Q&A Thread about the Com2uS Acquisition

[ROY_Angel_Berroa]

Any chance this could lead to a resurrection of Inside the Park Baseball? Thought the game had potential and given that games like MLB: The Show have similar modes with Road to the Show, it would be interesting to see the game again.

[Goody]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

Markus, I hope you and Andreas will benefit greatly from this new business arrangement... both of you richly deserve it.

Both of you have made my baseball dreams come true with OOTPB.

Whatever happens in the future... I hope it is all good for you and Andreas.

Well said, EC. This game has made forever memories and affected many people's lives in a good way. I will always be grateful for this thing called OOTP making me happy and connecting with other baseball sim fans.

[One Post Wonder]

Originally Posted by Markus Heinsohn

I can quote you one example which we will follow: SEGA's acquisition of Sports Interactive in 2006. Back then many Football Manager fans worried that the world was going to end. Guess what, it did not, and FM is in better shape and has more fans than ever before.

This leads to the first major question I had. I knew someone would eventually buy you out, but I thought it would be a company I knew.

Com2uS? Why didn't you pursue a deal with a company like Sega, who has done this sort of thing successfully before, is a hugely known brand, and likely has deep enough pockets to meet your demands? There are a number of companies on this level. So why Com2uS - an obscure Korean company with what seems like a poor reputation, no experience with this type of game, and probably little experience with the US market?

Also do you know why aren't they here answering questions, or getting involved on the forum? If I had paid a significant sum of money to acquire a video game franchise which had a very well-established community, the first thing I'd do is go to their hangout, introduce myself, and give some thoughts on what my intentions were for the game's direction.

Originally Posted by Markus Heinsohn

The same thing will happen here. Our team stays intact, we get help when we need it, and otherwise we will continue to do our thing. So any fear about OOTP turning into some sort of microtransactions monster is completely unnecessary. OOTP & PT are already very profitable, there is no need to change the winning formula. The only goal is to get it into the hands of more people, and Com2uS will help us to achieve this for OOTP and OOTP Go and FHM and all future products.

So what is changing? Assuming everyone on your team is staying and on the Com2uS payroll, is Com2uS going to be bankrolling this and making the final decisions on what gets into the game? Are they going to make all the decisions regarding pricing and DLC/transactions? Are they deciding what licenses to get with what organizations? Are they determining what the release date is and how much time you're going to spend on bug fixes?

It must be one or more of these things. They surely haven't spent all this money to have no say in what you do, when you do it, and who your coding team is and where they're located, right? What will be changing, and what will their input be into the game itself?

My thoughts are the same as many here, and for the same reasons - that the franchise is done in all but name. I upgraded from 19 to 21 today even though I wasn't happy with the recent game updates, because my thought is that 21 is going to be as good as it gets for an old school solo GM player and I'd better pick it up while I still can.

We could all be completely wrong - I would be happy if so, but I'm not optimistic.

I'll add that while I don't like the direction that OOTP has taken over the last 2-3 years as a player, I respect your business acumen. PT was released at the perfect time to take advantage of the void in PC baseball games and your aiming at casual players with the graphics updates was also well timed. Also OOTP will likely never be more valuable than it is now - you've done pretty much everything imaginable in a game of this type and so it is probably the perfect time to sell, too. I can't knock any of that. Most small devs would never have the smarts to make moves like this at such key times. I'd be hard pressed to find a tiny independent game developer who systematically grew their success like you have. Well played and good luck whatever happens.

Originally Posted by One Post Wonder

This leads to the first major question I had. I knew someone would eventually buy you out, but I thought it would be a company I knew.

Com2uS? Why didn't you pursue a deal with a company like Sega, who has done this sort of thing successfully before, is a hugely known brand, and likely has deep enough pockets to meet your demands? There are a number of companies on this level. So why Com2uS - an obscure Korean company with what seems like a poor reputation, no experience with this type of game, and probably little experience with the US market?

Also do you know why aren't they here answering questions, or getting involved on the forum? If I had paid a significant sum of money to acquire a video game franchise which had a very well-established community, the first thing I'd do is go to their hangout, introduce myself, and give some thoughts on what my intentions were for the game's direction.



So what is changing? Assuming everyone on your team is staying and on the Com2uS payroll, is Com2uS going to be bankrolling this and making the final decisions on what gets into the game? Are they going to make all the decisions regarding pricing and DLC/transactions? Are they deciding what licenses to get with what organizations. Are they determining what the release date is and how much time you're going to spend on bug fixes?

It must be one or more of these things. They surely haven't spent all this money to have no say in what you do, when you do it, and who your coding team is and where they're located, right? What will be changing, and what will their input be into the game itself?

My thoughts are the same as many here, and for the same reasons - that the franchise is done in all but name. I upgraded from 19 to 21 today even though I wasn't happy with the recent game updates, because my thought is that 21 is going to be as good as it gets for an old school solo GM player and I'd better pick it up while I still can.

We could all be completely wrong - I would be happy if so, but I'm not optimistic.

I'll add that while I don't like the direction that OOTP has taken over the last 2-3 years as a player, I respect your business acumen. PT was released at the perfect time to take advantage of the void in PC baseball games and your aiming at casual players with the graphics updates was also well timed. Also OOTP will likely never be more valuable than it is now - you've done pretty much everything imaginable in a game of this type and so it is probably the perfect time to sell, too. I can't knock any of that. Most small devs would never have the smarts to make moves like this at such key times. I'd be hard pressed to find a tiny independent game developer who systematically grew their success like you have. Well played and good luck whatever happens.

What I find odd is that Com2us already have their own MLB and MLB General Manager license games - so why would they buy another one? Are they going to implement this game or their games into this one and it becomes another one of their mobile/android pay to win fests? Probably as we all know how these things end but I agree why is there no more answers.

[Markus Heinsohn]

Originally Posted by One Post Wonder

So what is changing? Assuming everyone on your team is staying and on the Com2uS payroll, is Com2uS going to be bankrolling this and making the final decisions on what gets into the game? Are they going to make all the decisions regarding pricing and DLC/transactions? Are they deciding what licenses to get with what organizations? Are they determining what the release date is and how much time you're going to spend on bug fixes?

If you had read what I posted in this thread, you'd already know the answers.

We have been performing great, we have been growing exponentially the last several years and we are extremely profitable. If you were Com2uS, would you go in and change a thing? No, of course not. What you would do is keep the winning formula and help with marketing, localization and mobile development, where they have a much better technical knowledge and resources than we do. And that's it

[Ile]

Congratulations! Well earned.

I played Com2Us game Summoner's War for several years, and spent more hours than I'd like to admit with it. Imho it's one of the better (probably the best) fremium mobile companies, and Summoner's War was/is an absolute gem of a mobile game although it's a very different genre from OOTP/PT obviously. But there are some features/mechanics that could easily be translated between the games (I mean for PT, not OOTPB).

It makes me quite excited for Perfect Team on mobile to be honest! If they don't get involved and it stays the same, that's great. But even if they would get involved in PT, I really don't think it would be bad at all. We would most likely see more reasons to interact with PT, such as log in rewards, events, missions and what not. The way PT is set up now isn't quite how Com2Us runs their mobile games, they usually focus a lot (like most mobile game developers) on interaction rather than the more "idle" style PT has now where you could just let it run for a few weeks and log in to a lot of PP. In Summoner's War, Com2Us were (again imho) very, very generous with freebies, so I wouldn't worry too much about PT. When it comes to OOTP as a mobile product, I'm certain that this is great news!

Anyway, super stoked for both the dev team and PT! Congrats again!

[Pineywoods OOTPer]

Markus

First of all, congrats. This is well deserved for you and the team. A toast to all of you. I have enjoyed OOTP for now almost 12 years and think it is still far above anything else out there.

My only question is in regards to the beta team and testing: With events happening, will this continue?

[clamel]

I do hope you guys got a lot of cash for this. It's the best sport-sim on the market, but now I fear BIG companies will start meddling around one bit at the time and soon they call the shots. Greed will be the target for this as most big company games. Look at EAS and their sim games. They go with market. Graphic, graphic and then some stats.

I can only see a dark tunnel in years to come. Gladly I'm old enough not to mind that much.

You have developed this game superbly in more than 20 years and always been in close contact with players. I don't think that will be the case in a couple of years, and definitley not when the core of braintrust might be gone in some year time.

Lets hope I'm wrong, but this is a turn of event I really don't see be to the better of the interaction between company and players.

Bitte Markus, prove me wrong. But good luck to you and Andreas in the future

[One Post Wonder]

Originally Posted by Markus Heinsohn

If you had read what I posted in this thread, you'd already know the answers.

We have been performing great, we have been growing exponentially the last several years and we are extremely profitable. If you were Com2uS, would you go in and change a thing? No, of course not. What you would do is keep the winning formula and help with marketing, localization and mobile development, where they have a much better technical knowledge and resources than we do. And that's it

I read it, I just have a hard time believing it's that simple. If that's all they wanted to do, why not just propose a co-operative effort instead of buying you out? I've never seen a business arrangement where a new owner just minds their own business and leaves a new acquisition alone.

In their place, with no emotional attachment to the franchise or existing community, I'd absolutely make changes. I'd look at what is bringing in the money, which is Perfect Team, and ensure that development on that is emphasized 100% while doing the bare minimum on the base game. I'd especially be looking that direction if my company had already worked quite a lot with similar game models to PT. Then I'd make every effort to create something similar to Perfect Team in FHM, assuming I'd keep FHM at all considering it probably isn't a major earner.

And if my experience was in mobile game development I'd push a stripped down version of OOTP which could be played on a mobile device and prioritize that, too, in the interests of getting PT in front of as many players as I could. They might make more money off the OOTP name in 2 years than you made in 20, but it won't be the same game.

I'm not some MBA business expert or professional investigator, mind. I'm just a random internet guy voicing some skepticism, and my opinion doesn't make any difference in the end. Skeptics or not, we're all going to take your word for it and see what OOTP22 looks like. Time will tell. You guys have certainly earned your payout regardless, and I think I speak for everyone when I wish you the best.

[Markus Heinsohn]

Originally Posted by One Post Wonder

I read it, I just have a hard time believing it's that simple. If that's all they wanted to do, why not just propose a co-operative effort instead of buying you out?

Because you see great potential and a lot of profit coming. Then why not keep it all, and hence buy the whole thing...? Really, it's that simple.

[ablobj]

Originally Posted by One Post Wonder

I read it, I just have a hard time believing it's that simple. If that's all they wanted to do, why not just propose a co-operative effort instead of buying you out? I've never seen a business arrangement where a new owner just minds their own business and leaves a new acquisition alone.

It's actually pretty common for one company to buy out another while keeping the product exactly the same.

[kcroyalgm]

Originally Posted by Markus Heinsohn

Because you see great potential and a lot of profit coming. Then why not keep it all, and hence buy the whole thing...? Really, it's that simple.

Really it's not. Unless you are naïve.

[CoolDudeWill]

Congratulations to your team, this is a big milestone and a recognition of your years of hard work.

Does this potentially free up development time to focus on new projects (eg Inside the Park Baseball 2)?

[Tony-OH]

Originally Posted by Markus Heinsohn

Hey guys,

this thread is intended to answer questions about the big news posted here:
https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...d.php?t=321116

I will update this post and answer all the questions that come in and which I can answer

Cheers,
Markus

Q: How long do you intend to stay on board before the next project?
A: I have absolutely no plans to leave the company anytime soon. It's my dream job and what I can do best, so why change? Andreas will retire in about 3 years, he's already a grizzled veteran.

Q: I know that COM2US has kinda good in-game graphics in their mobile games, such as MLB 9innings. Can I expect their graphic nohows can be adapted into OOTP pc?
A: We do not know yet how the 3D engine of the Com2uS products work, so for the short- & medium-term future, the OOTP 3D engine will stay in place.

Q: And do you expect a change in the billing policy to occur? I know that Korean games are very charge-inducing.
A: No change here, shop systems will remain the same.

Q: Will there be a price increase for the next product?
A: I am pretty sure the answer to that is no. We have toyed with that idea in the past, since games have been at the same price for decades while everything else got more expensive, but I think $39.99 is still the sweet-spot for us.

Q: I know Com2us has a different league license (eg KBO). So, do you have any plans to make other leagues a reality like MLB?
A: Yes, that is the plan.

Q: As you know, Korean fans of OOTP have long wanted to translate OOTP into Korean. Is it finally the moment they've been waiting for?
A; Yes, translation work starts immediately and we hope it'll be done in time for the OOTP 22 launch.

Q: Congrats. What would you anticipate to be the biggest positive impact or difference in the game in 3 years due to this sale?
A: Thanks! I think all areas will benefit, as we now have bigger resources and more experience in the background. If I had to guess though, the biggest progress will probably be made with our mobile product(s), as here our experience so far has been quite limited.

Q: What does this mean for the development of PT? Will you be drawing on COM2US for development advice, given their track record in running microtransaction-model games?
A: They are very happy with PT, but you are right, they have lots of experience with these kind of game modes. We'll see if that experience can be applied to PT in a meaningful way... I personally expect this to happen more for marketing purposes than the game design itself.

Marcus, congrats if this means more money for you and the ley people. I will say as a historical player and one who wants better 3D graphics, I fear this will be the end to improvements in those areas and more of a focus on micro transactions and PT.

Either way, it's been a great run for you guys and if us historical players are left behind, we will just continue to play the versions we have and wish and dream upon our 1974 Orioles playing in a 3D Memorial Stadium with their all orange uniforms with Brooks Robinson using his short brimmed helmet. lol

Nothing wrong with doing what's best for you guys and following the models that are out there there. Good luck to all of you guys and I hope that for some reason 3D graphics will improve for historical players some day.

[Tony-OH]

Originally Posted by One Post Wonder

I read it, I just have a hard time believing it's that simple. If that's all they wanted to do, why not just propose a co-operative effort instead of buying you out? I've never seen a business arrangement where a new owner just minds their own business and leaves a new acquisition alone.

In their place, with no emotional attachment to the franchise or existing community, I'd absolutely make changes. I'd look at what is bringing in the money, which is Perfect Team, and ensure that development on that is emphasized 100% while doing the bare minimum on the base game. I'd especially be looking that direction if my company had already worked quite a lot with similar game models to PT. Then I'd make every effort to create something similar to Perfect Team in FHM, assuming I'd keep FHM at all considering it probably isn't a major earner.

And if my experience was in mobile game development I'd push a stripped down version of OOTP which could be played on a mobile device and prioritize that, too, in the interests of getting PT in front of as many players as I could. They might make more money off the OOTP name in 2 years than you made in 20, but it won't be the same game.

I'm not some MBA business expert or professional investigator, mind. I'm just a random internet guy voicing some skepticism, and my opinion doesn't make any difference in the end. Skeptics or not, we're all going to take your word for it and see what OOTP22 looks like. Time will tell. You guys have certainly earned your payout regardless, and I think I speak for everyone when I wish you the best.

I have the same sentiments. Marcus and his team deserve their payout for all of their hard work. But my guess is the future will be PT which I haven't touched or have any interest in touching. I just wanted better AI for in game play and 3D graphics for historical players. But, I'm probably in the minority and certainly understand they need to go where the money is and a stripped down mobile version full of micro transactions will most likely be the focus.

Sure, we may get some small enhancements for the full game but this company has no experience or desire to be in that market from what I've read about them.

But hey, I can play a lot of years on OOTP 21 and still enjoy things and Marcus and his crew deserve any "riches" they can get after all of their hard work over the years.

[Cards>Cubs]

I am happy for Markus. You have more than earned your payout.

I mean this with all due respect...

There is no way that this company isnt going to alter the development focus of OOTP franchise. No chance they leave things "as is". A little research into this company leaves me with little doubt.

So again, congrats on everything on a personal level however this is a turning point for OOTP and to think otherwise is extremely naive.

[AESP_pres]

More focus on pay to win and graphic... nice, guess I will have to wait a while to buy OOTP22 next year.

I just don't see the point if we don't get real 19th century again with the real teams, the real leagues (AA, NA, NL, PL and UL) progression and the missing minor league years... after a while it became frustrating to buy every years to never get something factual historically speaking that should have been done years ago.

[BaseballGOAT]

Relatively new to the party, but being very business savvy, it feels like this game has probably or will very soon peak for the long time core players. This company can say all the right things about letting the current leadership control the direction of the game. But, they now own the game 100% and can decide at any point to replace the entire current dev staff if they so choose. It now becomes a ticking clock until their direction of the game, seems to be graphics and micro transactions becomes the defining characteristics rather than current regime's desire to be an accurate representation of what baseball really is, a grand game where things more pay to win and more life like graphics are less important than a correct output of the game of baseball. I love that the current regime as done such an amazing job at accurately predicting the playoffs for MLB TV. . I for one will be anxious to see how OOTP22 looks and then deciding if I buy 21 or 22 on Steam to make sure I can play this game the way it has been represented for a longer period of time. Either way I will most likely still by the standalone version of 22 unless there is absolutely nothing of interest in the new features as my actual wish list for this game is increasingly getting smaller

[SirSaab]

Having played MLB 9Innings on mobile for over three years now, I can say that Com2 does not have the greatest track record with responding to users, nor with monetization methods (9Innings has progressively become Ad Hell, and they were always heavy on VERY expensive microtransactions). They’re basically an absentee in player/user interaction.

That said, I can see the benefits for both Com2 and OOTP. Perfect Team is already right up Com2’s wheelhouse, and is already basically a more fleshed out version of what 9Innings offers. Com2 gains not only that revenue stream, but also whatever revenue is generated by the core OOTP offering. I can’t see Com2 bringing a lot to the table dev-wise when it comes to the core game, but that also leads me to believe that the claim that the current OOTP dev team will be left intact holds water.

As far as what OOTP gains, the biggest thing I see is an acceleration of OOTP Mobile. Or perhaps a re- / cross-branding of OOTP and 9Innings. This works out well for Markus and crew, so far as I can tell, because they can now lean on Com2’s already-established group of mobile devs to move that initiative forward.

The ONLY concern I have, with my personal experience with Com2 and 9Innings, is that they somehow begin to monetize the core game with microtransactions, ie: “60’s MLB Roster Pack - $99.” ...and that priceline isn’t an exaggeration if you’re at all familiar with 9Innings (where a SINGLE, RANDOMIZED card can cost $50-$99!).

Now imagine that happens for every era, major and minor leagues. That’s my only fear. If that does not come to pass, then I’d be comfortable calling this a win-win acquisition.

[BusterKing]

Great for Markus and company. Well deserved.

OOTP21 best so far, I even bought it on Steam the other day. Just making sure that I have this one well saved since future releases... well we just don't know but still hoping for the best.