Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Emergent Announces 2009 Results

I’m extremely pleased to let everyone know that the company I work for, Emergent Game Technologies, had a better 2009 than 2008 in terms of Revenue year-over-year.  Here is an excerpt from the press release:

CALABASAS, Calif. – February 2, 2010 – Emergent Game Technologies, a worldwide leader in 3D videogame engines, today reported a 35% increase in revenues year over year and a 58% increase in profitability for the year ending 2009.  Strong licensing deals and reduced expenses led the fourth quarter, ending the year with over 120 deals closed. Growth was strongest in North America, Japan and China, with Emergent’s Gamebryo LightSpeed gaining rapid adoption and driving the strong 2009 results.

“Emergent has made changes to weather the tough economic climate and is poised to become stronger than ever as a result of those changes,” says Scott M. Johnson, Emergent’s CEO. “While the Asian market and the US visual simulation market never slowed for us, we are now seeing signs that game development is starting to pick up in North America and Europe.  Our core message of reducing redundancies by using Gamebryo LightSpeed is resonating with publishers and developers.”

Based in Calabasas, CA, Emergent creates technologies that are driving professional videogame development. Emergent’s revolutionary game engine, Gamebryo LightSpeed, was released in May 2009 and provides both established and newly emerging studios with a flexible engine that continues to expand and grow with their evolving development needs.  LightSpeed empowers developers to create their games in any genre and continues Emergent’s dedication to providing a one-stop cross-platform toolset for PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox®360, Wiiand PC.

I’d like to think that my organizations had a lot to do with Emergent’s success.  But then doesn’t every manager hope that they have a direct impact on their company’s bottom line. In the last year the Development Technologies Group had some significant accomplishments, not the least of which are outlined below:

  • completed a comprehensive Continuous Integration System and process for all platforms (Win32, Xbox360, PS3, and Wii)
  • redesigned and implemented new nightly build process
  • redesigned and implemented new packaging process
  • redesigned SCM depot to better accommodate automation
  • significantly expanded build and test infrastructure to accommodate multiple branch builds
  • created a new PC Test Farm for expanded platform testing

The IT Group, which I also manage, also had some significant accomplishments this past year as well.

  • upgraded IT infrastructure
  • implemented comprehensive backup solution using EMC’s Avamar
  • upgraded internet bandwidth at our Calabasas offices
  • consolidated all our web assets to a single provider
  • implemented Inventory Management system
  • implemented standard PC and laptop policy
  • successfully addressed more than 10,000 internal Help Desk Tickets

So where do we go from here?  Well we don’t stop.  We keep moving towards helping to make our company successful! Some things we are working on in 2010 include:

  • a new SVN repository for our clients to download the latest source
  • a one-button build for all our products
  • consolidating our IT infrastructure
  • continue to provide the best service for our engineers as possible!

All-in-all, it was a good 2009 for my groups and for Emergent.  There were bumps along the way, but all organizations hit these bumps.  Its how you deal with the bumps and how you learn from the bumps that set you aside from your competition!

till next time…