Buona la Prima - Episode 65

Pietro Faccio and Gustav Nisser of Buona la Prima take us into their wonderful world dedicated to the video game industry.

The podcast Buona la Prima is a partner of Biunivoca.

In this episode, Pietro and Gustav reflect on the true value of events like Gamescom and on a fundamental question: when does a conference represent an investment and when does it simply become a cost?

Gamescom is one of the most important events in the video game industry, but attending comes at a significant cost. Hotels that during the event can cost up to €450 per night, transportation, meals, and above all, time taken away from daily work can quickly turn a trip into a significant investment.

Yet, perhaps the hardest cost to measure is time itself. A calendar full of meetings may seem like a sign of success, but having many meetings doesn't necessarily generate value. A meeting may lead to nothing, while a casual conversation can turn into a collaboration months or years later.

This is where the concept of ROIcomes in. The value of Gamescom shouldn't be measured solely by the number of appointments booked, but by the relationships and opportunities that continue to develop after the event.

The discussion thus leads to an interesting provocation: what would happen if Gamescom disappeared tomorrow? Video conferences and digital tools could replace a large part of meetings, but they would hardly be able to replicate the physical concentration of thousands of professionals in the same place.

Perhaps, therefore, the problem is not whether it's worth going to Gamescom, but why go.

If there is a precise strategy, the event can become an investment. If the goal is simply to fill the calendar and be able to say you were there, it risks turning into a vanity metric.

Because in the game business, the true ROI of a conference may not be what happens during those few days, but what happens after.

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