 |
|
 |
|
 
Audits: A Developer's
Best New Year's
Resolution!
If you are an independent developer or licensor, this article is a MUST READ!
If I had a nickel for every time I heard a developer shy away from auditing their publishing partners for fear of "upsetting the cow so it ceases to yield milk," I could have retired to the islands by now.
In the early days, audits only occurred when there was a breakdown in a relationship between publisher and developer, and the developer wanted to give the publisher a working over. So it was a bit of a vengeance play which also contributed to the negative connotation about auditing. While it is true that publishers don't like to undergo audits because it usually ties up one of their already busy people for at least a week, upsetting the apple cart is less of a consideration than it used to be.
These days auditing is seen by both sides more as just good corporate governance. Bigger developers have third-party shareholders to answer to, plus they have licensors they must report to at least quarterly, and this is part of what is expected for appropriate protections. Whether your studio has these external reporting requirements or not, you need to read on and learn when it makes sense to audit and why. Because, if you are seeing some of these flags and doing nothing about it, you could be leaving serious money behind.
FOG Studios exclusively uses our strategic partner Media Forensics for our auditing needs and, yes, although this article is designed to educate the community to a very serious issue, I am shamelessly plugging these guys as well -- and for good reason. Over the last five years, Media Forensics has done more than 50 audits on game publishers with a 100% success rate of finding errors in favor of the developer -- and recovered over $20 million for its independent developer clients in the process.
Let me say that again: 50 audits, 50 wins! Not a shabby heavyweight record. And their most recent fight netted the lucky development studio $800,000 against a $16,000 audit cost.
"Hey, wait a minute! 100% errors?" you shout. "Does this mean all the publishers are just lining up to put the screws to us?"
"This does not mean that publishers are deliberately attempting to hide money," says Media Forensics CEO Tim Christian. "The main issues that cause errors are …
Click here to read the full article »
|
|
| |
 |
| |
Location: Czech Republic-based with subsidiary in Romania
Focus: Developer of mobile games.
Facts: Created 30+ mobile titles, most recently Sex Dormitory: Wild Hustle and City Tycoon.
Talk about prolific, Impossible has only been in business since 2003 and already it's developed more than 30 mobile titles, several of them award-winners.
For example, “Sex Dormitory: Wild Hustle”" claimed the silver prizes in the Best Mobile Action game category and in the Best German Casual game category at the Deutschen Entwicklerpreis 2007. And it was the seventh best-selling title in 2007 on O2 Czech Republic.
At the moment, Impossible's team of 15 developers has more than three games in its pipeline, the highest-profile titles being:
- Warlords: Castles. This mobile installment of the popular Warlords franchise features a mixture of epic storytelling and pickup-and-play battle sequences in which gamers can send hordes of bloodthirsty warriors against an enemy castle. As the game progresses, various strong units can be unlocked, such as giants, catapults, and orc-snipers. Imagine playing all of this head-to-head against a friend via Bluetooth. Find the trailer here.
- Fishy Business. A casual puzzler at heart with adorable comic characters in pursuit of the evil Mafia villains.
- Reiner Knizia´s Samurai. A faithful recreation of the board game set in feudal Japan.
In their “spare time,” the Impossible team is game for some work-for-hire opportunities.
“Publishers will appreciate the two key values that we apply to all our work,” says COO Miklos Csemy, “and they are customer care and reliability. In addition, we have our very own platform for mobile online multiplayer and mobile Bluetooth multiplayer. And we have experience with working with some established and very well-known brands.”
|
|
|
 |
|
| |
Infinite Interactive's Fawkner On “Warlords-Online.”
Infinite Interactive CEO and “Puzzle Quest” designer Steve Fawkner brings everyone up-to-date on his new, free, Web-based game -- currently code-named “Warlords-Online” -- in a recent interview he gave the Web site Kotaku Australia. In “Warlords-Online,” says Fawkner, “you create a Warlord character and play puzzles to gain gold. You then use that gold to help your character conquer the world of Etheria. All this takes place in an Internet environment where other warlords are trying to help their chosen races conquer the world, too.”
Fawkner calls the game “a present to everyone who's supported 'Puzzle Quest' and the Warlords series of games over the years.”
Read the entire interview.
Micazook signs distribution deal for “Crank.”
The big news at Micazook is that the mobile game developer has signed a distribution deal for "Crank" in conjunction with Lionsgate, Lakeshore, Silverbirch Studios, and Velvetelvis Studios.
Yes, the feature motion picture has now become "Crank Mobile," a wild arcade game in which only a hyper-adrenalized, non-stop rush can keep you alive.
Click here for more.
For immediate assistance, contact Adam Spencer.
Platinum Studios teams with Comflix to bring “Splastk.”
Platinum Studios, an entertainment company that controls an independent library of comic book characters from all over the world, and Comflix Studios, an LA- and NY-based multimedia company, have given birth to "Splastk," the very first Web-syndicated , on-demand video network featuring free comic book-inspired animated content.
Click here to learn more.
For immediate assistance, contact
Adam Spencer.
|
|
|
 |
FOG will be at all these industry events. Click here to set up an appointment.
February 6-8
D.I.C.E. Summit 2008
Las Vegas, Nevada
www.dicesummit.org/
February 11-14
GSMA Mobile World Congress
Barcelona, Spain
www.mobileworldcongress.com
February 18-22
2008 Game Developers Conference (GDC)
San Francisco, California
www.gdconf.com/
|
| |
|
 |
|
 |
Ping us by clicking on the appropriate link. We are currently looking for the following:
|
|
 |
|
 |
FOG Studios, the leading agency for interactive rights since 1979, helps:
|
 |
Independent developers find publishing partners and other avenues to market. |
|
|
IP owners maximize their return when licensing in the interactive marketplace. |
|
|
Publishers develop relationships with world-class brands and top developers. |
| |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
A Friend Of FOG
With more than 130 owned-and-affiliated offices worldwide, Grubb & Ellis offers property owners, corporate occupants, and investors comprehensive, integrated real estate solutions, including transaction, management, consulting, and investment advisory services supported by proprietary market research and extensive local market expertise.
These skillsets have been integral to the game development community and, as such, make Grubb & Ellis a Friend of FOG. |
|
|
|
|
Impossible
