I accidentally ran into David Cheng from Seed Studio and we started talking. This prompted me to swing by their stand and sit in on a presentation about what they’re doing. It may have been one of the luckiest meetings of the show since they are working on some things that take gaming outside of the box and put it all over your apartment.
The Taipei, Taiwan based company has about 55 developers now but is planning expansion to 70 next year. Their whole deal is multi-media cross-over. Not only are they making games for Xbox 360, PS3 and PSP, but they’re taking those properties and tying them into books, television and who knows what – comics, clothing, feature films? This is a company that is looking at a game in more than just three dimensions. They’re looking at an entire spectrum of products based on one intellectual property and that is in a word – brilliant.
There’s a second half to Seed Studios as well that includes doing outsourced work for other companies which has included the art for the cars in Race Driver on the DS. This is another fantastic move. They cut their teeth on work for others and generate some capital to support their own in house development. Some other companies I’ve spoken with lately might take this approach to things and save themselves some hassles financially.
While I was at the booth David and CEO Steve Porter gave me a quick peek at what they’re working on right now. They told me about one thing, but I promised not to say anything to anyone and that’s a matter of trust. So when they contact me and tell me, then I’ll tell you.