Editorial 38 Studios End Game

[CMcC]

And they paid Salvatore what, like $ 3 million for his work? That's a lot of money for an author of fantasy to write background and lore for a vidya game. Seriously, they could have hired me to do a pretty good job at it for 1/8th of that amount.

What a bunch dumbfucks!

That's what really got me. They could have chosen from the best film and television writers for that kind of money (and they'd still be paying them way more than their usual fee, so that would factor in the extra hours game writnig requires). Those guys are 'working writers' - they're USED to writing on contract, and they do it a fuckload better than your pulp franchise hacks. At $3 million, they could have got the kind of writer who writes lead on Mad Men, Breaking Bad etc. Different genre, sure, but that kind of flexibility is part of being a working film/tv writer.

To have that kind of cash to throw at a writer (on TOP of the usual writing team to implement all the minor quests and NPCs) and then throw it at a franchise hack is fucking unbelievable.

In Salvatore's defense, he deferred his payments, and I believe he has said that he didn't make any money from this. The money owed him is part of the company's debts.

 

[Infinitron]

Hi Colin.

A good read. Every time my cynicism is proven correct, I have to indulge my hedonism.

38 Studios: Curt Schilling's Crony Capitalism Debacle
The 2012 bankruptcy of Rhode Island-based video-game developer 38 Studios isn't just a sad tale of a start-up tech company falling victim to the vagaries of a rough economy. It is a completely predictable story of crony capitalism, featuring star-struck legislators and the hubris of a larger-than-life athlete completely unprepared to compete in business.

Love the accents here.

 

[waywardOne]

Man, they already turned it into a movie?!?

 

[Mother Russia]

It's not that Schilling was bad at business, in fact he was quite good at raising capital thanks to his starpower. What he is guilty off is, is biting off more than he could chew. Instead of an expensive 3rd person action game with stats AND a massive MMORPG, he should have only tackled the former. Then, if it sold well, which it did (just not as much to justify the massive costs being incurred by the MMO team) make a couple sequels and some tie in products like novels and minis and shit. Once he had established his studios reputation and developed a popular franchise and made a name for himself in the computer gaming world, THEN start raising capital for a MMO and increasing the team to 200+ members or whatever.

Regarding business savvy, that is easily done by hiring capable business men for corporate, like Google did with Scmidt.

 

[Metro]

It is that he is bad at business. It doesn't take any business sense to raise a lot of capital when you're a world famous pitcher... especially one who won a World Series with the Red Sox... especially amongst New England governors. That's the whole point of this fiasco. Obviously he bit off more than he could chew but if you read some of the litany of articles on this then it is pretty clear he had absolutely no clue how to run a game company or any company given the dumb shit he spent money on like expensive gifts and swag for his employees. He was obsessed with MMOs and thought it would be cool to make one himself. He was never going to take baby steps. He really didn't care about actually building a foundation or making a working studio -- it was just a tool to satiate his desire for his own MMO. He didn't hire any business savvy people to run things and, instead, hired his relatives and in-laws, etc.

 

[Hobbit Lord of Mordor_]

Yeah, he could have easily sponsored an Autism awareness charity or something. He's a legend in New England and is well liked in general baseball.

"I need to make a lot of money to fund good causes" sounds better than "I want more money"

 

[LeStryfe79]

Financial damnation?

 

[Xi]

I don't understand why they put so much money into this game? It really wasn't that good. Then, to start an MMO project, before understanding if the franchise would be popular, doubly retarded. Why won't Rhode Island loan me $110 Million bucks? I'll make a rockin, city sim, cyber punk, shadowrun game and recoup millions just on the in-game pornography.

 

[snoek]

"It's a shame, baseball stars in the videogame game"

I feel sorry for the many people who fell on hard times when the company went down. Sure many people had a good time there over the years though.

As for Chilling going bankrupt, his own mistake.

Also he should have run with a smaller concept and a WAY smaller team and he'd probably have better results in a year's time.

 

[Excommunicator]

It's a cultural problem, especially in the US. There's just an absolute reverence for celebrities and thinking grandly about "blockbuster" projects and a complete disregard of good conduct and social responsibility

 

[Mother Russia]

Apparently, on Nov 01, 2012 the state of Rhode Island has sued Schilling for his outstanding losses (aka the 75 million) upon which he defaulted.

 

[Kane]

Curt Schilling asks judge to dismiss 38 Studios fraud lawsuit

http://www.polygon.com/2013/3/4/406...schilling-asks-judge-to-dismiss-fraud-lawsuit

 

[Metro]

That's the judge in the picture.

 

[Sunsetspawn]

It's because he played for the Sawks.

On the other hand, the Yankees can get Yahweh to play bass for them.

 

[Kane]

A swinger in a smokey room
A screen with WoW and ocassionally doom
For his dime he could share the light
It goes on and on and on and on

http://www.polygon.com/2013/4/22/4251780/38-studios-loan-wasnt-micromanaged-state-other-problems

Don't stop believin'.