+Audioboxer Subscriber² Posted September 20, 2012 Subscriber² Share Posted September 20, 2012 ?Yeah, yeah, I really am,? he tells us. ?I really play. I?m in a Null-sec corp, the whole bit. The games I?m playing right now are Planetside 2, Dota 2 and Eve. Eve used to be the forefront game, but now it?s the background game because I don?t have a choice, I?m having too much fun in Planetside 2. And Dota 2 I?m playing a lot with my kids right now.?Few people of Smedley?s seniority in the industry are quite so comfortable talking about games, and the people that play them. Players are consumers, or users; games are products or services. Smedley ? who in further contrast to his peers is candid and outspoken throughout our interview ? believes people like that have no place in the game industry. ?In my opinion, people that don?t play games have no business in this business,? he says. ?It should be the gamers-only club, I think. I can?t stand people that don?t know what they?re talking about when it comes to playing these things.? Source: http://www.edge-online.com/news/soe-president-john-smedley-people-that-dont-play-games-have-no-business-in-this-business/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big b0b Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 how could you design a car if you never drove one ;). Charisma 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLegendOfMart Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 I think hes talking more about the people that make the decisions and run the companies, people that are hired from other successful non-gaming companies to manage things.......... and I complete agree, people like Bobby Kotick. MightyJordan 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 I don't agree. Running any business requires a certain set of skills, and especially at executive levels those skills can be applied to almost any industry. Business is business, as they say. Sure, it helps to have a deep understanding of the industry you're in, but I wouldn't say it was a requirement. This is where having the right people around you comes in. Any gaps in your knowledge or ability can be filled by middle and lower management. In fact, I might be more concerned that he spends as much time as he does "playing", instead of "running the company" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dead.cell Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 I don't agree. Running any business requires a certain set of skills, and especially at executive levels those skills can be applied to almost any industry. Business is business, as they say. Sure, it helps to have a deep understanding of the industry you're in, but I wouldn't say it was a requirement. This is where having the right people around you comes in. Any gaps in your knowledge or ability can be filled by middle and lower management. In fact, I might be more concerned that he spends as much time as he does "playing", instead of "running the company" Tell that to Bethesda. Todd Howard seems to have no issues taking his vision where he wants it, while being a big fan of the world he's had a hand in creating. Valve too is a fantastic example of a company that doesn't just bend their consumers over the table, but rather focus on delivering quality content first and foremost. I think the big difference here is that one group likes to focus on delivering a quality product, whereas the other looks to focus on making money. Getting paid should be a priority yes, but it shouldn't trump building a quality product... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+LogicalApex MVC Posted September 20, 2012 MVC Share Posted September 20, 2012 I don't agree. Running any business requires a certain set of skills, and especially at executive levels those skills can be applied to almost any industry. Business is business, as they say. Sure, it helps to have a deep understanding of the industry you're in, but I wouldn't say it was a requirement. This is where having the right people around you comes in. Any gaps in your knowledge or ability can be filled by middle and lower management. In fact, I might be more concerned that he spends as much time as he does "playing", instead of "running the company" I would disagree with you. Business is not just business. The needs of consumers varies in all of them and the realities of the markets are not the same in a variety of ways. To know how you can cut costs at a company requires a deep understanding of what functions are more important over the long term. Otherwise, you'll harm future competitiveness to save money today... Such as the decision from Bob Nardelli to sack expensive, but knowledgeable, sales persons from Home Depot as a cost cutting move. It saved the company a great deal of money but really helped Lowe's out a lot... He also had no retail experience... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The King of GnG Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 And people who play ****ty games, then? :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakey Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 It doesn't take any skill to run a busines other than analyzing. To run a business, you just have to analyze. That is something most programmers and gamers are already great at. You don't need skills or even a degree for running a business. You just need to know the business that you're in, and how to make it thrive... aka what sells. To run a business, you look at yourself first. Then you look at the others around you that are the competition. Then you look at what they do and compare it to what you do. From there, you decide what actions would be more beneficial to your company that will let it grow. There is no sure fire way to success. You can't take a course and be like, "all we need to do is this." It is different for every company in every state/location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rippleman Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 to run a business, you don't even have to be smart, just have someone smart run it for you ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compl3x Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 The current state of the film and music industry are prime examples of what happens when suits dictate art. MightyJordan 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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