Does anyone have any sample business plans for starting a gaming company? Theres plenty of sample business plans on the web but couldnt find any for a gaming company.

Have you read through all the FAQs on this site?

What exactly are you looking to do? Funding from a publisher, or a school project where you need a sample plan to reference?

I've personally never seen any besides in a books.

Quote: Original post by skinhat
Does anyone have any sample business plans for starting a gaming company

Try this (finances of game development) and this (starting a game company). Get the book "Secrets of the Game Business" (Larramee, Charles River Media).

Quote: Original post by Mike2343
Have you read through all the FAQs on this site?

skinhat> Yes, I didnt see any business plans in the FAQ though.

What exactly are you looking to do? Funding from a publisher, or a school project where you need a sample plan to reference?

I'll tell you about my circumstances though it is quite long. I have an online RPG game where I've made a 3D client that works with a multi user dungeon and I want to eventually make the 3D client publicly available so that people can make their mud 3D (http://www.skinhat.com/3dclient for an overview). To promote my client I've worked on a game called Rhodes 3D (www.rhodes3d.com). This game, despite lots of work, is unpopular so I am at a point where I'm trying decide whether to continue. So I have been trying to talk to gaming companies to guage there reaction to my client. I also want to talk to venture capitalists to guage there reaction aswell. But to talk to venture capitalists I need a business plan or atleast the basics of a business plan which is why I'm asking the question in this forum. Maybe instead of writing a business plan I should ring a venture capitalist directly. They may be happy to listen to my ideas without a business plan.

I've personally never seen any besides in a books.

My thing about the FAQs wasn't for a business plan. It's to give you a realistic view of how little chance you have of this happening. People that have successfully published a game before would have a hard time selling a second game to a publisher (if they went on their own).

I wish you the best of luck with your plans though. Those links tsloper provided are basically the same thing in the FAQs.

shinkat wrote:
>I've personally never seen any [business plans] besides in a books.

Yes. Everybody who wrote a business plan had to do it without seeing another actual business plan. Those books give you enough information to write your own. Nobody publishes their actual business plans, because those contain confidential information (business secrets and individuals' financials). You have to do your best based on what you saw in those books. The articles I linked you to before delve into specifics of the game biz. You have to put 2 and 2 together.

Quote: But to talk to venture capitalists I need a business plan or at least the basics of a business plan which is why I'm asking the question in this forum. Maybe instead of writing a business plan I should ring a venture capitalist directly.

VCs want to invest a large lump of money into fast growing markets where they can get 10x - 100x their initial investment in less than 5 years. The desktop game market doesn't fit that profile, so there is no way in hell you will ever get a VC's attention. Your game is unpopular in the desktop market and from the little info you provided. The desktop game market is very crowded and a 3D MUD, even MMO'd, is not going to cut it big there.

How about the 3D / multiplayer cellphone gaming market?

Writing a business plan for a gaming company is the exact same as writing a business plan for any other company. This is where your high school English classes and any college Expository Writing 101 and 102 come in. You need an outline like such:

Introduction:
I: Name of company
II: Purpose

Market Analysis:
I: Current market
II: How the company will fill a part of the market
III: Planned Products and services
IV: Marketing, Advertising and Distribution

Potential Risks and Pitfalls
(Number the pitfalls and the plans to deal with them)

Management Plan:
I: Initial Management and Board of Directors
II: Hiring Plans
III: Staffing and Financial Projections

Summary



That should help you with the outline. You will have to write your own plan, because only you know what your plan is. :)