Posted Mon Feb 4, 2013 at 06:30 AM PST by Brian Hoss
Koch Media "not ambitious to be the next THQ."
Koch Media has slowly been growing its Deep Silver game publisher label since its founding in 2002, but has made its biggest public strides recently. First there was the mainstream hit 'Dead Island,' and then just last month, the $28.1 million acquisition of Volition Inc, along with the 'Saints Row' and 'Metro' IPs.
In an interview with GamesIndustry, Koch Media CEO Klemens Kundratitz explained the company's gaming rise, "Many people didn't really see us as a player in the industry. They didn't really understand what we're doing. I appreciate that we now get more of the spotlight with these new IPs, but, having said that, we are not ambitious to be the next THQ.
We have always tried to find our own way, and do business in a way that we believe is right for us. We don't want to copy other people's success stories. We are passionate about Deep Silver, and we are obviously investing significantly now, but at the same time we have a strong, value-added distribution business in Europe, which will continue to be a tent-pole in the future."
Klemens went on to explain how his company's gaming business is central and yet will be supported by other forms of media including film and TV. Klemens was also clear about one of the issues he sees with some other big publishers, "It's important that you understand who you are and what you're capable of doing. Other publishers are very ambitious, but they aspire to grow their businesses in ways that aren't healthy. That's a problem of publicly listed companies, which go from quarter to quarter and are pushed into this ambitious way of running their businesses. Unfortunately, that doesn't always pay off."
After disclosing that there was "'no doubt' that 'Metro: Last Light' and the next 'Saints Row' game will both launch this year," he explained that his company's European origin and independent business status would serve the two IPs better than "the more homogenised console development culture of a publisher like EA."
Klemens did stop short of giving release dates, but it would seem for the moment that 'Saints Row' will join 'Metro: Last Light' on the 2013 schedule.
Source: Gamesindustry.biz
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
The latest news on all things 4K Ultra HD, blu-ray and Gear.