Last month Eurocom Entertainment Software laid off its remaining staff and ceased trading. This makes me sad firstly because they were a fantastic dev studio based on my doorstep in Northern England with over 20 years of history making games. But on a more personal level, it was my home for several years.
I got a job as a developer for Eurocom after finishing at University, and the amazing people there taught me more about games development in a month than any amount of study. I had the privilege of working alongside some true masters of game development, and some wonderful people that would give all the time in the world to teach the fresh faced newbie the tricks of the trade. I still have the lunchtime walks to feed Donkey etched into my memory as some of my happiest times; what I wouldn't give to relive them.
The good people of Eurocom also introduced me to Dragonforce, which is the best programming music ever and anyone who says otherwise just can't handle their awesomeness.
I wish the very best for everyone affected by Eurocom's closure. I'd love to hear from the hard to find friends that lost contact over the years (where are your Facebook profiles???); please get in touch if you ever read my ramblings.
On a less personal note, what does this mean for the industry? The decline in console game sales has been credited with Eurocom's untimely demise. Is this closure an indication that the industry is in trouble? Or is it just slowly changing to an online-only distribution model? The well known franchises that release vacuous identical sequels every 6 months (mentioning no names) still sell well. But just because Call of Duty sells well doesn't necessarily mean positive things for the industry... how many once great games franchises have debased themselves by trying desperately to pander to the same audience in order to increase sales because it's getting harder and harder to sell enough games to fund the increasing cost of modern games?
Perhaps the industry is merely changing, perhaps we aren't heading for another 80's style crash like some more extreme observers predict. There was a time when every other game was a Mario clone, and a time when we were drowning in Street Fight II clones after all. Perhaps the changing climate combined with easier distribution methods for small units (hehe) to release their games is making it ever more possible for indie developers to shine. Fingers crossed for that last one!
Time will tell. The casualties of these changes are a sad sight to see, either way. RIP Eurocom, you will be missed.
