Joystiq

THQ's new boss outlines the company's path to financial salvation

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 15:30:00 EST

"For me, this is about the future," newly appointed THQ president Jason Rubin told investors during a conference call this morning. Rubin was outlining his plan for the future of THQ - a plan he hopes will take THQ from an ailing company on the fringe of the publishing world to previously untapped financial greatness. "The industry is about to change. If you look at what's happened in the PC business, if you look at what's happened in some of the other businesses out there, you see that print models and different ways of distributing and publishing games has opened up a significant amount of revenue for other companies," Rubin said.

Rubin's message - wherein he partially blamed THQ's financial issues on "big incumbent players" who have a "huge advantage in keeping their top spots," such as EA and Activision - seems particularly strange considering THQ CEO Brian Farrell's repeated assertion that the publisher is focused on "core brands" such as Darksiders and Saints Row. As recently as last week, THQ was espousing its "core games" focus. "THQ realigns its focus from a maker of licensed games for broad audiences to a developer of AAA 'Core' games for multiple platforms," the press release announcing Rubin's appointment reads.

"Companies in a very short amount of time can go from very small to very large. Zynga's a perfect example of that," Rubin said. "I believe that this business has opportunities that are coming on the near horizon to do something very similar. And I think that the teams that we have are properly positioned and properly sized to take advantage of that opportunity." Rubin further explained his hopes for those business opportunities. "This is about looking at what THQ has, looking at what the business is gonna become in the near future, and making a real concerted attack to get in early on the new business model." What that business model will be remains to be seen. We'll be sure to put that question to Rubin when we speak with him later this week.

THQ's new boss outlines the company's path to financial salvation originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lorne Lanning laments 'The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot' that never was

James Ransom-Wiley — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 17:30:00 EST

Game Informer has posted its recent print interview with Oddworld Inhabitants founder Lorne Lanning, a (five-years-later) followup to the magazine's April 2005 announcement of The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot, OWI's would-be effort to delve further into the "more hardcore" elements of the Oddworld ... world.

After finding the situation with EA (which published OWI's Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath on Xbox in 2005) "unworkable," Lanning recounted, OWI turned to Majesco to fund and publish the Fangus project, another Xbox game built on Stranger's core framework. But only a month after the game's announcement, "the shenanigans started" and OWI shut down its development studio. "Sometimes developers get fired by publishers and sometimes developers fire publishers," Lanning said coyly, "and that's probably all I should say about it."

Publisher "incompetence" aside, Fangus did sound like an odd pitch: A "close to the Earth" dog-man herdsman turned "pit fighting" slave -- to the Russian-like cat mafia -- who escapes his years-long imprisonment a hardened killer dead set on vengeance and the liberation of his people ("the timeless mythical battle between cats and dogs," in other words). Also, Fangus has terminal rabies and "would control a flock of ravenous sheep-like creatures to take down enemies and solve puzzles," according to GI's description. "We wanted it to be really hardcore," Lanning concluded.

Continue reading Lorne Lanning laments 'The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot' that never was

Lorne Lanning laments 'The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot' that never was originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bilson gets to the heart of the new THQ in IGDA Leadership keynote

David Hinkle — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 20:20:00 EST

Keynoting the IGDA Leadership Forum last week, THQ "core games" boss Danny Bilson not only reflected on the publisher's steady turnaround (despite a recent slump), but also focused on its goals for the future. Previously reported updates from Bilson on Homefront, Darksiders 2 and Guillermo Del Toro's project, however, were just mere nuggets from his near hour-long presentation, which kicked off with a retelling of his personal journey from non-interactive media to games.

Back in the late-90s, Bilson recalled, he was working in television in Vancouver -- specifically, on Viper and The Sentinel. During a business trip, a stranger sitting next to him on the plane asked about the scripts Bilson happened to be reviewing. That stranger was Don Mattrick, who was president of Electronic Arts at the time. Bilson would eventually join EA, launching his career in video games.

Continue reading Bilson gets to the heart of the new THQ in IGDA Leadership keynote

Bilson gets to the heart of the new THQ in IGDA Leadership keynote originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 20:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PSN director: The Tester is a 'foundation for something much bigger'

Andrew Yoon — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 18:25:00 EST

"I hope five years from now we'll be winning Emmys for quality shows," PlayStation Network director Susan Panico said to Joystiq, imagining programming on the level of HBO's Entourage or The Sopranos. She was speaking sincerely about the platform's vision for original content.

PSN might be synonymous with gaming, but going forward, Panico hopes it will also be recognized for its original video programming, which currently includes Pulse, Qore and The Tester, a reality competition show about winning a job as a PlayStation game tester, recently renewed for a second season.

"I look at what HBO has done over several years, where they started just offering movies and went into the original production business," Panico said, revealing high aspirations for PSN's original content. "By no means am I putting The Tester with The Sopranos and what have you," she clarified, "but if you want to make yourself the go-to destination for content, you need to provide content that people can't get anywhere else."

"We look at original programming and The Tester as the foundation for building out something much bigger."

Continue reading PSN director: The Tester is a 'foundation for something much bigger'

PSN director: The Tester is a 'foundation for something much bigger' originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 18:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DeNA acquiring ngmoco for $400 million

Alexander Sliwinski — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 11:02:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

DeNA, a Japanese mobile internet company, is set to purchase mobile publisher ngmoco, best known for Rolando and Topple, for a whopping $400 million. The combination of the two companies, according to the announcement, will create "the world's largest mobile social games platform company."

The ngmoco shareholders and employees will receive $300 million in cash and securities, with an additional $100 million contingent on performance milestones.

Gamasutra points out that this is just the latest acquisition by DeNA, which has slowly been making selective purchases in the western market. This is also just the latest social media purchase with an incredible dollar figure attached. Disney recently purchased Playdom for over $500 million, while EA acquired Playfish late last year for $300 million. -- oh yeah, and there's also that rumored $100 million investment by Google in Zynga. Now, let us all hold a moment of silence for sanity.

DeNA acquiring ngmoco for $400 million originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 12 Oct 2010 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Zynga employees speak out on 'doing evil'

Andrew Yoon — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 01:00:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Google has been long-admired for its unique company motto: "Don't Be Evil." Critics will note that some of Google's practices have fallen from that mantra, but it's a better place to start than, say, Zynga, the company known for the popular Facebook games FarmVille and Mafia Wars. "Zynga's motto is 'Do Evil,'" a former employee of the company told SF Weekly. "I would venture to say it is one of the most evil places I've run into, from a culture perspective and in its business approach. I've tried my best to make sure that friends don't let friends work at Zynga."

The driving force behind this bitterness and resentment of Zygna is the company's derivative culture. "You're not smarter than your competitor. Just copy what they do and do it until you get their numbers," one employee recalls Zynga's founder, Mark Pincus, telling the team. The SF Weekly report shows clear examples of Zygna's copy-paste attitude: there's Farm Town (pictured right), which preceded FarmVille (left) by months; and Playfish's Restaurant City, coming before Zynga's Cafe World.

Zygna has already been sued by Digital Chocolate for the use of the Mafia Wars name. According to another employee, lawsuits have been accounted for, with the company mindful of possible settlements. "I was around meetings where things like that were being discussed, and the ramifications of things like that were being discussed -- the fact that they'd probably be sued by the people who designed the game," he says. "And the thought was, 'Well, that's fine, we'll settle.' Our case wasn't really defensible."

Supposedly, things are changing. With hundreds of millions of dollars invested in the company, the public has been placing much more attention on Zynga's upcoming games. The era of the quick copy-paste cash-in may be over for Zynga, with at least one employee saying that there's a "new emphasis on original content and more sophisticated applications to draw in and keep users."

Zynga employees speak out on 'doing evil' originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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StarCraft 2 free for WoW players in Korea, loses 18+ rating

Mike Schramm — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:05:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Blizzard is tweaking the business model for its upcoming StarCraft 2 release in Korea. IGN reports that the RTS will be free for Korean subscribers to World of Warcraft there, as Blizzard reportedly wants to bolster the MMO's player base overseas. Other players will be able to buy the game outright for the US equivalent of about $54, or pick up $8 monthly or even $1.60 daily passes for the game, so Blizzard will still make a googoojillion dollars on the long-awaited sequel in Korea. No word on if these plans will make their way to North America, but we'd bet against it. WoW itself has had different pay models overseas for a while, but just the usual monthly price here in the US.

That money can also come from children as young as age 12 -- after the game was originally rated for adults only, an edited version of the game has brought the rating back down to a 12+ age rating. The edit changes Zerg and Terran blood to black from red, and removes all profanity and smoking from the game. Blizzard is reportedly still thinking about releasing the "mature" version in Korea separately, although it'll be after next month's worldwide release.

Gallery: Starcraft 2

StarCraft 2 free for WoW players in Korea, loses 18+ rating originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubisoft remains refocused on Xbox 360, PS3 in new year

James Ransom-Wiley — Tue, 18 May 2010 18:49:00 EST

In January, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot told investors that the company would "refocus"' its development efforts on Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2010, with particular emphasis on iterating its major franchises on the HD consoles. Today, as Ubisoft reported its earnings (actually, losses) for the fiscal year ending March 31, the company remained committed to the ongoing strategy outlined earlier this year.

"We will have more 360 [and] PS3 revenue this [fiscal] year than we had last year," Guillemot said during an investor call today. "The big franchises -- seven of the eight franchises -- will be on 360; and six will be on PS3. And we will have around six or seven on the Wii."

CFO Alain Martinez put last fiscal year's combined sales from PS3 and Xbox 360 software at "about 45 percent" of revenue for the publisher, adding, "I wouldn't be surprised if we are over 50 percent on these two platforms" at the end of the current fiscal year (April 2010 - March 2011). Martinez noted that Wii software sales accounted for "about 26 percent" of revenue in the last fiscal year and hopes sales to be close to that percentage again this fiscal year. In total, Ubisoft is looking to draw "about 77 percent" of its revenue from the three console platforms over the next four quarters.

Continue reading Ubisoft remains refocused on Xbox 360, PS3 in new year

Ubisoft remains refocused on Xbox 360, PS3 in new year originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 18 May 2010 18:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Metro 2033 has been 'very profitable' for THQ, CEO says

James Ransom-Wiley — Wed, 05 May 2010 21:30:00 EST

Metro 2033 was released at the tail end of publisher THQ's last fiscal year, which ended March 31. With only two weeks of sales before the close of the fiscal fourth quarter, the 4A Games-developed title was not a huge factor in THQ's trumpeted turnaround. Still, THQ CEO Brain Farrell took a few moments during the company's earnings call today to highlight the game's sales to date, which contributed to fourth quarter sales growth for the publisher and could be a standout figure in its first quarter of the new fiscal year. "It's a very profitable title for us," Farrell said, without disclosing a number.

Farrell did reveal that Europe has accounted for roughly two-thirds of Metro 2033 sales, as forecast by the publisher, with North America buying up the remaining units sold. "A lot of the sales were done on PC," he added, "and a lot of the sales were also done through digital mechanisms that don't get captured by any service."

The CEO attributed profits to the game's low-cost development model, "so when we get to even pretty modest levels of sales, we're still making good money." (First-time, Eastern European studios make cheap games, apparently.) "And we like that model going forward," Farrell noted, when it produces a high-quality game.

After all, first-time, Eastern European studios can make good, cheap games, too. (Apparently.)

Metro 2033 has been 'very profitable' for THQ, CEO says originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 05 May 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gaikai and InstantAction team up for streaming, embeddable games

Ben Gilbert — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST

If InstantAction.com's CEO Lou Castle is to be believed, we're apparently going to be playing games pretty much wherever we want in the not-so-distant future. He's just revealed plans (via IndustryGamers) to relaunch his site with a new business/distribution model and a partnership with game streaming service Gaikai. In addition to the already existing model of a quick download (a claimed 4 - 5 minutes) that still somewhat relies on your computer power to process the game's graphics, IA will now offer a streaming option for those who'd prefer a quicker, less hardware reliant gaming experience. "It's the perfect implementation of a thin client solution because when it's available it's brilliant and when it's not available it's ok ... you only have to wait a couple minutes."

The aforementioned streaming option (employing Gaikai) will also be embedabble on the web, as demonstrated with Assassin's Creed (not to mention to us earlier today) "Now if people are reading a review of a game, they don't have to go find it ... they can play it right then and there in the browser."

And that's just the beginning -- Castle clearly has an eye on digital distribution services when he talks about employing Facebook as "InstantAction's Xbox Live." IA's new distribution model essentially promises to developers/publishers the ability to release games with a variety of payment methods (pay as you go, free-to-play, one-time charge, etc.) while incorporating the aforementioned embed and streaming functionalities.

So far, the company has inked one deal for distribution (with LucasArts for The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition) and Castle claims to be pursuing others right now. And apparently it won't be too long before we get to check out the new system ourselves, as the revamped digital platform is said to be "launching soon."

Gallery: InstantAction (GDC 2010)

Gaikai and InstantAction team up for streaming, embeddable games originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GDC: Surviving High School creator talks clever, profitable microtransactions

Griffin McElroy — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:00:00 EST

In early 2009, Centerscore co-founder Oliver Miao was assigned an extremely daunting task. His studio had recently been acquired by EA Mobile, and his higher-ups had requested an iPhone version of the studio's successful teen-dating sim series, Surviving High School. The difficulty didn't come in developing the title, but rather, in monetizing it.

During his GDC panel titled "Surviving the iPhone: EA's Original Game Bet," Miao recounted the different business models Centerscore proposed to EA Mobile for SHS. The initial idea was to sell the game for 99 cents, and then hand out additional weekly "episodes" for free. While this would help build the brand, EA Mobile didn't anticipate enough return on the investment. It was denied, and Centerscore was sent back to the drawing board.

The second idea was to offer the current episode of the game for free, but charge 99 cents for bundled episodes from previous weeks. This idea was also shot down, and Centerscore's project was threatened with cancellation. Finally, the two parties came up with a solution that's proven to be fairly lucrative: give the current episode for free, charge for previous episodes, and offer the next episode in advance for an additional 99 cents -- quite an innovative business model.

Of course, Centerscore could have easily raked in the cash by simply charging $500 for one of its first mobile titles, Garfield Bowling. We can't think of a price we wouldn't pay for that gem.

GDC: Surviving High School creator talks clever, profitable microtransactions originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA Sports supports 'Project Ten Dollar,' out to 'digitize' Madden consumers

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:30:00 EST

Watch out, Madden consumer, 'cause Peter Moore is coming -- and he's gonna digitize you. In a speech at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference yesterday, the EA Sports prez said, "I think we need to move much quicker, in particular with Madden, through a digital world ... you're going to see more announcements there how we digitize our Madden consumer." He was likely referring to the currently "burning" business model that revolves around disc-based media, a topic Moore has remained outspoken about for some time now.

In his eyes, rather than focusing on moving more units which each year's release, EA Sports should instead be looking at "How do I get an extra $4 or $5 dollars?" from the already existing 6 million person-strong install base. He insisted that, in line with the company's "Project Ten Dollar" aspirations, digital content keeps gamers from trading in their titles. "It keeps the disc in the drive longer, it stalls trading the game in, it allows me to be able to take further advantage of that consumer over a longer period of time." We'd like to remind you that Moore was speaking to a group of financial analysts, so when he talked about being able to "further take advantage" of you, he meant it in the nicest way possible. Promise.

He finished up by promising that future EA Sports titles will have new business models that allow for a customer to trade in their annualized sports games while simultaneously granting EA the ability to earn money from that customer -- a "best of both worlds" take on the transition from retail to digital, if you will. We'll see what happens in the not-too-distant future, as Moore also promised "We're [EA] certainly going to do a lot of that this year."

EA Sports supports 'Project Ten Dollar,' out to 'digitize' Madden consumers originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA producer predicts cheaper games ... more premium extras

JC Fletcher — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:56:00 EST

EA Canada's Jason DeLong told Game Informer that he expects to see games become cheaper in the future, at least per initial investment. "I think that we're going to start to see -- maybe not in the next year, but in the near future -- games go down the route of smaller up-front experiences and lower prices at the beginning," DeLong said, "and then the ability to extend the game through episodic material or future feature material. I think that's a direction we're probably heading in."

So that doesn't mean that games will be cheaper, in the long run -- it means that DeLong sees the potential total price of a game spread between a disc or initial download and follow-up expansions. It's sort of like what EA and BioWare are already doing with Dragon Age: Origins -- except Dragon Age sells for $60 to start. DeLong added that keeping people playing in the current economy is "going to be an interesting creative problem for us to solve." So then, problem solved?

EA producer predicts cheaper games ... more premium extras originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA is 'very, very pro independent development,' says DeMartini

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:10:00 EST

In what seems to be a multiple year-spanning sea change on the side of EA, the company is not only reaching out to independent developers like Grasshopper Manufacture and Valve, but also working with them to keep their properties autonomous. Chris Remo of Gamasutra sat down with David DeMartini, General Manager of EA Partners, to discuss the idea behind EAP and, in doing so, revealed some interesting truths about the EA initiative.

"I think that there is very much a renaissance within the EAP based on the leadership of Electronic Arts ... John Riccitiello and Frank Gibeau are very, very pro-independent development," says DeMartini, referring to titles like American McGee's Alice sequel and Suda 51's upcoming game (still untitled), as well as Valve-developed Left 4 Dead. The "renaissance," he believes, isn't spurred by the way in which the EA Partners program has been set up, so much as it's been a focus on "great quality."

While last year's Mirror's Edge and Left 4 Dead might not have sold huge numbers out of the gate, there is no doubt that their critical reception has been overwhelmingly positive. To add credence to his argument, sales of both titles have held steady as time goes on."What we've proven is that there is no one model. What we have also proven is quality and innovation always win." Not a terrible truth to arrive at, if we must say so ourselves.

EA is 'very, very pro independent development,' says DeMartini originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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