[MUD-Dev] RE: Titanic's demise (was Re: MURKLE: Wot it is)

[Koster]

> >Yes, Titanic did go out of business.
> 
> Sigh.  Any other details?  Any post mortem?  

Not to turn the list into an industry gossip list, but here's what I've
heard thru the grapevine... they wanted to make an online strategy game,
and got a deal with Activision (not shabby at all). But they put up most
of the funding themselves. They chose a model that didn't involve
subscription revenue, so they relied on the royalties off of the sales,
with Activision taking the lion's share. Then they made a game that
wasn't mass market: it was online, it had a strange new setting, it had
strange new gameplay, it had no branding, and it was not easy to get
into. So it didn't sell very well on the shelves, despite a nice
marketing campaign from Activision, and in fact, being a nice game. So
then they ran out of money once it ended up in the bargain bins.

In terms of the list it serves as a good illustration of the perils of
commercial ventures in the online arena. Just about nobody is making
money at online games. (There are a few--UO is one of them, and I think
with the new pricing plan M59 is profitable as well). But it's a REALLY
risky venture right now.

-Raph

--
MUD-Dev: Advancing an unrealised future.