I’ve read this press release three times, and I still don’t know what it means, exactly, except that several traditional media corporations have jumped into online games in a huge way. Thanks to a joint investment by three VC firms, TimeWarner, NBC, and Bertelsmann (along with HP) have just made Redwood City-based Trion World Networks $30 million richer.The question is, to create what?The company site speaks of “leveraging the power of globally pervasive broadband to reach worldwide audiences”, but try as I might, specific details on Trion’s site are scarce. The top executives hail from Electronic Arts, NCSoft, and New World Computing, three established publishers, which strongly suggests a game-heavy interface. An earlier announcement says Trion’s service will “combine the best of games, broadband, and traditional media” on a variety of platforms.Will it be like Steam, but with Warner Brothers movies and NBC sitcoms gamers can download? Xbox Live, but with Random House books and BMG music you can get on your cellphone? We’ll be keeping an eye out for more details as they arrive. I just hope the business plan is a lot less vague than the press release. Hat tip: Campfiremedia.com.
4 comments so far
9:58 AM PT
They’re an MMO game company, doing backend ecommerce and producing their own game, before licensing the platform. Their differentiators include making portions of the game (chat, guild, auctions) available on web, mobile, etc.
7:33 PM PT
Not a big fan of games on mobile. Its kind of like web 1.0 - its just not there yet.
4:50 PM PT
“I just hope the business plan is a lot less vague than the press release.”
I sat in on a pitch from these folks last summer and, I can assure you, the plan is at least as - if not more! - vague than the press release.
It seemed quite clear to me that while they desperately wanted to be a technology company providing a platform to other developers and publishers they were really just hunting for funding to build a game.
There was a terribly forced concept that seemed there only to appeal to media companies in the hopes of securing IP and funding.
Seems that the strategy worked once they found the right audience.
6:43 PM PT
How bad is the Press Release. Why make one. I am looking forward to seeing what happens though.
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