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RAM Costs, a Netflix/Paramount Bidding War, and Why the “Nemesis” Patent Could Be Worth $100M a Year
Professor Rob Wilson, entertainment and gaming analyst and Head of Executive Education (and Professor of Applied Sport Finance) at the University Campus of Football Business (UCFB) in London, weighs in on where hardware pricing is headed, what a Netflix/Paramount fight could mean for WB Games, and why licensing patented game systems might be one of the cleaner ways for publishers to bring in new revenue in an industry increasingly shaped by streaming, live sports, and platform economics.
Key takeaways
- The next generation of PlayStation and Xbox consoles is likely to cost more, with AI-driven demand pushing up RAM and specialised chip costs.
- AI investment, not gaming, is now the main force behind memory pricing, and even if AI spend cools off, hardware costs probably won't slide back to pre-2020 levels.
- Warner Bros. Discovery may end up selling WB Games (or breaking it up) if takeover pressure rises and the company needs to free up capital.
- Licensing patented systems like WB Games’ Nemesis technology could bring in tens to hundreds of millions of dollars a year, offering publishers a revenue profile closer to platforms and marketplaces than hit-driven game releases.
Interview
Speaking to Action Network, Professor Wilson lays out how rising RAM costs could land on gamers, how a Netflix/Paramount battle could reshape WB Games, and why valuable IP doesn't always need to live behind exclusivity at a time when media companies increasingly look to recurring, platform-style income models similar to those seen across digital sports and betting ecosystems.
Industry consolidation and the future of WB Games
On speculation around a potential Warner Bros. Discovery takeover, and what it could mean for WB Games
Q: Will we see a fire sale of WB Games in the battle to take over and buy out Warner Bros. Discovery?
A: That would be the pragmatic, sensible outcome. I think some of their big games properties would get harvested off to other companies. That could be generating a few billion dollars’ worth of revenue that you then use to offset other stuff.
I think gaming is one of Warner Bros. Discovery’s most valuable assets, so it would certainly put a lot of money in the fighting fund to buy the sports rights.
It probably depends who is interested as to whether they sell it off in one piece or break it apart to sell off piecemeal.
If a big company comes in, they would probably try and keep it together. It’s down to how much people are willing to pay. It’s much the same with TV rights, the more you carve them out, the total acquisition value can be higher than buying it as a package.
We’ve already seen similar thinking across live sports, streaming, and betting-adjacent media, where platforms like DraftKings and broadcasters alike place a premium on scalable IP and long-term audience monetisation rather than one-off content wins.
On whether publishers should monetise valuable IP through licensing rather than exclusivity
Q: Would the smart move be to keep hold of IP like the “Nemesis” system and instead license it out to other developers and publishers?
A: If they looked at liberalised licensing, innovations like the Nemesis system could probably add $100 million annually from doing it that way, and that would make sense.
It certainly would be a viable business model to move forward with, especially for mid-tier studios.
That kind of predictable, repeatable income is increasingly attractive in a market where volatility is high and investors favour businesses that behave more like platforms — something we’ve already seen play out in adjacent digital sectors, from streaming to regulated sports betting operators such as FanDuel.
Rising hardware costs and the next generation of consoles
On AI demand for memory, and what it does to RAM and GPU prices
Q: RAM prices are jumping. If the AI bubble pops, do RAM and GPU prices actually go back to “normal”?
A: RAM and GPU prices have surged due to unprecedented demand from AI data-centre investment rather than consumer markets. If an AI bubble were to burst, prices would almost certainly correct as supply catches up and inventory builds.
However, structural demand for high-performance memory is now higher than before the boom, meaning prices would likely settle at a new, elevated baseline rather than returning to the significantly lower levels consumers were accustomed to a few years ago.
On what higher component costs could mean for next-gen console pricing
Q: With parts getting pricier, are we looking at another console price hike?
A: Yes, and the risk remains real. Memory and specialised chip costs continue to rise, and manufacturers have already increased prices in several regions.
It could increase costs somewhere between $150 and $200 per unit compared to current prices.
Although companies are cautious about raising base-model prices universally due to consumer sensitivity, they may instead introduce more expensive premium models, reduce discount periods, or selectively increase prices in certain markets.
Looking ahead, the next generation of consoles is unlikely to be cheaper and may launch at materially higher effective prices due to escalating component costs.
On whether rising console prices make the Steam Machine look different in 2025
Q: If consoles land higher than people expect, does the Steam Machine start to look like a better deal?
A: Yes, and that reassessment is already starting to happen.
Much of the criticism aimed at the Steam Machine was based on outdated expectations of what a modern gaming system should cost, because many people have grown up with consoles.
If the basic models of the next-generation consoles land in the $600 to $700 range or higher, the price gap between a closed console system and a ready-made PC narrows significantly.
At that point, the comparison shifts away from upfront cost alone and toward total ownership economics, where PCs benefit from cheaper games, hardware upgrade flexibility, and longer usable lifecycles.
In that context, the Steam Machine looks less like an overpriced outlier and more like an early reflection of where hardware economics are heading, as consoles increasingly resemble subsidised, tightly controlled PCs rather than cheap mass-market appliances.
