

Chillingo Acquired for $20 Million by Electronic Arts - jjames
http://mashable.com/2010/10/20/angry-birds-electronic-arts/

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portman
Rovio is the maker of Angry Birds. They have _NOT_ been acquired.

Chillingo is the publisher of multiple iOS games. They were acquired.

Rovio is most likely worth much more than $20m at this point.

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pavel
What is the relationship between "maker" and "publisher"?

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bignoggins
The "maker" or "developer" is Rovio, which created the app. Chillingo
published the app on the app store and was responsible for marketing. Rovio
still owns the IP to angry birds (The angry birds franchise is likely worth
more than 20 million on its own). The value of Chillingo likely comes from the
fact that it published 2 #1 hits (Angry Birds and now Cut the Rope), meaning
it has a brand name with iOS gamers.

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allenp
This title isn't exactly accurate - the publisher was bought, not the
development studio. Chillingo has published nearly 100 games on the app store.

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kloncks
What's the difference between a 'maker' and a 'publisher'? Anyone else
confused?

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InclinedPlane
What's the difference between a book writer and a book publisher?

Same thing, except for games.

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dotBen
Um well let's see.

The book writer creates the book. For an iPhone App that's the same as the
game developer/development studio. Ok, got that.

The book publisher physically creates the finished product and distributes it
wholesale. That's totally different to the world of iPhone apps/phone apps.
The _developer_ creates the finished product (the binary) not the publisher
and there is no wholesale distribution, as you can only sell it through one
place - the iTunes App Store.

So, your answer kind of makes no sense and doesn't move the conversation
forward.

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InclinedPlane
Excuse my terseness, I was responding to someone who seemed legitimately
confused about the difference between game maker & publisher, I thought the
analogy with books was sufficient to at least grasp the basics of the
differences without being overwhelmed by specifics (and all of their
exceptions).

In both cases the creator makes the primary product while the publisher
packages that product in a format suitable for manufacturing or distribution,
interfaces with the relevant distribution channels, handles revenue and all
that, etc. The broad strokes are the same for books and for games even though
the specifics are widely different.

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jashmenn
On a related note, does anyone have any details on the sort of deals Chillingo
works out with developers? E.g. how much do you pay them and what do they
actually do?

I know they've published a number of top 50 apps, but I'm curious as to what
cost.

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ashbrahma
It's usually a revenue split of around 60-40 in favor of the developer.

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aw3c2
Earlier I wondered where a multiplayer game like this (I know Worms, it is
quite different) is. It would be fantastic round-based time-stealer. Pass the
device around or even play by sms or over the net. It does not even have to be
realtime. $$$ idea? :-)

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charlesju
Here is the deal:

Rovio is still independent.

They used Chillingo as a publisher and thus they are obligated to pay
Chillingo 50% of the profits for Angry Birds.

EA has purchased Chillingo and thus rights to 50% of Angry Birds's future
profits.

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Sindrome
50% seems like an obscene amount to give someone just to promote an IPhone
app. Especially when having the app featured on iTunes is the best promo you
can get and that's Apple's call.

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rhizome
If other acquisitions are any indication, there will be only one or two
Chillingo people remaining at EA in two years.

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mahmud
I would frame it more positively: "EA has a knack for talent retention when it
comes to front-desk receptionists."

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vaksel
angry birds shows the importance of branding.

essentially it's a crash the castle type of game which are a dime a
dozen...but by branding themselves they managed to get the success they've got

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pretz
And by creating an incredibly polished, good-looking, easy to use, accessible
game. Every part of Angry Birds was clearly tested and iterated on until it
was perfect.

Half Life 2 is just another first person shooter, they're a dime a dozen.
Doesn't mean it was easy to make.

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sabat
Anyone else surprised? I'm not being sarcastic. Hasn't Angry Birds already
made > $20 million? If not, isn't it close enough?

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muhfuhkuh
It's likely somewhere around 7-8 million, give or take. And, I have a feeling
alot of that goes to Rovio, the developer of Angry Birds.

So, I guess EA's in-house "8lb. Gorilla" homegrown studio and mini-publisher
for smartphones was stillborn, so they acquired one. Smart move. Chillingo has
had a load of #1 app store hits from various developers; they seem to know how
to pick 'em.

