium version for 3 months at £1 a month. Most people know game pass, but you can download a large selection of games for free. The premium version gives you games with gold, allowing you to keep the games forever (but can only play with a subscription)
Ubisoft+ I'm not 100% sure if you get a trial or not. This allows a large collection of Ubisoft titles to play for £12.99 a month. Quite expensive but good if you like Ubisoft titles I guess.
EA Play EA's version. Goes by a ton of names I think, EA Access, EA Play, Origin Access etc etc. There's a couple of versions of this, and it is across all platforms (PS4/5, Xbox, PC) but not sure about the switch. I "think" the premium allows you to play on all platforms, while the cheaper one on a single platform, but I may be mistaken.
PS Now a once terrible service that is now actually very good. Allows you to download some Ps4 games to your PS4/5 and lets you stream a massive amount of Ps2/3/4 to your PC or playstation.
There's more like nvidia's service but you need the Shield device which is quite expensive. I'll leave it at that. Audiobooks & Ebooks
Audible Not sure what the current deal is but if you are a prime member you can sign up for a trial and get a free Audiobook each month for 3 months. Some warhammer books are 48 hours long, 3 of those gives you a good 100+ hours of listening!
Comixology Another Amazon company, but lets you download some free comics I believe.
Sign LanguageBSL here No experience myself, suggested by n21brown and asked for a few times. Didn't know SL was so popular! Listed as "Pay what you can"
BBC's Bitesizehere is apparently good for home learning. Again, no personal experience.
If you need some spare change Okay, I don't generally bother with it, but maybe some of this could be useful to you. These are NOT a quick way to make a fortune. These are small things you can do over time for a bit of pocket change
If you have prime you can get a FREE FIVE POUND GIFT CARD by literally just streaming a song from Amazon music (which is included in prime) here is the detailsAccording to the comments it's only for select people, but it's worth trying If the link doesn't work for you just google "Amazon £5 coupon music"
Now, these sorts of sites have been around for years, I haven't used any other than talkInsights which I must have signed up to 10-15 years ago. Basically they send you surveys and you answer them. They are confidential and don't ask for personal details in the survey. You need 2000 points and you get £20. During the pandemic they've slowed down but I probably get around £40 a year. Not much I know, but it's an email followed by a quick survey ticking boxes. Depending on your answer sometimes you get screened out, I'm not telling you to lie but just be consistent with your answers and you should be able to work out how to not get screened. Some emails are only worth 20 points, others 200. It's slow to get to the 2000 but very quick to just answer a few questions.
Apparently beermoneyuk is a good sub to make some pocket change with.
There is also matched betting. I have never done this, I don't have the patience but from what I've read, it's legitimate, it works and you can make a fair amount of cash from it so long as you do it correctly, and there's a ton of guides. I mention this because people stuck at home could get into it and as long as you're careful (I.E not entering in the wrong numbers) it's risk free AND it pisses off the betting shops. It seems people in comments have had success with it. Disclaimer A couple have complained about gambling. This arguably is not gambling. If you are susceptible to addiction do not do it. However, it's argued that there is no fun or buzz in this, and it's a very tedious and time consuming thing. Others argue you can't make the same money anymore (People were making thousands, now only hundreds if that). It's risk free providing you know what you're doing, the risks are user error, such as entering the wrong numbers. Someone pointed out that due to the lockdown, bets could potentially be cancelled due to sport stopping. So use on a side of caution. We're (mainly) adults so I'll leave it up just because this doesn't have the excitement of regular gambling.
Microsoft Rewards This is an easy way to make pocket change doing very little. Most people have a MS account. The rewards program offers you numerous ways to grab points, by playing free to play games, answering small questions (you don't even need to answer most of the time, just open the link and shut it) and by using bing and searching on it. I've gotten 20k points JUST by answering questions over a couple months. There are many rewards but you can grab a £5 gift card for 6k for example, or a month of game pass (and AFAIK you can make points playing the games)
Google rewards Someone mentioned this in the comments. I have not used it, so can not give any input on it. Sounds similar to TalkInsights which I linked. Google states "Complete short surveys while standing in line, or waiting for a subway. Get rewarded with Google Play or PayPal credit for each one you complete. Topics include everything from opinion polls, to hotel reviews, to merchant satisfaction surveys. We’ll notify you when a survey is waiting."
That's it for now. I will try to update as I go along. A long post but I hope that it can help some of you with finding something good to do that's free, cheap or a bargain. I do suggest getting prime, especially since you get free music, free delivery, free TV and music and free video games each month. In fact, there's a ton of perks and I feel I've gotten way over the cost investment. Hope it helps someone at least PartTimeCrazy said if you bought an Apple product you get 3 free months of Apple Arcade and Apple TV free for a year fakehunted is upset I didn't mention wanking. Tesco have 225 sheets of Tissue for £0.75! tale_lost suggested Project Gutenberg for a collection of free E-Books Learning Language Unfortunately, I don't have time to check every link listed so I will link the comments: TogtogtogGives a lot of links for Spanish
Board & Tabletop games Corporal_Anaesthetic has made a list of Board games ilyemco suggested these HEALTH I'm not a doctor! But if you're a smoker, something I strongly suggest is to quit. I struggled for years but in the first lockdown I quit, technically. I haven't had a cigarette since, however, I do that silly thing millennials do. I vape, but, it made quitting extremely easy. I would not have been able to do it if it wasn't for 88Vape They sell extremely cheap liquids at £1 each. You can find these in B&M but you can pick up 25 for £20 or buy your own mix. Vitamin D deficiency has been said to be a big problem for the virus. I'd suggest (again, not a doctor!) that you pick some up. Tesco do a 3 for 2 deal. So you can pick up 270 tablets for £7. If you are vulnerable you MIGHT be able to phone tesco and get put on their delivery saver list (currently it's paused but phoning may help. At the very least they might give you a priority slot. I did this for my mum, we didn't shop at Tesco but I phoned for her, and they put her on with no hassle, so she can always get a delivery. HELP & ADVICE The lockdown Rules. Reasons to leave home include:
Work or volunteering where it is "unreasonable" to work from home. This includes work in someone else's home, such as that carried out by social workers, nannies, cleaners and tradespeople
Education, training, childcare and medical appointments and emergencies
Exercise outdoors (limited to once a day). This includes meeting one other person from another household in an open public space to exercise
Shopping for essentials such as food and medicine
Communal religious worship
Meeting your support or childcare bubble. Children can also move between separated parents Activities related to moving house
I want to add, if you are in danger you are also allowed (and must!) to get away from the situation for some reason, BBC seems to have missed this very important thing (or I am blind)
FOR THOSE SHIELDING YOU CAN CONTACT THEROYAL VOLUNTARY SERVICE. These people helped my mother with picking up her medicine from the chemist. They were very helpful and went out their way to keep in touch and do it immediately. (It's the only experience I have with them though) _riotingpacifist wanted these links added, but I simply just don't have the time to vet and check all the suggestions here, so I will link as is:
Krita Arguably the best in my opinion. It has a load of options, brushes and a decent UI. It works fantastic with a tablet.
Gimp This is a decent program but last I used, the UI was a pain, and it isn't so user friendly while misses features, but it works, and it is possible to do some incredible creations on it.
Medibang Paint This is slightly geared towards Comics and Manga. I really enjoy using this with my drawing Tablet. As far as I know, it also for regular tablets for Android/Ipad and is free.
You can pick up a drawing tablet on Amazon quite cheap these days! Small ones that are just a black slate such as the wacom ones are good but takes some practice to get use to, but very worth it if you can't afford a dedicated drawing tablet with a screen. Office suit software A couple of free applications for word processing, spreadsheets etc.
LibreOfficeThis has most the average user would need to write their own books or to work from home. There's not a huge amount of difference between the two I'm linking (since I last used anyway) so it's more for preference.
Open Office You can pick this up here and again, like above it's just preference.
Music Making I'm going to direct to matthewharris806 for some links as all the programs I've used like Reason are expensive, or cheaper stuff in bundles such as Magix software. Games development D_Dad_Default gives some links for that here
Comprehensive Guide about BB and how it shall take off in coming years
Alright folks, here's the comprehensive guide about the BB products, revenue details, customers, and what's in the store in the future. It's quite a lengthy one, please bare with me as you read and this is the first time I looked up regarding a company at this depth. Some background on the John Chen, who took up a massive challenge when he was the CEO for Sybase where the stock price was around 4-5$. But when he sold off to SAP it was around 65$, although it took 10 years to accomplish. He understands the business quite well and knows where to focus to generate more revenue and certainly be the best in what they do and provide the best to their customers.
Why should companies embrace BB products?
Best-in-class security
Safety
Reliability
Achievements:
18 of the G20 governments as customers
Leader in EPP sector
Only software company to attain various security certifications from US Govt
BlackBerry’s solutions address over 96% of the collective threats (Frost & Sullivan research data)
Named as a Leader in Gartner’s 2019 Magic Quadrant for Unified Endpoint Management Tools for the fourth consecutive year
Collaboration with Ansys to support BlackBerry QNX’s “RTOS” for connected and autonomous vehicles
WM Motor to embed BlackBerry’s QNX Neutrino Realtime Operating System and other BlackBerry QNX software products within the company’s third-generation SUVs
Integration of the QNX Platform for Digital Cockpits in MARELLI Electronics China’s eCockpit and Digital Cluster solution
Reece Group is now using BlackBerry Cylance technology to protect thousands of endpoints across its retail stores and offices in Australia and the United States
Agreement with ETAS GmbH, a subsidiary of Bosch, to cooperate on the joint development and marketing of an automotive software platform based on the AUTOSAR Adaptive standard
Deeper partnership with Jaguar Land Rover for the use of the Company’s AI and machine learning technologies, BlackBerry QNX software and BlackBerry Cybersecurity Consulting services
LG Electronics Inc. to accelerate the deployment of connected and autonomous vehicle technology for automotive OEMs and Tier 1 vendors
SYNNEX Corporation to distribute the BlackBerry Enterprise Mobility Suite in the United States and accelerate partner recruitment for the BlackBerry Enterprise Partner Program
BlackBerry Limited announced that the NATO Communications and Information (NCI) Agency has awarded a contract for BlackBerry’s SecuSUITE® for Government to encrypt the conversations of its technology and cyber leaders
Certifications Let's highlight the security certifications BB got in 2020. Before you read about the certifications which BB got, let this statement sink in deeply
No other software vendor in the cybersecurity space has been awarded more security certification by the US Government than BlackBerry.
In Q3 2020, BlackBerry UEM achieved the National Security Agency, NSA, commercial solution for classified program approval. This adds to the portfolio of US government certifications we have received for BlackBerry UEM including the NIAP-certification, the Department of Defense Information Network Approved Product List, which I think we talked about last quarter, DoDIN APL, FedRAMP and FIPS 140-2. Context from Q3 2020 earnings call: Recognition As you see from multiple research firms, BB stands out in what are they doing Ref: https://imgur.com/2CMg3OV https://imgur.com/qE13Y32
Which Markets BB has and will be targeting?
IoT
Cybersecurity
Connected transportation
Healthcare
Financial services
Government markets
Energy
Oil
Gas
What Products are offered by BB?
I'll share brief info about the below products specific to QNX itself QNX OTA: QNX Over the Air (OTA) is a customized remote software update solution addressing the increasingly complex requirements of embedded system manufacturers. It can be tailored to seamlessly and securely update and manage endpoints on a variety of embedded systems. QNX Acoustics Management Platform: Design and manage the total vehicle sonic experience with a pure software solution designed to run on general-purpose application processor cores for cost-effective high-fidelity sound. QNX Multimedia Suite: If the OEM or developers would like to use a framework to build multimedia players. QNX Black Channel Communications: It provides reliable data transmission and consumption and greatly reduces the scope of certification while eliminating the need to have a safety certified network stack. It's critical across automotive, robotics, industrial controls, and medical device industries. It can run on QNX® OS (SDP 7.0 or QOS 2.1), Linux® or SafeRTOS. QNX ADAS: Integrates sensor feeds from diverse sources (Camera, Radar, LiDAR, IMU, GPS sensors, etc.) into your critical embedded systems, including autonomous driving applications. RADAR: Launched in 2016, it is a complete asset tracking solution providing reliable visibility to trailer, chassis, containers and equipment. These ruggedized devices are easy-to-install, low maintenance and long-lasting to minimize operational disruptions and maximize your ROI. How it’s different from rest of the competitors:
High volume of collection, up to 100 times more than other solutions in the market
It is designed for cloud-based – cloud-hosted business analytics applications, and reporting in one integrated and scalable platform
Long lasting battery, its modular architecture, and the ease of installation
How can the BB retain leading position in different sectors?
The Company’s goal is to remain a leader in regulated industries and other core verticals by continuing to extend the functionality of its secure BlackBerry Spark® software platform (UEM + UES).
How does the EV Sector Exponential Growth help BB?
Well, the 2020 to 2022 is a period for gaining significant momentum in the Smart EV sector and which shall rapidly accelerate from 2023 to 2025. As we are noticing multiple companies in EV sector trying to launch their products. Most of the companies would love to be part of the growing EV sector as it just the beginning excluding TESLA. They will eventually develop products/platforms for OEM's and Tier1 and provide it as a service. As EV sector evolves more, we should see more partnerships across other companies which aren't part of BB yet might be inclined to use at least one product. As the BB product offerings are diverse and the customer success stories about how they have played a role while manufacturing their own EV products with minimal efforts can boost the marketing efforts. Chen stated they are going after the other 6 OEM's which aren't using the Blackberry yet. Currently, BlackBerry QNX has design wins with 19 of top 25 Electric Vehicle OEMs, who together have 61% of EV market.
How is BB coping up during the COVID?
The company expects BlackBerry QNX revenue to be negatively impacted by a slowdown in automotive market related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of which could be partially offset by increased customer demand for the Company’s endpoint security and productivity solutions that support business continuity and remote working environments, including the BlackBerry Spark platform, SecuSUITE and BlackBerry AtHoc.
What's upcoming and where is BB focusing strategically?
The Company is developing a concept system to integrate BlackBerry Spark capabilities, including AI and machine learning technologies, with BlackBerry QNX automotive solutions. Have to watch out for more information during the earnings calls.
How was the Customers growth among BB products?
QNX: QNX was acquired by BB in 2010, right from that moment, BB started its journey in Automotive industry. Initially, it has launched Infotainments and Telematic under QNX product category and it was deployed on leading car manufacturers. It started branching out and was able to offer more products under QNX. Now it is has aligned itself very well for the next gen EV cars. Adoption of QNX products from 2016 to 2020:
Under the terms of our agreement, BlackBerry will own all the commercial relationships with customers and will share revenues with AWS. The target is to be in the 2023 year’s auto model, with possibly potentially some professional services prior to it. While it is too early for us to provide a revenue outlook, we are confident that BlackBerry IVY addresses a very large market opportunity that will greatly increase our ASP.
Cylance: It is part of the Blackberry Spark product under UES category Typically, Cylance subscription period is 1 to 3 yrs. based on the deal’s BB made. Leader in EPP (Endpoint Protection Platform) and they are able to catch with competitors in EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) Customers: Added 279 new customers and new active subscription customer growth was about 15%. Notable new customers include General Motors, Becton Dickinson, Phillips Healthcare, SKF, which is one of Sweden’s largest manufacturers, the New Zealand Defense Force and the United States Census Bureau, just to name a few. Verizon launched their business internet secure offering, which includes our BlackBerry smart AV antivirus product and Cisco’s Umbrella security service. Blackberry Spark: Spark is collection of BlackBerry Cylance, BlackBerry® UEM, BlackBerry® Dynamics™ and BlackBerry® Workspaces products. BB to pushing its efforts for customers to choose this product in 2021. Spark, as a reminder, is a combination of UEM and UES, the Unified Endpoint Security offerings. In the 2020 Q2, Q3, BB made good progress in both the government, and financial services verticals with customer wins
U.S. Army
The United States Air Force, which upgraded over 90,000 users from UEM to the Spark Suite.
U.S. Postal Service
IRS
Department of Energy
Department of Justice
Raymond James Financial
Citibank
German Bundesbank
Bank of India
Government of Rwanda
UK Ministry of Defence
Royal Canadian Mint
Banco de Mexico
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Rolls Royce
Lloyds Bank
Societe Générale
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
American Express
CIBC
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Qatar National Bank
The National Commercial Bank
Absa Bank
The Development Bank of Singapore
In addition, they had success in verticals including healthcare and manufacturing sector. Up on the acquisition of Cylance company, BB was able to integrate it with its existing products which will be part of UES suite. Customers are inclined to upgrade from UEM (Unified Endpoint Management) to UES (Unified Endpoint Security) Customers are eager to get with UES:
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Borse
ConvergeOne
Multiple ministries of the Dutch government
UEM Suite UEM Suite was added to the Department of Defense Information Network Approved Products List (DoDIN APL). BlackBerry is the only UEM vendor that has achieved this level of approval to date. This achievement is based on the completion of cybersecurity and interoperability certifications. This approval will provide us better access and a more streamlined approval process. This should naturally lead to greater revenue opportunities going forward. The latest release of UEM has also recently achieved NIAP accreditation AtHoc: Zoom was one of the customers who is using AtHoc product, after we know what happened to the stock when street found out that it wasn't secure. In this way, Zoom can highly secure way to hold virtual meetings in this new work-from-anywhere environment. Even, Microsoft Teams and ServiceNow’s Now platforms are on AtHoc. As we know, Teams market leader has 116 million active users and Service Now 51%, IT Service management. Customers:
NYSE
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Edmonton Police Service
US Department of Transportation
BlackBerry Radar: In 2020, Canadian Pacific Railway agreed to deploy product on 2,000 of its domestic intermodal chassis. In 2019, one of the top three U.S. retailers specializing in home improvement. The customer placed a 2,500 unit’s order. In 2019 fiscal year, they have added 50 new customers and recurring revenue from the existing customers.
A big part of our competitive advantage is the BlackBerry legacy experience in designing a reliable, secure solution,” Plaat said. “That’s an important issue in this industry with high capital assets that you keep for years. The ROI is very good for a reliable solution like ours.”
Customers:
Almon Equipment
Titanium Transportation Group
KreilKamp Trucking
RightLane Carrier
Axsun
Matson Logistics
CP
New Malwa Express
CTS (Contract Transport Services)
Polaris Transportation Group
XTL
BB Revenue:
Check the Spreadsheet for the Revenue Sources. 2021 Fiscal year Note: Software and Services include these products IoT, QNX, BlackBerry Spark, AtHoc, Radar. The revenue got impacted due to 2020 chaos especially on the QNX product side. According to the earning calls. There are still on track to maintain the gross margin over 70% and dollar net retention rate is above 90%. As you see, the gross margin has been consistent past few years and revenue is steadily increasing every year. Revenue, Gross Margin, Net Income, EPS for years 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016 Growth in Revenue from Products from 2019-2013 Notes: In 2019, due to restructuring, BB was unable to close deals, we should see +ve in 2020. IoT: Comprised of QNX products, UEM, & Radar Other: Handheld Devices and Service Access Fee (SAF) Since BB was moving away from manufacturing of devices gradually, in 2020 most of it done by third party companies. That’s why we have negative growth under Other.
Pricing for BB products
QNX Pricing: As there are many modules under QNX, like hypervisor, ADAS, clusters, cockpit, IVI. The cost ranges anywhere from the low-single digit dollars to literally high-single digit or low-double digit dollars per module. Trefis estimates BlackBerry generates about $4 in QNX revenue per vehicle. Automakers are only expected to ship about 62 million new vehicles this year, according to Statista Research. Assuming QNX is installed on at least half of those vehicles, BlackBerry would generate about $120 million in annual sales -- or nearly a fifth of its trailing 12-month software and services revenue -- from QNX this year. Link: https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/12/07/investors-overreacting-blackberry-deal-with-amazon/ Unfortunately, we don't know the exact price the QNX OS costs or per say other modules under QNX. If more modules of QNX are used, then it's adds up and the Average Rate for Per Unit might be 4x or 5x. This gives us an idea about how to get more revenue from QNX itself when the manufacturer would use other modules under QNX apart from OS. We have already seen list of the OEM's from previous posts and in the above spreadsheet you saw list of the QNX products certain OEM's are using IoT subscription period is typically 4 yrs. Radar Pricing: Estimation in 2017: BlackBerry charges $10 to $20 per month for every trailer connected to Radar. The Go-to-Market objective is to have approximately a 50-50 split in Radar sales between BlackBerry’s channel partners and its direct sales force. BlackBerry Radar partners typically sell only this particular solution. Recently, BB was able to expand channel ecosystem to more than 12 channel partners, this new partnership might help BB capture more of the logistics and transportation area. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blackberry-radar-expands-channel-ecosystem-with-new-partners-301052631.html https://www.reuters.com/article/us-blackberry-recovery/born-again-blackberry-canadian-icon-hopes-to-ride-trucks-to-growth-idUSKBN1901P1 Cylance Pricing: Cylance might charge 55$ per endpoint per year. Announced that Forrester found that BlackBerry Cylance’s AI-driven endpoint security products delivered a 99 percent return on investment. We will see more revenue in 2021 as we shared earlier that customers who bought UEM are excited about UES too. At present, the market share is below 1%. Ref: https://www.datanyze.com/market-share/ep--359 The outlook of the Cylance in 2021 and further Projected Product Sector Revenue Growth by 2025: QNX: According to survey, the Global In-Vehicle Infotainment Market size is expected to reach $42.7 billion by 2025 (This is where we shall see more competition from different OEM manufacturers as they build their own products) Global Market Insights, Inc. has recently added a new report on automotive operating system market which estimates the global market valuation for automotive OS will cross US$ 4.5 billion by 2026 And the QNX OS (Just the OS) segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of nearly 15% from 2020 to 2026 https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/11/24/2132346/0/en/Automotive-OS-Market-to-hit-USD-4-5-Bn-by-2026-Global-Market-Insights-Inc.html Endpoint Protection (Cylance): The global endpoint security market is expected to grow from 13.58 billion $ in 2020 to 19.24 billion $ in 2025 at a CAGR of 7.6% during the forecast period. https://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/endpoint-security-market. Assuming the market share in endpoint increases to ~3%. It can be around 577 million Asset Management (Radar): Global asset tracking market will reach $36.3B by 2025, growing at 15% CAGR https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/03/04/1995009/0/en/Global-Asset-Tracking-Market-2020-2025-Insights-Into-Technologies-Solutions-and-the-Ecosystem-Including-Major-Players.html We have to know what the priority level for BB for this product and how much market share they are targeting in the upcoming years. It’s quite early to say about it and the contribution to the revenue is insignificant compared to other products. Challenges: QNX: Toyota, VW, Mercedes Benz have started taking route of AGL (Automotive Grade Linux) which is an open source (free to use) which implies the QNX market share in OS is waning. These are big manufacturers and how blackberry shall adapt is wait and see game. There is always a case where companies might decide not to use more of the QNX modules just the OS, this will impact the Average Selling Price (ASP) per car as well as the revenue since those modules add up 4x-5x ASP. IVY: Revenue from Blackberry IVY shall be more reflective from 2023, stated by Chen. So, there is uncertainty in this area and no revenue estimate. We have to see how this partnership plays out how companies are willing to adopt cloud platform for insights and management of the automotive software’s. Cylance: Currently, the market is highly competitive, and BB has to make it way to top 10 and capture more market share. In 2021, it shall unfold more about it as we are seeing rapid growth in IoT sector across various sectors. The BB is in the right position to capture more of the automotive market and we have to see how it shall play out in coming years when EV sector is full blown and more cars are delivered, and security threats increase. Also, it offers the endpoint protection, which certainly companies can benefit but not necessarily the SMB which are driven through e-commerce platforms. Radar: It’s barely scratching the surface in this sector and as there are bigger sharks who have been in the market for long time. In the second quarter of fiscal 2019, the Company previously stated that it expected to generate $100 million in cumulative revenue from its BlackBerry Radar asset tracking solution over the next three years. The Company no longer expects to generate this revenue within this time frame. (This is a set back and there are other competitors who have been in the Logistics and Transportation Industry for quite some time). In general, BB has to pitch itself more aggressively in other sectors especially in Medical, Industrial, Oil and Energy. Considering the certifications they have and the clients they serve. Thanks to OP's and go give a read at these DD's too: https://new.reddit.com/wallstreetbets/comments/ks4s3s/bb_king_the_blast_from_the_past_with_the/ https://new.reddit.com/wallstreetbets/comments/l37ktg/bb_weekend_due_diligence_confirmation_bias/ Target Price in 2021: 25-30 (by not considering crazy valuations into account). I personally believe if the IVY platform and Spark product revenue increases then we can certainly see the stock price 4x-5x in coming years. Positions: 400 shares @ 12 and 2 Jan 20 2023 SP 15. I plan to add more as I see the potential and growth in the newly introduced products. Disclaimer: This is not a financial advice, I'm merely a random person who loves BB and would like to see this company fly to new heigths. Cheers to everyone!! Edit1: thanks u/melbogia, added the date which I missed earlier for the calls.
Comprehensive Guide about BB and how it shall take off in coming years
Alright folks, here's the comprehensive guide about the BB products, revenue details, customers, and what's in the store in the future. It's quite a lengthy one, please bare with me as you read and this is the first time I looked up regarding a company at this depth. Some background on the John Chen, who took up a massive challenge when he was the CEO for Sybase where the stock price was around 4-5$. But when he sold off to SAP it was around 65$, although it took 10 years to accomplish. He understands the business quite well and knows where to focus to generate more revenue and certainly be the best in what they do and provide the best to their customers.
Why should companies embrace BB products?
Best-in-class security
Safety
Reliability
Achievements:
18 of the G20 governments as customers
Leader in EPP sector
Only software company to attain various security certifications from US Govt
BlackBerry’s solutions address over 96% of the collective threats (Frost & Sullivan research data)
Named as a Leader in Gartner’s 2019 Magic Quadrant for Unified Endpoint Management Tools for the fourth consecutive year
Collaboration with Ansys to support BlackBerry QNX’s “RTOS” for connected and autonomous vehicles
WM Motor to embed BlackBerry’s QNX Neutrino Realtime Operating System and other BlackBerry QNX software products within the company’s third-generation SUVs
Integration of the QNX Platform for Digital Cockpits in MARELLI Electronics China’s eCockpit and Digital Cluster solution
Reece Group is now using BlackBerry Cylance technology to protect thousands of endpoints across its retail stores and offices in Australia and the United States
Agreement with ETAS GmbH, a subsidiary of Bosch, to cooperate on the joint development and marketing of an automotive software platform based on the AUTOSAR Adaptive standard
Deeper partnership with Jaguar Land Rover for the use of the Company’s AI and machine learning technologies, BlackBerry QNX software and BlackBerry Cybersecurity Consulting services
LG Electronics Inc. to accelerate the deployment of connected and autonomous vehicle technology for automotive OEMs and Tier 1 vendors
SYNNEX Corporation to distribute the BlackBerry Enterprise Mobility Suite in the United States and accelerate partner recruitment for the BlackBerry Enterprise Partner Program
BlackBerry Limited announced that the NATO Communications and Information (NCI) Agency has awarded a contract for BlackBerry’s SecuSUITE® for Government to encrypt the conversations of its technology and cyber leaders
Certifications Let's highlight the security certifications BB got in 2020. Before you read about the certifications which BB got, let this statement sink in deeply
No other software vendor in the cybersecurity space has been awarded more security certification by the US Government than BlackBerry.
In Q3 2020, BlackBerry UEM achieved the National Security Agency, NSA, commercial solution for classified program approval. This adds to the portfolio of US government certifications we have received for BlackBerry UEM including the NIAP-certification, the Department of Defense Information Network Approved Product List, which I think we talked about last quarter, DoDIN APL, FedRAMP and FIPS 140-2. Context from Q3 2020 earnings call: Recognition As you see from multiple research firms, BB stands out in what are they doing Ref: https://imgur.com/2CMg3OV https://imgur.com/qE13Y32
Which Markets BB has and will be targeting?
IoT
Cybersecurity
Connected transportation
Healthcare
Financial services
Government markets
Energy
Oil
Gas
What Products are offered by BB?
I'll share brief info about the below products specific to QNX itself QNX OTA: QNX Over the Air (OTA) is a customized remote software update solution addressing the increasingly complex requirements of embedded system manufacturers. It can be tailored to seamlessly and securely update and manage endpoints on a variety of embedded systems. QNX Acoustics Management Platform: Design and manage the total vehicle sonic experience with a pure software solution designed to run on general-purpose application processor cores for cost-effective high-fidelity sound. QNX Multimedia Suite: If the OEM or developers would like to use a framework to build multimedia players. QNX Black Channel Communications: It provides reliable data transmission and consumption and greatly reduces the scope of certification while eliminating the need to have a safety certified network stack. It's critical across automotive, robotics, industrial controls, and medical device industries. It can run on QNX® OS (SDP 7.0 or QOS 2.1), Linux® or SafeRTOS. QNX ADAS: Integrates sensor feeds from diverse sources (Camera, Radar, LiDAR, IMU, GPS sensors, etc.) into your critical embedded systems, including autonomous driving applications. RADAR: Launched in 2016, it is a complete asset tracking solution providing reliable visibility to trailer, chassis, containers and equipment. These ruggedized devices are easy-to-install, low maintenance and long-lasting to minimize operational disruptions and maximize your ROI. How it’s different from rest of the competitors:
High volume of collection, up to 100 times more than other solutions in the market
It is designed for cloud-based – cloud-hosted business analytics applications, and reporting in one integrated and scalable platform
Long lasting battery, its modular architecture, and the ease of installation
How can the BB retain leading position in different sectors?
The Company’s goal is to remain a leader in regulated industries and other core verticals by continuing to extend the functionality of its secure BlackBerry Spark® software platform (UEM + UES).
How does the EV Sector Exponential Growth help BB?
Well, the 2020 to 2022 is a period for gaining significant momentum in the Smart EV sector and which shall rapidly accelerate from 2023 to 2025. As we are noticing multiple companies in EV sector trying to launch their products. Most of the companies would love to be part of the growing EV sector as it just the beginning excluding TESLA. They will eventually develop products/platforms for OEM's and Tier1 and provide it as a service. As EV sector evolves more, we should see more partnerships across other companies which aren't part of BB yet might be inclined to use at least one product. As the BB product offerings are diverse and the customer success stories about how they have played a role while manufacturing their own EV products with minimal efforts can boost the marketing efforts. Chen stated they are going after the other 6 OEM's which aren't using the Blackberry yet. Currently, BlackBerry QNX has design wins with 19 of top 25 Electric Vehicle OEMs, who together have 61% of EV market.
How is BB coping up during the COVID?
The company expects BlackBerry QNX revenue to be negatively impacted by a slowdown in automotive market related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of which could be partially offset by increased customer demand for the Company’s endpoint security and productivity solutions that support business continuity and remote working environments, including the BlackBerry Spark platform, SecuSUITE and BlackBerry AtHoc.
What's upcoming and where is BB focusing strategically?
The Company is developing a concept system to integrate BlackBerry Spark capabilities, including AI and machine learning technologies, with BlackBerry QNX automotive solutions. Have to watch out for more information during the earnings calls.
How was the Customers growth among BB products?
QNX: QNX was acquired by BB in 2010, right from that moment, BB started its journey in Automotive industry. Initially, it has launched Infotainments and Telematic under QNX product category and it was deployed on leading car manufacturers. It started branching out and was able to offer more products under QNX. Now it is has aligned itself very well for the next gen EV cars. Adoption of QNX products from 2016 to 2020:
Under the terms of our agreement, BlackBerry will own all the commercial relationships with customers and will share revenues with AWS. The target is to be in the 2023 year’s auto model, with possibly potentially some professional services prior to it. While it is too early for us to provide a revenue outlook, we are confident that BlackBerry IVY addresses a very large market opportunity that will greatly increase our ASP.
Cylance: It is part of the Blackberry Spark product under UES category Typically, Cylance subscription period is 1 to 3 yrs. based on the deal’s BB made. Leader in EPP (Endpoint Protection Platform) and they are able to catch with competitors in EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) Customers: Added 279 new customers and new active subscription customer growth was about 15%. Notable new customers include General Motors, Becton Dickinson, Phillips Healthcare, SKF, which is one of Sweden’s largest manufacturers, the New Zealand Defense Force and the United States Census Bureau, just to name a few. Verizon launched their business internet secure offering, which includes our BlackBerry smart AV antivirus product and Cisco’s Umbrella security service. Blackberry Spark: Spark is collection of BlackBerry Cylance, BlackBerry® UEM, BlackBerry® Dynamics™ and BlackBerry® Workspaces products. BB to pushing its efforts for customers to choose this product in 2021. Spark, as a reminder, is a combination of UEM and UES, the Unified Endpoint Security offerings. In the 2020 Q2, Q3, BB made good progress in both the government, and financial services verticals with customer wins
U.S. Army
The United States Air Force, which upgraded over 90,000 users from UEM to the Spark Suite.
U.S. Postal Service
IRS
Department of Energy
Department of Justice
Raymond James Financial
Citibank
German Bundesbank
Bank of India
Government of Rwanda
UK Ministry of Defence
Royal Canadian Mint
Banco de Mexico
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Rolls Royce
Lloyds Bank
Societe Générale
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
American Express
CIBC
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Qatar National Bank
The National Commercial Bank
Absa Bank
The Development Bank of Singapore
In addition, they had success in verticals including healthcare and manufacturing sector. Up on the acquisition of Cylance company, BB was able to integrate it with its existing products which will be part of UES suite. Customers are inclined to upgrade from UEM (Unified Endpoint Management) to UES (Unified Endpoint Security) Customers are eager to get with UES:
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Borse
ConvergeOne
Multiple ministries of the Dutch government
UEM Suite UEM Suite was added to the Department of Defense Information Network Approved Products List (DoDIN APL). BlackBerry is the only UEM vendor that has achieved this level of approval to date. This achievement is based on the completion of cybersecurity and interoperability certifications. This approval will provide us better access and a more streamlined approval process. This should naturally lead to greater revenue opportunities going forward. The latest release of UEM has also recently achieved NIAP accreditation AtHoc: Zoom was one of the customers who is using AtHoc product, after we know what happened to the stock when street found out that it wasn't secure. In this way, Zoom can highly secure way to hold virtual meetings in this new work-from-anywhere environment. Even, Microsoft Teams and ServiceNow’s Now platforms are on AtHoc. As we know, Teams market leader has 116 million active users and Service Now 51%, IT Service management. Customers:
NYSE
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Edmonton Police Service
US Department of Transportation
BlackBerry Radar: In 2020, Canadian Pacific Railway agreed to deploy product on 2,000 of its domestic intermodal chassis. In 2019, one of the top three U.S. retailers specializing in home improvement. The customer placed a 2,500 unit’s order. In 2019 fiscal year, they have added 50 new customers and recurring revenue from the existing customers.
A big part of our competitive advantage is the BlackBerry legacy experience in designing a reliable, secure solution,” Plaat said. “That’s an important issue in this industry with high capital assets that you keep for years. The ROI is very good for a reliable solution like ours.”
Customers:
Almon Equipment
Titanium Transportation Group
KreilKamp Trucking
RightLane Carrier
Axsun
Matson Logistics
CP
New Malwa Express
CTS (Contract Transport Services)
Polaris Transportation Group
XTL
BB Revenue:
Check the Spreadsheet for the Revenue Sources. 2021 Fiscal year Note: Software and Services include these products IoT, QNX, BlackBerry Spark, AtHoc, Radar. The revenue got impacted due to 2020 chaos especially on the QNX product side. According to the earning calls. There are still on track to maintain the gross margin over 70% and dollar net retention rate is above 90%. As you see, the gross margin has been consistent past few years and revenue is steadily increasing every year. Revenue, Gross Margin, Net Income, EPS for years 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016 Growth in Revenue from Products from 2019-2013 Notes: In 2019, due to restructuring, BB was unable to close deals, we should see +ve in 2020. IoT: Comprised of QNX products, UEM, & Radar Other: Handheld Devices and Service Access Fee (SAF) Since BB was moving away from manufacturing of devices gradually, in 2020 most of it done by third party companies. That’s why we have negative growth under Other.
Pricing for BB products
QNX Pricing: As there are many modules under QNX, like hypervisor, ADAS, clusters, cockpit, IVI. The cost ranges anywhere from the low-single digit dollars to literally high-single digit or low-double digit dollars per module. Trefis estimates BlackBerry generates about $4 in QNX revenue per vehicle. Automakers are only expected to ship about 62 million new vehicles this year, according to Statista Research. Assuming QNX is installed on at least half of those vehicles, BlackBerry would generate about $120 million in annual sales -- or nearly a fifth of its trailing 12-month software and services revenue -- from QNX this year. Link: https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/12/07/investors-overreacting-blackberry-deal-with-amazon/ Unfortunately, we don't know the exact price the QNX OS costs or per say other modules under QNX. If more modules of QNX are used, then it's adds up and the Average Rate for Per Unit might be 4x or 5x. This gives us an idea about how to get more revenue from QNX itself when the manufacturer would use other modules under QNX apart from OS. We have already seen list of the OEM's from previous posts and in the above spreadsheet you saw list of the QNX products certain OEM's are using IoT subscription period is typically 4 yrs. Radar Pricing: Estimation in 2017: BlackBerry charges $10 to $20 per month for every trailer connected to Radar. The Go-to-Market objective is to have approximately a 50-50 split in Radar sales between BlackBerry’s channel partners and its direct sales force. BlackBerry Radar partners typically sell only this particular solution. Recently, BB was able to expand channel ecosystem to more than 12 channel partners, this new partnership might help BB capture more of the logistics and transportation area. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blackberry-radar-expands-channel-ecosystem-with-new-partners-301052631.html https://www.reuters.com/article/us-blackberry-recovery/born-again-blackberry-canadian-icon-hopes-to-ride-trucks-to-growth-idUSKBN1901P1 Cylance Pricing: Cylance might charge 55$ per endpoint per year. Announced that Forrester found that BlackBerry Cylance’s AI-driven endpoint security products delivered a 99 percent return on investment. We will see more revenue in 2021 as we shared earlier that customers who bought UEM are excited about UES too. At present, the market share is below 1%. Ref: https://www.datanyze.com/market-share/ep--359 The outlook of the Cylance in 2021 and further Projected Product Sector Revenue Growth by 2025: QNX: According to survey, the Global In-Vehicle Infotainment Market size is expected to reach $42.7 billion by 2025 (This is where we shall see more competition from different OEM manufacturers as they build their own products) Global Market Insights, Inc. has recently added a new report on automotive operating system market which estimates the global market valuation for automotive OS will cross US$ 4.5 billion by 2026 And the QNX OS (Just the OS) segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of nearly 15% from 2020 to 2026 https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/11/24/2132346/0/en/Automotive-OS-Market-to-hit-USD-4-5-Bn-by-2026-Global-Market-Insights-Inc.html Endpoint Protection (Cylance): The global endpoint security market is expected to grow from 13.58 billion $ in 2020 to 19.24 billion $ in 2025 at a CAGR of 7.6% during the forecast period. https://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/endpoint-security-market. Assuming the market share in endpoint increases to ~3%. It can be around 577 million Asset Management (Radar): Global asset tracking market will reach $36.3B by 2025, growing at 15% CAGR https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/03/04/1995009/0/en/Global-Asset-Tracking-Market-2020-2025-Insights-Into-Technologies-Solutions-and-the-Ecosystem-Including-Major-Players.html We have to know what the priority level for BB for this product and how much market share they are targeting in the upcoming years. It’s quite early to say about it and the contribution to the revenue is insignificant compared to other products. Challenges: QNX: Toyota, VW, Mercedes Benz have started taking route of AGL (Automotive Grade Linux) which is an open source (free to use) which implies the QNX market share in OS is waning. These are big manufacturers and how blackberry shall adapt is wait and see game. There is always a case where companies might decide not to use more of the QNX modules just the OS, this will impact the Average Selling Price (ASP) per car as well as the revenue since those modules add up 4x-5x ASP. IVY: Revenue from Blackberry IVY shall be more reflective from 2023, stated by Chen. So, there is uncertainty in this area and no revenue estimate. We have to see how this partnership plays out how companies are willing to adopt cloud platform for insights and management of the automotive software’s. Cylance: Currently, the market is highly competitive, and BB has to make it way to top 10 and capture more market share. In 2021, it shall unfold more about it as we are seeing rapid growth in IoT sector across various sectors. The BB is in the right position to capture more of the automotive market and we have to see how it shall play out in coming years when EV sector is full blown and more cars are delivered, and security threats increase. Also, it offers the endpoint protection, which certainly companies can benefit but not necessarily the SMB which are driven through e-commerce platforms. Radar: It’s barely scratching the surface in this sector and as there are bigger sharks who have been in the market for long time. In the second quarter of fiscal 2019, the Company previously stated that it expected to generate $100 million in cumulative revenue from its BlackBerry Radar asset tracking solution over the next three years. The Company no longer expects to generate this revenue within this time frame. (This is a set back and there are other competitors who have been in the Logistics and Transportation Industry for quite some time). In general, BB has to pitch itself more aggressively in other sectors especially in Medical, Industrial, Oil and Energy. Considering the certifications they have and the clients they serve. Thanks to OP's and go give a read at these DD's too: https://new.reddit.com/wallstreetbets/comments/ks4s3s/bb_king_the_blast_from_the_past_with_the/ https://new.reddit.com/wallstreetbets/comments/l37ktg/bb_weekend_due_diligence_confirmation_bias/ Target Price in 2021: 25-30 (by not considering crazy valuations into account). I personally believe if the IVY platform and Spark product revenue increases then we can certainly see the stock price 4x-5x in coming years. Positions: 400 shares @ 12 and 2 Jan 20 2023 SP 15. I plan to add more as I see the potential and growth in the newly introduced products. Disclaimer: This is not a financial advice, I'm merely a random person who loves BB and would like to see this company fly to new heigths. Cheers to everyone!! Edit1: thanks u/melbogia, added the date which I missed earlier for the calls.
Why Index Funds are Not as Safe and Bubbles are Not as Destructive as You Might Believe
According to Morningstar research in the middle of 2019 almost half of all US stocks were part of some passive index fund. This number almost doubled since 2009. In the meantime, active management is on a steady decline, especially active managed funds. Around the same time Dr. Michael Burry compared index funds to CDOs. Let’s look into this case and try to draw something from it for our benefit. 1. How come index funds are compared to CDOs if they only track industries or sectors of economy? What we often miss is that the index fund, instead of being a neutral observer, is an active participant in the fundamentals of the companies that compose a particular index. The fund does so by providing capital and influencing market value of a security (this also opens a window of opportunities for the company behind the ticker to raise capital via bank loans or private investments). What’s so bad about this? Well, passive funds don’t go through balance sheets, there is no fair value assessment, no analysis and no risk taking. They just buy whatever company is big enough to make it into the index. This company can then use provided capital to stay afloat or influence it’s price by share buybacks, dividends or simply pay huge bonuses to it’s management. Just like banks didn’t care about subprime mortgages that were packed into CDOs, index funds managers don’t care about what exactly goes into their ‘soup’. With the banks it was just greed and ignorance – in case of index funds it’s by design. When there is a stable influx of new capital into passive funds, zombie companies are dragged higher and higher. WSB goddess Cathie Wood called this the greatest misallocation of funds in the history. But why is so much cash flowing into index funds? Is it a trend? Is someone incentivized to promote them? Well, yes, but the main reason is different: boomer psychology and our friend, the FED. See, boomers have massive capitals. All those pension funds, retiring firefighters, trust babies, capital heirs – they all seek safety. They don’t try to get 500% returns YOY or lose it all. They are very content with just beating inflation. Throw few percents above inflation and they will be over the moon. For a long time their favorite asset class were treasuries. 2. What is happening to the bond market? In 2016 US bond market was almost $40 trillion in value, compared to less than $20 trillion for the domestic stock market. Now, I haven’t seen yet the data about the size of US bond market of 2020, but everything points that it’s ratio to stock market is deteriorating. The US 10-year government-bond yield fell from nearly 2.00% at the beginning of the year to an all-time low of just 0.31% in early March. That’s what Rick Rule called ‘return free risk’, since allocating capital into these treasuries almost guarantees you to lose money to inflation. https://preview.redd.it/q6r2fhqfu6961.png?width=1372&format=png&auto=webp&s=b72fad038a47ee1a0adca587881f46bafc25cc89 Look at what is happening in Europe: “The ECB, which added 500 billion euros ($606 billion) to its pandemic bond buying program, is set to own around 43% of Germany’s sovereign bond market by the end of next year and around two-fifths of Italian notes, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. That’s up from around 30% and 25% respectively at the end of 2019... Trading volumes in bund futures have collapsed 62% since the ECB started buying bonds, according to Axa, while ranges the lifeblood of traders have nosedived across Europe. In both the safest and riskiest nations, this quarter’s spread between the highest and lowest yields is the tightest it’s been since at least the global financial crisis.” The FED is doing quite the same. Buying bonds (including corporate) all over the place and lowering interest rates to the ground. What’s even more devastating for boomers is that there’s no hope on the horizon: the FED promises to keep interest rates low for the next few years. We are really heading towards Japan situation where the central bank is that fat ugly bully kid playing all by himself in the sandbox. 3. Where to go if the bonds are not so hot? This all causes big money to chase the next best thing. What do people consider safe? Real Estate. And indeed it rose: according to Knight Frank Global House price index US housing prices rose 7% from Q3 2019 to Q3 2020. But that’s a lot of hustle for big money. And that is hardly a passive income, rather a career. So the next best thing is index funds. What can be better than tracking the whole US economy? Never bet against America, am I right? Even if we stumble upon a market crash sending S&P down – the economy will recover, it always does, right? The influx of cash into ETFs is basically a self fulfilling prophecy: it drives prices up and those yearly returns get even more lucrative compared to sexy 0.31% provided by treasuries. The data shows that 2019-2020 saw again a spike in passive management allocation, but I couldn't find more up to date graph Even worse is that actively managed funds and bank investments start to, basically, replicate index funds. That is due to the risk/reward factor: if the funds outperform the market - they get some good rep and few new customers; but when they underperform the market – they get absolutely obliterated. Only few outsiders can risk picking deep value stocks or plays, that are not common portfolio dwellers. Or it takes someone with huge authority like Warren Buffett or Howard Marks. 4. Bubbles everywhere Now, at this point you might be on the edge of your seat, banging your fist and thinking that this is nothing but a bubble and the boomers, index funds and the FED are to blame. Well, it is. Hard truth is that fundamentals in the long run always kick-in. So-called Buffett indicator (total stocks market cap to GDP) is almost at a record high. And on top of that we have Dot.com bubble 2.0 with crazy tech enthusiasm. And a second real estate bubble too. But I urge you to notice, that bubbles are not all the same with the same outcome. Well, they all go burst, but that’s not the point. There are bubbles that I would call ‘General Market Heat’ - situations when too much money goes into the market, causing it to overheat. Then some sort of event, panic, fear, or rumor, not necessary caused by declining fundamentals, sends the market to downward spiral. As an example: panic of 1857, 1929, 1987, etc. The better the fundamentals were and the least the government gets involved – the faster it rebounds. Those bubbles do nothing but attract more speculators and their only result is the number of bankruptcies. Then there are bubbles that I would call ‘Thematic Bubbles’ - those are dedicated to some specific industry or a number of particular stocks that are expected to grow enormously. Tulip Mania in Netherlands (1637), Railway Mania in UK (1840s), Video Games Crash of 1983, Dot Com Bubble (2000). They all chased some particular novelty and all landed on their faces. But doing so they provided huge capital to developing industries. Dot Com Bubble gave us rapid growth of internet usage. Video Games chase of the late 70s and early 80s gave us the golden age of arcade gaming and huge inventions in graphics and game tech. Railway Mania left Britain with the largest system of railroads in the world. And guess who is the biggest exporter of tulips and holds 49 % of the global flower market? Yep, Netherlands, to this day, almost 400 years since the mania! This did not in any way benefit the majority of investors who went down with the bubble. But you can view this as a sacrifice of dumb and greedy people for the benefit of the progress. I get a sense of pride in this noble cause, as a member of WSB community. Back to boomers and index funds. By pouring money into index funds they provide capital both to disruptive industries and to zombie companies. The good thing is that the tech gets the majority of it, since it has the biggest share. Just look at the SPY top 6 holdings: https://preview.redd.it/ien160wku6961.png?width=361&format=png&auto=webp&s=b4fb8528478110ff0f2d5f9e1a793d7b5e5a9085 It’s genuinely good that companies like Tesla will get allocation of billions and billions which they (frankly) do not quite deserve at current fundamentals. This will accelerate their growth. The bad thing is that such allocations cement big tech monopolies, damaging competition. And it also provides liquidity to zombie companies big enough to make it into indexes. Difference is that innovative companies use this cash to reinvest into future growth. That’s exactly why their P/E ratios are so bad. Zombies spend cash on buybacks and management bonuses. Because of how all these companies are tied together in index funds and due to the nature of modern margin calls – once any segment of the stock market falls, there will be a massive dip. Tech can drown any industry stocks with them and vice versa. But the Tech will be able to cut investments, R&D and expansions and become profitable, while zombies with a big debt will go bankrupt. Either way it’s investors, who will bear the pain. 5. What shall we draw from here:
There are huge inflows into the stock market. And the blame is not so much on the kids with RH as it is on the boomers and ‘smart money’ chasing index funds;
If you want to short any of the bubbles as a hedge – do not short the most growing and volatile sectors and ETFs like QQQ, because they benefit from the current market in a long run. And also the premiums are huge due to IV. Rather short slow and steady industries, because they will get nuked just as much in case of a crash, but the premiums you pay now will be much lower;
Passive index funds investing makes ‘price discovery’ and a search for deep value so much more challenging. But not impossible. Basically, Peter Lynch’s advise to look for companies with smaller institutional ownership still lives up today. Does this mean that prices can’t be good or go up under big index allocation? Hell no. But the chance to find a ten-bagger declines.As an anecdote: look into our champion’s GME institutional ownership: on Jan 31 2020 it was 96.6 % and declined to relatively low 66.7 by Sep 30. Exactly before it doubled in the next 3 months;
Some bubbles provide needed capital to developing and hyped industries causing structural change. Unfortunately, it is paid by investors who rarely see any return;
FED is to blame for everything (as always);
WSBers will lose money either way (as always).
TL;DR: The bond market is similar to boomers wives: sexy in the 80s, not so much today. Constant intrusions by their relatives (the FED) into their relationships makes things even worse. That sends boomers chasing young girls - the stocks. But their dongles aren’t so active anymore, so boomers prefer passive approach, using a dating app - index funds. Unfortunately, there are only so many hot girls among young ladies on the app. This leads to ugly ones receiving attention and money from boomers, which they otherwise wouldn’t deserve. Some of those ladies spend money wisely and will be good to go once the boomer dies out. Others immediately waste it on shopping. Now, if a young man wants to find a truly beautiful lady with reasonable expectations – he has a better chance searching outside of the boomer dating app. Obligatory pictograph of a rocket for those of us who are not yet fully developed for an alphabet 🚀 🚀 🚀
Discover the top gaming stocks to watch in 2021 and learn how to take a position. Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to There are also some interesting companies supporting the growth of eSports, through streaming or hosting tournament events. We used Tech Nation's Data Commons to identify the most valuable games companies, creators and studios younger than 10 years old, having recently ranked the Top 10 FinTech, EdTech and Food and Drink startups. The UK’s gaming industry is estimated to be worth £3.86bn – more than video and music combined. With more than 20,000 full time jobs, the UK’s gaming industry is going from strength to strength. Get the list of 50 businesses shaping the next generation of gaming today. But less culturally heralded is the continued runaway success of the UK gaming industry. Last year, Brits spent a record £5.7bn on video games, a 10pc jump year-on-year. Bet365 is another UK gambling company that has risen to the top of the UK gambling scene. As with all the companies on this list they offer a wide range of games to players. In their casino section, players will find card games, table games, jackpots, slots, and of course live casino games. Bet365 also offer sports betting and bingo. Top 30 mobile gaming companies in the world 2019 1. Supercell. One of the leading and recognizable mobile gaming companies, Supercell is based in Helsinki, Finland. Founded in 2010, Supercell has had an astonishing growth curve thanks to popular game offerings like ‘Clash of Clans’ and ‘Hay Day.’ This list of companies and startups in United Kingdom in the gaming space provides data on their funding history, investment activities, and acquisition trends. Insights about top trending. companies, startups, investments and M&A activities, notable investors of these companies, their management team, and recent news are also included. The 10 most innovative gaming companies of 2020. This year’s honorees include Roblox, Apple, Microsoft, and Epic Games. These are the top 10 insights from climate science in 2020 Impact The Top Innovative Gaming Companies in 2021. Alison & Co. 5 days ago. The gaming industry is one of the most successful sectors in the world. It is expected to exceed a worth of $200 billion in 2023, while in 2020, it was worth $131.23 billion. Furthermore, there are almost 3.1 billion people across the world that plays video games. Hence, today there are new games made available every day, and The global gaming market has been growing at a rapid pace, now hitting over an impressive £100 billion. This has been followed, as is to be expected, with a surge in gaming startups both within the UK and throughout the rest of the world, entrepreneurs all wanting to get a slice of this positively booming industry.
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