Can Stand the Heat
It's rare that a press release mentions Wing Commander in 2008... but that's just what happened yesterday when Austin-based developer Heatwave Interactive announced a new business model:
AUSTIN, Texas, Jul 29, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Heatwave(TM) Interactive announced today that it has received a $7.5 million series "A" investment from Syncom Venture Partners for the initial funding of "Central Studio" which will develop new and licensed Video Game IP for exploitation across multiple media channels.You can read the whole thing here. The company's founder, Anthony Castoro, was a major supporter of the Wing Commander IP during his time at Origin and Electronic Arts."Heatwave's Central Studio has assembled veteran talent from the interactive games, film, television and music industries to create a production studio with a unique business approach," said Anthony Castoro, Heatwave's President and Chief Creative Officer. "Games are a powerful platform for creating mainstream brands and IP, however the game industry is notorious for missed deadlines, excessive 'crunch,' and formulaic licensed games. Heatwave has taken lessons from game industry veterans as well as seasoned professionals from other media sectors to create a new model that is more disciplined and provides a more productive creative environment. The result is an entity that will generate successful new game IP that will easily crossover to other media formats."
Founded in early 2007 by games industry veteran Anthony Castoro (EA, Sony Online Entertainment, Codemasters) and successful entrepreneur Donn Clendenon (MPG-Net, World Gaming Corporation, I-Sun Networks), Heatwave(TM) Interactive is an entertainment production company developing original and licensed games that crossover to film and television. Staffed by veterans from multiple media industries, Heatwave's team members are credited with over 50 commercial video games including Wing Commander (series), Battlefield 2 (series), Ultima Online (series), Star Wars (various), Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, and Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa. Supporting the Central Studio is a Board of Advisors, including Jason Bell, CEO of Chrysalis Games, formerly of Turbine, Atari, EA, and Kesmai; Ann E. Kronen, formerly of Atari, Humongous Entertainment, Disney, Phillips, and Broderbund Software; and Charles J. Weber, CEO of Weber Communications, formerly of LucasFilm Ltd.
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