With the increase in the range and
penetration of the gaming industry, it was inevitable that
eventually, agencies and consultants would make their way into the
field. Business, and the dynamics of corporate work not only set the
stage for these players, but create a space where they have the
ability to thrive. Curiously then, one wonders, is it a viable
investment in the age of gaming corporatism, to yolk yourself with an
agency, or to hire in a consultant? As time moves forward, it's
become more of a rhetoric than a direct question, though I think it
has its own answer imprinted in it: “No.”
If you're wondering why “no,” -
for the simple reason that we live in an age of information.
Everything you need or want, is by and all accounts, at your
fingertips. Whether it's related to branding, marketing, or
potentially, publishing & distributing your work – the world
wide web and associated internet-technologies allow us – the
consumer – to also be the producer. We simply have no real need of
them. While an agency can provide a great stepping stone between your
company and publishers/distributors – while also taking a great
deal of the time and effort to both go through the motions of it all,
as well as acquiring the skills and mindset needed to go about such
hefty business – today it's often easy enough to manage it
yourself. The reality is, most consultants and agencies simply don't
have the background. It's common for them to rationalize games as
just another venue for media consumption. In part, this trend has
helped develop the casual market in recent years. Certainly there's a
place for that – yet that market in and of itself is a different
beast to the gaming industry that makes over $67 billion a year.
Statistics show even now, the core gamer – those who make up almost
all of that number – are still, “...reluctant to embrace social games.” Mobile gaming certainly has a place, but as long as
it, and other venues of social gaming remain a casual affair, they're
likely to not be taken seriously. Consultants and agencies need to
take that into account, to focus on elements that are viable in the
gaming industry direction, or focus specifically on casual/social
and mobile gaming elements.
Of particular note, securing
publishing deals for companies can be a burden, and a costly one at
that. Certainly a benefit of agencies and consultants. However, with
the rise of cloud-based distribution, and elements like Steam –
with their indie-friendly appeal and “Greenlight”
community, make these options far more lucrative. For those who
prefer to go it solo, take Mojang founder, Markus Persson who managed
to create one of the most authentic, and impressive games of the last
generation – and likely, ever made. After all, since
Minecraft's official release, it has sold over 20 million copies. Primarily, all of it with a focus on their own method of
distribution, and marketing – without the use of agencies and
consultants, or all those fees.
Of course, there are those points with
which many make claim of their benefit to the industry. For those not
in the know – a quick search can show you just how many developers
actually jumped on the agency & consultant train(s) – in 2010,
one of the leading Video Game Agencies, Digital Development
Management, had over 700 signed, across 15 studios, in addition to
working with 20 different publishers. Not only that, the infamous
“fired” Infinity Ward duo, Vince Zampella and Jason West, shacked up with Creative Artist Agency in 2010 as well. They're certainly
not the only ones.
While the model itself may be pretty
similar in the industry today – with a focus that's very focused on
franchising and “studio renting” to publishers – the role of
Agencies and consultants today, has the ability to make the divide
much smaller. It's fair to say they are in a position now, to even
embolden developers against the constraints of this ancient model.
Two major ways to go about this is to either A: focus on
marketing/branding factors of a studio and its developers – or its
products if they prefer, and B: focus creating an atmosphere that
allows a dynamic change in financing models for game developers and
publisher relations. That is exactly what many agencies are doing in
the game industry. Seamus Blackley created a new dynamic by way of
“B” - focusing on bringing the artists and creatives to the forefront of negotiations, while changing the core of how
financing could be done for games by working around the ideal of
bond/debt financing – something of a norm in film/TV – to games
that rely on iteration.There's a lot less guessing and fishing with these kinds of methods, and you certainly don't need a crystal ball.
Other companies, who may follow the
“B” and also certainly the aforementioned “A” model, such as
Video Game Agency, the Game Agency, Intergi, or Embassy MultiMedia,
happen to provide services that you don't generally associate with
games, but you certainly enjoy seeing them all the time. What do you
do, if you're studio is new, and lacks a firm hand, a financial lead,
or a producer with business sense? If anyone still remembers the
ill-fated Ion Storm company and it's epic failure, Daikatana,
you'll know that by and large, had they'd secured a consultant and/or
agency to help in the realm of branding/marketing and especially
finance with a producer, things may have turned out a lot different.
By right of branding and marketing, think of the extraordinary
commercial for Halo 3, which you can view, here – brought to
you by the famous McCann Erickson. EyeBallNYC created the well-known
Bioshock commercial for Xbox.
If anything, it's fair to say that
there's certainly some contention, but agencies penetration into the
industry is only going to become stronger. It's for the best – as
they continue to improve the quality of marketing and branding
directives, that actually listen to developers, while opening up the
dynamic from a franchise model and studio renting, to one that
showcases the developers and the artistic merit of its products, the
quality of their worth becomes apparent. As more and more sign on, in
order to improve their ability for their products to get funding,
development resources, or expanding their distribution and marketing,
they're creating more options. Any option that allows an artist to be
an artist and do what they do, while helping to alleviate constraint
and stringency is certainly an option worth considering, if not
outright investing in.
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