Peri Helion
Amarr
Omega Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Curatores Veritatis Alliance
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Posted - 2006.12.29 14:07:00 -
[1]
 Originally by: Rodge
*sigh*
You do know there are different groups within CCP that are not game developers?
I think the larger issues aren't the division of labor, but rather:
- Core Competency
- Marketing Strategy
- Corporate Focus
The core competency of a gaming company is just that, gaming. But does that mean a gaming company can be a good RPG, MMO, FPS, RTS, CCG and PnP gaming company? Sure, but you should at least master ONE of them first as a CORE COMPETENCY before you extend your brand into new arenas.
Second, marketing strategy - Common saying here "You cant be all things to all people", so DONT try to be. Do NOT try to be a Magazine Publisher and CCG producer - it dilutes the brand focus. Additonally, until these product lines become self sufficient they are a DRAIN on the revenue generation of the primary product and result in DECREASED re-investment into it (expense dollars spent on human resources in those areas are expense dollars NOT SPENT on the core product).
Corporate Focus - "Great organizations can do more than one thing well at a time" - Kennedy (I think?). Well, great organizations are few and far between. I do not know of many corporations that can successfully keep a workforce motivated on more than 1 "HOT" item at a time. Many corporations do keep mulitple initiatives going simultaneously, but in a corpartion as small as CCP this is usually done like a token ring network "who is the hot item this month?", which means time spent by the corporate branding/product strategists on that "hot issue" arent spending it on the others (a furhter dilution of effort).
And those people NOT working on the hot item will often feel like second class employees and this leads to feelings like "project xxx always gets all the attention" or "why are we wasting our time and efforts on project yyy". I realize that the popular perception protrayed by CCP is that everyone loves their job there and everyone is just happy to be a part of the team, but that is simply not realistic. If you get more than 2 people together, there will be feelings of inequity that result in productivity hits. And multiple product lines in a company this small will lead to feelings of discontent no matter how "rosy" the picture is painted by the PR people.
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CCP, Invalidating the underlying assumptions that thousands of players have based their years of effort (and money) on. |