Ninjas are helping to grow a small company in Cromwell, thanks to a recent contract to produce a Nintendo game that is expected to boost the company’s revenues by a few hundred thousand dollars, a big hike for a small company. The deal is helping to propel Venan Entertainment, a small company with 10 employees, into the big business of producing video games.
The 5-year-old company got its big break when it was selected to produce the game Ninjatown for Nintendo DS with two other video game companies and a designer toy line, Shawnimals.
Nintendo DS, the next-generation Nintendo Game Boy, is an established and successful game system that has engaged both children and adults.
“With Ninjatown, that’s our first game for a video game console, and it’ll be a huge step to get that game out,” said Jason Cody, one of five original founders of Venan and its lead programmer. “That’s the first one that you can go out to a store and buy or show off to friends and family. It’s something that gives us more attention.”
The Nintendo game is Venan’s first foray outside of its niche product of creating cell phone games and more importantly, its next step in the company’s evolution.
“Our goals are pretty simple,” said Brandon Curial, Venan’s president and CEO.“We want to keep growing and expand what we do. Right now, I could hire 15 more people and have work for all of them to do, which is something I couldn’t say maybe 12 months ago. In our market, people do not want inexperience. They want the experience that we have now.”
Growth Industry
The market for the video game industry is expected to grow, Curiel said.
“You have the older gamers that haven’t stopped playing, and you have younger kids that are getting into it every day. With something like the Nintendo Wii, you even have parents playing these games now. Each year, the market just expands and it’s going to keep expanding for, well, a long time.”
A recent study conducted by the Entertainment Software Association reveals the country’s computer and video game market grew 17 percent annually between 2003 and 2006.
“Computer and video game companies play an ever-increasing role in our nation’s growing economy,” said Michael Gallagher, CEO of the ESA.
“These companies and their colleagues across the nation are making entertainment software one of the fastest growing industries in the United State,” he said.
State Economy
In Connecticut, video game developers generated $39.9 million for the state’s economy in 2006, a 22 percent jump in one year.
Despite those figures, Venan is joined by only four other video game production companies employing roughly 150 people statewide, according to the ESA study.
Notably, Connecticut pales in comparison to California’s video game production industry, which generates $1.7 billion, and to New York’s 4,000 video game workers.
Nationwide, the average salary for those employed in the video game industry is $92,300.
Hand-Held Platforms
“When we started Venan, we got started on development for consoles and working on a demo for a system,” said Curiel. “It was a lot different than we thought, and we refocused our efforts on mobile games because it was less expensive. And we were tired of working on demos that weren’t bringing any money in.”
When the average person thinks of video games, they usually picture a PlayStation or an Xbox. But for a small development company like Venan, designing a game for either of those platforms is out of its reach.
“I think we’d all love to do that, but we just don’t have the manpower or the time,” said Curiel.
By focusing on cell phone games, Venan can pump out a game on average in about eight months because the company does not like taking on projects that will last more than a year.
In 2002, Venan’s five founders had big goals, little experience and a shoestring budget. Curiel, along with Anthony Ceddia, Jason Cody, Michael Hughes and Phillip Taksen, started the company in July of that year.
After a slow start, Venan put the finishing touches on its first game, Super Putt Classic, and made the game for Nokia cell phones. Once complete, the game went public and the sales were, in a word, disappointing.
“We sold a grand total of three units,” said Curiel. “That couldn’t be right, could it? But it was. We realized we had to change what we did.”
Big Break
Venan needed a publisher. Not just any publisher, but a well-known publisher to bring their games to the masses. At first, there were no takers for a miniature golf game. Then the company received a much-needed visit from MFORMA, now known as Hands-On Mobile, which was desperately searching for a miniature golf game.
“An executive at Sprint had a son named Tyler who kept telling his dad that they really needed a miniature golf game,” said Curiel.
“So MFORMA was looking for one, and that’s how we got our first publishing contract.”
The success of that game led to a contract for three more games with MFORMA, and the company found its legs.
“Reputation is definitely important in this business,” Curiel said. “Once you make contacts with people and show that you can make a good product, they come back to you.”
Tough Times
But then in February 2005, Venan’s original president and CEO Phillip Taksen lost his life to cancer, and Curiel stepped up to replace him.
It was a difficult period for the other four founders, but the company’s success propelled them, moving forward with new games such as Jaws, South Park Mecha Fighter, T.I. Street Racing and Bill Parcells Football Camp.
The latest project, the Ninjatown game, came about after Venan was suggested as a game developer by Jeremy Pope, owner of Cashmere Productions and also involved in the project.
“This is the third game I’m working on them with, and they have a really good team,” said Pope. “They have a great combination of a creative unit that is also really good at delivering on time.”
