IP BusinessWhich end of the Spectrumwould you want to be in?
Matumit Sombunjaroen 2014/07/[email protected]
this Journal is entirely subjective on how I personally view things.
I do not claim that what I said is good or better
Or that anyone else is wrong or bad. These are simply opinions.
Just to make something clear
The reason I wrote this journal stem from how I felt about a certain company,
a reasonably well known one in Thailand,
decided how to do their business.
The company have top tiers Creators, amongst the best in the Nation.
The Company has created quite a splendid Portfolio
and gained many admirations from people in the industry,
both internally and overseas.
HOWEVER
I personally feel indifferent.
Indifferent,
by definition,means that I don't really care.
I neither like them nor do I hate them.
And the reason for that is related to IP business.
I won`t say on what exactly have they made,but I am going to show some of the franchises that
they have been a part of.
Not necessary the Product itself, but the Franchise.
If you are in a Creative industry in Thailand,
you might know which company I am talking about right now.
Let be more specificon what I think about the
Company.
Do I think that the people there have great skills?
YES
Do I think that the company is respectable?
YES
Do I have any respect for them?
I don't have any disrespect for them,
but neither do I respect them.
Do I admire them?
Not at all
Why do I feel indifferent?
The reason for that is simply this.
I do not feel related to them when I look at these products.
Next,
Let me talk about products on the other side of the spectrum.
Project Nimbus
GameCrafterTeam,Pawee Pakamekanon
Zombie Hero
Secret Character,Wasin Thonkaew
These two are games made by Indie Dev in Thailand.
And they are their own IPs.
This is what I feel about them
Do I want to play their game?
Actually, No. But it's purely due to preferences reason.
Do I think that their games are good?
Actually, No. But again, it's simply because their
aesthetic preferences doesn't match mine.
Do I have any respect or Admire them?
YES I DO
Why is That?
Their names stick with the Games.
They own the IP and gain full benefit from them.
Even though their games don't match my preferences,
when someone talked about their Products, I know the people who created them.
To simply put,
I feel related to them when I look at their Games
Let's talk about Products and Fandom.
As an example
Tora Dora Portable!was a pinnacle Hallmark for Graphic Novels,
AKA “Adventure Game” in Japan.
From its success,several types of Fandom exist,
or was created.
1. Fan of the Franchise
Original Novel, Anime, Game, other IP based products
2. Fan of the company that made it
GuyzWare => The company behind the development
3. Fan of the big names behind the Product
Takemiya Yuyuko, the author of the original novel.
3. Fan of the big names behind the Product
Kobayashi Nobuyuki, Game DesignerUnity Evangelist, One of the man behind Unity-
Chan.
4. Celebrities related to the Products
Kugimiya RieVoice actress behind the main girl
When I heard any of their names,
I can relate back to the products and vice versa
Why is Fandom so important?
Simply speaking,It helps expanding businesses.
Game
Anime
Manga
When an entity that have any fan works on a new product,
Fans of previous product is likely to give attention to the new one as well.
This help business expand and can guarantee minimal Incomes from existing fans.
Let’s give another easier example
When someone talk about Metal Gear,
they would usually think of 2 things.
Metal Gear, as the Franchise itself.
and Kojima Hideo,
the God behind the Legendary Title.
When it's come to direct sequel,
existing fans will have tendenciesto buy sequel as well.
However,the Following should
be noted
Kojima Hideo,do not create every existing Metal Gear Games.
Kojima Hideo,created something else beside Metal Gear as well.
Metal Gear Rising,
An Action Combat oriented spin-off featuring Raiden, is made by Platinum Games.
Platinum Games is a company well known for Fast Paced Action Games, and their Creators and Portfolio is amongst the best in the industry.
This part of Fandom, in addition to existing Metal Gear Fan, made Metal Gear Rising a title that guaranteed succeed due to existing Fans on both sides.
Zone of The Ender,another title created by Kojima Hideo.
Although it does not gain critical fame like Metal Gear,Fans of Kojima gave support for it and is something of
a cult favorite.
Business based on expanded Fandom
Cannot be made,unless association between Product
and its Creatorcan be make.
Benefitsof owning an IP
The thing about an IP, Intellectual Property,
is that they don't have to stick to a single specific form.
You can gain more benefit from making merchandises, Cross-Media, etc,
Gundam is perhaps the best known successfor Utilization of IP as tools for the Business.
However
The problem with IP is that
the only people who gain long term benefit from it,
is the one who actually own it.
As such,
Even though these are critically well known title,
the Company that I mentioned, will not gain any long term benefit from them.
On the other hand,
If these two became a success,
you can expect merchandises spawned off them.
This could lead toPawee Pakamekanon
AndWasin Thonkaew
become rich men.
And a viable target to ask for an investment.
1. Greater Risks than utilizing an existing ones. 2. You take the full responsibility of what you
make. 3. Fame and Infamy came directly to you. 4. You takes all long term benefit.
Notes to take if you are going to create your own IP
BTW, Pawee Pakamekanonis a big fan of Kana Hanazawa.
A proposal involving her is a good bet to get his money.