Elite Systems is one of the UK's long-running producers and publishers of video game software, and celebrated its 40th birthday this month.
During the '80s and '90s, Elite competed with some of the biggest names in the business to publish titles like Dr. Franken, Dragon's Lair, Frank Bruno's Boxing, Bomb Jack, Ikari Warriors, Joe & Mac and Space Harrier, but in more recent years has been relatively quiet.
That's all set to change with the announcement of an interesting new online marketplace that will enable IP holders to leverage the value of their brands via an eBay-style auction system.
Speaking exclusively to Time Extension, Elite Systems director and co-founder Steve Wilcox explains that the service has been "an ambition of ours" for some years. "You might think of it as an eBay for game IP," he adds.
Dubbed elite-systems.auction (or 'ESA' for short, which may lead to some confusion), the aim of the service is "to create a location where the owners / controllers of game IP can offer their property for licence and for sale and where prospective buyers can make offers to acquire it," explains Wilcox.
Wilcox admits that, at present, Elite is still "some distance from achieving that goal," but a three-step plan is in place which will, he hopes, lead to it becoming a valuable tool.
For the time being, some of Elite's IP is currently listed on the platform. "Presently, prospective buyers can peruse the listings and then, after registering with the service, undertake to buy or to be invited (once the auctions are 'open') to bid," says Wilcox.
Taking this Dragon's Lair listing as an example, the "fixed price" is currently £20,000 / $26,000, but this only covers the Mega Drive, SNES, NES and Game Boy console versions developed by Elite, and not the original LaserDisc game. The purchaser of these rights would be able to "publish the four console versions of Dragon' Lair, as say emulated products (physically and digitally), for contemporary systems including but not limited to Nintendo Switch, Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox as well as mobile devices including but not limited to iPhone and to online platforms including but not limited to Steam."
However, it is intended that the "Fixed Price" offer will be superseded by an Auction offer. The auction system is currently not functional on the site.
"Once we're satisfied that the auction bidding system is robust, we'll move to step 2. During step 2, those registered with the service will not only be able to undertake to buy but additionally they'll be able to bid in the Dutch-style auctions that ESA will host. All undertakings to buy and all successful bids will be subject to contract, a draft of which will be issued directly to prospective buys and directly to successful bidders using the contact details provided on registration."
Once Elite is happy that the auction listing system is "robust" enough, it will move on to the third step – allowing those who have signed up to list their own IP for sale.
"Presently, and for the immediately foreseeable, the ESA service will be entirely free to both the owners / controllers of game IP and to the prospective buyers," Wilcox adds.