The Syndicate's External Relations Team:
The mission of the External Relations team is to influence, shape, and
advance the evolution of online gaming and enhance life opportunities
for those who engage in these social networks.
Value is added through the establishment, development, and growth of
relationships with Developers & Publishers, Gaming News sites, and
computer Hardware companies. Primary goals include expanding and
strengthening current relationships; diversifying and expanding the
number and type of relationships we have; creating new opportunities for
members through those relationships; and increasing sponsorship of the
annual Syndicate World Conference (SyndCon) event. Additionally, The
Syndicate is focused on leveraging its success to help make a difference
in the world through our sponsorship of Youth Opportunity Unlimited and
through other charitable works.
This is being achieved through the following:
1) Enhancing the customer experience and strengthening gaming
communities which results in more revenue via a more positive, long term
customer experience. This result is achieved by using the diverse
population of Syndicate members and their combined many thousands of
gaming years experience to provide consulting, feedback and testing
throughout the complete development lifecycle from preproduction through
post production support.
2) Influencing the direction of game development such that future games
meet or exceed the current state of player expectations; fosters
community growth and stability; and sets future games apart from current
generation titles.
3) Providing Leadership and Consulting expertise to the industry on
adoption of emerging and existing technologies to expand the scope of
gaming beyond the traditional home PC including ways to keep customers
"always connected" to the game in some manner through products such as
wireless devices and netbooks. The "always connected" state is intended
to increase brand loyalty by increasing a players stake in the gaming
world through deeper and more frequent involvement.
The External Relations team is organized into the following
organizations and has several primary areas of focus, which include:
Hardware Relations - This team, led by "Mog" continues to develop our existing relationships with companies such as Dell/Alienware and Bigfoot Networks as well as creating or growing new relationships with companies such as Microsoft, Intel, NVidia, ATI and others. The Syndicate provides a unique opportunity for Hardware manufacturers to obtain product feedback across a diverse population of gamers who are well versed in working under tight deadlines with a high degree of confidentiality. Composed of hundreds of adult gamers from all walks of life and all manner of gaming styles, our ability to provide detailed feedback across the full consumer spectrum is unparalleled. Internally, The Syndicate has established a large Hardware Testing Team (HTT) that reports to Mog and his team on a project by project basis. The HTT is composed of highly skilled people who are able to test new products under 'real world' conditions and place them under the strains that gamers are notorious for. Through that enhanced testing we have uncovered a number of issues that internal and traditional testing methods did not uncover.
Developer Relations - This team, led by "Ranco" focuses on establishing relationships with emerging game development companies as well as with those existing companies we are not already working with. The Syndicate, through its highly experienced, very stable, and very professional members, provides developers a way to confidentially obtain rapid, detailed and value added feedback at all stage of their gaming life-cycle. From concept through pre-production right up through launch, The Syndicate has resources capable of providing the necessary feedback and support in a timely manner with the utmost confidentiality.
Community Outreach - The team, led by "Bril" focuses on giving something back to the greater community. The Syndicate sponsors the charity Youth Opportunity Unlimited through member donations and an annual charity raffle held each year at SyndCon. In addition, Syndicate members actively participate in a variety of charitable events throughout the year from supporting the United Way to Habitat for Humanity to supporting the Cancer Society and much more.
