Yup that’s right according to Diane M. Grassi Curt has been fooling everyone. I was not going to put up anything about this but I see her blog post coming up on more and more blogs and as such I felt I needed to at least counter the attack on Curt. Its probably the most damning thing I have ever read about Curt and amazingly it says this about the author.

About the Author
Diane M. Grassi attempts to shine new light on issues centered on professional and amateur sports through her writing, by going beyond the headlines and sound-bites and to present sports fans with the back-story. In that effort, she seeks out those issues that rarely become headlines and elicits discussion as to why that is case. Grassi’s goal is to not only provide content, but to offer an outlet for sports fans of all types, of various backgrounds and life experiences, to engage in topical issues with candor, good humor and provocative thought. Yet, to Grassi, it is the issues that are paramount, as opposed to the messenger, while maintaining intellectually honest and original fact-based reporting and research without an agenda.

You can read her blog post here however I refuse to post any of it other then my quotes in responding to her attack.

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Diane you sound so bitter and hateful towards Curt. Probably the most hateful thing I have read in some time. You say you shine new light on issues yet nothing I have read is new except your interpretation and attack of Mr. Schilling.

Perhaps if you spent as much time researching the validity of what you write it might actually have some credibility. As it is, it’s nothing more than an attack on Curt Schilling based on fantasy.

First you question the validity of the bloody sock. Last time I checked they don’t put fake bloody socks in the Hall of Fame. I also question your assumption that the bloody sock has anything to do with Curt Schilling getting the $75 million dollar loan guarantee from the state. I think it had to do with what 38 Studios had to offer as a company and nothing more.

You then state the company currently has 70 employees in Maynard and a simple check shows 95 employee’s and I know for a fact they have new people that have not even been added. If you’re out this far on something so easy to check, how can anyone trust what you’re saying?

Next you state the original 50 million from the Job Creation Guarantee Program was set up to be dispersed in 2 to 4 million range? Care to point out were you got that information from?

I also question your time line. You state the Job Creation Guarantee Program was authorized in June 2010 yet say he went to Massachusetts state house asking for a guaranteed loan but when they refused he approached Rhode Island in February 2010? How could he do that in February if the program was not authorized until June? You also make it sound like any business looking for the best deal it can get, is somehow a horrible thing; it’s not, it’s just doing business.

“Rhode Island, unlike its neighbor, Mass., apparently bought it hook line and sinker, because the program’s original authorization was increased from $50 million to $125 million, with 60% of it specifically earmarked for Curt Schilling. Quite a feat for a non-resident with no prior allegiance to the state of Rhode Island, nor a commitment to personally move his home there to date, just his company.”

Perhaps that’s because the money was not being loaned to 38 Studios based on where people have lived or plan to live? Last time I checked the program was set up to draw in new companies to employ people. The people working at the company will pay income tax as will 38 Studios. I think that was kind of the plan and reason to loan the company the money.

“While some Rhode Island lawmakers have questioned how an additional $75 million would be allocated, after they approved it, it also has played a part in the Rhode Island gubernatorial and state treasurer 2010 campaigns, as the whole matter has upset candidates and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, on whether this was a wise use of state funding. After all, Schilling has yet to ever sell a video game.”

Actually 38 Studios has sold something more than a game they sold EA on publishing their first game Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. In the video game world the publisher is the one who pay the bills so in effect they have hired 38 Studios to make the game for them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_publisher

“Although Schilling claims that he tried to raise venture capital for six months, not a one bit, as he had no product or track record to provide. In addition, the gaming industry is considered high risk, and in such a recessive economy, given that many game makers are also laying off employees regularly, did not further endear Schilling to investors for his endeavor.”

You know this how? Last time I looked Curt said the following “Because anyone can write a check, but after you have written that check, how do you make us a better company?”

http://www.38gamers.com/curt-schillings-leadership-abilities/

“Perhaps Schilling’s best selling point was that he said he had invested his life’s savings or $20-30 million into the company since 2006”

Really Curt said that? Can you produce a credible quote? Curt Schilling has invested $30 million of his own money and that fact just came out. Regardless of if this is part or all of his saving when was the last time you saw someone start up a video game company and invest that much of their own money? I would guess never

“But EA and 38 Studios would need 1.75 million copies of Reckoning to sell, just to break even. Best estimates presently are slated for 1million copies to sell. And even though EA has decreased its number of annual releases each of the past two years from 50 to 35 games, due to the soft economy, in addition to laying off 1,500 employees, it has already made its commitment.”

LOL where do you get those kind of numbers from? How does anyone have any kind of credible idea of how many copies a game will sell a year before release? I will tell you none. So EA has reduced the number of games it’s going to back and release but still picked 38 Studios? Wow interesting that a company that is so much a part of the gaming industry even in tough times still went with 38 Studios. Hmm perhaps it’s because they feel the company and its employees really do know what they are doing and they feel the company will deliver? I think they are probably one of the best to evaluate and make that kind of judgment. Definitely far more then yourself or others who think they understand the industry.

“But if 38 Studios does not earn a dime, it will but pick the pockets of the good taxpayers of the state of Rhode Island based upon how the deal was structured. Genius perhaps on Schilling’s part?”

Funny how you left out the part where Curt would lose his 30 million investment if 38 Studios defaulted on the loan. The state takes everything the company has and Curt walks away with nothing. If he was genius he would have done it so he kept his 30 million but I guess instead it just makes him an honest business man trying to make his company be a big success and not only keep his 30 million but turn it into far more and help his employee’s and the state with jobs and even up to 15 million on bonus money to the state if the company exceeds projected income.

“The upshot is, Curt Schilling may like to play video games and may know how to pitch a winning World Series game, but he knows little about managing a multi-million dollar operation and in building the empire in which he predicts will become a billion dollar business.”

Really? Hmm 4 years he has purchased another gaming studio, got EA to fund the development of their first game and managed to get a state guarantee loan from the state of Rhode Island? You sure he does not know what he is doing? Any idea how much cash World of Warcraft generates? I very much see it possible but then again to someone not in the “know” like yourself I guess it would be a bit of a stretch.

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I would just like to add that I forgot this in my initial response. It’s not just Curt behind 38 Studios he has a very experience team in all areas of the company and they have been attracted to 38 Studios in part because of Curt Schilling and what he is trying to accomplish.

With all of the press that has been generated on the internet regarding the loan by the RIEDC to 38 Studios for $75 million dollars I have seen many questioning Curt Schilling’s ability to run a video game company. How does being a major league pitcher with 3 World Championships under your belt prepare you to run a video game company? Before I attempt to answer that question I think we first have to look at the video game industry as a whole. By understanding how most companies in the industry work it will explain two things. One is how come so many companies end up delivering sub-par products and second is why they don’t succeed in the industry.

The two biggest reasons why I feel game companies do not succeed is leadership and funding. In reality the two are tied together. If the company is financed by venture capitalists or the studio is part of a large corporation they are only concerned about the bottom line and hitting deadlines. When people are asked to work 16 hours a day 6 to 7 days a week to hit a milestone or launch date the company is nothing more than a high paying sweat shop. It shows that they ultimately valued the end product more than the people making it. That’s what I got a glimpse of years back and decided that the video game industry was not for me. It also makes you the one not calling the shots as your either working for a large corporation and your boss calls the shots or you’re the owner but because it’s not your money the venture capitalists call the shots.

So now that we know how some of the companies in the industry work let’s look at what Curt is doing. First, he has resisted the urge to go the venture capitalist route “Because anyone can write a check, but after you have written that check, how do you make us a better company?” says Curt Schilling

Now we know Curt has also gotten a state backed loan to complete his funding requirements without going with venture capitalist. We also know Curt has invested $30 million of his own money in the company. This is very important because he is not committed to any time line and remains 100% in control of the company. Also with Curt having so much of his own money invested in the company he is committed to seeing it succeed. When it’s other people’s money on the line and not yours, the commitment is just not the same.

So now we finally get to the original question of how can a major league pitcher run a video game company like 38 Studios? Well interesting enough I just came across a video of a presentation that Curt gave about leadership at the International Game Developers Association Leadership Forum in 2008. It’s over an hour long but if you’re really interested in what Curt brings to the table it’s well worth watching and does a far better job of explaining how his experience in the majors has help prepare him for his new career as Founder and Chairman of 38 Studios then I ever could. Curt’s philosophy on what leadership is and what it takes to be successful in the gaming industry gives 38 Studios a leg up on the competition and why I have no doubt 38 Studios will be a big success.