Richard4168:If this game in it's current state, is any indication of what the future holds for this game, then I wouldn't hold your breathe people for a stellar outcome. I think some professional CEO's need to come in and save this company and make the proper improvements to the game. Kind of like how Gordon Ramsey saves those Restaurant's that are on the brink of closing their doors. IMO.
Gordon Ramsey? You mean Gordon Ramsay don't you? Read this: "Gordon Ramsay is in hot water, as his business goes down in flames." You chose a bad example IMO. I wouldn't exactly imply Ramsay is a professional CEO type. He's a celebrity British TV chef, and restaurateur. Who capitalized on his fame by successfully opening several restaurants in the U.K. But he's smart enough to hire managers to run his operations..
His branching out into the U.S. market hasn't gone well. I assume this is where your "saving the restaurants on the brink of closing" comes from. He's pulling back from the U.S. market and his losses here doubled this year from 2009 and stood at $12.9M. "Ramsay, 43, has abandoned ownership of his non-U.K. eateries and now
operates them as consultancies after the popularity of his TV shows
failed to translate into profitable dining businesses." source. I guess a lot of those he "saved" have been sold or closed.
Richard4168: WGT.com is a great looking game, that plays mediocre, and is run by a generic company. I swear, it seems a few guys and gals were drinking in a bar and brainstormed the idea for this game, and are now running the company. ....If this game in it's current state, is any indication of what the future
holds for this game, then I wouldn't hold your breathe people for a
stellar outcome.
You claiming to be some kind of business expert?
I suggest you read Cheng's biography before casting aspersions.
Cheng and Nelson both worked at a successful game
producing company before I so wouldn't call them a generic company.
Here's a quote:
"Nelson,
World Golf Tour's president and co-founder, conceived the game in early
2006 while golfing in Italy. He and Cheng had sold their PC
game-development studio, WagerWorks, to IGT for $90 million the year before, and he wondered why there were no good online golf games." Source
You're right, the idea was brainstormed over a few beers. Here's a quote by YuChiang Cheng, President of WGT, in this article on WGT
"He (Chad Nelson) also noticed that there were no quality sports games available
online, even though online gaming was gaining in popularity. The concept
was born. Chad came back to San Francisco and he and YuChiang discussed
it over burritos on Potrero Hill. They knew building a “game” was not a
business and that they did not want to be just “another” independent
game developer. So they poured some more salsa and drank some more beer
and figured out how to build a new gaming media business model with
online distribution, advertising and the sale of virtual items. Then,
they recruited JF Prata and Phil Gorrow of EA to build it."
The way I see it, Cheng and Nelson were/are successful businessmen in the video game industry who started another company, WGT over a couple of beers and added experienced people from EA to build the new game.
I think all companies make mistakes along the way. WGT, Ramsay Holdings, Apple Computers, the list is endless.
I think these guys can and will fix it.
That's my opinion, based on research not some "me too" jump on the let's diss WGT bandwagon.