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[GungHo]

I didn't know that Curt Schilling was THAT Curt Schilling.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

That means we were really close to getting a Reckoning 2... and then the Guvnor opened his mouth and then we lost it

The Governor made the mistake of telling people that 38 Studios was broke?

Schilling 'tapped out' after loss of 38 Studios

http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/06/22/schilling-tapped-out-after-loss-of-38-studios/

It's nice that you feel bad about "bombing in epic fashion" over not telling your employees shit.... but you didn't tell your remployees shit.

Welcome to the 99%.

Maybe.

 

[diffusionx]

Curt Schilling thinks the confidence fairy ruined his firm? lol.

The reason why 38 had to go to RI was because they couldn't find any investors in the first place. The reason why they couldn't find any investors is because people with money did research into the MMO business. Does Curt really think that investors would've changed their mind in the past six months based on the awesome success of Amalur?

He's delusional. But it provides a nice narrative for his tea party pals.

 

[lucius]

Schilling has to have a few million somewhere, he could not be this stupid, it is more likely he needs it to get out that he has no money left for a number of reasons.

 

[Mr. Enigma]

According to Baseball-Reference, Schilling made approximately $114 million in his MLB career.

 

[lsslave]

Schilling has to have a few million somewhere, he could not be this stupid, it is more likely he needs it to get out that he has no money left for a number of reasons.

Don't see why, if the company was Incorporated his personal assets are completely separate from the company.

Probably for sympathy so he isn't the bad guy, or maybe he is that stupid, who knows.

(Not hating on the guy, a mix of shame and disappointment is what I feel for the guy, he tried to fly too high and failed miserably like so many before him who aimed high and didn't even try to be realistic)

 

[FStop7]

He's Curt Schilling, he can make plenty of money doing commentary, endorsements, etc.

It's the people he fucked out of their livelihoods that I feel for.

 

[mattp]

Curt Schilling thinks the confidence fairy ruined his firm? lol.

The reason why 38 had to go to RI was because they couldn't find any investors in the first place. The reason why they couldn't find any investors is because people with money did research into the MMO business. Does Curt really think that investors would've changed their mind in the past six months based on the awesome success of Amalur?

He's delusional. But it provides a nice narrative for his tea party pals.

a huge part of why they couldn't get funding was curt refused to give up any control at all. he wanted to have 100% control over the game and the IP

 

[BriareosGAF]

a huge part of why they couldn't get funding was curt refused to give up any control at all. he wanted to have 100% control over the game and the IP

Yeah, unfortunately that's not how funding works. You want someone else's money, you trade them equity/ownership in exchange. And it doesn't stop there, the tech industry is littered with startups that were forced to sell so that investors could see a return on their capital. It's a messy business. But there's no reason that Schilling couldn't have started smaller and ramped up much slower. Painful way to learn that lesson for everyone.

 

[element]

But there's no reason that Schilling couldn't have started smaller and ramped up much slower. Painful way to learn that lesson for everyone.

The company moved at a snails pace. The idea of out of the gate going up against WOW was silly.

 

[thefro]

According to Baseball-Reference, Schilling made approximately $114 million in his MLB career.

After taxes/lawyers/agents and whatever he's spent on other things, I could see him being down to a few million plus his assets at this point.

 

[thefro]

double post, delete

 

[Dreams-Visions]

brucewaynegretzky made the last page and a half worth reading. in the saddest possible sort of way.

respect gone.

 

[Killing_Joke]

I didn't know that Curt Schilling was THAT Curt Schilling.

Same here. Asshole gave me 2 depressing Octobers. Hopefully he starts selling his WS rings so I can flush them down the toilet.

 

[FieryBalrog]

According to Baseball-Reference, Schilling made approximately $114 million in his MLB career.

taxes, agents, stuff he's already spent cuts into that REAL bad.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

he wanted to have 100% control over the game and the IP

And he went to a publisher.

Genius.

38 Studios could have easily gone indie and still come out on top.

 

[Dresden]

I wonder how his children feel. So much for trust funds.

 

[firehawk12]

I wonder how his children feel. So much for trust funds.

Just become a baseball analyst and earn that PTI/Grantland money.

 

[Dresden]

Just become a baseball analyst and earn that PTI/Grantland money.

That's just chump change compared to owning generational wealth, though. If I was his son I'd be telling him that maybe he should have manned the fuck up and invested in something more worthy like guns or oil or strip clubs.

 

[vaelic]

on howard stern today he was ripping schilling apart calling him moronic

 

[border]

That's just chump change compared to owning generational wealth, though. If I was his son I'd be telling him that maybe he should have manned the fuck up and invested in something more worthy like guns or oil or strip clubs.

His kids would have probably squandered all the money anyway. At this point they can probably have anything they want and go to any college that they are good enough to get into. That's more than almost anyone gets -- they're better off not expecting daddy's riches to let them coast along through their entire life.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

on howard stern today he was ripping schilling apart calling him moronic

I'd pay money to hear that.

 

[Dram]

http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_news/providence/providence-memo-38-studios-sought-help-in-may

Curt Schilling's video gaming company had already taken the first step toward filing for bankruptcy by the time Governor Chafee made his first public comments about 38 Studios' troubles -- remarks the former Boston Red Sox pitcher has blamed for his company's demise, documents show.

A confidential memo obtained by The Associated Press under a public records request shows that the 38 Studios board had given the firm the green light to seek bankruptcy protection sometime on or before May 14, the same day Chafee first spoke out about its financial troubles.

Schilling has blamed Chafee for worsening the company's financial situation with his public comments. The company, lured to Rhode Island from Massachusetts in 2010 by a $75 million loan guarantee approved by a state agency, laid off its entire workforce in Rhode Island and Maryland last month and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection on June 7.

The decision by the 38 Studios board to let the company seek bankruptcy protection is detailed in a May 14 memo to development corporation board members from the agency's then-executive director, Keith Stokes, who has since resigned. The memo was written two weeks after 38 Studios missed a $1.1 million payment to the Economic Development Corp. The company later made the payment.

"EDC has been informed by 38 Studios that it is also unable to make this week's payroll for its employees, and consequently its board of directors has authorized it to file for bankruptcy protection," Stokes wrote. "Unless something changes today, we expect 38 Studios to file for bankruptcy as early as today."

The same day Stokes wrote that memo, Chafee said he was trying to keep 38 Studios "solvent."

38 Studios owes $150.7 million and had assets of $21.7 million, according to bankruptcy filings. An affiliate, 38 Studios Baltimore, owes more than $121.4 million and has assets of more than $335,000. Rhode Island is by far the company's largest creditor.

Schilling told WEEI last week that Chafee's comment about keeping the company "solvent" was harmful as 38 Studios tried to raise private capital.

"That word, it was an enormous problem immediately for us," he said.

 

[Riggs]

on howard stern today he was ripping schilling apart calling him moronic

Yepppp was pretty entertaining.

 

[jcm]

http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_news/providence/providence-memo-38-studios-sought-help-in-may

What a lying, cowardly deadbeat that guy turned out to be.

 

[RumblingRosco]

As a Cardinals fan, I haven't had a very fond feeling of Shilling since 2004. It is definitely not worth the $120+ million hit to the taxpayers, but at least now the rest of the world can hate him too. That link posted by vaelic with the Shilling interview does nothing to help Shilling's case.

Major douchebag.

 

[jman2050]

a huge part of why they couldn't get funding was curt refused to give up any control at all. he wanted to have 100% control over the game and the IP

If he really wanted full control of his game then he should have planned to self-finance the whole way through. If he didn't feel comfortable with that then he should have either bit the bullet and gave up control, scaled down his business from the start, or just simply avoid the business altogether. He tried to have his cake and eat it too.

 

[gogojira]

Saw this one yesterday, too: http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story...lling-firm-38-studios-slow-allow-audit-access

Blame that one word all you want, the company was doomed long before "solvent" was used.

 

[Dram]

http://news.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/2012/07/38-studios-exec.html

Richard Wester, chief financial officer for 38 Studios, said the company figured it would sell 2 million units of "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning". (It actually sold 1.3 million to 1.4 million). Wester said sales of 2 million units would have given 38 Studios enough money to pay its bills and complete Copernicus, which would have brought in nearly $100 million annually.

That would have been enough revenue, he said, for the company to stay solvent and begin paying back the $75 million in bonds sold by the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation to attract the company to Providence.

Also, Thomas said the revenue split on Reckoning was 70/30. Electronic Arts, the game's publisher, got 70 percent, while 38 Studios got 30 percent. Then, out of its share of the proceeds, 38 Studios had to pay back Electronic Arts nearly $30 million that the company advanced to actually create "Reckoning."

http://news.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/2012/07/38-studios-exec-1.html

Executives from video game company 38 Studios for the first time publicly laid out the financial structure of the failed Providence company and its months-long scramble for cash to keep it afloat at a creditors hearing on Tuesday.

The agreement with the R.I. Economic Development Corporation that brought 38 Studios, the company founded by ex-ballplayer Curt Schilling, did not yield all the money the company needed to finish its big project -- a multiplayer online game capable of challenging video game industry leader "World of Warcraft," said William Thomas, the company's president, in U.S. District Court.

The company expected to receive all $75 million from the loan guarantee the EDC approved in 2010, but the state set aside money to make payments on the bonds it sold to back the deal. 38 Studios received less than $50 million. The deal was contingent on 38 Studios raising an additional $25 million itself.

 

[JaseC]

An advance of $30m to develop the game? Should have halved the amount of NPC dialogue... (Really, they do have far too much to say.)

Edit: I strongly doubt the MMO would have brought in ~$100m annually.

 

[Margalis]

Richard Wester, chief financial officer for 38 Studios, said the company figured it would sell 2 million units of "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning". (It actually sold 1.3 million to 1.4 million). Wester said sales of 2 million units would have given 38 Studios enough money to pay its bills and complete Copernicus, which would have brought in nearly $100 million annually.

2 million sales all at full price is 120 million dollars. (Assuming $60 is the wholesale price, which is isn't) 30% of that is less than 40 million. Minus the 30 million they had to pay to EA and they would have had a whopping less than 10 million dollars, which was like 2 months payroll.

Taking 30% of the revenue and having to pay 30 million to EA sounds like the kind of deal you get as a low-on-totem-pole movie financier or a band newly signed to a record label - the kind of deal that almost guarantees you won't make money.

 

[Aaron]

Did they really think such a terrible business plan would work? Did they think they were a bank or something?

 

[jcm]

2 million sales all at full price is 120 million dollars. (Assuming $60 is the wholesale price, which is isn't) 30% of that is less than 40 million. Minus the 30 million they had to pay to EA and they would have had a whopping less than 10 million dollars, which was like 2 months payroll.

I don't think that story was accurate. This story, which contains actual quotes, seems more reliable, and makes it clear that 2M sales was necessary to receive any royalties at all:

Wester said 38 Studios received no cash from sales of its first game, "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning," which was released in February, because the company had to repay $28.7 million advanced by distributor Electronic Arts to fund the game's development. 38 Studios gets 30% of "Reckoning" royalties and EA gets the remaining 70% under the terms of their deal.

Wester estimated "Reckoning" has sold 1.3 million copies so far, which he said failed to meet 38 Studios' internal projections even though it beat Electronic Arts' more conservative forecast. Each copy sold for an average of about $50, and the company spent $30 million developing the game over 30 months, Thomas said.

"I don't believe the company would see any more cash" from future sales of "Reckoning," Wester said. "If it gets up around 2 million, then I think you're at a point where [38 Studios] potentially will start to see some cash come in." Most games achieve 80% of their all-time sales during their first three months on the market, Thomas added.

Taking 30% of the revenue and having to pay 30 million to EA sounds like the kind of deal you get as a low-on-totem-pole movie financier or a band newly signed to a record label - the kind of deal that almost guarantees you won't make money.

That's a typical game development deal.

 

[Vilam]

I keep opening this thread when I see it bumped hoping for more media leaks. I really hope we get to see more of the game someday.

 

[Coldsnap]

Thomas said the revenue split on Reckoning was 70/30

Daaaaang, i had no clue.

 

[RoninChaos]

It is not a job. It is work that needs to be done, but it is not a job. Like I've said. There are households where both spouses work. Let's not pretend they don't exist, or are even all that uncommon.

Lol ha ha ha. You are out of your fucking mind. You try raising 3 kids and tell me that shit isn't a job.

 

[Stumpokapow]

So they would have very very very marginally lost money on Reckoning, and easily would have been able to keep afloat for future projects, if not for burning through insane amounts of cash on Copernicus. Just like everyone said to begin with, GJ

 

[Pendulum]

New feature on 38's implosion - http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/2012/07/38-studios-end-game/

Asked about 38 Studios’ failure, Schilling says his management team suffered from “significant dysfunction” and that his video-game developers worked too slowly. Those problems, he allows, are his fault. “As the chairman and founder,” he says, “who’s above me?”

“If it wasn’t an MMO, I wouldn’t have done it,” Schilling tells me. “If you look at the game space now, if you want to build something that’s a billion-dollar company, the only game to do that with is an MMO.”

To industry observers, Schilling’s quest seemed overwhelmingly difficult. To Schilling, it was just another opportunity to prove the naysayers wrong. “I had to beat the Yankees three times in nine days,” he tells me, referring to when he led Arizona to the 2001 World Series title. "I never doubted I was going to do it. My whole life was spent doing things that people didn’t believe were possible, because God blessed me with the ability to throw a baseball. And I carried that same mentality into everything I did here.”

 

[bryehn]

New feature on 38's implosion - http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/2012/07/38-studios-end-game/

There was a thread about this last night. It's a great read.

 

[jaxpunk]

im dumb nvm

 

[Pendulum]

There was a thread about this last night. It's a great read.

Was there? Sorry, went to search, but functionality was down what with this migration business that's going on with the forum.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=483612

 

[Tex117]

It was too big a bite at the apple for a new IP. That simple

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

It was too big a bite at the apple for a new IP. That simple

That and Schilling wanted to be Apple.

 

[Mr. Enigma]

Curt Schilling calls Rhode Island governor a "dunce of epic proportions"

 

[FStop7]

Curt Schilling calls Rhode Island governor a "dunce of epic proportions"

Put a sock in it, Curt.

 

[Arrowgigantic]

Curt Schilling calls Rhode Island governor a "dunce of epic proportions"

You know you're stupid when a guy spending over $100m on a F2P New IP Fantasy MMO calls you a dunce.

Or maybe not.

 

[GK86]

Fuck off curt.

 

[Baconsammy]

His first project was an MMO. And Chafee is the dunce? Good game, Curt. Good game.

 

[ProfessorMoran]

Curt Schilling calls Rhode Island governor a "dunce of epic proportions"

Curt should have just held onto his money instead of wasting it all in the games industry.