Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2015 AOL, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[SEC subpoenas the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation over 38 Studios lawsuit]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/01/03/sec-subpoenas-the-rhode-island-commerce-corporation-over-38-stud/http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/01/03/sec-subpoenas-the-rhode-island-commerce-corporation-over-38-stud/http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/01/03/sec-subpoenas-the-rhode-island-commerce-corporation-over-38-stud/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Lawsuiting intensifies.
After the last bit of immature name-calling over the 38 Studios debacle, it must be nice to finally put this whole mess to bed for good so we can... oh, wait. No, it appears that the drama regarding the dead studio continues as the Securities & Exchange Commission has issued a subpoena for the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation regarding its lawsuit against Curt Schilling and the other executives of 38 Studios pre-closure.

The subpoenas request both depositions and exhibits pertaining to the ongoing court case against the management of the former studio. The RICC, formerly known as the Economic Development Corporation, was the organization responsible for selling bonds to facilitate the $75 million loan to the now-defunct gaming studio and has been under investigation by the SEC following the company's bankruptcy and dissolution. Neither the SEC nor the RICC is discussing any further details regarding the investigation.

MassivelySEC subpoenas the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation over 38 Studios lawsuit originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Jan 2014 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Citizen
Earlier this week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission proposed rules for regulating public equity crowdfunding that could hit as early as February of next year. If adopted, these rules could affect kickstarters and similar ventures dramatically, according to Forbes. Notably, the regulations would cap crowdfunding investment revenue at $1 million dollars per year, limit individual contributions according to income, eliminate most advertising, and require management through a registered brokerage. The rules are intended to allow crowdfunding ventures to legally sell shares and accept investors, not just rely on donations as we see in the typical MMO kickstarter. But as Forbes argues, the rules won't necessarily have the intended effect as typical project creators can't actually afford to meet the regulations since that's why they were using crowdfunding in the first place.

We wonder whether Congress and the SEC will target donation-driven crowdfunding next. It seems to me that at least in MMOland, a lot of studios would struggle, whether they're Star Citizen with 24 million bucks raised to date or Baby's First MMO Startup with two part-time employees and a cat running PR. Then again, kickstarter frauds aren't unheard of, and a lot of people have seen their donations-that-sure-sound-like-investments go down the toilet. What's your take? Should the SEC be regulating crowdfunding ventures the way it would any other investment or fundraising method?

[Our original question assumed that Kickstarter donations would be affected. Updates to the SEC proposal have made it clear this is not the case, so we have updated the premise here accordingly, though the question still stands.]

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Should government regulate crowdfunding? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 Oct 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
It seems as though we can't go more than a few weeks without hearing about some new complication related to the collapse of 38 Studios and the financial catastrophe it left in its wake. This week's news comes in the form of an SEC probe into the $75 million in loan guarantees offered to the studio by the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation.

The RIEDC has secured the services of a law firm to help it handle the SEC's investigation. Further details are sparse, as the RIEDC has offered only that it "doesn't discuss ongoing matters related to 38 Studios and maintains a level of confidentiality as requested by the SEC." Strangely, the SEC investigation, which launched in early 2012, was not mentioned to investors when Rhode Island published financial documents related to a bond transaction in April of that year. According to the treasurer's spokesperson, the state's treasury was not aware of the probe at that time.

The RIEDC is currently involved in a lawsuit against studio head Curt Schilling and former RIEDC members responsible for the 38 Studios deal.

Massively38 Studios loan under SEC investigation originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 11 Sep 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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According to news site Gamasutra, US MMO giant Turbine have secured $6.6m worth of investment in a drive where they aim to get $50m in venture capital. Turbine are synonymous with the paid-going-free-to-play title Dungeons and Dragons Online as well as the ever popular Lord of the Rings Online. They are also an independent company, which is where the investment side of things comes in, as in order to run the games they need the financial backing of other companies to survive. Given they are not a giant company like Blizzard Entertainment, it's an interesting glimpse into how the MMO industry can work.

The info comes by way of an eleven page Form D (which you can read here) filed to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on August 10th. The document outlines info on the company, its director, their investors who include Highland Capital Partners, Tudor Ventures, Columbia Capital, and Granite Global Ventures and the amount of money involved. While the document is quite dry and filled with boring facts, it's good to know big businesses are acknowledging the roles MMOs have and how this is affected by their increasing mainstream popularity.

MassivelyTurbine hits $6.6m in $50m funding drive originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ddodungeons-and-dragons-onlinefinanceform-Dlord-of-the-rings-onlinelotrommo-industrynewsSECturbineturbine-entertainmentturbine-incWed, 12 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Official word: Perpetual lives, STO "still a triple-A game"]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/30/official-word-perpetual-lives-sto-still-a-triple-a-game/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/30/official-word-perpetual-lives-sto-still-a-triple-a-game/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/30/official-word-perpetual-lives-sto-still-a-triple-a-game/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

There has been a lot of confusion with regards to the fate of Perpetual Entertainment and Star Trek Online over the past few days. First, an SEC report was filed by Gravity that appeared to say that Perpetual Entertainment was liquidating all assets and would cease to exist as a company. Then, Shacknews ran a story claiming that STO had been bought and would be re-invented as a "more casual" experience.

Star Trek Online's Executive Producer Daron Stinett addressed panicked fans, saying that not all is as it seems. We have the lowdown here for you. The heart of the matter: it appears that STO has not been canceled or nerfed after all --at least not to the degree that we feared. That said, here's the full story so far.

Continue reading Official word: Perpetual lives, STO "still a triple-A game"

MassivelyOfficial word: Perpetual lives, STO "still a triple-A game" originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 30 Nov 2007 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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South Korean company Gravity was forced in a mandatory SEC report to spill the beans that Perpetual Entertainment is seeking liquidation of all its assets and will soon cease to exist as a company. Gravity had to disclose this information in compliance with US law to inform its shareholders that it stands to lose $9 million in investments in Perpetual Entertainment due to the company's failure.

Perpetual Entertainment filed for liquidation on the 10th of October, just a day after it announced the cancellation of its Gods & Heroes project. While appearances are that Star Trek Online has remained in some kind of development (however limited) in the short term, Perpetual will soon be forced to sell all its assets to pay off its debts.

That means that either Star Trek Online is due for cancellation, or the project will be sold to a new development studio. Perpetual's continued work on STO is evidence that it at least hopes to keep the project alive by handing it off to another company. We don't know if Perpetual already has a buyer lined up or which company that buyer would be.

[EDIT: WarCry's Razor has suggested that the SEC report is misleading and that this was just a part of the process of ending development of Gods & Heroes. His suggestion might be worthy of consideration, but there is not yet enough evidence behind it for us to call this a false alarm. We've sent an e-mail to our press contacts at Perpetual Entertainment for clarification and when/if we get a statement, we'll let you know.]

MassivelyPerpetual disbanding, STO in jeopardy [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 26 Nov 2007 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bankruptcybreakingbusinesscancellationchapter-11gods-and-heroesgravityindustryliquidationperpetualperpetual-entertainmentsecstar-trekstar-trek-onlinestoMon, 26 Nov 2007 15:30:00 EST