NA guy who used to paint houses now has game developers fighting to get his attention, and he won't take a dime.
JIndieGameJoe. I've seen his clips. He turns a one-minute trailer into fifty thousand wishlists.
NJoe Henson. Former painter and decorator. Dexerto posted about him today, and the number one thing people want to know is how much he charges.
JAnswer: zero. He says he's never charged a developer and never will.
NNever? Give it a year. Someone slides him ten thousand dollars for a tweet and we'll see how pure he stays.
JNo, that's the whole point of why it works. His audience knows it's not an ad. The minute he takes money, the trust is gone and the wishlists dry up.
NSo he's giving away marketing that agencies bill six figures for, for free, and he's okay with that?
JHe says it gives him a purpose money couldn't. Which sounds uncomfortably sincere, honestly.
NIt's noble, I'll give him that. But let's talk about what he actually does. A short trailer, a tight caption, posted almost every day.
JAnd it works because he's good at the attention economy. His Retro Rewind post hit nearly fourteen million views. Everything else since? A rounding error.
NSo one massive hit and a lot of modest ones. Sounds like everyone else on the internet.
JBut that's what How To Market A Game points out: his results are spiky. It's not just follower count. The post is only as good as the game.
NRight, so he's curated, and that curation is the value.
JExactly. He doesn't have to take money because he loves the games. It's the purest form of the thing, and I think the developers quietly adore him for it.
NUntil the day he posts a game and it flops, and the developer's sitting there wondering if the free marketing was worth exactly what they paid.
JThere it is. But from what I've seen, the worst that happens is he posts your game and nothing much happens. The best is you get the tweet of your life.
NIt's a strange position: an influencer who's not an influencer, a marketer who doesn't sell. I hope he holds the line.
JBecause if he takes one check, the whole thing is just another ad network.
NAnd the internet has plenty of those already.
JSpeaking of ads, Moms Against Gambling is furious about the World Series.
NThey're always furious about something. What's the complaint this time?
JThey posted that MLB opened the World Series with a FanDuel promo and a bunch of prediction market ads, right after the backlash from the Wild Card and Division Series.
NOh, so MLB learned nothing and did it again. Classic.
JTo be clear, this is what the group says. No one's independently confirmed the exact ad slate. But do I believe it? Absolutely. Sports leagues are swimming in gambling money.
NAnd here's the problem: baseball has a long, ugly history with gambling. This league banned players for life over a bet. Now it takes money from FanDuel between innings.
JI'm not against gambling, but I am against pretending it's harmless. The ad is five seconds of a guy in front of a board. The context is 'put your rent on a parlay'.
NWhat bothers me is the hypocrisy. MLB makes a big show of integrity, and then gives the first ad slot to the sportsbook. Pick one.
JI get that. But advertisers pay the bills, and the money is enormous. The league was never going to leave it on the table.
NThen don't lecture fans about the sanctity of the game when the first thing you do is sell it to the bookies.
JThere's a fair point in there. The real issue is that the ads are everywhere now, not just baseball. Football, podcasts, your phone.
NAnd that's exactly what Moms Against Gambling is on about. They're not wrong; they're just shouting into a hurricane.
JNot to change the subject, but here's a small fight I enjoy. Iron Joe posted a take about Smash Bros. that I want to throw at you.
NOh, good. I have several opinions about Smash and no ability to keep them to myself.
JHis post: people say 'I want this character in Smash just because the backlash would be hilarious.' He says no, you want the character because you like them. Be honest.
NHe's right, and I hate that he's right. The backlash line is just a shield. Waluigi fans want Waluigi. They don't want a meme, they want him to win.
JI think it's both. There is a weird satisfaction in watching the internet melt down over a character pick. But the honesty point cuts deep.
NIt's the most online version of pretending not to care. You clearly care. You made a wishlist. You've thought about the moveset. Own it.
JI do own it. I would unironically main the farmer from Stardew Valley. Not as a joke. I think she'd be a great zoning character.
NSee? That's a real answer. And that's what Iron Joe is asking for: drop the performative detachment and just stand behind your pick.
JThe internet would be a far better place if people just said, 'I like this game character,' and didn't wrap it in five layers of irony.
NBut then what would we fight about?
JEverything else. Plenty of material.
NThat's true. Plenty more main characters where those came from, and we'll find the next one after this.