Topic: Former Capcom USA Execs Open O~3 Entertainment

[Bloodworth]

O~3 plans to hunt out quality games from small developers and give them the attention they deserve.

GAME PUBLISHER O~3 ENTERTAINMENT LAUNCHES TO BRING INDEPENDENT DEVELOPER PROJECTS TO MARKET

Former Capcom USA Executives Open Unique Business to Bridge Gap between Development and Retail

April 29, 2004, Santa Clara, CA – Today game industry veteran Bill Gardner revealed the formation of his new publishing and distribution company, O~3 Entertainment. The company intends to bring high caliber independently developed games to a variety of gaming platforms, including PC, Playstation 2, Xbox, GameCube and WiFi/mobile through a unique game publishing model.

O~3 Entertainment will seek out titles from small and mid-size developers and will provide complete publishing functions to get them to market – including sales and distribution, marketing and public relations, and more operational elements like replication, warehousing and shipping. O~3 intends to create a reputation for innovative, fun games and make its own brands easily identifiable to consumers and retailers alike.

“There are a lot of high quality games being left on the table because they aren’t the next installment of last year’s licensed blockbuster,” remarked Gardner, CEO and President of the new O~3 Entertainment.  â€śO~3 Entertainment ’s approach to publishing will lead to more diverse and creative choices for gamers at retail.

O~3 Entertainment has been founded by Gardner and two former Capcom associates, Chris Jelinek, who is the new company’s Vice President of Sales & Marketing, and Hanako Watanabe, O~3’s CFO.  Gardner has more than 20 years experience in the consumer business, overseeing more than $250 million in international annual sales.  He was previously responsible for start-up operations of Panasonic in the U.S. and Capcom in Europe.  Together the founding managers of O~3 Entertainment have experience in all areas of video game development, retailing, publishing and distribution.

O~3’s management plans to use their knowledge, key relationships and contacts to provide a new and distinct method for small and medium-sized developers to publish and distribute fresh game content in three easily identifiable brands:  Macaroni Media for children’s educational and entertainment titles, Ankle Biters for “E” and “T” audiences and Total Chaos for more challenging “T” and “M” rated games with intense graphics.

[gally]

Sounds good, but I could really do without these cheesy publisher names. Ankle Biters especially. ANKLE BITERS??

I'm an adult who plays plenty of E- and T- rated games. I enjoy plenty of games supposedly made for children, provided I don't feel condescended to or insulted. I'd buy games published by "Ankle Biters" anyway, but I really wish they'd come up with a less condescending name.

(Edit) As a side note, I hated being condescended to even when I was a kid. For their sake as well, I really wish they'd drop the name "Ankle Biters" and come up with something that kids might think of as "cool", or at least not insulting.

[Ian Sane]

They had me until "Macaroni Media".  This is overall a great idea and I have no problem with any plan to get innovative games on store shelves.  But those names f*cking suck.  It can be the most innovative amazing game ever but once you put "Ankle Biters" on the package it's hitting the bargain bins faster than you can "what a sh!tty name".  If those are the brand names these guys come up with I question their ability to get people interested in independent games.  Even "Total Chaos" sounds kind of cheesy.

[KDR_11k]

Wasn't Ankle Biters a movie about midget vampires? I think I read a review of that on Something Awful...

[nickmitch]

What in the in the name of all that is good and fudgey is the "~" about?