From what I've seen, the Governor did a disservice to the taxpayers of RI, in an effort to score political points. You don't have to like the fact your predecessor put the budget at risk on an investment you disagree with...but it's your job to ensure a maximum return on that policy, flawed or not. What he did was actively undermine any chance 38 had to recover and in turn devalued the assets RI taxpayers were ultimately responsible for. 38 studios may have collapsed anyway, but you want to allow the I.P. and assets you've inherited to have as much resale value as possible.Clearing the Eye said:
38 Studios Founder is "All Tapped Out"
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
Again, unfortunate, I'm sorry for those involved, but holy chimichanga, why did every 38 Studios game apparently cost in the mid-eight-figures to make?! It's great to have a dream, but there's a sharp edge where "dream" becomes "delusion", and that edge is pretty visible when a new company has to sell something like 3 million units to make a profit.
If he authorized the tax credits than that would have been throwing good money after bad. The company was insolvent at that point and required some weird financial tricks to stay afloat for a while more. They already were behind at least six months on some of their bills. It is questionable if a publisher would have forked over a major advance on a sequel that was yet to be developed when the company might not have survived beyond a few additional months.Thuggych said:
It's a very sexy disorder.lacktheknack said:
OT: This sucks. The entire situation just sucks. There isn't really much else to be said.
It seems to be more of a case of him wanting to bail out as soon as possible from a sinking, flaming ship.Thuggych said:
I think we often get so swept up in the beautiful notion of following our dreams, that we forget that while doing so is a beautiful endeavor, arguably the best way one can spend their given time on Earth, just being daring enough to go for it and defy the odds doesn't grant one the rights to success.saejox said:
And it continues to sound worse and worse for all those involved. Interesting that he went from MLB to personally funding a gaming studio... but hardly important next to the reality of the situation. At the very least I hope this is the last of the bad news for 38 Studios and everyone involved.
That was EA, not 38.Soxafloppin said:
OT: Kinda makes ya hope that the governor bombs on the next election period now that people see he doesn't know how to keep his trap shut. I know I wouldn't elect a guy if I know that making any kind of deal with him means he's likely to shout every problem to the heavens for all to hear.
I have apparently missed a large part of this story, because I see a lot of sympathy for Curt Schilling here. I understand people saying that he was "following his dreams", but he did so by showing he was a huge hypocrite; he was completely against unnecessary government spending (Such as the Stimulus package) then took money...from a state Stimulus package. But don't worry, he had to match part of the loan with his own money, which he then repaid with the state loan money.
From what I understand: His executives and him made huge financial mistakes, including buying a company working on an almost-finished RPG and making them rebuild it to suit their needs, leading to it becoming horribly bland. Hiring R.A. Salvatore for nothing more than putting his name on the box, and giving him a huge royalty bonus.
Then, when the company began to go down, took what money they could, and basically screwed over the employees? Screwed them over by not telling that: They would not be making payroll until after the employees were not paid, deciding to back out of their health insurance agreement without telling their employees (And this was found out by a pregnant woman being told by her doctor that her insurance is about to run out), along with other things?
Or, maybe it is because I'm reading up on this from another community, which means a different perspective on this whole situation.
From what I understand: His executives and him made huge financial mistakes, including buying a company working on an almost-finished RPG and making them rebuild it to suit their needs, leading to it becoming horribly bland. Hiring R.A. Salvatore for nothing more than putting his name on the box, and giving him a huge royalty bonus.
Then, when the company began to go down, took what money they could, and basically screwed over the employees? Screwed them over by not telling that: They would not be making payroll until after the employees were not paid, deciding to back out of their health insurance agreement without telling their employees (And this was found out by a pregnant woman being told by her doctor that her insurance is about to run out), along with other things?
Or, maybe it is because I'm reading up on this from another community, which means a different perspective on this whole situation.
Not to sound heartless or anything and my sympathies go out to 38 employees and Curt Schilling himself, but I actually live next to the Schillings and go to high school with his son and they are colossal douche bags and it'll be kinda nice to see them taken down a peg.LetalisK said:
OT: It really sucks that the guys dream game company was crushed due to some bad decisions and a asshole politician after only making one game, and not even the game he founded the company to make.
Well he was shown as against it then publicly revealed information which probably did contribute to the problems we are seeing. If they were about to sign a deal but lost it due to those negative comments it is a problem. This means he pretty much killed the company. I am skeptical of Schilling though.Clearing the Eye said:
One can only hope this doesn't cause any more ip stagnation than what we are already seeing. No wonder so many businesses are sticking to running and gunning mechanics. Everything else just ends you up broke, or the sworn enemy of a political official.
He sounds he trying to garner some sympathy. I'd be surprised if he really threw all his money into this venture. Not to mention I'm sure he still has plenty of assets left. If he really bet all his money on an MMO then no matter what the governor said, he only has himself to blame.