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MAY 2004
Q: In 2001 the manager
of a small development studio headed to E3 for the first
time said they had managed to book meetings with some of
the big publishers in the industry and he wondered what
to expect from the meetings. Has your answer changed any
in the past 3 years? We are now in the same position and
are wondering the same thing, but have there been in
developments or changes in the past 3 years?
A: There have been
many, many changes in the last three years.
The same rules apply if you do
have that meeting, but I would discourage going to
E3 for the sole reason of meeting publishers and
pitching products. Unless you have an extensive
relationship with that publisher there is little that
will happen in the 30 minutes to an hour you have there
that could not be accomplished outside of the show. The
larger publishers are looking for well known, proven
teams with console experience. Anything short of this
and you will have extreme difficulty closing a deal.
Brian Hook recently
updated his blog with an interesting article on his
former company Pyrogon, I would highly recommend it.
For a smaller or new team I would recommend going to E3
for the competitive analysis. Take the time to walk the
floor and look at titles similar to yours in genre. Even
the budget and casual game markets are getting highly
competitive right now so you need to know what you will
be up against when it comes to finding a publisher. Also
take some time to meet or introduce yourself to some of
the smaller publishers and investigate alternative means
of reaching the market such as online distribution. In
short, E3 is primarily a chance for companies to present
their titles to the media and the retailers. In my last
3 years at the show I have seen very few deals done
at the show.
Q: There seems to be an
explosion of mobile games development conferences.
What's really going on with mobile games? I know they
cost far less to develop but can a developer make any
real money and, if so, how? What are the keys to success
in your opinion? What's the true state of affairs when
it comes to mobile games?
A: The mobile game
industry is a bit of a concern in my opinion. Mobile
gaming is certainly becoming more popular here in North
America and many providers are looking to get in on the
action. Unfortunately, I see the industry much along the
lines of the GBA market a few years ago. With a low
barrier of entry there are many, many companies that
create good quality games. But is there a market for all
of them? I would be hesitant to start a new company
right now with the sole goal of servicing the mobile
gaming market. There are a lot of big companies right
now doing this and many Asian and European developers
have a jump on those here in North America. I see the
market being taken over by licenses and franchises that
branch from core games and pop culture. Unless a company
has a line on these licenses or something else that will
give the games a definite hook, I would be wary.
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