Why they closed

Maximilian

Just read this on ttlg.com, from one the lgass guys:

Lots of people have been asking, "What happened to cause LG to fold?"
The answer isn't simple, I'm afraid.
Making games is a very serious, very difficult business, especially as an independent developer. Most of the profits from the sales of a game like thief go to the publisher, not the developer. (Now, before you holler "hey, that's not fair!" you have to realize that if a game tanks, the developer is also the one that suffers most of the loss.)

The upshot is that a game like Thief can make a lot of money for EIDOS and only be break-even for LG. Which is pretty much what happened. This means that as a developer we live hand-to-mouth; if we can't do the game with the money we're given to do it, we're in serious financial danger. Every title is ship-or-die.

The story is different for big publishers. First off, their break-even point is much lower, because they reap most of the profits. Second, if you do a lot more games, then you can afford to have one or two lose money. (That's important because the game industry is a "hits-driven" industry; you don't always know which games are going to catch on and which aren't.)

So really, the only way to survive is as a publisher. Which is why every independent developer on the planet either:

1) Becomes a publisher, or
2) Gets bought by a publisher, or
3) Spontaneously Combusts

Well, we tried #1. Remember Terra Nova and British Open Golf? They nearly killed us.

We tried #2 too. EIDOS had agreed to acquire us, and had been been
funding our daily operations while the paperwork went through.
Unfortunately, EIDOS' business went into a slump, and they found
themselves unable to afford to buy us. Earlier this week they pulled
the plug.

So, now LookingGlass has gone the way of many developers. Really, we're
in good company.

Good Company indeed. Time to send hate mail to Eidos. I wouldn't usually do this but this time. Its like Hollywood killing Kubrick.


[This message has been edited by Maximilian (edited 25-05-2000).]

WhiteWashMan

i thought kurick died of a heart attack?

Rev Hellfire

Thats what they want you to think !


ps. Are you ever going to collect your 100 ciggies or will I just throw them in the bin ?

Maximilian

Spielberg put chicken bones in his cornflakes

WhiteWashMan

rev, i will collect them!!!!
hey, did you know that you look like one of the real madrid full backs eoghan?
i think its that shock of curley hair and those boyish good looks!
i'll arrange to collect them within the next 2 weeks, maybe over a pint in the bloody stream?

Shinji

Quote from an (now ex...) Looking Glass employee on the EvilAvatar forum...

0) Underworld 1/2, System Shock, Flight Unlimited 1 all sold very well, and were not money losers. Terra Nova, BOCG, and FUIII sold poorly, and were. Viacom killed the torturous hell of ST:V. FUII was break-even. BOCG and TN left the company with a pretty big hole.

1) Thief sold *much, much* better than has been portrayed in this thread, and at a very high average per-copy price. The average retail price didn't drop below $30 until nine months after we shipped. Including OEM deals it made millions for LG.

2) SS2 didn't sell as well as hoped, but it was produced for only a small margin over advances. It didn't sink us.

3) [The wood] One project was grossly undersold to publisher A, and we mismanaged it to make the effect even worse. This incurred unexpected costs.

4) [The coffin] After the team signed up to do a game signed with publisher B bailed (unexpectedly and uncooly), publisher B had grounds to pull out, did, and subtracted millions from the LG FY2000/2001 budget. This was a disaster.

5) [The nails] Publisher C had stock, cash, other product schedule slips, and banking issues that killed the acquisition of LG that had been under LOI.

So there we were. Plenty of long-term income potential in the briskly selling Thief 2, and signed deals. No short term operating capital. Can't pay the bills, can't pay salaries? Can't keep the doors open.

-Anonymous Ex-LG

Publisher C is clearly Eidos.

LookingGlass were clearly mismanaged very badly. Developers aren't businessmen, and they didn't have the cop on to hire suits to handle stuff for them. However, this doesn't mean that Eidos aren't soulless ba$tards.

Ja,
Rob

Rev Hellfire

Well since I now work in da big smoke I can met u any time, pick a day next week. Plus I'm not in Howth any more having moved to the wilderness that is drogheda, lord have mercy on my soul.