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Discord raises $150M, surpassing $2B valuation

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Re: Discord raises $150M, surpassing $2B valuation

#31

Post by starshadowx2 »

discorded wrote: post #28
dvt wrote: post #16

I'm bearish on Discord. Unlike Slack, it targets a price-averse demographic and is attempting to enter spaces that are very saturated (Steam, Origin, Epic, Ubisoft are already crushing the digital distribution medium), so then it's basically an IRC replacement for gamers. I understand Slack's valuation as it targets huge companies with up to decades-long contracts and has projected revenues > $1B for this year, but I…

Discord is already considered uncool among a pretty influential crowd of users, people are sick of how laggy it is compared to other services and it is now a product no one asked for with the new store. The fact it is also a gigantic datamining operation also is not going over so well.

I'm a pretty big discord user, early supporter/nitro/hypesquad and all that, and I have never heard of this "influential crowd" calling it uncool. All I've seen is servers getting larger and more servers popping up. Discord themselves just ran a Snowsgiving server which raised 100k for charity in under a week and had ~10k people in it at any time I checked chatting.

I don't have any lag on any devices nor do I hear of anyone else having that issue. The store was maybe not asked for but it's continuously getting better. With the latest announcement it's even more exciting.

I'd like to hear about how you think it's a datamining operation as well. The only times I've heard that are from when a lot of alt-right and neonazi servers/users were banned and started an astroturfing campaign.

Re: Discord raises $150M, surpassing $2B valuation

#32

Post by arkitaip »

starshadowx2 wrote: post #31
discorded wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Discord is already considered uncool among a pretty influential crowd of users, people are sick of how laggy it is compared to other services and it is now a product no one asked for with the new store. The fact it is also a gigantic datamining operation also is not going over so well.

I'm a pretty big discord user, early supporter/nitro/hypesquad and all that, and I have never heard of this "influential crowd" calling it uncool. All I've seen is servers getting larger and more servers popping up. Discord themselves just ran a Snowsgiving server which raised 100k for charity in under a week and had ~10k people in it at any time I checked chatting. I don't have any lag on any devices nor do I hear o…

I agree. It is the de facto app for chatting amongst gamers, especially streamers. Just check out streamers on Twitch: even the tiniest ones have a Discord server.

Re: Discord raises $150M, surpassing $2B valuation

#33

Post by starshadowx2 »

arkitaip wrote: post #32
starshadowx2 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a pretty big discord user, early supporter/nitro/hypesquad and all that, and I have never heard of this "influential crowd" calling it uncool. All I've seen is servers getting larger and more servers popping up. Discord themselves just ran a Snowsgiving server which raised 100k for charity in under a week and had ~10k people in it at any time I checked chatting. I don't have any lag on any devices nor do I hear o…

I agree. It is the de facto app for chatting amongst gamers, especially streamers. Just check out streamers on Twitch: even the tiniest ones have a Discord server.

The biggest thing is that while it's focused to and originally for gamers that's not the only thing it's used for. There's a server for anything now. Subreddits have Discords, I've been in the typology/psychology Discords a lot. Discord themselves even has a page promoting it for open-source projects.

- https://discordapp.com/open-source

Re: Discord raises $150M, surpassing $2B valuation

#35

Post by notheguyouthink »

dvt wrote: post #22
Pfhreak wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Discord, however, is a bit of a lifestyle brand like Twitch. It's where conversations happen, and it's incredibly useful to the gaming community. If they can get even a toehold with their subscription services and store, I think they have a very serious chance of turning towards something valuable.

Discord is as valuable to the gaming community as IRC was, or as Ventrilo was, or as Skype was (for a while). In other words, not very (as all those tools were easily replaced). Twitch built a marketplace of creators and consumers (like YouTube) -- that's why it's hard to replace. Discord, on the other hand, is a chat program.

I disagree (to a degree). Everyone i know kicked and screamed about switching from Vent/Teamspeak/Mumble. I feel like it eventually dominated not because it was easy to dump existing solutions, but because existing solutions were poorly designed by comparison. No mobile, horrid chat, required install, poor voip quality. Discord came along with a better offering and it still was a tough switch.

With that said, i agree that no one "cares" about Discord. If a better thing comes along i could easily see people dumping it. But, i imagine it'll be a bit more difficult. Discord "won" in my view because it simply had to be modern to be vastly superior. However, i'm unsure how easy someone can make a next version that is such a superior leap.

Fwiw, as a gaming voip/chat i still find it a pretty great UX. My only complaint is that it is a bit laggy due to the, i assume, web-based interface on "desktop".

Re: Discord raises $150M, surpassing $2B valuation

#36

Post by Deimorz »

starshadowx2 wrote: post #15
arvidkahl wrote: post #10

The close proximity to very lucrative services like Twitch makes this an extremely interesting company. With eSports breaking into mainstream media outlets like ESPN, having a fully fledged community gathering place with all the trimmings, voice chat, raffles appears to be marketing heaven for a generation raised on YouTube and gaming streams. I wonder what's in store for Discord next. Integration into games? Digital…

Discord is now imo the best positioned competitor to Steam based on their latest updates. They're launching a full self-service game publishing platform and only taking 10% revenue, instead of Steam's 30%. Discord already has the gaming focused community and their store has already been doing very well and is super easy to use. If Discord broke into the streaming market there would be no reason to ever leave it for s…

Do you have a source for "their store has already been doing very well"?

I buy quite a few games, but can't see a compelling reason to buy anything from Discord. I also don't know anyone else that's bought a game from them yet either.

Re: Discord raises $150M, surpassing $2B valuation

#37

Post by orliesaurus »

I have been using Discord since the very beginning, as a replacement for TeamSpeak, Ventrilo and the occasional Mumble ( friends and onlinr friends). Also it replaced entirely Skype. And IRC for pugs and finding opponents to "fight". Discord is great and free. I would have never expected them to try and take a bite off Steam. Steam has a lot of issues but it's also the king of the hill and will be extremely hard to take a seizable chunk of their cake away. With the Netflix for videogames approach Discord enters another unsustainable model, with the first one being unlimited chat and voice-chat for everyone.

I wish them the best, it would suck if Discord disappeared, but they're throwing a lot stones into the gaming well. And we all know how the gaming world is...

Re: Discord raises $150M, surpassing $2B valuation

#38

Post by hnauz »

bobbygoodlatte wrote: post #27
dvt wrote: post #16

I'm bearish on Discord. Unlike Slack, it targets a price-averse demographic and is attempting to enter spaces that are very saturated (Steam, Origin, Epic, Ubisoft are already crushing the digital distribution medium), so then it's basically an IRC replacement for gamers. I understand Slack's valuation as it targets huge companies with up to decades-long contracts and has projected revenues > $1B for this year, but I…

I'm not so sure gamers are a price-averse demographic

They are, that's why Fortnite took a massive dump on PUBG

Re: Discord raises $150M, surpassing $2B valuation

#40

Post by stevehawk »

dvt wrote: post #25
cflewis wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Discord is a clear buy for someone like Microsoft. It gives them a big leg up, and doesn't really compete with Skype in the demographics.

Completely agree. Skype was the gamer go-to for a while, in fact.

as a gamer I have to ask "when was that?"
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