What is venture capital, you
might ask? Why could it be important to video game companies? Neither
needs a detailed answer. It's all rather straightforward – games
cost money, lots of it. Video game venture capitalists have the
ability to get a developer out the door, and with every higher
layoffs and closing studios within the last year, an investor has the
potential to be the solution.
 |
| This money ain't free - but it sure beats loans |
With companies like Lightspeed Venture Partners, or Joystick Labs developers have
legitimate opportunities beyond selling the dream on places like
Kickstarter – though that has indeed, become a powerful
launching platform. In the case of Lightspeed, whom, over the past 20
years has backed a couple hundred start-ups, has managed to secure
themselves an impressive foothold in the realm of technology
industries – not just games.
An article on Gamasutra, goes
over the key elements that these venture capitalists are looking for,
and it makes for rather pertinent reading material. Things like the
quality of an assembled team, and the ability to leverage elements of
a good game, into creating new games via 'unfair advantage' – a
common term for using what it is that people like about your
product/service into future products to give you, for all intents and
purposes, a direct advantage over your competition. If you play a lot
of MMO's of the Korean or Chinese flavor, you'll note this is a very
direct and common strategy. Additionally, they expect to see
companies use co-opting and cross-promotion techniques in order to
promote products and increase monetization.
 |
| Friends to gaming companies and other shady business, everywhere |
Honestly, I can understand the reason
behind Lightspeed Venture Partners' belief in these Key strategies.
They let you know a company has more than their game itself, on the
brain – that they're thinking of how to monetize their product not
just at the shipping point, but for improved longevity beyond. As
they're an investment company that prefers mobile/social space with
respect to games investment, it's any wonder knowing how to leverage
your market, and improve product longevity in the form of 'services'
is of paramount importance.
Joystick Labs, however, is a bit
different. What started as a promising accelerator program for getting digitally distributed gaming companies off the ground, has
already begun to close up shop. In a way, they remind me of people
who like the “idea” of something, rather than the actual
execution of it. Built to help the seed-stage of companies, and
beyond, the Joystick labs aspired to use the Triangle – an area which has as many as 50 gaming companies as a community, across the Carolina's, in which their belief in quality teams (similar to
Lightspeed) is of paramount importance. Rather than a focus of
during-development, they work toward getting developers a chance to
come together and get up-and-running. Their belief-spectrum in turn
revolves around elements such as workforce supply – such as from universities and collegiate areas that are local. With the belief
in mentorship, and a heavy presence in educating and networking
those start-ups, they did something a little different that tried to
give hope to would-be gaming companies – certainly, something we
could see more of.
 |
| They came, they saw...they shut down? |
For whatever reason, however, they
closed down in 2012, noting that they stopped applications but were
still helping the few companies they invested in during 2010/2011.
While I can certainly get behind what it is they were trying to do,
it begs the question, was it the right method? What actually is
necessary regarding mentorship, education, and network in the context
of monetization, and after-release shelf-life of a product? What
separates these two companies – one might suggest a more competent
level of forethought. After all, Lightspeed is still here to stay,
and thanks to them, I'm able to keep blowing hours on just about
everything companies like Kongregate put out, so it's not all
bad.
0 comments:
Post a Comment