San Diego companies

shhhua · 01-03-2011, 02:43 PM

Hey everyone. I'm going to be graduating in three months with a degree in marketing and I want to work in the video game industry, but I'm having a hard time finding all the companies that are based in the San Diego county area (other than big ones like Rockstar and Sony). Does anyone happen to have a list or know of a site that lists all of the video game companies in San Diego? Thanks!

tsloper · 01-03-2011, 07:07 PM

gamedevmap.com
gameindustrymap.com

tsloper · 01-03-2011, 09:57 PM

By the way, only big companies like publishers have a need for marketing people. Small companies like developers do not do marketing of the products they develop.
http://www.igda.org/games-game-february-2004

Osmethne · 01-04-2011, 03:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsloper

By the way, only big companies like publishers have a need for marketing people. Small companies like developers do not do marketing of the products they develop.
http://www.igda.org/games-game-february-2004

That may have been true 6 or 7 years ago when you wrote that reply, but the industry has changed a lot since then.

1) To start, digital distribution has allowed companies of all sizes to skip the publisher entirely. Steam, Direct2Drive, Playstation Store, iTunes, Android Market... no need for a publisher when you don't have a box product and won't be fighting for shelf space at the retail outlets.

2) Indie developers often have their own marketing department, especially when it comes to the massively multiplayer online games, where the marketing and community management departments are often closely tied together.

3) Mobile and web-based games usually have a direct download or an OS-dependent installation. Again, no box.

Software publishers are the middleman between the developer and distributor. Their main function (they have several, but this is the main one) is to get the box on shelves of brick and mortar stores. You'll find a good number of today's developers have an internal marketing department, if for nothing else than to interact with and manage their core communities directly.

To address the OP's initial question, if you're looking for jobs in San Diego, do a Google search for "san diego igda". Lots of great links to the local IGDA chapter and local game developers including this awesome team -- > http://jobs.rockstargames.com/

tsloper · 01-04-2011, 06:22 AM

0. What? I wrote that last night!
1. If you self-publish, then you ARE a publisher.
2. Only if they self-publish. i.e. they are publishers.
3. I don't see how this point applies to the present discussion. Lack of a physical "box" has no bearing on whether or not marketing is needed.
4. If the developer is making games for me (assuming "I" am a publisher), then they darn well better not be marketing them, unless we'd previously agreed on that.
5. Or go to igda.org, click on Chapters, and find the San Diego chapter that way. But don't do this as a substitute for gamedevmap and gameindustrymap.

Osmethne · 01-04-2011, 07:31 AM

Tom, I'm not sure if your goal is to be obtuse or argumentative here. You stated that developers do not need marketing people and do not do marketing of the products they develop. I explained that many of today's game developers have a marketing department and why they have them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsloper

0. What? I wrote that last night!
1. If you self-publish, then you ARE a publisher.
2. Only if they self-publish. i.e. they are publishers.
3. I don't see how this point applies to the present discussion. Lack of a physical "box" has no bearing on whether or not marketing is needed.
4. If the developer is making games for me (assuming "I" am a publisher), then they darn well better not be marketing them, unless we'd previously agreed on that.
5. Or go to igda.org, click on Chapters, and find the San Diego chapter that way. But don't do this as a substitute for gamedevmap and gameindustrymap.

tsloper · 01-04-2011, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Osmethne

Tom, I'm not sure if your goal is to be obtuse or argumentative here.

I don't want the OP to go out thinking that all game companies, be they publishers or small developers, need marketing people. He'll get frustrated by the effort, if he goes into it with that wide-eyed pie-in-the-sky expectation. He needs to know that a company who does development (and who does not publish) most likely will not have any jobs for marketing people.
That's my motivation -- concern for the OP and his expectations. On the assumption that, being fresh out of school, he doesn't know much about the industry yet.

Osmethne · 01-04-2011, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsloper

He needs to know that a company who does development (and who does not publish) most likely will not have any jobs for marketing people.

Do you have examples of these types of game development studios? It sounds like you are talking about freelancers, mom & pop shops and outsourced programmers at which point I don't think anyone would expect them to have a marketing dept.

tsloper · 01-04-2011, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Osmethne

Do you have examples of these types of game development studios? It sounds like you are talking about freelancers, mom & pop shops and outsourced programmers at which point I don't think anyone would expect them to have a marketing dept.

Any company that does work for a publisher and doesn't publish their own stuff. Owned studios like Treyarch. Independent studios like Quicksilver or Naked Sky. Are you saying you disbelieve that a development-only company doesn't employ marketers? Is that what this is all about?

shhhua · 01-04-2011, 09:24 AM

Thank you two for the responses.

You're correct in assuming that I do not have a whole lot of knowledge about the industry Tom. I just started doing my research on the industry (a bit late I know since I'm about to graduate in three months), but I have always been passionate about games and known that I'd want to work in the industry. I do understand that not all companies will have the need for a marketing dept, which is why I'm going to get my MBA so that I can broaden my opportunities, as well as my qualifications as I have no previous experience at a gaming or marketing company since I've had to do summer jobs at a law firm to pay for school. I'd love to end up doing marketing, but project management and game production also seem like good fits for me. I'd like to know all the companies in the area because I'm looking for any entry level position, internship, or temp position that I can find so I can get into the industry, gain experience, and start making connections.

I'll take a look at those sites that you two have given me and continue looking into it more. Thanks again for the responses, and any other input that you guys have is very much appreciated.