Got the GMT newsletter in the mailbox and blinked my eyes at this
news, finally some serious wargames for the iPad! GMT could and should
make some serious money here as there is nothing out there at the
moment and marrying their quality board wargames with the ease of use
of the iPad makes a lot of sense:

"Electronic Products

Last Fall, I let you guys know about our Twilight Struggle computer
game project. That's still ongoing, but I wanted to use a bit of space
here to update you on several additional projects we have begun
recently, as well as to let you know the direction we're heading with
Computer and I-Pad games.

First off, on the computer game front, we have one additional project
that we have agreed to. This one is a computer version of Barbarossa:
Army Group South, and hopefully eventually all of the Barbarossa
series.

We've also begun our first two I-Pad game projects - one for Manoeuvre
and one for Dominant Species.

I guess the biggest piece of news that I want to relate here, though,
is that we've decided to expand our computer and especially our I-Pad
offerings and are actively interested in working with our customers to
get more of our games available as I-Pad titles. Note that I said "our
customers." We spent a while talking off and on with medium and large
size development houses and at the end of the day just didn't find a
"fit" that we were comfortable with.

So basically, we decided to start looking a bit more closely at the
offers to create or port our games that we've been getting by the
dozens over the past several years. In the past, we usually said "no"
or "not now" to these inquiries, but we've decided that ultimately,
since we have nowhere near the time needed to create these products,
that we would WAY rather partner with talented, creative, experienced
programmers who already like our games and share revenues with them
that work with a large development house that we don't know and for
whom we would typically be a small and not-very-important project.

We're not absolutely closing the door to working with bigger companies
in the future, if we happen to find the right fit, but for now we're
going to explore some of the proposals our customers have made and get
more aggressive with saying "yes" to more projects so that we can get
more of our line available electronically, especially on the I-Pad
side of things, where a dedicated and skilled programmer really can
create a quality app without having to work with a large team.

So here is the open invitation. If you are an experienced programmer,
especially if you have created previous I-Pad apps, or if you work
with a small programming team with such expertise, and you'd like to
create I-Pad apps for some of our games, please contact me at
gmtgames@aol.com and we'll be happy to discuss what you have in mind.
I look forward to starting some new projects and  forging more
mutually profitable relationships as we move forward with our
electronic game line"

On Mar 22, 1:05=A0pm, BasKa <curt...@hetnet.nl> wrote:
> Got the GMT newsletter in the mailbox and blinked my eyes at this
> news, finally some serious wargames for the iPad! GMT could and should
> make some serious money here as there is nothing out there at the
> moment and marrying their quality board wargames with the ease of use
> of the iPad makes a lot of sense:
>
> "Electronic Products
>
> Last Fall, I let you guys know about our Twilight Struggle computer
> game project. That's still ongoing, but I wanted to use a bit of space
> here to update you on several additional projects we have begun
> recently, as well as to let you know the direction we're heading with
> Computer and I-Pad games.
>
> First off, on the computer game front, we have one additional project
> that we have agreed to. This one is a computer version of Barbarossa:
> Army Group South, and hopefully eventually all of the Barbarossa
> series.
>
> We've also begun our first two I-Pad game projects - one for Manoeuvre
> and one for Dominant Species.
>
> I guess the biggest piece of news that I want to relate here, though,
> is that we've decided to expand our computer and especially our I-Pad
> offerings and are actively interested in working with our customers to
> get more of our games available as I-Pad titles. Note that I said "our
> customers." We spent a while talking off and on with medium and large
> size development houses and at the end of the day just didn't find a
> "fit" that we were comfortable with.
>
> So basically, we decided to start looking a bit more closely at the
> offers to create or port our games that we've been getting by the
> dozens over the past several years. In the past, we usually said "no"
> or "not now" to these inquiries, but we've decided that ultimately,
> since we have nowhere near the time needed to create these products,
> that we would WAY rather partner with talented, creative, experienced
> programmers who already like our games and share revenues with them
> that work with a large development house that we don't know and for
> whom we would typically be a small and not-very-important project.
>
> We're not absolutely closing the door to working with bigger companies
> in the future, if we happen to find the right fit, but for now we're
> going to explore some of the proposals our customers have made and get
> more aggressive with saying "yes" to more projects so that we can get
> more of our line available electronically, especially on the I-Pad
> side of things, where a dedicated and skilled programmer really can
> create a quality app without having to work with a large team.
>
> So here is the open invitation. If you are an experienced programmer,
> especially if you have created previous I-Pad apps, or if you work
> with a small programming team with such expertise, and you'd like to
> create I-Pad apps for some of our games, please contact me at
> gmtga...@aol.com and we'll be happy to discuss what you have in mind.
> I look forward to starting some new projects and =A0forging more
> mutually profitable relationships as we move forward with our
> electronic game line"

Love to see an IPAD version of Fields of Fire!

Best wishes,

Doug

I love the choice of Ipad games. Dominant Species is a wonderful "deep Euro" but I don't get to play because of the time it takes. I also hear that Manoeuvre is a great war/abstract game so it looks like a good fit.

As for the PC, I thought that one of the plans was for a computer version of Labyrinth. What ever happened to that?

On 22 mrt, 18:05, BasKa <curt...@hetnet.nl> wrote:
> Got the GMT newsletter in the mailbox

<Snip GMT outlining their future plans>

Anyone else notice that pc wargame publishers can't be bothered to
give their customers such an outline ?

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

On Mar 23, 5:41=A0am, "eddyster...@hotmail.com"
<eddyster...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On 22 mrt, 18:05, BasKa <curt...@hetnet.nl> wrote:
>
> > Got the GMT newsletter in the mailbox
>
> <Snip GMT outlining their future plans>
>
> Anyone else notice that pc wargame publishers can't be bothered to
> give their customers such an outline ?
>
> Greetz,
>
> Eddy Sterckx

To be fair Eddy GMT are universally regarded as one of the top
boardgame companies when it comes to keeping customers and fans in the
loop on upcoming games and production schedules.  The only company
that may top them is Victory Point Games - they publish a weekly
update that's not only informative but actually a fascinating read on
their thinking on game design and publication.

But yes I do agree that the lack of communication of publication
schedules and plans from pc wargame publishers is puzzling - as well
the habit of springing a game from completely out of the dark.  On the
other hand perhaps there is so little confidence that games will ship
in anything other than a very large ball park estimate (as we have
seen with more than a few games that have experienced serious delays),
that they just don't feel able to produce a schedule.

When GMT games get set to release the first of their pc / ipad games
we may get a chance to see whether they can do electronic publishing
any better than the current companies.

Best wishes,

Doug

On 24 mrt, 18:22, dougb <douglasbrun...@rogers.com> wrote:
> To be fair Eddy GMT are universally regarded as one of the top
> boardgame companies when it comes to keeping customers and fans in the
> loop on upcoming games and production schedules. =A0

Sure. It would be interesting to check what came first : their
excellent community communication or them becoming Top Dog. In other
words : did they become Top Dog just because they managed to catch the
eye of both gamers and developers with their excellent pr ?

> The only company
> that may top them is Victory Point Games - they publish a weekly
> update that's not only informative but actually a fascinating read on
> their thinking on game design and publication.

Indeed. VPG came from nowhere and had excellent pr from the very start
and now they've become a very well-known publisher with lots of
developers on board. Hmmm.

> But yes I do agree that the lack of communication of publication
> schedules and plans from pc wargame publishers is puzzling - as well
> the habit of springing a game from completely out of the dark. =A0

A couple of examples from the last 48 hours

Combat Command by Matrix - nobody saw that coming, no pre-release
buzz, no nothing. Lousy way to launch a game if you ask me.

Theatre of War 3 - Korea - got released yesterday by 1C. Now, I know
Battlefront will distribute this too, but isn't selling it yet. If I
were a potential buyer of this game wouldn't my question then be : how
long do I have to wait for this game to be released by Battlefront ?
Is it 1 week - in which case I'll wait or is it 1 month, in which case
I'll pick up the 1C release. Keeping potential customers in the dark
as to when they'll be able to buy a game would lead to a guy like me
to say "screw it, I'm getting the 1C version now"

> that they just don't feel able to produce a schedule.

It's called project management and if I fail to do that properly my
boss will be kicking my ass. Why can't I expect the same from pc
wargame publishers ?

> When GMT games get set to release the first of their pc / ipad games
> we may get a chance to see whether they can do electronic publishing
> any better than the current companies.

They'd have to work hard to do it any worse than half the pc wargame
publishers.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

On 24 mrt, 18:22, dougb <douglasbrun...@rogers.com> wrote:

> When GMT games get set to release the first of their pc / ipad games
> we may get a chance to see whether they can do electronic publishing
> any better than the current companies.

.... and another thing  (warning : rant ahead)

I'm in the market for a tablet - haven't decided on Android or iPad
yet.

GMT publicly states they're working on stuff that interests me - for
the iPad - perfect info - applause all around.

Slitherine/Matrix officially haven't said a peep about their Android
development - we only know of it because at the Android event they
used footage of a beta Great Battles Medieval version running in
Android 3.0 so it's purely by accident that I know this piece of info
which could swing my tablet buying decision.

I don't know about you but I would be *very* pissed to buy an iPad
only to find out a month or so later that all the cool wargame stuff
is coming out for the Android. On top of that : then I wouldn't be
able to buy their Android games so it's a lose-lose situation.

And that is what not properly informing your customers is : lose-lose

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

> Combat Command by Matrix - nobody saw that coming, no pre-release
> buzz, no nothing. Lousy way to launch a game if you ask me.

Pre-release product page, Coming Soon forum and announcement months
before release.  Multiple pre-release AARs and an article on
Wargamer.  I understand you didn't see this one coming, Eddy, but we
did try. :-)

In terms of talking about future releases, we do, but developing
computer games is also more of a moving target than developing board
games.  There are simply a lot more variables involved and we don't
like to get customers excited by discussing games that are in the
works but not close to release and then not deliver . We learned that
lesson many times early on.

Regards,

- Erik

On 25 mrt, 16:18, ERutins <er...@matrixgames.com> wrote:
> > Combat Command by Matrix - nobody saw that coming, no pre-release
> > buzz, no nothing. Lousy way to launch a game if you ask me.
>
> Pre-release product page, Coming Soon forum and announcement months
> before release. =A0
> Multiple pre-release AARs and an article on
> Wargamer. =A0I understand you didn't see this one coming, Eddy, but we
> did try. :-)

Looking at the game's forum it seems I'm not the only one - but ok, I
checked what you said and you're correct, yet it *totally* flew under
my radar.

> In terms of talking about future releases, we do, but developing
> computer games is also more of a moving target than developing board
> games. =A0There are simply a lot more variables involved and we don't
> like to get customers excited by discussing games that are in the
> works but not close to release and then not deliver . We learned that
> lesson many times early on.

Sure, but now you've gone to the other extreme. I literally have a
list of 2 dozen games from you guys that were mentioned off-hand at
some point in time, without any follow-up.

Want examples ?

It's anyone's guess what the 2by3 guys are working on next - Steel
Panthers IV ?

Is someone working on TOAW 4 ? What's Ralph Trickey up to ?

Great Battles Medieval for the Android ? We know it exists, yet not a
peep from you guys.

Conflict of Heroes - status ?

Carrier Force ?

Is Frank Hunter still actively working on something ? Is it Campaigns
of La Grande Arm=E9e 2 or American Civil War - From Sumter to Appomatox
4 ?

Is the Modern version of Command Ops a go ?

Flashpoint : Red Storm - still on ?

And let's not mention Combined Arms ...

My point : anticipation and ... dare I say it ... a bit of hype sells
games. Keeping close-mouthed about future developments because you
might get a couple of people nagging "is it done yet" every 2 weeks at
the forum is not a good solution.

Keeping everyone up to date, even having to occasionally say a "sorry
guys, this game we announced here is never going to happen for
<reason>" would go a long way towards really building the sort of good
pr companies like GMT and VPG enjoy.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

> It's anyone's guess what the 2by3 guys are working on next - Steel
> Panthers IV ?

On hold for now - the War in Europe series is the current focus for
2by3, but on the tactical side, Panzer Command: Ostfront is very close
to release and another tactical game is in the works, along with
additional expansions for Battlefield Academy.

> Is someone working on TOAW 4 ? What's Ralph Trickey up to ?

We just released an incredible update for TOAW III.  I can't comment
beyond that at this point.

> Great Battles Medieval for the Android ? We know it exists, yet not a
> peep from you guys.

We are about to peep on this - the timing is not entirely within our
control.

> Conflict of Heroes - status ?

In Beta Testing, will be released this year.

> Carrier Force ?

On hold.

> Is Frank Hunter still actively working on something ? Is it Campaigns
> of La Grande Arm=E9e 2 or American Civil War - From Sumter to Appomatox
> 4 ?

Yes, but I can't comment on specifics or when we might see something
new.

> Is the Modern version of Command Ops a go ?

I don't have anything to share on this yet.

> Flashpoint : Red Storm - still on ?

Yes, but behind schedule.

> And let's not mention Combined Arms ...

Also still in progress, but progress is very slow as everyone realizes
by now.  I'm actually looking for help on this one if anyone would
like to get some project management experience.

> My point : anticipation and ... dare I say it ... a bit of hype sells
> games. Keeping close-mouthed about future developments because you
> might get a couple of people nagging "is it done yet" every 2 weeks at
> the forum is not a good solution.

Believe me, we want to sell our games and try to do so.  The amount of
bad PR we get if we announce too early and don't follow through is
more than an occasional reminder though.  There are customers who have
literally said that they won't buy our games because we never finished
"Game X" which they were looking forward to playing.  We promote
releases as soon as we are very confident that they will be released
in the next 3-6 months.  If we announce everything, it will actually
cause more distraction and less focus on the games that are actually
going to release.

Customers want to know everything we're doing, but they don't want to
wait for something that they want now.  It requires a bit of a
balancing act and a judgement call to decide when it's time to
announce an upcoming release.  I agree we could do a better job, but
we tried announcing more games earlier in the first few years of our
existence and it really backfired, so I don't think the answer is as
simple as just extending the horizon and talking about everything
that's in the works.

Regards,

- Erik

> The only company that may top them is Victory Point Games
> - they publish a weekly update that's not only informative
> but actually a fascinating read on their thinking on game design
> and publication.

This reminds me of the old "Europa" magazine. I bought one of them, out of 
curiosity, and I liked the quality of the contents so much that I bought a 
whole lot of them wholesale even if I didn't play "Europa" games. I ended up 
buying "Second Front" (which I never played - TOAW came out a month after 
that...) So, it was the official magazine that sold the game, and not the 
other way around. 

On 26/03/2011 4:20 AM, ERutins wrote:

>
>> Carrier Force ?
>
> On hold.
>

<sigh>

Regards,
Mike Kreuzer
www.mikekreuzer.com

On 25 mrt, 19:20, ERutins <er...@matrixgames.com> wrote:

>=A0If we announce everything, it will actually
> cause more distraction and less focus on the games that are actually
> going to release.

Well, I have to admit that that's a good point.

> Customers want to know everything we're doing, but they don't want to
> wait for something that they want now. =A0It requires a bit of a
> balancing act and a judgement call to decide when it's time to
> announce an upcoming release. =A0I agree we could do a better job, but
> we tried announcing more games earlier in the first few years of our
> existence and it really backfired, so I don't think the answer is as
> simple as just extending the horizon and talking about everything
> that's in the works.

Maybe the problem is that I don't mind - even want - info on planned
games in a more distant future, but that this doesn't work for the
majority of your customers.

I've noticed before that pc wargamers are very much different from
board wargamers, the latter being a bit more mature and laid back. And
you sure have to cater to the audience you have, not the one you want.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx