SEE Virtual Worlds announces new partnerships

Discussion in 'Entropia News' started by NotAdmin, Aug 11, 2011.

  1. NotAdmin

    NotAdmin Administrator

    SEEbanner.png

    As announced earlier in the "Questions for SEE" thread, EntropiaPlanets was given access to a press release that will be put on the wire at 6 AM Eastern Standard Time (which, according to this ticker is now), announcing new partnerships and titles that will be turned into Massive Multi-Player Online (MMO) Games by SEE Virtual Worlds.

    The new titles include, but are not limited to: Men in Black™, Total Recall™, Asterix®, War of the Worlds (2005) and Waterworld. Apart from this, SEE still plans on going ahead with earlier-announced Planet Michael, where gamers can celebrate the life and memory of pop star Michael Jackson.

    The titles above together grossed over 1 billion USD at the box office.

    “SEE will bring some of the most well-known entertainment properties to the gaming
    space through these major licensing agreements,” said Martin Biallas, CEO of SEE.
    “These properties are tied to memorable moments and incredible characters that
    players are going to interact with in future SEE-created digital and online interactive
    video games.”

    Please find the full press release attached.
     

    Attached Files:

  2. Tass

    Tass Administrator

    Ok, no word about MA/FPC/SDS/Calypso.

    Creating and new company "SEE Games llc" in LA to develop those games is a piece of the puzzle that fits to what I posted yesterday: Become US resident, earn massive interest and save the (virtual) world.

    That was about an immigration law company offering EB-5 green cards to people who invest at least 500k USD in a US business creating 10 jobs in the US. And the offer was to invest in SEE.

    May I attach one of my favourite quotes: "the future for FPC and Planet Calypso is looking brighter than ever". ;)
     
  3. kalanen

    kalanen roadkill

    ADHD VIrtual Worlds :bat:
     
    • Like Like x 1
  4. From the US Dept of Homeland Security




    EB-5 Immigrant Investor



    Visa Description

    USCIS administers the Immigrant Investor Program, also known as “EB-5,” created by Congress in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. Under a pilot immigration program first enacted in 1992 and regularly reauthorized since, certain EB-5 visas also are set aside for investors in Regional Centers designated by USCIS based on proposals for promoting economic growth.
    All EB-5 investors must invest in a new commercial enterprise, which is a commercial enterprise:
    • Established after Nov. 29, 1990, or
    • Established on or before Nov. 29, 1990, that is:
      1. Purchased and the existing business is restructured or reorganized in such a way that a new commercial enterprise results, or
      2. Expanded through the investment so that a 40-percent increase in the net worth or number of employees occurs
    Commercial enterprise means any for-profit activity formed for the ongoing conduct of lawful business including, but not limited to:
    • A sole proprietorship
    • Partnership (whether limited or general)
    • Holding company
    • Joint venture
    • Corporation
    • Business trust or other entity, which may be publicly or privately owned
    This definition includes a commercial enterprise consisting of a holding company and its wholly owned subsidiaries, provided that each such subsidiary is engaged in a for-profit activity formed for the ongoing conduct of a lawful business.
    Note: This definition does not include noncommercial activity such as owning and operating a personal residence.
    Job Creation Requirements

    • Create or preserve at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers within two years (or under certain circumstances, within a reasonable time after the two-year period) of the immigrant investor’s admission to the United States as a Conditional Permanent Resident.
    • Create or preserve either direct or indirect jobs:
      • Direct jobs are actual identifiable jobs for qualified employees located within the commercial enterprise into which the EB-5 investor has directly invested his or her capital.
      • Indirect jobs are those jobs shown to have been created collaterally or as a result of capital invested in a commercial enterprise affiliated with a regional center by an EB-5 investor. A foreign investor may only use the indirect job calculation if affiliated with a regional center.
    Note: Investors may only be credited with preserving jobs in a troubled business.
    A troubled business is an enterprise that has been in existence for at least two years and has incurred a net loss during the 12- or 24-month period prior to the priority date on the immigrant investor’s Form I-526. The loss for this period must be at least 20 percent of the troubled business’ net worth prior to the loss. For purposes of determining whether the troubled business has been in existence for two years, successors in interest to the troubled business will be deemed to have been in existence for the same period of time as the business they succeeded.
    A qualified employee is a U.S. citizen, permanent resident or other immigrant authorized to work in the United States. The individual may be a conditional resident, an asylee, a refugee, or a person residing in the United States under suspension of deportation. This definition does not include the immigrant investor; his or her spouse, sons, or daughters; or any foreign national in any nonimmigrant status (such as an H-1B visa holder) or who is not authorized to work in the United States.
    Full-time employment means employment of a qualifying employee by the new commercial enterprise in a position that requires a minimum of 35 working hours per week. In the case of the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program, "full-time employment" also means employment of a qualifying employee in a position that has been created indirectly from investments associated with the Pilot Program.
    A job-sharing arrangement whereby two or more qualifying employees share a full-time position will count as full-time employment provided the hourly requirement per week is met. This definition does not include combinations of part-time positions or full-time equivalents even if, when combined, the positions meet the hourly requirement per week. The position must be permanent, full-time and constant. The two qualified employees sharing the job must be permanent and share the associated benefits normally related to any permanent, full-time position, including payment of both workman’s compensation and unemployment premiums for the position by the employer.
    Capital Investment Requirements

    Capital means cash, equipment, inventory, other tangible property, cash equivalents and indebtedness secured by assets owned by the alien entrepreneur, provided that the alien entrepreneur is personally and primarily liable and that the assets of the new commercial enterprise upon which the petition is based are not used to secure any of the indebtedness. All capital shall be valued at fair-market value in United States dollars. Assets acquired, directly or indirectly, by unlawful means (such as criminal activities) shall not be considered capital for the purposes of section 203(b)(5) of the Act.
    Note: Investment capital cannot be borrowed.
    Required minimum investments are:
    • General. The minimum qualifying investment in the United States is $1 million.
    • Targeted Employment Area (High Unemployment or Rural Area). The minimum qualifying investment either within a high-unemployment area or rural area in the United States is $500,000.
    A targeted employment area is an area that, at the time of investment, is a rural area or an area experiencing unemployment of at least 150 percent of the national average rate.
    A rural area is any area outside a metropolitan statistical area (as designated by the Office of Management and Budget) or outside the boundary of any city or town having a population of 20,000 or more according to the decennial census.
     
  5. Ehhh.. what?
     
  6. Tass

    Tass Administrator

    Lol, yes, it's a strange connection: The EB-5 Visa allows people to immigrate to the US under specific conditions like investing at least 500k USD in an US business creating or preserving 10 jobs (for details see AlphaGeek's post above).

    And there's an law company in Thailand offering people to invest in SEE Virtual Worlds to get their EB-5 Visa:

    (Source: http://www.ctrlegal.com/us-legal-services/eb-5-investor-green-card/eb-5-green-card-faqs/)
     
  7. RAZER

    RAZER Custom title ... uh ...

    I wonder if they are planning to make planets with this or just regular games. There is no mention about MA like Tass said.
     
  8. NotAdmin

    NotAdmin Administrator

    What valuable info would that be, exactly? All they see is the apparently grealty limited amount of info all planet partners would see. Not too long ago, that was almost zilch as it was.
     
  9. aridash

    aridash large throbbing member

    some great titles there, Asterix would be great fun and i can see a lot of mileage in a Total Recall and MIB based worlds.

    dont really see how they are going to deliver though, i would say they are biting off far far too much. they struggled to produce content when they had a platform handed to them on a plate.
     
  10. Tass

    Tass Administrator

    Well, I think they are condemned to fail.

    I can't seen any of those IPs attracting enough paying customer to a game/virtual world to become profitable. Not even considering their would partially be competitors to each other anyway.

    I can imagine Asterix as some kind of F2P Runescape-like browser game but not as a state-of-the-art 3D game world. The Total Recall setting might be suitable for a AAA game, similar to Mass Effect mayne, but I don't think they'll be able to go AAA in the next few years. Waterworld the movie has been a financial flop already, ever wanted to go a Waterworld VW?

    One have to keep in mind that 30-130 people will be busy for 2-4 years creating just one AAA title.

    There are so many studios out there, run by gamers who managed to turn their dream of creating their own game into reality. They are enthusiasts with great ideas, working all day long for their dream, don't have to pay license fees to hollywood and still fail.

    I just can't see how some guys, specialized in RW touring attractions so far, whose only interest is to make some money from more or less well-known IPs could succeed. There might be some misconceptions how the gaming industries work, as there is the misconception that there are millions on casual gamers out there who want to go hardcore mining Next Island.

    Ok SEE, prove me wrong. Grab your own CE2 license (a lot cheaper than MA got their back then and easy to use already created assets) and create a couple of profitable AAA titles with high production values.
     
  11. Either that, or a more nefarious "cash grab from guillable geeks & run" gambit. I really don't want to wear that tinfoil hat though.

    I just don't get these guys.
     
  12. Any Ideas on Released date for planet michael, it was supposed to be released late last year of 2010 ???? now were 5 months away from 2012​
     
  13. Wesjaci, I wouldn't count on it any time soon. See Digital Studios has dismissed numerous employees and their business relationship with MindArk, their original platform provider for the project, is seriously bruised or perhaps even broken. The one planet they purchased, Calypso, has recently had operational control reverted to from SDS to MindArk, the original owner of Planet Calypso (formerly called Project Entropia).
     
  14. NotAdmin

    NotAdmin Administrator

    Interestingly enough, SEE is still linked to MindArk in some news articles, like this one:

    http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/112210-MMO-Creator-Snags-Total-Recall-IP
     
  15. VF, that could be journalistic laziness though. Remember that one blog reporting the sweat strike of 2006 that said I was Marco? LOL. I don't recall anything coming from SEE that still claims an affiliation.
     
  16. Lykke TheNun

    Lykke TheNun In Loot We Trust

    You're Marco ??? :eek:
     
  17. That's the same face I made when I read the article! LOL
     
  18. Yeah scam engine for scam company - the glove fits :>
     
  19. NotAdmin

    NotAdmin Administrator

    Aye. I chucken SEE a mail asking them about it, and di mention it could be sloppiness on the journalist's behalf :)
     
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