Gameloft

Gameloft S.A.

The current Gameloft logo, adopted in 2010.[1]
Type	Société Anonyme
Traded as	Euronext: GFT
Industry	Interactive entertainment Video game industry
Founded	1999
Headquarters	Paris, France ("general meeting of June 19, 2012". 19 June 2012. )
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Michel Guillemot & Goutham Anumula (President and CEO)
Revenue	€164.4 million (2011)[2]
Operating income	€21.1 million (2011)[2]
Net income	€18.2 million (2011)[2]
Total assets	€138.5 million (2011)[2]
Total equity	€103 million (2011)[2]
Employees	28 studios - 5,000+
Website	www.gameloft.com

Gameloft S.A. is a video game developer and publisher headquartered in Paris, France. The company also has subsidiaries in 28 countries around the world. They primarily create games for mobile phone handsets and tablets equipped with Android, Bada, BlackBerry OS, BREW, iOS, Java, Symbian OS and Windows Phone. Gameloft also develops games for dedicated games consoles such as the Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, Sony PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, Wii and Xbox 360, as well as other platforms including HTML 5, Mac OS X, set-top box and WebOS.

History [edit]

Founded in 1999 by Michel Guillemot, one of the co-founders and owners of leading video games publisher and developer Ubisoft, Gameloft has expanded to employ a staff of 5,000 at the end of 2011. Gameloft has posted consolidated revenues of $68m in 2006, $96m in 2007, $110m in 2008 and 122m in 2009.^[3] In 2010, Gameloft consolidated sales reached $141m and went up to $164m in 2011. Through agreements with major telephone carriers, handset manufacturers, specialized distributors and its online shop, Gameloft has a distribution network in over 100 countries.^[3]

Games [edit]

Podcast [edit]

The Gameloft Video Podcast is a monthly video podcast released by the company. It primarily covers games for the iTunes App Store developed for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. The show focuses on previews, news and features on Gameloft games and upcoming events or contests from the company. The show was initially hosted by Josh Goldberg, but after two episodes, Gameloft added co-hosts, Naomi Kyle (2009-2011 since she moved to IGN) and Vanessa Grimaldi (2011). Goldberg left the show in February 2012 and was replaced by two new hosts, Cristina Rosato and Meeker Guerrier. Gameloft first began releasing videos on 29 May 2009 with the first episode of the podcast airing on 10 November 2009. There are currently 23 episodes, including their E3 specials, which can be seen on YouTube. Gameloft passes a lot of its communication through videos. Besides the podcast, each game has a trailer, teaser or footage video uploaded to the Gameloft YouTube Channel.

Reception [edit]

Awards [edit]

MMO of the Year 2013^[4]

• Bestes Android MMO - Audience Award ("Order & Chaos Online")
• Bestes iPhone & iPad MMO - Audience Award ("Order & Chaos Online")
• Best Classic Mobile MMO - Audience Award ("Order & Chaos Online")

• Pocket Gamer Developer of the Year 2011^[5]
• JeuxVideo.com Best MMOORPG on iPhone & iPad 2011 ("Order & Chaos Online")^[6]
• JeuxVideo.com Best Action Game ("The Adventures of Tintin")^[7]
• iLounge Editor's Choice Developer 2010
• Best Game at the Mobile World Congress in 2009 ("Real Football")

Spike TV Video Game Awards 2008

• Mobile Game of the Year (The Oregon Trail)^[8]

Spike TV Video Game Awards 2007^[9]

• Mobile Game of the Year (Assassin's Creed)
• Best Mobile Action Game (Assassin's Creed)
• Best Mobile Visual Design (Assassin's Creed)
• Best Action Game (Heroes: The Official Mobile Game)

IGN Game Awards 2007:

• Best Strategy Game, wireless device (Rise of the Lost Empires)^[10]
• Best Story, wireless device (American Popstar: Road to Celebrity)^[11]

IGN Game Awards 2008:

• Best Platform Game, wireless device (Castle of Magic)^[12]
• Best Graphics Technology, wireless device (Hero of Sparta, iPhone)^[13]
• Best Action Game, wireless device (Hero of Sparta, iPhone)^[14]
• Best Racing/Driving Game, wireless device (Asphalt 4: Elite Racing, iPhone)^[15]

Controversy [edit]

On 19 July 2011 gamesindustry.biz reported that Gameloft's New Zealand studio employees faced excessive working hours.^[16][17] The article included quotes from Gameloft's former head studio programmer, detailing 100 to 120 hour workweeks and "four consecutive weeks of fourteen-hour days".^[16] On 10 January 2012, gameplanet.co reported that the New Zealand Labour Department concluded an investigation at the studio and found "no substantial evidence" of a breach of the country's health and safety laws.^[18] Gameloft has also been criticized for copying several major game franchises.^[19] In January 2013, Gameloft shut down its Hyderabad studio without any prior notice to its employees on the ground that the studio is not profiting from it anymore and the Paris HQ wants to shut it down.^[20] The studio was wrapped up in a day with more than 250 employees sacked.^[20] Employees were asked to sign a document which said they had resigned on 'personal grounds' with an assurance that the dues will be settled by February 2013.^[20] Gameloft officially declined to comment on this issue saying that they "officially not be providing a statement at this point.”.^[21] The Hyderabad studio was largely responsible for developing Android version of various iOS games.^[22]

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Official website