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Game News Bard's Tale lands a publisher

Spazmo

Erudite
Joined
Nov 9, 2002
Messages
5,752
Location
Monkey Island
Tags: Bard's Tale (2005); Vivendi Universal Games

According to <a href=http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/thebardstale/news_6076930.html>this</a> <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/pc">Gamespot PC</a> news item, the upcoming <a href=http://www.inxile-entertainment.com/index.html>Bard's Tale</a> from inXile has found a publisher in North America, <a href=http://www.vugames.com/home.do>VU Games</a>.
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No word yet on who will bring Bard's Tale to other markets.
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<b>Edit:</b> <i>They found a <u>distributor</u>, they themselves are the <u>publisher</u>.</i>
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EEVIAC

Erudite
Joined
Mar 30, 2003
Messages
1,186
Location
Bumfuck, Nowhere
I found this paragraph from a Yahoo Business report interesting :

Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, inXile entertainment is striving to be the benchmark for a new generation of computer game publishers by modeling their production and financing after Hollywood production companies like Miramax and New Line Cinema. Similar to a motion picture production company, inXile is funding its production by selling off territorial distribution rights and taking additional financial risk itself for increased profitability.

If I'm reading that correctly, IX sells publishing rights to a territory, like North America for say, $5 million. They put that money into developing Bard's Tale. When it gets released, there's one less "filter" for the money to pass through. The potential for profitability is larger.

Then again, if the game doesn't sell, IX could well be ruined. I'm thinking Fargo is signing deals based on his own name, the man who took IPLY to being one of the top five game companies, and the Bard's Tale brand name. He would have needed a lot of capital to get this started though, and I'm assuming he's not using his own money. (The first rule of business being to never use your own money.)

So IX's business model stands to make Brian a substantial fortune. I wouldn't begrudge him a fortune (moreso than that which he's already amassed,) in fact I'm really hoping it all works out for him. Considering the amount of titles that Publishers have fucked up in recent times, it could be a breath of fresh air to do away with them all together.

Anyone with a business background that wants to clarify or correct, be my guest.
 

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