Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Deon]

Now I must say that details about Elemental launch and its consequences are much more interesting to me than the actual game :/.

[Captain Mayday]

Now I must say that details about Elemental launch and its consequences are much more interesting to me than the actual game :/.

I have to agree.

[Viken]

It is interesting, if nothing else, although my views on the game itself hasn't changed, nor that on the great extended support for the whole system from Stardock will be. *nod nods*  Its just one of those things where I enjoy the community as much as the software itself. 

[a1s]

Brad made it very clear that game development is not one of Stardock's major revenue streams, so why would a bad launch necessitate laying people off?

This has been going around for a while, so can anyone actually suppl a quote where Brad Wardell says gamedev is not important? The way I understand it, the opposite is true- Wardell is personally interested (that is: he, personally, finds the topic interesting) in development of games. And he supports production of quality games as a priority over ones having the highest ROI. Someone really forked up this time if there were lay offs.

[Heavenfall]

I'm reading this as "we hired people for this project, and if it did as well as we hoped, we would keep them around for our next big project".  Probably the people who were laid off knew that their contracts would be an unknown variable.

Pretty much. They projected that the revenue stream from Elemental would be enough to pay for a second team working on another game. Those are the people now being let go.

[alway]

Brad made it very clear that game development is not one of Stardock's major revenue streams, so why would a bad launch necessitate laying people off?

This has been going around for a while, so can anyone actually suppl a quote where Brad Wardell says gamedev is not important? The way I understand it, the opposite is true- Wardell is personally interested (that is: he, personally, finds the topic interesting) in development of games. And he supports production of quality games as a priority over ones having the highest ROI. Someone really forked up this time if there were lay offs.

From a monetary standpoint, I'm fairly sure game development is a small part of their business model. IIRC, software like Blinds makes most of their money. That may not necessitate laying people off; but Brad thinking they did a shoddy job on E:WoM would.

[a1s]

I'm fairly sure game development is a small part of their business model.

Yes, but is there a quote (weather a financial statement or Brad saying so) to that effect? I just find it hard to believe that a company that started out in game-dev and has a CEO outspoken on the subject and is a developer/publisher of acclaimed games would not get a significant amount of revenue out of that activity.

[Bluerobin]

Here's a mention of it in a post from August 29. This was from the Google cache of it, because I tried to load the actual site and it wouldn't load. Dunno if the site itself is down or if the post was removed (looks more like the former than the latter right now).

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[SeaBee]

Yeah, he's said something to the effect of "games are just a small side thing for us" multiple times over the years.

I have no idea how true it is. Only have his word to go on. I just can't imagine Window Blinds or his customization stuff is selling terribly well with Windows 7 etc. But I don't know.

[EuchreJack]

I'm reading this as "we hired people for this project, and if it did as well as we hoped, we would keep them around for our next big project".  Probably the people who were laid off knew that their contracts would be an unknown variable.

Pretty much. They projected that the revenue stream from Elemental would be enough to pay for a second team working on another game. Those are the people now being let go.

By my reading of the post, I'd say Brad overextended himself.  Several of those people could probably only be retained if this game actually succeeded in bringing Stardock into the AAA level of game production.  But since the release was lousy, most of the new hires were "unhired".  If he was smart, those people would have been temp-to-hire, contingent on the success of the game.

I just pray Stardock doesn't "cut it's losses" with this title and abandon it.  That's the main concern that keeps me from shelling out 50 dollars for this game.  While I realize their sales figures will probably have some impact on whether they continue supporting this game, I don't think my purchase will be enough to effect their overall decision.

Several people have said, "Don't buy it, wait a few months".  I'd respond, "Don't buy it, see if it's still being supported in a few months."

Perhaps Stardock should consider lowering the price.  Fifty dollars for a game that isn't finished is criminal.  Thirty dollars for a game that is unpolished is typical for the gaming industry.  I'd suggest a rebranding and price reduction in three to six months.

[Tilla]

I'm fairly sure game development is a small part of their business model.

Yes, but is there a quote (weather a financial statement or Brad saying so) to that effect? I just find it hard to believe that a company that started out in game-dev and has a CEO outspoken on the subject and is a developer/publisher of acclaimed games would not get a significant amount of revenue out of that activity.

The company didn't start in game-dev. Their primary business has always been about the utility software.

[forsaken1111]

I'm fairly sure game development is a small part of their business model.

Yes, but is there a quote (weather a financial statement or Brad saying so) to that effect? I just find it hard to believe that a company that started out in game-dev and has a CEO outspoken on the subject and is a developer/publisher of acclaimed games would not get a significant amount of revenue out of that activity.

Someone else has pointed out the quote I mentioned. As far as I know, Stardock makes most of its money by selling its utility applications and through the digital distribution of other people's games on Impulse. Original game development and sales are only a small part of what they do.

[Viken]

All of this has been covered in this post before.  Just going over the same ground is a bit more boring the second or third, or fifth time I've read it all. 

[nenjin]

Amuse him monkeys!

It's starting to seem like Brad will say just about anything. He talks about Elemental being their darling, while planning another team to start working on a new game within the same year of it's release. He blames broken street dates when he was compiling 1.0 versions to send to friends and family...apparently without even playing it for an hour to get a handle on what he's sending to people. He vacillates between being a defensive fan of his own game, and having absolutely no perspective on his project, to lashing himself with the "we were so stupid" whip. He gives the impression that Elemental not doing well is only a minor set back, then cans his newest hires. He says he stays at arms length from game development, but says it's his fault the game released like this. He says the bad is all on him because he makes all the calls and fell in love with the game...but, as far as I can tell, he basically let the Elemental team work without a lot of oversight.

Yes. Reading him dance from one foot to the next has by far been more engrossing than the game itself. He should bite the bullet, and hire a PR person to follow him around with a tranq gun. Because he seems to say whatever he needs to, to fit the moment. And players would probably be better off if he just wasn't talking as much period.

[Tilla]

Maybe he can hire Peter Molyneux to make more guarded statements for him.