Some may recall awhile back Madonna departing music industry giant Warner Bros. Records in favor of a ten year deal with live events company Live Nation. This marked one of the first major moves away from the traditional artist-as-slave-to-record-company model we've come to know so well. Well, things like these tend to have a ripple effect, and it seems in this case it is not just so within the music industry. UK game distributor Pinnacle Software is expanding its own model to essentially eliminate the need for a publisher in the industry, which, for many reasons, is one of the biggest obstacles developers face today.
So, while going about business as usual, the company will also be offering studios funding, as well as marketing and manufacturing prowress (Doodle Hex is the latest example, and there are many forthcoming). But what's the difference between this and a traditional publisher? Pinnacle's Managing Director Peter Sleeman had this to say about it in an MCV interview:
"We make sure that the entry point gets easier for developers. We ensure they don’t have to use a publisher, but equally that doesn’t mean they have to go: “Oh my God, we were a developer, now we’re a publisher.” If this works, it will definitely be something we invest in more. And we are making sure we are giving the all-important kudos to those that deserve it – namely the developers – by putting them on the front of the box, not us."
To be clear, the company's name will be on the back where it'll say 'Distributed worldwide by Pinnacle Software,' which is entirely reasonable I think. But yeah, I really dig his modesty and his recognition that the developer is really the only thing directly relevant to the game. I mean, am I going to go on a site like Facebook because this or this venture capitalist invested in it? No, and it's essentially the same thing. I don't care about the money put behind it really (not in a direct sense, at least), just how it works or plays. Honestly I have no idea why publishers are as prominently known as they are, and I hope this new model works and improves two situations at once. And none of this is to say publishers don't do admirable work, it's just I think their association with the game should be pretty much irrelevant to the game player.
On the specifics of the model, Sleeman says he wants a relationship with developers that offers more than just setting his company up as a money-provider:
"People have traditionally known Pinnacle for pick, pack, ship, sales – they wouldn’t have associated us with marketing, PR or financing products. What we don’t want is a load of people saying, “Give us a load of money and we’ll make you a great game.” We’re not interested in that. We’re interested in people who need assistance to get over the line without conceding control. We’ll obviously use Pinnacle for distribution, because you have to use the best now, don’t you?"
The goal seems to be more or less to just free up the industry and make things easier on everyone. I imagine with a company like this, the transition from a WiiWare developer to a "real" developer would be relatively smooth if the portfolio was strong enough.
While currently they're only working with UK developers, plans and talks are happening for other parts of the world. I think Pinnacle deserve to succeed and pioneer with this. Anyone else feel the same?
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