Mike Wilson’s divine dream of a developer-owned publisher is now a reality. Combine one ego-drenched name, a tossed salad of the hottest polygon spatterers in Texas, seven zeros of financing and the resulting synergy is the Gathering of Developers. Behind the primped PR-gloss of what game companies want you to hear, GameSlice Editor-in-Chief Geoff Keighley unearths the undeniably fascinating tale of why this We-Are-The-World-esque concoction of developers is a suit-driven game publisher’s worst nightmare, and a hard-core gamer’s ultimate fantasy.

Feedback - January 22



We've heard from hundreds of gamers about the Gathering of Developers, and we wanted to start posting some feedback here on the site.  We are going to update this page again in the very near future, so read on and send your comments to feedback@gameslice.com.  Thanks for reading.

We have secured direct relationships with every major retailer we've met with.  Several of the national software buyers are actually willing to serve on an advisory board for g.o.d., and have said that this kind of 'stirring of the pot' is just what this industry could use.  Retailers and consumers control shelf space... not big companies with more bad product than good.  Think about that 'beating down the doors' theory.  You think GT was anybody when they were calling with Doom II a few short years ago?  Nope.  Eidos... Tomb Raider.  Instant distribution.  Hasbro?  Who?  No titles in 96... 6 of the top 20 at XMAS 1997.  This is not an industry where distribution is built up over a number of years of knocking on doors and buying warehouses.

We will have interim funding in the next 2 weeks, and will apparently be fully funded within 45 days.  The money we are raising is more than enough given very conservative sales estimates to get us through several years... we will be in a stronger cash position than most large publishers out there, and without the huge overhead and full menu of weak products.

We have been approached by several large publishers hoping to be our international and console partners, and will likely announce one or more of those partners within 30 days.

We will announce another 2 major top tier developers with 45 days, and are receiving submissions and inquiries from all over the world.


 

All titles accepted into Gathering of Developers will have the same marketing budget allotted, and each developer's input will determine how that money is allocated and what messaging it will convey.  This is how we intend to 'keep things equal'.  Games will succeed or fail on their own merits, and if marketing is to blame, well... like I said.  The developers won't have to look far too find the ones to blame.  They will all be using the same PR firm, the same creative agency for ads and packaging, and the same sales force.  The only thing unequal right now with the developers is equity share, and they all understand that their allotment is based on what they bring to the table right now.  They are all getting the best deal available in the industry, and they all know and agree to the business plan of treating any title accepted with the same level of money and mindshare.  Not every title from these developers will be accepted... by accepting one, we're agreeing that it is worthy of the 'standard deal'.

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