Kyfan Stevens
Unit 15: Small Business Proposal
Ideas
For my small business start-up, I would like to create a games company, this is due to the sufficient
knowledge I have about the process of creating a game from scratch. I also have the skills that are
needed to create games, I specialise in coding (C++), Games Art, Sound Production for games, 3D
Design and public relations.
I feel that my company will contribute greatly to the gaming community, as the company will focus
primarily on traditional platform games for handheld devices such as IPhones and the Nintendo 3DS.
Audiences are looking at more traditional styles of games as the market is starting to become
saturated with Shooting and Open World Games. I feel that Platform games have the potential to
become iconic again, as there are less of them on the market at this time. There is also the aspect
that 'retro' has become very fashionable.
The structure of the company will work as follows; once a game reaches the last few months of
development, the team will be split into two halves. One half will continue to finish development on
the current project, the other half of the team will start to brainstorm and develop ideas for the next
game.
Market and Competitor Trends
The current market for gaming consists primarily of shooters MMORPG’s (Massive Multiplayer
Online Role-Playing Games), Open World Action games and fighting games. Platform games have
taken a back seat in the current Marketplace and with My Development team I hope to bring back
the essence and heart of gaming on the earlier generations of consoles.
There are three main competitors in the gaming industry who are Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft.
Originally it was Nintendo and Sony who started the Platform game craze with games such as Mario,
Donkey Kong, Banjo Kazooie and the legendary Crash Bandicoot to name a few. These types of
games are rarely seen on current generation consoles. Mario and many of the other Nintendo
games are still huge contributors to the Platform Market, but as there are not any other major
competitors this requires users to go and buy a Nintendo console whether that is a handheld or a
Home console. Sony have realised that people have started to demand a market for platform
games, as they have started to release HD versions of their older games like Ratchet and Clank and
Jak and Daxter. Companies like Activision have also spied the potential for platform games as they
have acquired the rights and Intellectual Property for the Crash Bandicoot franchise off Naughty Dog
Inc.
Most of the games on the market are sequels of popular established franchises such as Call of Duty
and this is beause the fan base is already in place. Even original IP’s like Mirrors Edge, developed by
DICE, are being turned into shooting games. The original idea for Mirrors Edge was for it to be a
free-running Parkour game. The games publisher, EA (Electronic Arts), decided that the game
required guns and shooting mechanics to appeal to a wider audience. It was rumoured that if DICE
did not comply EA were going to cancel the project. The only other genre of game that still seems to
be popular is sports simulation such as FIFA Soccer. These are released annually with small changes
e.g. teams in divisions and the seasons kits.
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Demand for the Business
I believe that the need for a company that specialises in developing platform games is high as there
is a gap in the current market that no one is catering for sufficiently. Most games are aimed towards
hardcore gamers and are in the main shooters or simulators. People demand that games be
released for the casual audiences, people who want to relax and enjoy playing a game. Nintendo’s
consoles are so popular because they are aimed toward the more casual side of gamers. If there was
a new Crash Bandicoot game released tomorrow thousands of people who played the original
games, and people that feel that there has been a drought of platform games, will almost certainly
purchase the game.
Creating a business that caters for this audience specifically, would be so beneficial, as this is
something the industry and audiences alike have craved for over the last 10 years. Having major
developers start and develop these types of games again would fill a huge gap in the video games
marketplace. If a small company such as ours could reignite and stimulate the growth of this
particular style of game it would bring our company to the forefront of the industry (as we will have
started a new era of platform games) and would be integral to our success. Hopefully if we succeed
we will be regarded as the company that brought back the platformer.
Market Research
It does not take a lot of research to realise that there is a gap in the market for platform games. Just
walking into your local game store and looking at the selection of games on offer, will be proof
enough that the genre is not being catered for anymore. People I know (fellow gamers) say that
they are becoming bored of the games that are being released, they complain that they are too
similar to one another and that there is not enough variety anymore when purchasing games.
People who enjoyed the genre are no longer playing games as they have not got the option to play
platform games, so they play older games on systems such as the PlayStation and the N64.
Current generation systems have released very few platform games. The last platform game
released for the XBOX 360 was Ubisofts' Rayman Origins. PlayStation have their own platform
games such as Ratchet and Clank and Sly Cooper, but they have not released any in the last two
years, thus creating a drought for their consumers.
The only real competitor for my business would be Nintendo as they release many casual games
such as Zelda, Mario, Donkey Kong and Animal Crossing. These games are console specific as
Nintendo own the rights and mainly develop these franchises themselves. Nintendo games have a
very niche fan base as most people who purchase these games have purchased them for years and
have been faithful to the company. Without these games Nintendo would not be the company it is
today. If my company were to release a new IP that focuses on the platform genre, and released as
a multi format game, people on the other systems would then be given the opportunity to purchase
a game of this genre without having to have a specific system to play the game on.
As my game will be available on all formats, people would be able to start enjoying casual games
again, instead of having to go out and buy a specific system e.g. a Nintendo WII U. People are less
Kyfan Stevens
likely to go out and purchase a new console for just one game, so if it is released on all formats then
they will not have to worry about having to buy one very specific console.
Relationships with other companies
As a small start-up business, we will start to develop our games in a small group of three or four
people that are close friends and are like minded. We would like to be independent to start with as
we want to retain the IP’s that we create as a team. Only after we are successful will we then start
negotiating and considering help from larger companies and publishers.
Most small indie games companies end up selling out their ideas and staff to large companies like EA
or Activision. This results in the loss of control of the product and can ultimately lead to the closure
of the business. This is due to the larger company gaining the control of the IP and then liquidising
assets so it is cheaper to develop the game with already recruited staff. An example of this was
when games development studio Pandemic were bought out by Electronic Arts and were promptly
shutdown. This was so EA retained the IP’s that Pandemic brought with them. They can then
develop a game in any of their existing franchises in the future, whilst closing the original company
down and letting their existing staff develop the new game.
Staffing
The team will consist of a maximum of four people, who are close friends, preferably multi skilled so
the team will interact and overlap successfully. This is so we can help each other out as we have a
variety of skills that we each bring into the team. Some members of the team may be more
proficient in certain areas, but as a whole team our roles will be interchangeable; this will be
beneficial if a member of the team takes ill.
To begin with we will not be advertising for jobs as the company will start off with four friends,
developing from home. We will only recruit if it is absolutely necessary e.g. if the workload is too
much or we need very specific skills, etc.
There will be no need to train the staff as the people who are employed will already have the skills
required to do the job they are employed to do. As we expand we may need to train future staff on
new pieces of software.
As a team we will collaboratively self-assess each others work to be able to achieve our goals. This
will be analysed at the start and end of each week of development, so we can keep track of our
progress as a team.
Overview
The idea for my business is to start up a small independent, games development studio focusing
primarily on the development of multi-platform Platform games. The team will have milestones to
accomplish at the end of each month that will be comprehensively explained to them at the start of
each month. Progress will be reviewed once the milestones have been reached.
The purpose of my business is to fill a gap in the market, which has been present since the demise of
the platformer on the PlayStation 2. My business will enable players on all formats to be able to play
platform games and not be penalised for not owning a specific console.
Kyfan Stevens
My direct competitors are companies that generally develop platform games of which there are very
few. My indirect competitors are all the other games companies that release games on the market.
My target audience consists of mainly casual gamers from the age of 3 up to the age of 93, anyone
who is willing to play games. The games will be non-violent and enjoyable to play so they will be
suitable for all ages.
The games that the company creates will be distributed across all platforms on the games
marketplace. The market is already oversaturated with games of similar genres e.g. shooters,
action, sports simulation, etc. My company will provide a genre of game (platform) that is currently
absent from the market on a large scale.
In terms of personnel we will consist of a small group that will work for free as this is a joint
venture/hobby and this is something that we want to do as we enjoy it. It is a labour of love.
Financially to begin with we will not need to be backed as most of the work will be carried out at
home or at individuals houses.
We hope to sell 500,000 units every six months, selling at between £20 and £25 per unit generating
an overall gross sum of £20,000,000 year. The outlay of the company will be low and profits should
be quite high, allowing us to reinvest in the company.
If the company is successful the opportunity to grow will be substantial. There is no limit on how
large the company can become. The more complex the ideas for our games become, a larger staff
with specified skills will have to be employed. This will enable us to develop such complex games in
the small time frames in place.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
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Small company
Low cost
Gap in the market for our products
No need for business premises to begin with
Weaknesses
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Inexperienced
IP may be stolen if not patented
Team members may leave and abscond with ideas
Staff may leave
Opportunities
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To fill a void in the marketplace
Work alongside more experienced larger companies
To be able to release our own ideas into the marketplace
Kyfan Stevens
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To expand the company to develop for mobile platforms
Threats
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Having ideas stolen
Company collapsing
Staffing problems
Loss of data due to negligence/power surges and failure of equipment
Collapse of games market
Distinctive Features
The distinctive features of my business are that it is a small business, lightly staffed (maximum of 4),
costs very little to start up and creates platform games that are available for multiple formats.
Contingency
If the business initially fails then we will not have to worry about a contingency. The only thing we
will sacrifice in the beginning will be time, and little expenditure will be involved at this stage.