Former Capcom pres back with O3

The former president of Capcom North America, Bill Gardner, today made it known that he has founded a new company. O3 Entertainment will be based in Santa Clara, California, and will operate as both a publishing and distribution company specializing in PC, console, and mobile games from small- to mid-sized developers.

"I found that there were areas in the industry that were not being addressed adequately. I gathered some good friends, and we tried to see if we could offer some new approaches and ideas that could be implemented to fill the holes that we saw," Gardner told GameSpot today.

Gardner, who is O3's president and CEO, has two former Capcom employees on staff currently: Chris Jelinek, 03 Entertainment's VP of sales and marketing, and Hanako Watanabe, the company's CFO.

In stealth mode since early January, Gardner and company will set up shop at this year's E3 and start in on evangelizing the O3 model--one that can back smaller-sized game developers and provide services that include sales and distribution, marketing, and PR, as well as replication, warehousing, and shipping.

GameSpot spoke with Gardner about how he plans to leverage his 20-year history in the industry and about his making O3 a success.

GameSpot: What's the motivation behind the new business model? And what does it tell us about the industry? Is something broken?

Bill Gardner: I would say that what I had been seeing, even while at Capcom, was that there were so very many studios and younger developers trying to enter the business, and they were getting blocked by the overwhelming costs of building properties. These folks were following their own dreams and building games, and then couldn't find a way to market because of unwilling or greedy publishers and distributors. I think that something is "broken," in that we are beginning to discourage original thinking and innovation by going the "licensing/sequel" route as a measure of success. The current status seems to be that, unless a product can move a million-plus units, the “big” players aren’t interested. The smaller publishers have not built the marketing, operations, and distribution infrastructures that will take a product from golden master onto the retail shelf. There is a huge investment to implementing a full-service publishing company that many people overlook.

GS: How do you manage to maintain relationships with the major retails?

BG: O3 is a "traditional" publisher and distributor. We value the relationships, across the board in this industry, directly with retailers and with studios. We want to be a part of this and the next generation of games "for the rest of us."

GS: How many developers out there do you think this model will find traction with?

BG: Well, thus far, the response has been overwhelming. Of course, we have had a lot of help from our friends, and we really appreciate the assistance. I have been so amazed by the sheer number of studios, development teams, and original thought that has been hidden out there.

GS: Is O3 international or focused only on the North American market?

BG: Right now we are focused on publishing in North America. That is where our "extended family" is located. But I personally have been dealing with Japan (at Panasonic and Capcom) for more than 20 years, and started the Capcom Eurosoft operation, so ultimately we anticipate being in those markets as well. From a development standpoint, we’re interested in seeing really high-quality, great games from all over the world.

GS: How many full-timers at O3?

BG: Currently, six--all of whom do come from the industry. There are some high-profile people that have asked to either join or help us get flying. We expect to build the company with mostly industry-savvy people that will bring back the fun of gaming.

GS: Are there any titles that you are able to announce today that you have in the O3 portfolio?

BG: Because of some timing of the agreements, I am really unable to announce anything specific today. We’ll be making a number of announcements and giving the press some first looks over the next couple months. I think that there are a couple of titles that will impress you.

GS: Overall, the O3 business model sounds very family-friendly. Is that the case or will all titles, all ratings be treated equally?

BG: We are setting up this company to be able to work with all kinds of products in all ratings categories. We do sense that there are family opportunities out there, but remember, you guys once referred to me as "President Evil" while I was running Capcom. Once you see some of the titles you will see how we are differentiating products that will become easily identifiable at retail by the consumers.

GS: Bill, I hear you're in Kentia Hall this year. Are you going to miss rubbing shoulders with the big boys in the South Hall?

BG: Well, since we have only been in business since the end of January, we actually had not thought about being at E3 this year. As for the "big boys" in the South Hall, let's see who will be there in a year or two!