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FACING THE ONE-GAMESTUDIO CHALLENGE
COMPANIES WITH ONE SUCCESSFUL HIT
You’ve probably seen…
WHO STRUGGLE TO SUCCEED ANOTHER GAME
But…
WE’RE ONE OF THESE COMPANIES
If you don’t know one, well…
You probably know our first game
We had our set of failures or semi-successes
Let’s share some thoughts on failures
WHY IS IT AN ISSUE ?
FOCUSING ON ONE GAME IS OK
In some ways
COMMUNITY-BASED GAMES CAN THRIVE FOR LONG TIME
1/ GOOD PRODUCT AND COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT
As long as :
2/ FOLLOW TECH AND PLATFORMS SHIFTS
And…
That’s how we’ve been in business for 8 years
Fine, but…
VIDEO GAME IS A HIT DRIVEN BUSINESS
Like it or not
Technology business yes, but still hit driven
CHANGE OF TECHNOLOGY (ONLINE/WEB)
Think of it…
CHANGE OF BUSINESS MODEL (FREE-2-PLAY)
Think of it…
CREATIVE RISK REMAINS!
But still…
It’s not only originality, but team/project alchimy too
F2P JUST GIVES MORE TIME TO FACETHIS CHALLENGE
We can’t fool ourself
MUST MASTER THE CREATIVE RISK OF THIS BUSINESS
To survive in the long term
WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT ?
FOCUSED ON THE SUCCESSFUL GAME
1) Main reason is we are
It’s where money is…
SUCCEEDING A 2ND GAME IS A NICE TO HAVE
When you have a successful game
Not as critical to survive as succeeding the 1st
100% ENERGY & ATTENTION
As long as you don’t devote
You’re less likely to succeed
HOW RESSOURCES ARE SHARED ?
2) Even with best intentions to succeed
BEST TALENTS ON FIRST SUCCESFUL GAME
Again, it’s tempting to have
ENOUGH TALENTS FOR 2 PROJECTS
It takes time & scale to have
And the right management for this
IT TAKES ±10 YEARS TO BUILD A STUDIO
As the saying goes
A studio with constant quality
DO YOU REALLY LEARN FROM FAILURES?
3) Let’s be honest
MOVE ON THE NEXT NEW COOL IDEA
Easier to
And forget about project mgt & HR issues
REAL LEARNING PROCESSES
Need a
I.E exhaustive post-mortems
WHAT IS THE RISK ?
FLAT GROWTH ORREVENUE FALL
Obvious main risks are
Risk of bankrupt at some point!
TWO SOLUTIONS
In this context (or rather before)
A NEW GAME TO RENEW ACTIVITY
Manage to create
SELL BEFOREIT’S LATE
Or…
Go to a bigger house for long term visibility
WE DID BOTH
At Owlient
TRIED 9 PRODUCTSAFTER HOWRSE
None of them brought significant revenues
Since 2005 we
SOLD TO UBISOFT
For a long term visibility to raise studio competency without risking a bankrupt
In 2011
WE KEEP TRYING!
We have two new projects currently
By the way
Beta is coming up next week
WE ARE CREATIVEPEOPLE
Can’t stop trying new ideas
Why do you keep trying ???
CONCLUSION
STARTUP INVESTMENTS
Another similar hit driven business is
Must read: paulgraham.com/swan.html
1000X VARIATION FOR BIG WINNERS
Learning from Y Combinator
Such as Dropbox & AirBnB (B$ valuation)
« COST OF DOING BUSINESS »
As Graham says, other startups are just
In a purely financial view
FAILURES ARE JUST COST OF FINDING A BIG HIT, SOMETIMES
Back to our video game issues, it means
Just business, don’t take it personnaly
ENJOY YOUR FAILURES,IT’S PART OF THE GAME
Thanks Olivier Issaly
@oissaly / kiad.org
So keep faith and