Longtime developing partner for Sony, Insomniac Games recently inked a multiplatform publishing deal with Electronic Arts.Insomniac Games are behind some of the most loved gaming series, with Spyro the Dragon, Ratchet & Clank and Resistance having been developed by the studio. They’ve also been a very helpful ally for Sony, helping their PlayStation 2 and 3 appeal to more to the younger and family audience while their Resistance games helped retained the hardcore FPS fans.
Now, their new deal with EA allows Insomniac Games to release multiplatform titles. There is no confirmation if this is just for one brand new Intellectual properties or several, how long the deal is and other contract information.
What is known however is that Insomniac Games are very excited about the deal: “...We want to reach more gamers. And the relationship with EAP [Electronic Arts Partners] allows us to do that.”
Joining a publishing company with the reputation that EA has will be beneficial for Insomniac to reach a much wider audience. Before the deal, Insomniac’s previous titles sold for a combined total of 35 million units around the world. With this deal – and if Insomniac’s next titles are as popular as their previous efforts – could see this number double or even triple in the future.
What it comes down to is finding the right publisher for you. In reality, it doesn’t matter what genre that game is. A perfect example is Square Enix who is well known as developers of Role Playing Games (most notable the Final Fantasy series). However, they have recently published Just Cause 2, which is far from being an RPG and instead is a sandbox action game.
Train2Game students can learn from this, they need to make sure that there game has a good gimmick/hook (see my previous blog “Right time, right console, right gimmick” for more details on this) and also that it can be marketed very well. If they do land a publisher it would be good if that studio has a good reputation.
Of course, many Train2Game students – especially because they are independent – may have to publish their own games themselves, which initially makes it harder for them to gain a fanbase but also gives them the chance of building up their portfolio and securing loyal fans.
Remember, even EA and Insomniac started out small so the reward for making it and helping to increase the business is worth the risks and challenges.
What do you think about this? Send me your comments below.
Want to read about EA and Insomniac Games striking a deal? Click here for the full story: http://www.train2game.com/Games-Design-News/Gaming-Industry-News/Insomniac-agrees-multiplatform-publishing-deal-with-EA$19801923.html
