Ultimate Collector To Be Published By Zynga (Also: Release Window)
The big news that Portalarium was teasing the Internet about all day has finally been revealed: Ultimate Collector: Garage Sale will be published by social gaming giant Zynga, as part of Portalarium’s publishing agreement therewith.
Today, the man known as “Lord British” is announcing that Zynga is publishing his Ultimate Collector game on Facebook and Zynga.com.
Zynga is the world’s largest social game firm, with more than 300 million users. It recently reported weak earnings amid a shift in game-playing patterns on the social network. It has also begun a third-party publishing operation in which it publishes games for third-party developers on platforms where Zynga’s vast audience will see them.
Garriott, who gets his Lord British moniker from his historic Ultima role-playing game series, said in an interview with GamesBeat today that his startup is focused on “mid-core” titles that are more engaging and are much more like real games than traditional casual fare. He believes a shift toward these kinds of games is taking place on Facebook and that Zynga can capitalize on the trend through third parties.
“We’ve got almost 30 years in the business, and we feel like we’re at the beginning of a new era in gaming — social games — which can reach 10 times more people than massively multiplayer online games can, which in turn could reach 10 times more people than single-player games could,” Garriott said. “Zynga is at the head of this market.”
Garriott believes the future lies in free-to-play games, where you can play for free and pay real money for virtual goods. The games should also be browser-based and easy to access, with no complex installation. And they should accommodate both synchronous multiplayer play as well as asynchronous (one turn at a time) play. Garriott believed he had to start a new company to come up with this kind of game. And after testing the waters with a poker game, Portalarium’s first major effort is Ultimate Collector, which Zynga should publish in six to eight weeks.
Emphasis mine. We can, apparently, expect to see Ultimate Collector released not later than November 1st.
I’m honestly not sure what to say…Zynga is indeed a publishing giant, but they’re also widely regarded as a highly negative force in the gaming industry; they may even be the most hated company in gaming today. But Zynga does have a massive audience and a powerful, widespread publishing platform, something that Garriott and Portalarium are no doubt hoping to capitalize on with Ultimate Collector. And if they are able to, that could mean very good things — and a vastly expanded budget — for the Ultimate RPG.
For now, I suppose we can all breathe a sigh of relief that the big news today was a publishing agreement, rather than a merger. I do honestly hope for the best for Portalarium, and for Ultimate Collector, the latter as a means to a triumphal return by Lord British to the world of RPGs, and the former because I think they have the vision and talent to do something new and innovative in that space. The proximity to Zynga makes me nervous…though I suppose that by publishing through a partnership therewith, Portalarium may avoid the fate of having Zynga churn out a cheap clone of Ultimate Collector. Which would, one has to grant, be a good thing.
OK… I’m going to ask it: Is Richard Garriott still relevant?
I think so. He’s still very much a technology innovator, and the social gaming medium is in need of some of that sort of magic right now.
Remains to be seen. He seems fixated on the exploitation of industry trends rather than simply creating badass games. That worries me, because it indicates his idea of success is attaining the largest player base, or perhaps even the highest possible revenue. My idea of success is the creation of a profound and touching game that goes where few, if any, have gone before. Something like will leave a permanent mark on the art form and our memories as players. I think that is secondary to him, but who knows…
The fan community for his first franchise is still alive and well despite the fact that there hasn’t been an game released in the franchise in over a decade… you’re posting your comment on a website called “Ultima Codex”, after all. So to say making a profound gaming experience is secondary to the man who invented profound gaming experiences is naive at best.
Uh, what’s that supposed to mean? Obviously what Sanctimonia (and everybody else in this thread) means to say is that maybe he USED to value such things, but no longer.
@Michael I agree; what I’m talking about is exactly what Garriott did. It’s why I love him even though he pisses me off in many ways. I’ll always be grateful for and in awe of how his games (Ultima III – VII) affected me as a player and developer. At some point, perhaps when he realized he could make enough money to get into space, a switch was flipped and he began to think more like a businessman and less like your typical idealistic developer. I -suspect- this, as I’m not on his speed dial just yet.
A. Infinitron: “everybody else” in this thread that isn’t you, me and Sanctimonia are two people, and one of the two, WtF Dragon, doesn’t seem to agree with you. So it’s literally split 50/50 from “everybody else”.
B. Sanctimonia: you say “it indicates his idea of success is attaining the largest player base, or perhaps even the highest possible revenue. My idea of success is the creation of a profound and touching game”, as if they’re mutually exclusive. A truly successful developer strives for both, and you’ll have to learn that if you ever want to be on his speed dial.
@Sanctimonia -> “At some point, perhaps when he realized he could make enough money to get into space, a switch was flipped and he began to think more like a businessman and less like your typical idealistic developer. I -suspect- this, as I’m not on his speed dial just yet.”
Had he been thinking like a businessman in the 1980s, he wouldn’t have had to sell Origin to EA 😉
He’s always tried to stay on top of whatever was the latest technology and trends. Sometimes it has bitten him in the ass, sometimes it allowed him to do things nobody else had done. The problem is that a lot of us don’t like the latest technology and trends, but those very trends are letting him do some things with a much smaller team(s) and a much smaller budget, which allows him the independence that he wouldn’t have working at a large company.
I personally think he would secretly love to do a new Ultima Online with the detail of a Skyrim, and while he might (I stress the word “might”) be able to go somewhere and get that kind of money and resources, he would put himself right back in the situation that he faced at EA and NCSoft.
Now if he ever sold Portalarium to Zynga, then I’m done with anything produced by him under Zynga.
“B. Sanctimonia: you say “it indicates his idea of success is attaining the largest player base, or perhaps even the highest possible revenue. My idea of success is the creation of a profound and touching game”, as if they’re mutually exclusive. A truly successful developer strives for both, and you’ll have to learn that if you ever want to be on his speed dial.”
I’m not suggesting that the two are mutually exclusive, but I am suggesting that zealousness about one may poison the other and that the two are not necessarily mutually compatible. I watch, listen to and read Garriott’s interviews and have noticed a pattern. I hear two things: early capitalization on industry trends (while generally late to the game, always presented with a pioneering attitude), and the desire to recreate Ultima Online with interconnected “social” minigames (The “Ultimate” RPG).
Great idea. I approve. As was made evident by Tabula Rasa however, he needs to transpose the “industry trend” into second place and the “good game” into first. 50/50 doesn’t cut it, as a shitty game is a shitty game on any platform regardless of user exposure.
Automatic lost sale. None of my money goes to Zynga. Ever.
Unfortunately agreed, Bedwyr. I will, however, keep tabs on it.