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Turbine Cuts Out Publishers With Funding Boost
Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to an official press release announcing MMORPG developer Turbine has secured almost $20 million in venture capital funding to help fund Turbine's first self-published PC MMO project, Dungeons & Dragons Online. A GameSpot story quotes a Turbine spokesman as saying the move presents a "total shift in [our] business model. We're taking out the middle man between us and our fans." The Asheron's Call developers are still "partnered with Atari for retail marketing and distribution" on D&D Online, the company it "secured the D&D MMORPG sublicense" from earlier this year, but describes its intent to "[transition] from a developer into service publisher with its newest franchises." Turbine are also still working on The Lord Of The Rings: Middle-Earth Online in partnership with Vivendi.
Yeah, but that doesn't mean that the game will still suck.
Turbine is working on a MMO-LOTR game and now a D&D-MMO game at the same time? Isn't that reaching a little too far?
Well, the economy is recovering, so we ought to see a dramatic rise in pre-bust business models appearing.
Current:
Publisher says: We'll publish your game and give you money to produce it if you can demonstrate that it will sell. After we sell it, we'll give you your profits.
Then:
People say: Here's 20 million dollars! Go waste it on nerf guns and quake-lan parties. Oh, and if you get around to making a game, maybe spend some on that, too?
Lets see, financial stability approaches zero. Quality control approaches zero. Customer support approaches zero. What was the last major PC game project to come out without a publisher? Oh yeah. Steam. Roger that.
Game developers are typically at the mercy of their publishers when it comes to taking in money. As an example, its not like DICE is seeing the bulk of the profits generated from Battlefield 1942. EA is gettting the bulk of the profits on it.
If Turbine can put out a decent MMPORG (which is likely), they will be getting all of the profits generated by the subscribers. And once they pay back the venture capitol, they will quite likely still be pulling in money from the MMPORG, and own the rights to the sequel them selves.
The only downside to this is if they totally screw this up.
As a game developer myself, I hope this succeeds for them in a big way. Anything that puts the developers in a stronger position at the expense of the publishers is probably a good thing.
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That is was not Turbine that was Valve.
I certainly hope Turbine does a better job with their Live team this time, after their last game's abysmal failure in that respect. It doesn't take a genius to know that making every mob in the game 5x harder to encourage "grouping" isn't going to please the populace. Oh well, it was a good game while it lasted. The only satisfying thing is knowing that the players were *right*, despite the constant assertions of the Live team that "this is the only thing we can do to make a lasting and worthwhile game". A few months later, 80% of Asheron's Call 2 server were shut down/merged.
I think Mr Turbine Spokesman will find that gamers are generally fans of a *game*, not the developer. Sure there are a few exceptions, Id for example, but it's kinda creepy to hear someone at a development company talking about the company itself having "fans". Surely he means customers? But then maybe that would be a bit too respectful.
Just a quick nit to pick. The price mentioned in the article was $18 million, which isn't really "almost 20".
Literalism isn't a form of humor, it's you being irritating.
In terms of MMORPGs? Probably Anarchy Online. Despite the (un)forgettable launch, Funcom has done well publishing Anarchy Online, as well as its adventure hit (consitently rated one of the best adventure games) The Longest Journey.
Actually, I take that back. FFXI, in terms of MMORPGs and games in general, has sold very well for Square-Enix. They developed and published FFXI.
I'm sure there are other in-house publishers too, that have done fairly well. But Square-Enix takes the cake, and I look forward to Turbine's effort.
I can't wait for D&D Online. Long overdue. I love playing computer ROGs based on the d20 system (such as Star Wars:KOTOR and Neverwinter Nights). This should be a good one. One question I have that hasn't been answered: what world is it in. I hope it's Greyhawk or Forgotten Realms. If its some generic new world they made up I will be dissapointed.
The game will take place in the newly designed world of Ebberon. Very different from any of the other D&D settings, and not my cup of tea. Give it a google.
VERY few companies ever receive funding to the tune of 18 million. I don't know of NONE that sourced if from venture capitalists either (as opposed to the usual developer-publisher relationship). From what I've read, after the whole dot-com crash post 2000, venture capitalists were VERY reluctant to invest in gaming companies.
:)
This is EXTREMELY good news for developers in and by itself. ESPECIALLY if Turbine can pull it off, as it will hopefully encourage greater spending and investing in game development.
Given that history however, I guess there are still enough VCs out there who love D&D and more than willing to sink money into it though
The good news here is that Turbine will probably have greater control over the creative aspects of the game (VCs historically do not get as involved as publishers do). I guess the bad news is that Turbine will probably have greater control over the creative aspects of the game....