Gamecock's CEO Mike Wilson is spearheading the alternative E3 at his own E I E I O showcase - but the Santa Monica police are cracking down on his wacky ways, ticketing him for driving with a chicken mask on yesterday at E3 -- also, more on his unique ind
New publisher Gamecock is using a curious model, with only 8 people on staff, a 'no-meddling' approach, and a penchant for independent titles, generally using original IP. At E3 yesterday, Gamasutra spoke with Gamecock Grand Champeen and CEO Mike Wilson about whether they would ever acquire a developer - just after he was given a ticket by a cop for driving with a chicken mask on. "The guy asked me what I was doing," said Wilson. "I said I'm driving, what do you think? I actually got stopped twice, and I got a ticket the second time because they thought I had disobeyed the other cop - but he never told me to take the mask off." As a word to the wise, it is also apparently not legal to drive with oversized sunglasses. On the subject of acquiring developers, he was no less ebullient. "We greenlight original games from all original developers," says Wilson, "and help produce, market, and whatever they need a publisher to do, but none of the stuff they don’t need a publisher to do. We don’t impose our will upon the games or own the IP. We let the artists keep their intellectual property. We want to have relationships with great artists, and that’s what we consider these guys to be. They’re not software factories for us to buy and control." When pressed on the matter, Wilson admits that it's not completely out of the question. "The only way I could see (acquiring a developer) is if we want to acquire some technology to share, to offer to independent developers." "If an up and comer comes to us and says 'we have this idea' and maybe it’s a little crazy, or whatever – we say here’s some tech and tools, come back to us, just have it, make it go, and show us what you’re talking about," Wilson explained, adding that he feels developers with their own tech are superior to simple tech companies. "I don’t think rockstars want to be owned," he says. "I don’t think artists want to be owned. But never say never."
You May Also Like
