New independent games company that will offer original content via digital download
Fed up with the current business model that limits independent game developers today, industry veterans Greg Costikyan and Dr. Johnny Wilson today announced the formation of a new independent games company called Manifesto Games.
Costikyan and Wilson have been frustrated by the fact that the video game industry has made it increasingly difficult to bring "offbeat and niche" games to market, and they lament the notion that any game that sells fewer than 1 million units is deemed a failure.
According to the press release, Manifesto will employ a digital distribution method to sell its games. The site will offer gamers a place where they "can find ‘the best of the rest,’ the games that the retail channel doesn’t think worth carrying." Manifesto breaks down its offering into three types: truly independent, original content from creators without publisher funding; the best PC games from smaller PC game publishers, including games in existing genres like wargames, flight sims, and graphic adventures; and niche MMOs. They expect the site to carry content by early 2006.
