Previously we’ve seen services that print World of Warcraft avatars (Figureprints) and others that print Second Life avatars (Fabjectory), but now comes a new service that can print your Rock Band 2 avatars: Z Corp will produce the avatar figurines on their own equipment in an apparent arrangement with the game producers, who say that they are “the only 3D company that can handle color”.
The WIRED blog post suggests that this could be a new industry, and indeed it is already taking off. We’ve been seeing it evolve over the past year and it’s not slowing down.
Via WIRED
Nice, so now Z Corp is competing with it’s own clients for work with the added advantage of getting their materials wholesale. One of the reasons I got my 450 was to try to compete in this very arena, only to find that larger, well-funded enterprises like FigurePrints had already cut deals with game manufacturers and now…et tu, Brute?
I tried calling Z Corp this morning – the day this article released, and could not get anything but voice mail from every person I tried. Great way to get introduced to the new CEO. From the Service Bureau perspective, it’s “Thanks for investing in our machines, consumables, and system. Now screw you.”
If FigurePrints or another Service Bureau had gotten this contract that would have been fine, it’s an open market. But for Z Corp to deliver this slap-in-the-face to us may be the final straw for many. The UGM next month should be interesting, I’d like to hear the excuse for this sell-out. I ask that all other Service Bureaus out there express your opinions on this subject as well. An abuse of trust should always be protested.