A new business accelerator that aims to nurture a new generation of video game companies is ready for business after raising more than $500,000 from investors.
Joystick Labs, the brainchild of industry veteran Juan Benito - most recently the creative director at Atomic Games in Raleigh - plans to announce its formation today.
Benito, whose résumé includes a stint as executive producer at Red Storm Entertainment in Cary, said Joystick intends to work with start-ups devoted to the "casual game" arena. These are mass-appeal games played on mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad or accessed through social networking websites such as Facebook.
"We want to reduce the barriers to entry to the point where nothing will stop a talented team from starting their own studio," Benito said.
Although the video-game industry has suffered during the recession, Benito said the game genre that Joystick is concentrating on remains a bright spot.
Research firm Gartner projects that sales of mobile games will rise 19 percent to $5.6 billion this year and will more than double to $11.4 billion in 2014.
Benito said the Triangle is an excellent home for Joystick because of its status as a video-game industry hub, the supply of talent from local colleges and universities and the quality of life the region affords. The Triangle has about 30 game companies employing about 1,200 local workers.
"I am a fan of the Joystick Labs concept," said Alexander Macris, president and CEO of Durham-based Themis Group, which publishes the online video-game magazine The Escapist. "I think it's about time the area had a dedicated investment fund for its burgeoning game industry."
The hope is that entrepreneurs who come to the Triangle to work with Joystick will end up locating their fledgling businesses locally.
Joystick is part of a new breed of business incubators, or accelerators, that help start-ups get off the ground in exchange for a minority ownership stake in the business. It's the second accelerator to arrive in the Triangle this year. In April, Washington-based LaunchBox Digital, which works with software and Internet companies, announced it was expanding here.
The challenge facing Joystick, Macris said, includes picking the right entrepreneurs - with the right games - who ultimately can create viable companies.
But, he added, the company already has overcome its biggest challenge - raising the funding it needed.
Benito wouldn't specify how much money Joystick raised but said it exceeded a half-million dollars. He said the company's backers include IDEA Fund Partners, a Durham venture capital fund; and a number of angel investors, including entrepreneur Chris Evans, who founded Accipiter Solutions and other businesses.
Benito has several partners in Joystick, including two lawyers from Raleigh's Hutchison Law Group: Justyn Kasierski and Glen Caplan.
Companies accepted into Joystick's fold will receive up to $18,000 in funding and access to free legal and accounting services during their start-up phase. They'll also participate in a 12-week session where they will work with mentors and advisers to develop their initial game and devise a marketing plan.
In return, Joystick will receive a minority stake in the business. Benito declined to disclose the stake involved but described it as small.
Joystick has leased space near downtown Durham but isn't yet ready to disclose details. The company plans to accept four to six companies for its inaugural session that begins Sept. 7. Applications are being accepted at joysticklabs.com beginning today through mid-August, but the earlier the application the greater chance a startup has of being accepted.
