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This week's SGW weekly radio.
nolf
Member UncommonPosts: 869
More from the rumor mill, the guys from SGWWeekly.com claimed that about MGM "stepped in" at Firesky/CME. Haven't seen any official statements to the effect, but they are claiming it to be true. Whether that means they are cutting their losses, or trying to kill the bad press for their franchise Whiting is bringing, they didn't say.
Never thought I'd be feeding the old rumor mill, but there it is.
So it sounds like either we're getting the help and protection against Whiting we hoped for, or SGW is about to go the way of Ole Yeller. (if this claim turns out to be true)
I, for one hope they see the value in a game and a new series launching simultaneously.
Show #9 is the one where they make this claim. It is NOT an officially sanctioned radio show, and from the sounds of it, not extremely reputable, but there it is.
I really hope that *insert game name here* will be the first game to ever live up to all of its pre-release promises, maintain a manageable hype level and have a clean release. Just don't expect me to hold my breath.
Comments
It would be nice if MGM stepped in after finding Whiting in breach of the license, or just take him to court to get it back. It's the only way I see for SGW to be successfull, I wouldn't buy or play it with Whiting at the helm. Maybe things will start looking up from here?
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience"
CS Lewis
I sure hope so, too! I am really looking forward to playing in the Stargate world, but cannot handle the prospect of pyramid-scheme guilds and likely Real-money markets (if the rest of Whiting's business models are any indication).
I hope that this report turns out to be true, and I hope MGM protects the best franchise they've got right now by making sure this thing gets done correctly on the business end. Part of my initial doubt in all of the horrific rumors stemmed from the fact that I really couldn't see MGM letting that stuff go on. So hopefully, Whiting is really out (or at least chained up in a dingy basement at the MGM Grand), and the press for this game can get back on track.
*fingers crossed*
I live in Vegas, you think they'd let me check their dingy basements while carrying around a baseball bat? Wishful thinking, I guess=P
I really hope that *insert game name here* will be the first game to ever live up to all of its pre-release promises, maintain a manageable hype level and have a clean release. Just don't expect me to hold my breath.
First off Thank you so much for listening to the Show! You pretty much got my quote right but you missed placed a few Key things and changed a few words around :P To clairify, we are a weekly Radio Show dedicated to mainly Stargate Worlds but pretty much anything in the Stargate Franchise. YES, we do speculate! BUT, we also do get our news facts FIRST! As for us being a reputable website and station, well I beg to differ. All of our stories are from public websites, we tell you first if its bull, or we think its on the level. We would never try to decive listeners, or fans of the MMORPG or the Stargate Franchise for that matter because we are FANS first and would not want deception or negativity on the franchise as a whole. As for us being unofficial.. well... that could change.. you never know!
Yesterday I discussed a little info I found broswing around looking for anything new(since it has been so dry over here for us
) When I came across this http://whois.domaintools.com/stargateworlds.com . Now this cleary states that Gary Whiting is no longer control of the stargateworlds.com, here is what came up:
Registrant:
Domain Admin
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc.
10250 Constellation Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90067
US
Last updated: 2009-01-21
Now granted this is news from a few months ago but we were left in the dark about this. Digging a little deeper by going to the FireSky website(the Publishers of SGW) GW no longer has any Connections to this company. Now as of now and as far as I know GW is still on the board of directors for CME.
Ok, so now that the facts have been presented let me tell you the "speculation" part of this. I personally(dec0y) think that MGM stepping in is a sign that they think the bad press from GW and his whole itzyourmall.com and other Pryamid Based Schemes, could potenially damage the Stargate Franchise. So they have a decision, to either let the game die or continue on with development.(Now I would have not known exactly what they would have done but MGM took back the IP from GW on January 21st of this year. So that means development has STILL been going on afterwards). We also get the reassurances from TTKSNOW the CM about how the game is still progressing forward. In fact let me quote em
[QUOTE]
Lack of recent content being released has not relation to the depth of content in our game. Currently you can spend hours in many aspects of the game (like reverse engineering). We'll try to meet your exceptions for more information, however sooner than later it will be too much information that will be coming out. Hope the wikis can keep up. [/QUOTE]
But on a serious note, Thank you for listening to the show. Just wanted to clairify what exactly was said and "not said" on the show. We look forward to you and many more listening in. If you have any further questions, comments please send them to SGW.Weekly@Gmail.com -dec0y
::::::Stargate Worlds Weekly:::::
basicly CME dont have the license, firesky has the license for SGW now all CME are doing is the building of the game. Also Firesky is not the same company as CME due to the fact GW has no place on the management team. The thing is MGM owns the stargateworlds site at the moment now. We dont know what this means at the moment but I sense Firesky might look for a new developer if GW keeps dragging the stargate franchise through the dirt.
FireSky is a subsidiary of CME, and not a separate company.
Gary Whiting is the chairman of the board of FireSky. In fact, if you compare CME's Board of Directors and Management team, they are identical to the ones posted on FireSky's site (unfortunately, you'll have to navigate the Flash viewer to find the info, under Company => Management and Board of Directors).
Edit:
As far as I can remember, GW was never on the management team of any of these companies. However, as CoB (and presumably the majority stockholder), he can, through the board, hire and fire the executive management (including CEO), so this effectively gives him control of the company.
I think too much is being read into who controls the domain name entry for stargateworlds.com . It is completely reasonable that MGM would want ownership of this domain, because if someone else held it and they went bankrupt, the domain name would be part of the assets that could be bought out by another interest, and therefore MGM might lose control of the "stargate" name. Do we know that CME had ownership of stargateworlds.com before?
SGW DECOY, Thank you for coming in to clarify! I enjoy your show every week, and it was VERY exciting to hear your report on this. (Viva la revolution! Off with the MMOGULs heads!)
My intention was not to discredit your show's reputability! I was merely trying to point out, that much like everything else, I have no solid proof in my hand, that I was hearing this second hand from PI-RATE RADIOOOOOO (hehe, j/k on that of course). As usual, I screwed another thing up trying to convey that, which was making your show out to be something lesser than it is. I listen and enjoy every week!
Anyway, thanks for coming by to clearly explain what you guys found, and thanks for SGW-Weekly!
I really hope that *insert game name here* will be the first game to ever live up to all of its pre-release promises, maintain a manageable hype level and have a clean release. Just don't expect me to hold my breath.
Firesky is owned by the founder GW, GW is also a director as well as owner of both CME and Firesky. You only have to go through the threads on this forum to see that, however I know you have. As Zhiroc said, did MGM always own the site or was there a previous owner until recently?
Also what are you talking about when yopu say Firesky maybe looking for a new developer? It's owned by the same guy that owns CME and as far as we know the rights to create and sell SGW anyway he sees fit. If you were correct and CME and Firesky were seperate companies not owned by the same crook your statement would be the same as saying,
"Sony might be looking for a new developer since Rusty keeps dragging the name of PotBS through the dirt".
Unless you have evidence that can be linked here that GW no longer owns Firesky or the license to SG please try to hold back on the FanOri denial that is so rampant on the official forums.
As for this info as Zhiroc said we need to know who owned the site before, did MGM always own it? Or has it just changed hands? Either way since CME are so quiet and their statements so unreliable all we can do is scour the net for info to speculate on. Unless you're a FanOri and still believe CME has no connection with the business upstairs from them owned by their Chairman and founder, ooops I meant MMOGULS!
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience"
CS Lewis
Hmm. Here is the text about Gary Whiting from the Board of Directors section of the Firesky website:
Gary Whiting is the founder of Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, Inc. In 2005, Mr. Whiting recognized the potential for an MMORPG that could be tapped by forming a strategic relationship with MGM and licensing the Stargate franchise. He arranged for the initial funding to establish the company and to recruit key industry talent to manage the operations of the business.
Mr. Whiting also serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of ItzYourMall, a loyalty-rewards discount card company with operations throughout the United States. Mr. Whiting founded this company in response to a need for a better product not only for himself but others in his field as well.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Whiting served as counsel to the Administrative Rules Review Committee. In this capacity, he found the need to do online research but found no cost effective way to do so. This circumstance inspired Mr. Whiting to start a company that provided law research tools on a CD-ROM that were affordable and user-friendly. This company, originally called MobileScan, turned into ItzYourMall, after Mr. Whiting saw the opportunity to offer a savings mall program to fellow lawyers and eventually all people across the U.S.
Mr. Whiting is an established entrepreneur with both legal and management expertise and has management experience with the Utah State Legislature and companies including Para Mas and many others. Mr. Whiting has a master’s degree in public administration from the BYU Law School.
I can't find any information that says GW owns it, but the history page tells me all I need to read:
Our Humble Beginnings
Like most big ideas, everything here at FireSky began with a tiny spark. In the summer of 2002, three game designers* and raving fans of the Stargate movie and TV series had an idea. They wanted to create a massively multiplayer online game (MMO) based on the Stargate franchise. The nascent project was called Stargate Worlds™, and the name stuck like a plasma grenade to the cranium.
The first monumental task was to convince Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), the owner of the Stargate license that now was the right time to make it happen. Armed with a preliminary design, a business plan, and an unhealthy amount of after-shave, the passionate trio began the dialogue with MGM and soon they were on their way.
In 2005, visionary businessman Gary Whiting founded Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment (CME) and began building the team that would make Stargate Worlds a reality. A native of Arizona, Gary realized the potential of online gaming and knew that if the team was going to build the Southwest’s next great company, it would have to start recruiting the best in the industry. So after a lot of searching, Joe Ybarra, a 25-year industry veteran, joined the team. Soon afterwards, CEO Tim Jensen came on board. Between Joe’s experience building great online games at companies like EA and Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment and Tim’s experience building companies into billion dollar powerhouses, CME now had the foundation to build a world-class development studio.
By 2007, this tiny company in the desert had grown to over 100 industry veterans working away in four air-conditioned development studios. With so much talent in house, CME finally had the chops to not only make fresh games, but publish them worldwide. So under Tim and Joe’s leadership, along with the additions of industry vets Rod Nakamoto, James Jones and Darren Steele, CME transformed once again into a global games publisher, FireSky, Inc.
The name FireSky pays homage to the legendary phoenix that is the namesake of our company’s capital city. This mythical bird born of fire reinvents itself again and again. It’s like a much cooler version of a caterpillar … on fire.
Six years later, the spark that began with three game designers is now a global developer and publisher with a fresh take on the game industry. As we continue to evolve, you can be sure that we’ll retain the same passion to create great games that has taken us this far (but not the same office furniture).
*Jim Brown, Todd Ellering and Daryl Wofford originally brought the idea for Stargate Worlds to Gary Whiting.
At this point, it looks inaccurate to say Firesky and CME are different things. Looks like it's all one company with the same management. The same names pop up for management and board of directors on the Firesky website and the CME website. Let's just hope MGM is involved and doing something positive.
Edited to add a snippet of the Terms of Service page at Firesky, which lists CME as the parent company. Additionally, every page of the Firesky website says its trademark is copyrighted to CME at the exact same address:
The Services (as defined below) that Firesky, LLC (together with its successors and assigns, "Firesky," the "Company" or "we") provides to you via www.firesky.com, www.stargateworlds.com and all other websites owned, operated, licensed or controlled by Firesky or its parent, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, Inc. (collectively, the "Firesky Sites") are subject to the following Terms of Service ("Terms of Service"); provided, that if such sites contain or link to a separate terms of use/service, then those separate terms of use/service shall apply to such sites. Firesky reserves the right to modify and update these Terms of Service at any time provided that it gives notice to you of any changes. Such modifications and updates shall be effective upon your first use of the Firesky Site or Services after Firesky makes them available for your review....All content, design and layout of the Firesky Sites: Copyright © 2008 Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, Inc., 4140 East Baseline Road #208, Mesa, Arizona . All rights reserved.
Geeked for FFXIV
Freelance FFXIV guide author for Ten Ton Hammer.com
The only data I can find about the ownership of Firesky comes from the state of Nevada public access trademark database, where it lists "Managing Member - CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN GAMES, INC." The good news is that a list of officers is due in October of this year. I guess we can find out more then.
Geeked for FFXIV
Freelance FFXIV guide author for Ten Ton Hammer.com
Since Firesky is a wholly owned subsidiary of CME, you can just look up CME's information. I've found it in both AZ's and NV's state websites:
You will note that GW is the only Director listed on the board. CME's web site lists a Keith Deering as another, GW being chairman. However, it seems that Deering is inactive or has resigned, as he was listed initially in the Application for Authority in the AZ record, but his name no longer appears on the AZ 2008 Annual Report.
Since the board of directors represents the "owners" of a corporation, and since GW is the only director, he controls the company by virtue of being able to fire the CEO if they don't do what he wants. Even if he is only the chairman of a two-person board, I imagine he could do the same.
If you look at the AZ 2008 annual report, the only stockholder with more than a 20% interest is "Garrick Enterprises, LLC". There is no such entity in AZ, but there is one in NV. It has one "manager": GW.
And while I was at it, here is the corporate record for MMOGULS in NV. The Director, President, Treasurer, and Secretary is.... GW.
There's also a number of other interesting corporations in NV, such as CM Games, CM Marketing, CM Productions, and CM Software.
Here's a question for you guys (agri, zhiroc, whoever), and I'm going to preface it with this:
I'm not a fanori (i love that term), I am just a prospective player of this game. I would love to see it make release, and not connected to any pyramid scheme type crap. I am not making statements about how likely or unlikely this is, just that I hope it. I'm only here trying to figure out what the hell is going on like the rest of us, and I'm not here to fight with or flame you. I am just trying to understand all of this.
I'm trying to wrap my head around all the different businesses being subsidiaries of one another, and who owns rights to what. Tell me if this is right:
GW owns/runs Firesky/CME.
Firesky/CME owns rights to make a SG MMO, bought from MGM.
MGM owns rights to Stargate franchise.
Is it even possible for MGM to "STEP IN" at Firesky/CME? Or would they only be able to revoke the rights for them to make the game. The only thing I can think of would be MGM buying out Firesky/CME. Am I just misunderstanding the situation?
And again, please don't pull the whole MMOGULs thing into this question, thats a whole separate complication, I'm just trying to verify if what the radio show says is what's actually going on/even possible.
I really hope that *insert game name here* will be the first game to ever live up to all of its pre-release promises, maintain a manageable hype level and have a clean release. Just don't expect me to hold my breath.
It is possible for MGM to step in if Gary Whiting breaches any terms of the contract he has with them concerning the SG license. Though this doesn't mean SGW would continue, they'd have to purchase the rights to the software from GW something like Sony taking over Vanguard and buying out Brad McQuaid. MGM could take GW to court to get the license back if there's been no breach of contract, if his actions damaged the SG IP it would be sufficient reason to do so.
But you're correct, for GW to go and SGW to be released this year someone would need to have the license and own the work done so far and employ some of the CME DEVS. It could end up being SOE as MGM is owned by Sony, they may pull the license and buy the game from CME then hand it all to SOE. Otherwise they sell the license to another company and they make the decision wether to buy the game from CME or start from scratch themselves.
MGM stepping in could result in many different scenarios, but I don't see any where GW is still in charge of SGW since the game itself isn't in question but rather the boss of the company making it and his actions. Don't worry I'll only label you a FanOri after atleast two posts where you refer to fire and brimstone and three of total blind faith denial!
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience"
CS Lewis
Technically, I would say that GW controls CME and FireSky, and probably owns a majority stake in the company (though it seems, indirectly as it is Garrick Enterprises LLC that he also controls that really owns the shares). GW is not really "running" the company, as that tends to imply the day-to-day management that is usually given to the CEO (Tim Jenson, I believe). However, as the chairman of the board (and it seems now, the only board member registered with either AZ or NV), GW can fire the CEO, which gives him control over policies and strategies.
In more exact terms, I think that CME has been granted a license by MGM to use the SG IP in a game. I wouldn't use the term "own the rights" though perhaps it's the same thing.
I have no idea what the terms of this license might be. There is probably a set time limit, which would be the easiest way for CME to lose the license without drawing a lawsuit. MGM might be able to pay GW to give up the license. This might be another quick way, especially if GW begins to think that bringing SGW to market will return him less than the offer.
However, a lawsuit that would allege a breach of the license terms and thus a forfeiture of it would probably take a long time, and would probably close SGW down completely, if GW is still counting on new investors to fund another 6-12 months of development (who would invest lots of money with that kind of risk). And I bet such a lawsuit would take a year or more to be resolved.
An interesting question here is whether MGM knew of GW's plan to use SGW in an MLM scheme. Based on other information, it looks like MMOGULS wasn't set up to primarily fund SGW's development, as I've been told that there are a lot of people in the AZ area that "own shares" of CME. Perhaps he was counting on these investments to fund the development, which was intended to complete last year, and then spring MMOGULS on everyone as the game was getting ready to release. If MGM knew of it, then I just have to shake my head as they would then be implicitly part of the problem. If not, then maybe this might violate some terms in the license.
Thank you to both Agri, and Zhir for your replies.
Hearing that Sony owns MGM makes me want to cry. Basically, even IF they step in to get this game released, it would likely be an SOE game. Already been through that ringer a couple of times. *sighs*
I still live in hope, but ouch. Just ouch.
I hope hope hope that MGM steps in gets this cleaned up, and out of SOE's hands. Sounds like a LOT to hope for!
I really hope that *insert game name here* will be the first game to ever live up to all of its pre-release promises, maintain a manageable hype level and have a clean release. Just don't expect me to hold my breath.
Take a look at this click, certainly adds fuel to the SOE fire. An option in SOE account manager to purchase Stargate Online TCGs! Unless it was just a wind up? Then they must be getting really bored waiting for info on the official forums, perhaps the FanOri are ready to revolt?
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience"
CS Lewis
You mean Stargate: The Card Game? cause thats what that is. lol
I think the trading card game has been out a while now. I certainly recall it (and the horror of SOE, though in perspective, I think the horror of MMOGULS is worse) being discussed on the SGW forums at least a year ago.
I didn't realize SOE has been running a Stargate Online TCG for sometime already. Since it has no connection to SGW as far as I can tell, sorry for linking it. Just that with the rumours of MGM stepping in and them being owned by Sony I could feel the four horsemen of the NGE approaching,
Hunger: Julio Torres
War: Jeff Freeman
Pestilence: Brad McQuad
Death: Darth Smedley
I apologize for over reacting, but I'm a recovering Pre-CU VET and got some nasty flashbacks!
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience"
CS Lewis
No worries
just to clarify on the MGM thing again. Not to sure exactly what that means yet. We have been doing a lot of digging to find out whats what and who owns what. Were hoping within the next few weeks we will be able to understand more.
TTKSnow the Community Manager for SGW Forums also release this comment about SGW and SOE
"lol Frigid! I think I'd have a chair smashed over my back if in some bizarre universe SGW went to SOE."
http://forums.stargateworlds.com/showpost.php?p=608841&postcount=8
If (and that would be a big if) there was any movement of switching development to SOE, I doubt that anyone at CME would know about before it happens. It would probably involve GW getting paid off to release the license, which would be quickly followed by CME and MMOGULS (most likely) being shut down. I don't think any of them could survive without SGW as their flagship product.
but GW does not own the IP for Stargate anymore. Thats a known fact! April 2008, Firesky now owns the IP. GW has nothing to do with FireSky anymore on April 2008.
You cannot trust the CME website(and the FireSky one) for they are owned by GW and the information on them is wrong. He put up false statictics to get more investors and the like.
but GW does not own the IP for Stargate anymore. Thats a known fact! April 2008, Firesky now owns the IP. GW has nothing to do with FireSky anymore on April 2008.
You cannot trust the CME website(and the FireSky one) for they are owned by GW and the information on them is wrong. He put up false statictics to get more investors and the like.
Well GW owns Firesky and CME, it has been proved so in these forums multiple times. If you wish to prove otherwise please link the information, how about showing us a link of who owns Firesky now? If GW is no longer the owner who is and where is the information that backs this up? I'm willing to look over this information and change my opinion accordingly, until then GW owns CME and Firesky and the SGW license.
Not saying you're wrong, just I'd like to see the information and know who the new owner of Firesky and the SGW license is.
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience"
CS Lewis
From what I see, this can't be true. One of the following must be false, which by looking at state corporation records on the web, I have seen evidence for:
I posted links to the relevant state info in this post. There is no FireSky registered in the state of AZ, only NV. It is a limited liability corp, not a full corporation. And you can confirm that CME is the only "managing member".
To me, this says that CME controls FireSky, and since GW can control CME, GW therefore can control FireSky.
While GW isn not listed as executive management, the board can replace executive management, so if there was a conflict between what he wanted to do and what the CEO, etc. wanted, he could fire them all and put himself or someone who would do it in their place. This is why you see a lot of corporations have a single person as chairman/president/CEO
Edit:
I just noticed that FireSky is actually a subsidiary of Cheyenne Mountain Games (registered in NV), not CME. It doesn't change the argument though, since GW is the only director of that corp as well. And also President, I just noticed. There is no CEO registered there.
One caveat here is that the records I can see date back to 2005. There seem to be updated lists in the amendments, but I can't see how to download those from the NV website.
Now here are fewof the links i have about everything "we" have found
http://www.massively.com/2008/04/17/theres-a-fire-in-the-sky/ <-- Note the Date
http://forum.gateworld.net/showpost.php?p=5115161&postcount=61
[QUOTE]"So, the short version is, three geeky Stargate fans got the bright idea of making a Stargate MMO, and pushed, prodded and probed until they actually made it happen. Yes, Dorthy, there is an Oz, if you bug enough people to let you make it. Once that ball was rolling, it was astounding how many in this industry really wanted this to happen, and how many doors opened to us." [/QUOTE]
http://www.taetechnologies.com/clients.html
Look at the News Page after that and I quote
[QUOTE]25-January-2006
MGM Interactive and Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment formally announced their agreement to develop Stargate Worlds, an MMO-RPG based on the popular Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis franchise. View more information at http://www.cheyenneme.com. TAE president Todd Ellering is a founder of Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment.[/QUOTE]
So how can GW be the founder if TAE President Todd Ellering founded it.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/30228/FireSky-snaps-up-Stargate-licence <-- Note the Date
http://209.85.129.132/search?q=cache:6MCohaVhrokJ:www.2008.loginconference.com/materials/Ybarra%2520-%2520Let%27s%2520Go%2520to%2520Hollywood.ppt+firesky+SGW+license&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk
Now this was a find! Cached Presentation from Joe Ybarra on May 7th, 2008. If you scroll through and read its all about FireSky, nothing about CME.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3587/y_control_joe_ybarra_on_cheyenne_.php
[QUOTE]I'm slightly unclear on how the company got started. Were the internal studios all hired completely from scratch, or did you annex existing teams?
Joe Ybarra: Well, yeah, the short version is: Yes, we built everything from scratch. And I'm trying to think now if there's an exception to that statement. I guess not, because we did pursue the possibility of an acquisition at one point, but for whatever reason, that didn't come through. So, we pretty much built the studio from scratch.
We started the company in July of 2005, and the company was basically started by a group of people that had a relationship with MGM, three years prior to 2005, for the rights to get the online versions of Stargate. And it took them about three years to find Gary Whiting, who is the chairman of our company, and our primary fund raiser. And so he thought, "Well, gee, this sounds like a really interesting idea, trying to do an MMO based on the science fiction TV show."[/QUOTE]
So all in all heres the rundown of what "we" think happened. Note this is speculation but it seems that one person was saying one thing and the right person was saying another. Something big happened in April of last year and they kept quiet about it. So we have proven that GW did not make FireSky(Even though he says he did). In fact he wasnt even involved for three years b4 they needed money. So technically he started by just being the money finder. Also the three gentlemen that started SGW and brought the idea to MGM and started developing it, how come there is NOOOO info on them? We found that very odd. It would seem that GW saw this as a idea to sell all his pyramid schemes and the like. I think FireSky caught on to this right before all those articles came out in April of last year and spaced themselves from him. With the whole MGM taking over Stargate Worlds.com could mean there stepping in, but could also be used as a space holder till CME folds and FireSky picks up the developers they need from the rubble. Also a nother tidbit(sorry kind of a rant, but we have been searching the interwebz to make sure we can back up our facts first) is GW owns both the FireSky website and CME website, therefore we feel you cannot trust the information on there. Look at the CME website, as a Stargate Worlds hopeful player even I can say that those facts are lies. Why? Because GW uses that to sell his schemes and the like. Im sure there is more that I am forgetting so please do apologize as this is a long enough post
Also note: FireSky is Developing SGW | CME is just coding it. There is a difference!
As you know, anybody can say anything in the press and forums. Terms like "founder" can be really loose. In fact, one of your first links was very explicit about how the founders of the developers team got together, created the idea, and then went out to get funding, which GW provided. And this is why games often fail: the people who develop it do not control their company. The investors do, because, well, it's their money being spent.
From a legal standpoint, the only truth that matters is the legal structure, and the state corporation records are the nearest thing to truth.
If you look in Nevada, this whole corporate structure is pretty odd, if you ask me. Obscure, perhaps. Bordering on dodgy. GW is the director of a number of similar companies: Cheyenne Mountain Games/Entertainment/Productions/Marketing, and there's a Cheyenne Mountain Software run by Tim Jenson, the CEO of CME.
And then there's the fact that FireSky is actually a subsidiary of CMG, not CME.
I'm tempted to actually order the updated amendments from NV just to see that nothing big has changed.