January 24, 1992
[In SF] Prince 2 is in good shape. The artists were thrilled to meet me after slaving away for three months. Daniel is off the project. The current team consists of Steve, Scott and Nicole.
Today I screened the 1940 Thief of Baghdad for them. They’re jazzed. In the art department, at least, Prince 2 is the “cool” project to be on. Meetings with Leila and Brian have been productive. We all seem to be in sync and happy.
Scott said: “For three months everybody’s been saying ‘Jordan this’ and ‘Jordan that’ and ‘When Jordan gets back.’ I thought you’d be much older. When I saw you, I thought: ‘My gosh, he’s just a baby!’”
When I arrived, the mood was a bit nervous because Brian and Leila felt that John (Baker, head of E2 which means entertainment and education) had doubts about the project and would probably cut our budget severely. It turned out he hadn’t seen any of the work the artists had done. I took him upstairs and had the artists show him what they were working on. That, plus I’ve been making a point of trying to include him in things and keep him informed so he feels like he’s a part of it. I really didn’t do all that much, but it seems to have turned John around 180 degrees. Today he told me that he’s bagged all the other entertainment products they had in development and is putting everything behind Prince 2. He wants it to be an example of the “New Broderbund” (whatever that is). Fine with me.
John is still nervous about the cost of the project, which he says is the biggest Broderbund has ever done. He wants to lower the licensing royalty rate so he’s covered in case it’s not a megahit. We’re discussing it.
Broderbund stock went out at $10 (after a split) and has gone to $25, making overnight millionaires of quite a few people. The company has been moved to a new building on Redwood Blvd. Very slick. Glass and elevators and chrome, and everything in the official Broderbund typeface. The front desk receptionist is even cute; I don’t know if that’s a coincidence or if it’s part of the new corporate image.
IBM and Mac Prince are going out February in the new box. I’ve spent a certain amount of time shmoozing with the fresh-faced marketing people who have been assigned to Prince. They seem inclined to promote the product, as opposed to burying it, which represents a considerable improvement in marketing strategy.
Feyna says Game Boy Prince should be on the shelves this week.
Saw a prototype of the 8-bit Nintendo version. It’s OK, nothing spectacular.
