UK Firm Ingenious Announces Games Financing Division

UK firm Ingenious Media has announced that it is forming an Ingenious Games division in order to help finance game-related activities with fellow to-be-recruited investors. The concept of the division is to partner with developers and publishers to help fund game titles and game-related endeavors, with the aim of raising up to UKP 50 million ($86.7 million) in funding. According to the company, Ingenious Games will enable individuals to invest in a portfolio of video games across a range of genres and platforms, including PC, current and next-generation consoles, online gaming and mobile. The investments will be spread across development, porting, licensing, marketing and prototyping. Interestingly, the company's VC arm Ingenious Ventures, which is a previous investor in properties such as Simon Fuller's 19 Group (pop music managers and creators of Pop Idol and American Idol), also invested in Black & White creator Lionhead Software in late 2004, with Antony Fraser of Ingenious Ventures commenting at the time: "The games produced by Peter Molyneux and his team already captivate huge numbers of people around the world and we hope that, now Lionhead is producing games for consoles, there will be many more gamers who can enjoy them." Duncan Reid, Ingenious' commercial director, noted of this new venture: "Now is an excellent time to invest in the games sector. The introduction of a number of new consoles later this year and increasing software sales are projected to contribute to rapid growth in the industry. We anticipate strong demand for quality games content as broadband and mobile expansion widens the appeal of games to new age groups." He concluded: "We recognize that many individuals will be unfamiliar with investing in games and this is why we have provided this opportunity for people to invest alongside us, therefore benefiting from our investment approach."