Strategy First

Infobox_Company
company_name = Strategy First, Inc.
company_
company_type = Wholly-owned subsidiary
company_slogan = N/A
foundation = Montreal, Quebec (1988)
location = Montreal, Quebec
London, England
key_people = Stewart Braybrook (CEO)
Dave Hill (VP Systems)
Emanuel Wall (BDM)
Julia Herten-Greaven (WebAdmin)
Brock Beaubien (Producer)
industry = Software & Programming
products = Solid Ice
Man of War series


Hearts of Iron
Galactic Civilizations
Jagged Alliance series

Space Empires V
revenue = unknown
operating profit = unknown
homepage = http://www.strategyfirst.com/

Strategy First is a software company based in Montreal, Canada. Founded in 1988, the company has published numerous well-known games, such as the "", "Jagged Alliance series", "Space Empires series", and "Galactic Civilizations". They are a distribution partner with Valve, using Valve's Steam utility as one of its means to distribute titles.

Conflicts

Strategy First has had conflict with Introversion Software. The company was distributing copies of Introversion's title "Uplink" entitled "Uplink: Hacker Elite". However, after filing for bankruptcy, Strategy First suspended paying royalties to Introversion, already owing them tens of thousands of dollars. [Introversion Software Forums: [http://forums.introversion.co.uk/introversion/viewtopic.php?t=339 Strategy First in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection] ] Introversion severed its ties with the company.

Former Strategy First developer Legend Studios also reported a conflict culminating in a press release issued February 11 2005 where they claimed the publisher "breached the Software Publishing and Distribution Agreement", and that "we have not receive a single sales report, payments for royalties and they practically have not fulfilled a single point in our agreement." [As of early 2007 Legend Studios' web site is no longer active, but a cached version can be found at [http://web.archive.org/web/20050910031738/http://www.lsgames.com/LS-SFI-termination.doc archive.org] ]

In a postmortem article about the development of "Galactic Civilizations II", Stardock founder Brad Wardell stated, regarding the original title, that "Publisher Strategy First filed for bankruptcy without paying a significant portion of the royalties we were owed." [http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060405/wardell_01.shtml Gamasutra 'Postmortem' April 5, 2006] Gaming news sites have also reported conflicts involving Strategy First, such as a news item by gaming industry site Gamasutra that reported developer BattleGoat Studios co-founder George Geczy stating that "We had to give them 50 cents off the dollar just to get our money out of them." [ [http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=10741 Gamasutra Industry News September 5, 2006] ]

The strategy developer Pollux Gamelabs also reported a conflict with Strategy First and the release of the 4X strategy game "Lost Empire". According to the "Lost Empire" forums, Pollux Gamelabs cancelled all cooperation with Strategy First due to some disagreements between the two companies, details of which weren't specified. [http://polluxgamelabs.com/lostempire/forum/ Lost Empire forums]

New Ownership

In 2004, Strategy First Inc filed for bankruptcy protection. On April 21, 2005 Strategy First was acquired by Silverstar Holdings. Terms of the acquisition included "cash consideration to the creditors of Strategy First of $609,000; we issued 377,000 shares of our common stock; warrants to purchase 200,000 shares of our common stock; and assumed approximately $400,000 in existing bank debt, as well as contingent consideration based on the future profitability of Strategy First." [ [http://secfilings.nasdaq.com/filingFrameset.asp?FileName=0000910680%2D06%2D001088%2Etxt&FilePath=%5C2006%5C11%5C14%5C&CoName=SILVERSTAR+HOLDINGS+LTD&FormType=10%2DQ&RcvdDate=11%2F14%2F2006&pdf= SEC 10-Q Filing November 14th, 2006] ] Silverstar Holdings Ltd. is a publicly traded company registered in Bermuda (traded on NASDAQ under symbol SSTR), with their web home page stating that they are "focusing on acquiring controlling positions in high-growth retail-driven and fee-based electronic game businesses that stand to benefit from the economies of scale generated by the Internet and other technology-related platforms." Silverstar completed a purchase of game developer Empire Interactive on December 4th 2006, and claimed in a December 14th 2006 press release that with the addition of Empire Interactive titles to the Valve 'Steam' service, "we are delighted that in this short time the first collaborative effort between Empire and Strategy First has born fruit." [ [http://www.silverstarholdings.com/press/12-14-06.html Silverstar Press Release December 14, 2006] ]

The Silverstar SEC filing for its quarter ended September 30, 2006, indicates that Strategy First was not providing a significant flow of revenue: "We have recognized a net loss of $941,000 during first quarter fiscal 2007 compared to a net loss of $48,000 during the same period in the prior fiscal year. Significant items that contributed to the increased loss included an increase in operating losses to $583,000 in the first quarter of fiscal 2007 as compared to $421,000 in the first quarter of fiscal 2006. This increase was primarily caused by decreases in sales recognized by Strategy First." [ [http://secfilings.nasdaq.com/filingFrameset.asp?FileName=0000910680%2D06%2D001088%2Etxt&FilePath=%5C2006%5C11%5C14%5C&CoName=SILVERSTAR+HOLDINGS+LTD&FormType=10%2DQ&RcvdDate=11%2F14%2F2006&pdf= SEC 10-Q Filing November 14th, 2006] ]

Industry Partners

In December 2005, Strategy First partnered with Valve Corporation's Steam distribution network, becoming the first entertainment software publisher to do so, connecting Strategy First to nearly 6 million gamers worldwide. Most of Strategy First's titles are available through Steam, including franchises such as Disciples, Jagged Alliance, and Space Empires.

Notable titles

* ""
* ""
* "Culpa Innata"
* "Dangerous Waters"
* ""
* ""
* "Europa Universalis"
* "Galactic Civilizations"
* "Hearts of Iron"
* "Jagged Alliance"
* "Jagged Alliance 2"
* "Legion Arena"
* ""
* ""
* ""
* "Shells of Fury"
* "Space Empires IV"
* "Space Empires V"
* "Supreme Ruler 2010"
* "World War II Online"

ee also

* List of Strategy First games
* Paradox Interactive
* Stardock
* Steam by Valve Corporation

References

External links

* [http://www.strategyfirst.com/ Strategy First homepage]
* [http://www.mobygames.com/company/strategy-first-inc Strategy First] profile on MobyGames