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.