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Archive of "Industry" Category
Funcom Establishes New Development Studio in Montréal
From the press release:
Durham, USA – September 1st, 2009 – Funcom is pleased to announce the establishment of a new development studio in Montréal, Canada, where it will build a strong and competent development team that will work on several games in the Funcom portfolio. Besides tapping into the excellent talent pool available in the region, Funcom will also move a certain number of key personnel over to the new studio.
“Montréal has established itself as one of the world’s most important locations for video game production, and we are looking forward to taking part in that success,” says Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas. “In addition to strengthening our North American presence, the new studio will take advantage of the great incentive programs offered by the Québec region, incentives that makes Montréal one of the most cost effective locations in the world for developing MMO games. This will in turn allow us to better balance our costs, making it possible for us to continue to expand our investments into the MMO segment.”
Funcom is one of the most multi-cultural game developers in the business, with over 320 employees from all corners of the world employed at the company’s offices in Norway, the US, China, and Switzerland. The company is responsible for the best-selling MMO `Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures’ that shipped over 1.2 million copies to retail in 2008, as well as the pioneering sci-fi MMO `Anarchy Online’. The company has developed more than 20 titles since its founding in 1993; including the critically acclaimed `The Longest Journey’ and `Dreamfall’ adventure games. Funcom is currently working on the expansion pack for `Age of Conan’ called `Rise of the Godslayer’ as well as its new MMO `The Secret World’. Developers at the Montréal studio will play an important role in the development of both of these games.
“It has been a pleasure for us to work with Investissement Québec in setting up our Montréal studio and we are very thankful for the strong support they have given us throughout this process,” says Ole Schreiner, CEO of Funcom’s new Montréal studio. “We are excited about the opportunity that Montréal represents to our company, not only because of the great incentives offered by Québec, but also the authorities’ strong commitment to training qualified video games personnel and building a video games cluster in Montreal and Quebec.”
PAX 2009 Schedule Released
The schedule for this year’s PAX has been posted! Looks like I’ll be keeping plenty busy that weekend. What panels interest you most?
Apple Eyes EA
Ok, so forget Cinco de Mayo, today is Apple takeover rumors day! This one, from TheStreet, has Apple buying out EA;
Adami noted that there is chatter that Apple (AAPL Quote) is eyeing Electronic Arts(ERTS Quote) as a takeover target.
“Adami” is the Fast Money man Guy Adami, and his predictions are…well let’s just say, Apple Rumor Shenanigans, Round 2.
On Twitter and Giving
I love Twitter and its micro-awesomeness, and with the recent Ashton v. CNN followpalooza Twitter isn’t the stuff relegated to the geek corners of the net. I think my Mom even knows about it (love you, Mom!). The great battle of the Twitter titans brought more to the public eye than 140 characters or less – charitable giving tagged along for the ride, too.
Recently, I held my own (jesting) follow war – a humble race to 100. In this mini-aplusk match-up I offered my donation to MalariaNoMore – in the portion of $10 for 100 followers. It was good fun, but in the end one of my followers quipped that “You should be donating regularly regardless! >=[” (angry face included). He’s right.
Thing is, I do donate “regularly regardless”, but the reaction raised an interesting internet point – what happens when we make private things public? It just didn’t occur to me that I was placing myself and something as gauche as money matters in the public eye, no matter that the public was relatively small. It was an important realization, and one without a tasteful counter – short of some bizarre disclaimer about my finances and charitable appropriations. I don’t fancy myself alone when I say I would just rather keep private giving private!
Charity is a personal thing (and, personally, I think it is right to give of your time and money as means allow), however, when brought into realms like the twittersphere it is more – with all the potential of an electric charge. This very public kind of charity can be viewed as discouraging, but I think it is really the lens labeled “humbling”. Social media and today’s tech are avenues for great things, and for those of us in the thick of the geekery they are our natural paths. This is more than a PR angle for the gaming and geek crowds – this is an opportunity to increase the potential of our tools. Whether it be to Child’s Play or the local shelter, blood bank or dinner for a neighbor, however we give, give cheerfully.
The next round – to 200 – goes to Heifer International and some baby chicks.
Develop Keynote: GTA Creator David Jones
Brighton’s 2009 Develop conference has announced that David Jones, creator of GTA and Lemmings and founder of Realtime Worlds (Crackdown) will be a keynote speaker at the event. Former keynote stars include Richard Garriott, Ken Levine, Tsutomu Kuono and Peter Molyneux.
Of Develop, Jones said:
Develop is the most prestigious development conference in the UK, and I’m looking forward to coming to Brighton as it’s a great opportunity to share some of my experiences of making games – both good and not so good – plus tell a few of the Realtime World’s stories to my fellow developers.
Jones will speak on how to make a good – read: successful – game, and said he will reveal more about the planned talk closer to the conference. Still working up the rough draft, eh David?
Develop sessions include:
* Driving 3D TV’s Using Current Generation Consoles
Andrew Oliver and Aaron Allport, Blitz Games
* Online Games, Virtual Worlds and MMO’s: Raising Money and Making Money
Paul Flanagan, Ariadne Capital
* Usability Testing for Videogames
Jason Avent, Disney and Graham McAllister from Sussex University
* Gold Blend: Audio Code and Design Working Together for the Perfect Flavour
Steve Emney & Ciaran Rooney, Disney Black Rock Studio
* How to Staff and Manage a Flexible, Scalable Development Facility
Simon Gardner, Climax Studios
* How to Communicate with Artists
Arran Green, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
* Painting With Sound: The Future of Procedural Audio
Andy Farnell
* The Edge Panel: Architecture and Games
Alex Wiltshire, Edge MagazineEvolve will debut on July 14 at the conference as a segment focusing on game development on new platforms like iPhones as well as the growing casual and social gaming markets. Tandem Events managing director Andy Lane said of the program:
Tandem Event’s philosophy has always been to provide a programme that inspires today’s developers to make better games. The Develop Conference offers a relaxed setting, which people love, but it’s the quality of speakers and the opportunity to share in their experiences that really inspires our delegates. And with the line-up for both Evolve on the Tuesday and Develop on the Wednesday and Thursday already looking fantastic, I’m confident that this year’s programme will be the best yet.
Evolve events include:
* Panel: Meet the Social Networks
Tom Armitage; Limvirak Chea, Google; Chris Thorpe, MySpace;
* How Today’s Social Networks Will Change How You Make, Play and Sell Games Tomorrow
Kristian Segerstrale, Playfish
* Taking Your Game to iPhone and Android, Without Killing Your Team
Chris White, Glu
* 10 Things Nobody Tells You About Digital Distribution and Self-publishing That You Must Understand to Succeed
Martyn Brown, Team 17
* User Generated Content – the Legal Consequences Tahir Basheer, Sheridans
* 20 Great Innovations in Casual, Social and Mobile Games That You Should Steal
Stuart Dredge, Pocket GamerThe Develop Conference will be held in Brighton 14-16 July, 2009.
Tiga’s new PenPal
Tiga’s CEO, Dr. Richard Wilson, has penned a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, as well as the Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport, urging them to offer tax breaks for the video game industry. The organization is encouraging supporters to submit their own letters before the April 22 budget date.
Dear Lord Mandelson,
Industrial activism in the video games development industry
I am writing to you in my capacity as CEO of Tiga, the UK’s national trade association for game developers. Tiga has 150 members including games developers, outsourcing firms, technology businesses and universities. Tiga’s vision is to make the UK the best place in the world to do games business.
In your speech at the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce (RSA) on 17th December 2008, you rightly said that the UK’s future strengths lie “…in high value-added, knowledge-intensive areas where the combination of skilled workforce, innovation companies and a world class research base have maximum effect.”
The UK video games development industry is the epitome of a high-value added, knowledge-intensive sector. 60% of a typical development studio’s workforce is qualified to degree level and in many studios this figure rises to 80%.1 Development staff are highly productive. In 2007, the UK games production sector grossed £1.24 billion, equating to £124,000 per worker, whereas the UK film production industry grossed £1.65 billion, equating to £49.253 per worker.2 Salaries in the games industry typically exceed £30,000 per annum, above the national average. The industry is export oriented, with on average 46% of developers’ turnover generated from the export of games.3
Yet while global games sales grew by 11% in 2008, the UK development sector’s workforce shrunk by 2.5% as studios closed or contracted. This is because the UK games industry is competing on an uneven playing field. Our principal competitors in Australia, Canada, China, France, South Korea, Singapore and the USA all receive national or regional/state tax breaks for games production. No tax breaks for games production exist in the UK. Consequently, video games development in the UK is increasingly uncompetitive, despite its world-class talent pool and impressive track record. Investment is flowing away from the UK with global companies downsizing or relocating their UK operations. Many UK based developers are being actively wooed by overseas companies and government agencies to relocate to jurisdictions with more favourable tax regimes. The UK game development industry fell from third largest in the world based on revenue in 2006 to fourth position in 2007 and is expected to fall to fifth place in 2009.
If no action is taken, the UK development sector will continue to contract. Investment in UK video game studios is expected to decline by £180 million over five years. Approximately 1,700 ‘knowledge-economy’ jobs would be lost over the same time frame.4
If we want the UK games industry to remain world leading then we must introduce a tax break for games production similar to the European Union approved French tax credit. Industry research indicates that if a 20% production tax credit was introduced, investment would increase by £220 million over five years, generating a further 1,600 graduate jobs over the same period. This tax break would cost HM Treasury £150 million over five years.5
A tax break for game production would enable the UK games development sector to remain one of the top f
Insomniac Games Honored as One of the Top 5 Companies to Work for in California
One of my favorite developers is not a sweatshop! Today the studio was honored as one of California’s Best Places to Work, marking the eighth “best workplace” award the company has received in the past 4 years.
Ratchet & Clank(R) and Resistance(TM) Creators win 8th award for best workplace.
BURBANK, Calif., March 10 /PRNewswire/ — Independent console videogames developer Insomniac Games has once again distinguished itself as being among the best studios to work for in the videogames industry and the entertainment business in general. Insomniac, creators of the multi-million selling Spyro the Dragon(R), Ratchet & Clank(R) and Resistance(TM) franchises exclusively for PlayStation(R) consoles, was recognized as the only videogame studio in this year’s Employers Group “California’s Best Places to Work” survey, ranking as the fifth best place to work in California.
The award represents the eighth “best workplace” honor that Insomniac has won since 2005. During that span, Insomniac has been recognized as one of the Top 10 Small Businesses to Work for in America for three-straight years by the Great Places to Work Institute, and won awards as one of the top best companies to work for in the California, Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley areas.
“Last year was an especially historic time for Insomniac in that we launched two successful games in one year while also laying the groundwork for our new North Carolina studio,” said Ted Price, Insomniac Games’ founder and CEO. “It’s therefore especially gratifying to earn such praise for our work culture considering the volume of activity and change we experienced. When we factor in the multitude of innovative companies populating the state this honor becomes even more humbling and special.”
Employers Group is a non-profit association founded in 1896, and recognizes the top companies in California to work for that have developed successful organizations with highly productive and satisfied workforces. The awards process was based on two components: Responses to questions about companies’ work environments, polices, practices, and benefits, as well as a survey of a random sample of employees.
Insomniac’s unique culture focuses on employee collaboration, contribution and recognition. Employees from all departments offer ideas and suggestions, and peer-recognition awards include tickets to concerts and sporting events. As part of Insomniac’s upcoming 15th anniversary celebration, employees and their significant others will be treated to an all-expenses paid cruise to the Bahamas. Insomniac also offers a highly competitive benefits package, royalty programs, and other perks such as a fully-stocked kitchen, catered lunches and massage therapy.
Insomniac, with nearly 200 employees and studios in both Burbank, CA and Raleigh, NC, continues to seek new employees in a variety of production-related positions.
About Insomniac Games – Insomniac Games is a wholly independent console videogames developer that has released award-winning hits for the PlayStation(R) game console, the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system and PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3) for 15 years. The company created the first three Spyro the Dragon(R) games, the Ratchet & Clank(R) franchise and the Resistance(TM) series, and the games have combined to sell more than 32 million units worldwide. Insomniac Games is currently developing an unannounced title, exclusively for PS3.
In addition to making blockbuster videogames, Insomniac is known for ranking among the top four “Best Small Companies to Work for in America” in 2005 and 2006 and among the Top 10 for 2007, according to the Great Places to Work Institute and Society for Human Resources Management. More information can be found at http://www.insomniacgames.com/.
Gaming as “mainstream”
BAFTA wants to make video games mainstream, joining with UK retailers to offer BAFTA-nominated games in an effort to combat anti-industry sentiment.
Head of awards at BAFTA Anne-Marie Flynn told MCV:
“The acknowledgement and acceptance by the media of games as ‘mainstream’ entertainment is happening relatively slowly. I think if anyone can change the perception of games it is BAFTA.
“If we can encourage more and more developers to join the Academy, take part in events and support the Awards, in time we believe that BAFTA can play a major part in attracting that kind of interest to video games.”
My initial reaction to “mainstream” + “video games” was akin to my reaction to the Wii stick. It conjures up thoughts of video games becoming the new television, and losing the ability to escape The Bachelor and Rock of Love XVII.
With that out of my system, I can absorb the move with more rational sensibility and concede that it’s a wise one. It may well be in the nature of “sub-cultures” to cling to their cult status, and I’m sure we gamers will have plenty of opportunity to prove how much more hardcore we are than all those n00bs drawn into the circle should it expand to include Tyra B’s ilk.
Until that dark day comes, the industry could surely benefit from wider acceptance as a worthy art form. Take heart, there are still painters that scorn photographers; artificial superiority is integral to art. Guess that puts us ahead of the game.
Change4Libel?
The UK’s recently launched Change4Life campaign is going straight for video game vilification.
Change4Life?
The new print ad ties childhood gaming to a shortened lifespan, a bold follow-up to the television version that links video games to obesity.
MCV and ELSPA have, rightly, decided to point out just how harmful these sweeping, defamatory assertions are.
MCV complained on the grounds that the ad was ‘unrepresentative of the positive effect video games have on the UK’s youth’.
[MCV] continued: ‘The advert implies to its audience (parents) that, by preventing their child from playing games, they will help ensure their future health. Not only is this strictly not true, but runs the genuine risk of hurting small businesses.’
ELSPA director general Michael Rawlinson told MCV:
“When we became aware of the adverts we were surprised as they contradicted much of the discussion that we had enjoyed with the Department of Health. We immediately called for an urgent meeting with its officials responsible for Change4Life.
“Following that meeting we have been informed that the ads are the responsibility of the NGOs listed. We are now taking the matter up with these organisations and informing them of the responsible position taken by the industry as demonstrated on our Ask About Games website.”
A sedentary lifestyle of any kind will certainly lead to myriad health woes, however I can’t say that I’ve seen print ads decrying the correlation between clerical work and fat secretaries. Of course, they need them to run the ad copy.
Change4Life’s tactics are consistent with plenty of other campaigns for what-have-you’s – that is, spurious with a dash of loony (*cough* sea kittens *cough*) – and certainly effective at fueling a fire under the already ignited support base, but I am unconvinced they do much for what must be their target demographic: the middle ground dwellers. Those indifferent to the inconvenient don’t tend to hoist the revolutionary flag, and in spite of all of Change4Life’s sheep-herding tactics a culture with a fondness for media will remain and libelous claims may undermine genuine concern for public health.
MCV’s counter that the ads may harm small businesses is a critical point, and a keen way of shifting the focus back to most large agencies favorite topic of all: the bottom dollar. That the casualties of a smear campaign are the little guy, the everyman, that’s just not good PR for any of the organizations associated with Change4Life (Cancer Research, The British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK). I expect ELSPA’s call to take responsibility for this misstep to resound most with these groups, and their pocketbooks.
However, Change4Life’s promise of “live longer” is a tempting one – quit videogames, and find the Fountain of Youth? Nah…
Rest up, Stevie J!
In an email to Apple employees, Steve Jobs revealed his intention to take a leave of absence until june 2009 and ceded daily operations to COO Tim Cook. While many are attributing Apple’s decline in stock price today to this revelation, I think it is worth noting that the whole market was down – so either Apple’s ship simply lowered with the sea, or Apple is the sea itself! Money matters are a callous angle under the circumstances anyway, right? So send your cards – and buy Apple. ;)
Team,
I am sure all of you saw my letter last week sharing something very personal with the Apple community. Unfortunately, the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well. In addition, during the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought.
In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June.
I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for Apple’s day to day operations, and I know he and the rest of the executive management team will do a great job. As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out. Our board of directors fully supports this plan.
I look forward to seeing all of you this summer.Steve
Ars makes Platinum look like Child’s Play
The community over at Ars Technica has successfully raised over $12,000 for Child’s Play, achieving the level of Platinum Sponsor alongside the likes of Insomniac and Blizzard. Child’s Play provides children in hospitals in North America and beyond with games, books and toys. Dubbed “the gamers’ charity” it certainly does give us a chance to share the stuff with love with kids – and maybe even show that we’re about more than flamewars and n00b pwning. At least some of the time!
Thus, a big “Woot!” to Ars and Child’s Play – Happy New Year, everyone!
E3 2009: ESA Announcement
More than heavily hinted by G4′s X-Play and Newsweek’s N’Gai Croal just two days ago, the ESA made the official announcement of next year’s E3 earlier today. Scheduled to tun from Tuesday, June 2 through Thursday June 4 the event will return to the LA Convention Center.
Described as “expanded” the convention will “welcome all qualified computer and video game industry audiences, including international and U.S.-based media, analysts, retailers, developers and business partners to preview the latest in interactive entertainment and technology”.
Michael D. Gallagher, CEO of the ESA went on to say: “Video games are the fastest growing and most compelling sector of the entertainment industry. And, this upgraded event will reflect the growth, innovation and excitement of our industry. The breadth, scope and quality of the changes made to the show will make E3 the must-attend event of the year.”
The invitation-only plan was adopted after complaints of overcorwding only to be met with harsher critique proving once again that you really can’t please everyone. The ESA cited research that caused the decision to return to a more open invitation plan following two years of downsizing attendance: “After conducting both qualitative and quantitative research, ESA officials stated changes were necessary to better meet the needs of both exhibitors and attendees— these changes include increased booth sizes, increased qualified audiences, and an intensified focus on reinforcing the high-octane growth, innovation, and captivating entertainment that are driving the computer and video game industry.”
Now open to both ESA members and non, the list of companies eligible for participation has been expanded to include traditional games publishers, online, and mobile game publishing firms plus developers and makers of video game hardware and peripherals can exhibit.
Industry response so far has been positive with optimistic remarks from both EA and Ubisoft: “The E3 Expo will be the pre-eminent North American gaming show next year. The new, larger event is better for industry leaders and for serious gamers,” commented John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts.
Laurent Detoc, president of Ubisoft North America: “The video game business will be twice as big in 2009 as it was in 2006 when we had the last real E3 Expo – so get ready for some fireworks! The changes made will ensure that the 2009 E3 Expo conveys the best of what makes us proud as entertainment leaders.”
About
I’m Community Manager and Admin for the NewsBoiler Network, home to N4G, TechSpy, AnimeShinbun, FilmWatch and 11×2. I also write for network editorial site, ZTGD.
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