Stubbs Alderton & Markiles LLP - Steve Goldstein, Louis Wharton
Stubbs Alderton & Markiles has announced that it has promoted Steve Goldstein and Louis Wharton to partner. Goldstein will continue his practice in the areas of video game publishing agreements, digital distribution agreements, merchandising and co-marketing relationships, alternative financing of game development, global corporate structuring, intellectual property protection and exploitation, Internet best practices, and legal issues related to multiplayer aspects of online games and the use and trade of virtual goods, while Wharton will continue advising start-up, emerging growth and middle market companies across a spectrum of industries in securities compliance, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate matters.
"Steve Goldstein has been an invaluable addition to our team. His intense knowledge and his extensive relationships and reputation in the video game industry have helped to position our Interactive Entertainment and Video Game practice as one of the best in the industry," said Scott Alderton, Managing Partner at Stubbs Alderton and Markiles LLP. "Louis is an outstanding and technically excellent lawyer who has definitely earned his elevation to Partner with the contributions he has made in growing our corporate and securities practice."
The firm's video game clients now include game portal Curse, Inc., Riot Games, Inc. (League of Legends), Runic Games, Inc. (Torchlight), sekretagent Productions, Inc. (Assassin's Creedfranchise) and Turtle Rock Studios (Left 4 Dead).
Cubic Motion - David Barton
Recently, Cubic Motion announced that it has hired David Barton as a Producer. He will have specific responsibility for the company’s growing list of high-profile video game projects.
“David has great experience of delivering large quantities of animation on major projects in video game development,” said Mike Jones, Cubic’s Director of Production. “He’s a very welcome addition to the team and we look forward to working with him as he takes our innovative approach into new projects with studios across the world.”
Barton has worked on numerous high-profile video game projects including Grand Theft Auto IV, Midnight Club: LA, Unreal Tournament 3, Devil May Cry 4 and the ‘Emily’ project for Siggraph 2008, during his 8 years with Image Metrics, where he opened their U.S. studio and was responsible for all of production at their Los Angeles base. He was most recently at Activision (Bizarre Creations) where he played a leading role in developing Blur and 007 Blood Stone.
“We’re at a breakthrough point in video gaming where every developer can have access to great facial animation, whether we’re talking about stunning photo-real characters or highly stylized fun characters. In both cases, creating a compelling visual experience has to be an artist-driven process,” said Barton. “Cubic is a truly unique service provider to the industry. Every pipeline is custom built, but put together in just a few days. The animation processes are completely unlike anything I’ve previously experienced – everything is designed purely to serve, rather than replace, the artist. The accelerated keyframe service in particular is a great example of what can be achieved even without performance capture, allowing studios to commission amazing animation with nothing more than an audio file. The biggest attraction to Cubic is the breakthrough in price and delivery speed – we can take world-class animation to projects which would have been unable to afford it in the past.”
UC Santa Cruz Center for Games and Playable Media - Jane Pinckard
This past week, UC Santa Cruz Center for Games and Playable Media named Jane Pinckard as its new associate director. She will join Director Michael Mateas in building close ties between the computer game industry and the academic game research coming from the center's five labs, including the Expressive Intelligence Studio.
"We're trying something new. We have a deep portfolio of game research that we want to connect with the game industry," said Mateas, an associate professor of computer science in the Baskin School of Engineering. "Adding Jane's deep game-industry knowledge to our strong research presence makes us feel as if the sky's the limit."
Pinckard has written for Xbox Nation, Salon, and other media outlets. She co-created the 1UP Show, a weekly video Internet show about game culture. She serves as vice chair of the International Game Developers Association and is known for her blog GameGirlAdvance.
"UC Santa Cruz has one of the top game design research programs in the world, and I'm thrilled to join the team at its home base, the Center for Games and Playable Media," said Pinckard. "It's an incredibly exciting time for video games as we stand on the threshold of so many innovations. The potential future of this unique 21st-century medium is rich for artistic expression and technological progress, with enormous implications for our social, cultural, and economic evolution."
Bravo Game Studios - James Scalpello
Bravo Game Studios recently announced that it has named James Scalpello to the position of CEO. He will have overall responsibility for driving the business forward, and for building the already strong standing of Bravo Game Studios within the mobile environment.
“I’m delighted to be able to bring someone like James into the business, with his vast wealth of contacts, business acumen and mobile industry expertise” commented Jose Miguel Lopez, President of Bravo Game Studios. “Our goal over the next 18 months is to grow the business and consolidate our current standing within the mobile entertainment industry. To do this we need someone who is a visionary, and has the relevant level of expertise and corporate leadership background to lead us into that future. To that end, James is undoubtedly the best person for the job and I’m excited that he’ll be with Bravo as we head into the next important part of our journey.”
Scalpello has over 17 years of management experience across a variety of console and mobile games companies including THQ, Electronic Arts and, lately, Glu Mobile as marketing director.
“Having been involved in the mobile arena for many years I’ve watched Bravo with interest, and have been impressed with their ability to deliver high-quality mobile games across multiple platforms.” said Scalpello. “When the opportunity arose to take up a position within the company I was delighted to except the role. Bravo Game Studios has already proved itself, with top tier IP, strong brand partnerships and technological know-how, and my job now is to help the company retain the momentum that it’s currently experiencing and help drive the business forward to the next level.”
Immerz - Gen Fukunaga
Immerz has announced that Gen Fukunaga has been named to the company’s Board of Directors. This comes as the company is about to launch their KOR-fx product.
“We are extremely honored to have Gen join the Immerz team, lending his expertise within the pop culture and gaming space to Immerz’ business,” said Shahriar S. Afshar, Immerz’ CEO and CTO. “Gen has already revolutionized the world of Anime, and has now joined forces with the next revolution in entertainment, Immerz.”
Fukunaga is president, CEO and one of the original founders of FUNimation Entertainment. The animation distributor has worked on franchises like Dragon Ball Z, Fullmetal Alchemist and Afro Samurai.
“I am thrilled to join Immerz and help propel one of the most exciting and cutting-edge technologies in entertainment industry in decades,” said Fukunaga. “Shahriar is a visionary inventor, and I believe KOR-fx will quickly become the must-have technology for all users, platforms, and content providers.”
Fuse Powered - Michael MacMillan
Fuse Powered has announced the appointment of Michael MacMillan to the company’s Board of Directors. He will be responsible for working closely with Fuse Powered’s senior management team in solidifying and executing the company’s strategic direction.
“We’re delighted that someone of Michael’s caliber sees and understands the tremendous opportunity ahead,” said Yung Wu, Chairman of the Board. “This addition is proof positive of Fuse’s ability to deliver what the market wants. With more than twenty years of experience in the media space, we look forward to the value Michael brings to our mission ahead. His track record of anticipating market changes and making successful game-changing decisions will bring incredible value to us.”
MacMillan started his career in media in 1978 with Atlantis Films. It eventually grew and acquired Alliance Communications via reverse takeover in 1998, to form Alliance Atlantis Communications. Under Michael’s continued leadership as Chairman and CEO, the company operated 13 Canadian television networks (including HGTV Canada, Showcase Television, History Television and Food Network), and was noted for its significant investment in Canadian content programming. Alliance Atlantis Communications also produced and distributed movies and television programs, like the hit series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He retired from the company in 2007.
“I see enormous opportunity for Fuse Powered,” said MacMillan. “With some solid early success already under the belt, I believe Fuse is in the right space at the right time. Its accomplished management team’s domain expertise and persistence will undoubtedly seize a leadership position in the rapidly growing mobile gaming market. I believe the iOS publishing space is a strong business play, not only from a technology standpoint, but more importantly, as one being fueled by consumer demand.”
Other moves covered during the week:
GameStop Gains id Software's Steve Nix
Daglow Entertainment Kicked Off By Industry Vet
Former Vicarious Vision Staff Found Play Eternal
Ex-Bizarre Employees Make Lucid Games
Digital Development Management Launches New Game Production Services Division
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