The Governor of Michigan showed some love for StarDock in her State-of-the-State address. Jennifer Granholm, a well know political leader that considers the media production industry a close friend for her constituents showed some good ol' fashion love for SD by touting it as a major economic player in the industry, in her State, by taking time to name its expansion project in her speech. Would you like to know more? Then go here. For a copy of the speech you can click here.
Update 1: Gamasutra recently published an article about the near million dollar expansion project here.
An excerpt: "This expansion is expected to create 53 jobs at the developer and publisher, whose shipped games include the Galactic Civilizations series and Sins of a Solar Empire. The company was founded in 1991 and currently employs over 60 workers."
Update 2: Joystiq just published another related article here.
An excerpt: "Wardell half-jokingly expressed it's been hard to get folks to move to Michigan and that he usually resorts to lying about the weather and amount of snow."
Update 3: In an interview with Frogboy Gamasutra lays out the plan for the expansion project wise (Society information). You can read the interview here.
An excerpt: "Wardell declined to elaborate on the untitled RPG, given its current unscheduled -- likely far-off -- release period. But in an interview with Gamasutra last year, Wardell alluded to plans for a new development team and referenced BioWare as a touchstone."
Update 4: GameKnights has an article about the expansion project here. GameGuru has a pimp here.
NEWS FLASH!!
Things take a twist now! The expansion is being reported as a second studio! Is there no end to SD goodness?
Update 5: The expansion is now being reported as a "second studio" by Wired which has a story here. The RapidShare blog has a pimp here.
Update 6: The Sector9 blog has a pimp here.
Update 7: Edge now has a pretty good article published here. It has a close up mugshoot of Frogboy!
Update 8: BigDownload has a nice one published here.
Update 9: Joystiq has a new article published about the expansion here and Shack has a pimp here.
Update 10: VE3D has a story here.
Update 11: AbleGamers, a community for disabled gaemrs has a blog pimp here.
Update 12: Softpedia has an article here.
Update 13: Frogboy's Edge interview about the situation gets a pimp on GP here.
Can Frogboy say something about her claim?
The fact that these jobs [Stardock] exist in Michigan today is no accident. These jobs are here because we put a strategy in place to bring them here – often by beating out other states and other countries to get them...
Or is this just a politican talking?
Yea they put their state close to where he lives so he'd have a company there. Way to beat out the competition.
As a disclaimer: I have no idea whatsoever where he lives, just making a joke.
Given the opinions Brad has expressed regarding the Governor & Michigan state government, I'm thinking Granholm hasn't visited JU much.
Claiming her policies are the reason SD is in Michigan is rich irony, indeed. But Michiganders should be proud of a good company like SD in their midst anyway.
Heh I called tech support a few weeks ago from my cell phone. I didn't realize til I hit dial "holy shit, this is the same area code as my cell!" I live in walking distance from stardock, my mom works across the street. I am an insurance agent, I thought about prospecting them, it would be so sweet to have the devs of the sweetest game ever as clients. It might even be hard for me to consult with them, I'd be star struck eh I am a nerd I guess.
None of us from the center leftwards are likely to spend much time there, given the 'community' love of trash-talk over civil discourse. Not that I'm at all questioning the scoff of Granholm's claims. My basic attitude towards any executive, public or private, is distrust. And I used to teach civics. Every serious citizen needs to keep an eye on the credit-claiming and blaming games. No 'side' is innocent there, although the Big O suprised me today by flat-out admitting he screwed up with Daschle. That was interesting.
Ya on the news and in the State of the State address they been talking about SD. Now was is it, 132 jobs i think i remember correctly. Wow SD is exploding.
Updated.
@I-Dog - smoked you like a cheap cigar on this news cycle!
Ok 50... did I mention I have great listening skills....
Like, wow! (Too bad they didn't wait long enough for me to be close to graduating, I'd love to 'steal' one of those new jobs...)
Stardock should have come down here to Alabama...who needs tax credits when you can get FREE all you can eat grits!
That's a lot of grits.
Yet more updates!
What no karma love ?
dont´you have enough allready? always the greed this days
When i buy a stardock game i do so knowing that i am supporting fellow Michiganders, when i think about the fact that Stardock is in my local district.
Quite honestly i like Michigan weather anything south of Toledo is do bloody hot.
to be fair i should mention i'm a member of the democratic party.
-Gabe, MI-11 Canton 9th
It's curious that she called SD a "digital gaming manufacturer" when they are (from what recall) a lot more well known for their non-gaming software. Or at least that's where their main revenue comes from, unless that's changed with the recent titles.
OMG! Stardock is turning into some EA-like monstrosity !!
Hooray for Michigan having the best PC game company in the universe! I'm only a couple hours away from SD headquarters. Think they'd give me a tour and let me peek at some Elemental?
Hehe, I remember the Gal Civ II manual when describing the planet qualities...
"6-8: Highly unpleasant""9: Unpleasant, like northern Michigan""10-14: Like Earth""16 and up: Very rare, but where we hope to retire"
Not that I would mind moving to Michigan if I were able to get a job there... It would be far enough from my parents and my mom's side of the family that I wouldn't have to worry about being bothered by them while being relatively close to my dad's side of the family in Kalamazoo (the good side of the family).
Wait - Michigan? Not some place on the west coast, like California?
You're closer to me than I thought . Now you're really getting my resume when I graduate.
. . . and don't worry about talking about snow to me - I've lived in Minnesota, I know all about it .
Yet another update...
It's true! I was promised 72 degrees and blue skies!
That said, it's still better than the UK and its endless rain.
Ya'all can keep the grits, now Jonny cake... ummm!
I don't mean to denigrate SD here. It's great to see a well-run game development company that can expand in times of economic collapse, and it's a testiment to Brad Wardell's leadership and business sense that they have done so.
But if the best thing that the governor of a state can bring up in their State of the State address is a company that employs only 132 jobs... I'm not sure that's a state I want to live in.
Really? Personally, I've always liked rain. Though I suppose if it never actually stops, it's possible to get tired of it.
At least people there encounter rain enough to know how to drive in it. Here in LA, you get maybe 10 rainy days per year (because we live in a desert), so when it rains, people act like the apocalypse has come. No seriously, on a rainy day, it's not uncommon to get 200 traffic accidents before 9AM.
Ever since John Engler left office in 2002, we have had a single state freefall. (as he left us on the edge of a clift and Bush gave us a little push.)
At this point new jobs, to point out new jobs that require college degrees and are in something other than our traditional auto industry is a good deal. Also any new job has an affect on other jobs that is another X0,000 to be earned in the state every year.
It is the perfect time to move to Michigan, to start something in Michigan, why? Simple you can get in on big projects without having to work your way up from the first floor. I talk to my bro who is at school just down Michigan Ave from here (Chicago) and he agrees that in Il. or NYC or out west you gota work into the existing systems, here our systems are being rebuild, in some cases from the ground up, meaning rather than rewarding people who have served for years, people who take action and are willing to work hard will be rewarded sometimes more quickly for their daring action.
I look at fellow students who are considering leaving the state and point out now is the perfect time to start up in this state.
-Gabe, Canton 9th, who thinks Michigan weather is great sure it's in the teens today, but at least we don't have over hot summers + huricanes.
Jonny cake??? You guys practice cannibalism of some sort in the mythical and magical land of Michigan?
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