October 22, 2025
Licensing has quietly become one of the most important engines behind the growth of video game ecommerce. In this episode, Sean and Juan unpack what it really takes to bring official merchandise to life; from securing rights to launching global stores, and share what’s working (and what’s not) in the current landscape.
Watch the full episode 7 here.
Licensing sits at the center of how game publishers turn fandom into sustainable revenue. It’s not just about putting a logo on a hoodie, it’s about protecting brand identity, ensuring IP integrity, and creating meaningful connections with fans through products that feel official and authentic.
Sean and Juan explain how this process bridges two worlds: the creative universe of a game publisher and the operational expertise of ecommerce teams who understand manufacturing, fulfillment, and global logistics. Done right, licensing allows both sides to win; the licensor maintains control of their brand, while the licensee delivers real-world value through official stores and exclusive products.
At WAYPOINT Ecommerce, the team builds and manages official online stores for video game publishers. That means working closely with licensors to define merchandising rights, asset usage, and regional or time-based restrictions, the real nuts and bolts that determine what can be produced and where.
Sean and Juan also reflect on their experience at Licensing Expo 2025, where the presence of gaming brands was stronger than ever. As they explain, games now rival film and TV when it comes to merchandising demand, and licensing conversations are evolving fast as more publishers look to ecommerce as a core business channel, not a side experiment.
The conversation breaks down what a “game license” really means in ecommerce:
Rights to produce and sell official products tied to a specific IP
Terms defining regions, duration, and categories
Clear creative guardrails (style guides, approvals, and brand compliance)
Sean and Juan also discuss the difference between exclusive and non-exclusive deals, and how each approach impacts flexibility, brand consistency, and revenue potential.
For many licensors, the biggest challenge isn’t signing the deal; it’s understanding what it takes to actually execute it. Ecommerce requires forecasting, logistics, design, and marketing discipline, and often, game studios underestimate that. Aligning expectations early is key to avoiding frustration later.
Juan walks through what happens after the handshake: from planning product lines and pricing SKUs to managing creative approvals and building a cohesive launch. Every stage is part of the puzzle, from art assets and product photography to tariffs, fulfillment, and timing global drops.
They also touch on the evolving role of digital licensing, from wallpapers and soundtracks to experimental items like NFTs. Not every digital product works, but the learnings from these attempts are shaping how brands approach hybrid experiences that blend physical and digital value.
The episode highlights a few key trends shaping the current market:
Nostalgia sells, legacy franchises continue to dominate merch demand.
Bundle strategies combining game codes, merch, and bonus content create stronger fan engagement.
Limited editions drive short-term hype, while evergreen stores build long-term equity.
And most importantly, publishers are increasingly moving direct-to-consumer (DTC) to own their margins, audience data, and brand storytelling.
WAYPOINT’s own experiences show what’s resonating today, and it’s rarely random. Successful launches balance authenticity, timing, and smart licensing partnerships that understand the value of both fandom and execution.
Licensing for ecommerce isn’t just a legal process, it’s a creative and operational partnership. The biggest mistakes happen when licensors underestimate the workload or overprotect their IP to the point of paralysis. The advice from Sean and Juan is simple: find partners who understand your brand, trust the process, and plan for the long term.
If you prefer reading, here is a full transcription of the episode:
Sean:
Hello everybody and welcome to SideQuest Sessions. This is episode number eight. I'm here with my esteemed colleague, Juan Rivera.
What's up, Juan?
Juan:
Hi, everyone.
Sean:
We're going to talk about a bit of an adventure that we had today, or not today, but we had a few weeks ago and even months maybe now, at the Licensing Expo, where we went to Las Vegas. And we are also going to touch on the subjects of video game licensing for e-commerce.
And before we start, a bit about WAYPOINT, WAYPOINT e-commerce and what we do. We're a company that's been around for 16 years now. There are around 40 to 50 people, depending on what projects are ongoing.
And we do three different things. And those things are, in no particular order, creative. This is where we do all the marketing assets for video game companies, like trailers and packaging, localization and websites, and you name it.
The next thing is collectibles, where we do video game collector's editions. And we could also do projects like influencer kits and any kind of physical merchandise that a game publisher or developer could need. And third, and least of all, is our e-commerce department.
And this is where we work on e-commerce marketing materials. And we do a white label e-store for a video game publisher. For example, we run the official Konami shop, and we've got several more stores launching this year.
So, Juan, I've got a companion here. You might see her on the camera. It's my dog.
Juan, tell us, you told me you were working on something this morning, just before the call. What were you working on?
Juan:
Yes, so we're working on bringing in an in-game asset from the popular game Silent Hill. And there's a really creepy place you visit in-game that's called Heaven's Night.
It's kind of a bar, restaurant. So we kind of wanted to bring to real life the ambience of that place. So we created the popular Heaven's Night neon sign.
And we're selling it on the shop. Everyone's really excited about it. And you can now put it up on your wall, on your office, and have that Heaven's Night neon sign just lighting up your room.
Sean:
Cool. Very cool. So a little bit of an intro there to what you've been doing this morning. But why don't you tell us as a whole what your role is and what you do at the company?
Juan:
Okay, so I'm the head of e-commerce. So basically, my department sets up and runs different e-stores for selling official merch for different video game studios. As you suggested, one of our biggest stores is the official Konami shop, where we run the shop and all the products live under the Konami brand on that shop.
So the difference with other shops is we don't work only with one IP from Konami. It's all their IPs living inside the Konami brand.
Sean:
Very cool.
And, you know, the e-commerce thing is something WAYPOINT got into, I'd venture to say, around five years ago. What do you think about that? Do you agree with that statement?
Juan:
Yes, yes. So five years ago.
Sean:
All right. And we've kind of hit on something pretty cool, in my opinion. We have had a lot of neat projects and neat opportunities on the commerce front.
And that brought a question to my mind, which was, why do you think, in your opinion, why do you think that e-commerce and licensing and merchandise are important these days to video game companies?
Juan:
Well, I think more studios are realizing that their IPs are valuable beyond the screen, basically. I think fans want merch that feels authentic and resonates with them. And getting licensing rights is how you make that happen.
Basically extending the reach of the IPs beyond the screen, as I said before.
Sean:
For sure. And, you know, we could just go ahead and make a store and sell our T-shirts from our own designs if we wanted to.
But there's a reason that we're not doing that. And I think it's pretty obvious to us, but I don't know if it's obvious to everybody else. Getting those licenses really allows the creation of an official place for official branded merchandise from your favorite IP.
And it also allows us to move some products if people have an interest and are passionate about those games. And I think that for a company like ours, who sets up shops in the back end, as I said earlier, in a white label capacity, that's pretty much the only way for us to go, is to get those cool IPs and those rights to those great video game franchises. Would you agree?
Juan:
Yes. That's what we're here for, basically. We help publishers turn their games into physical products. As you mentioned, we handle all the messy back end, so they don't have to. No one has to become a retailer overnight. And so that's what we do, basically.
Sean:
Yeah, those companies, those video game companies, they also sell at retail, right? They sell video games at retail.
They can sell them in a digital manner, but they can also sell them in a physical manner. You can find them at Best Buy or Target or Walmart or wherever they are. But a lot of them don't sell their own merchandise, right? That's something we've discovered.
It's usually a third party, kind of like us, that handles that kind of thing for them.
Juan:
Yeah, we discovered that some people think that maybe just putting their logo on a hoodie or a t-shirt guarantees sales. And it doesn't work that way most of the times.
In my opinion, I think you need the right mix of timing, demand, and the execution of the products.
Sean:
For sure. And what is our role in there? I could explain it, but I think you'd explain it a lot better.
So what exactly does WAYPOINT e-commerce do?
Juan:
Like we said, at its core, we create these really cool e-store experiences where people can come and buy merch for their favorite IPs. So I can walk you through all the phases we go through while we do that.
Sean:
Yeah.
Juan:
So I think first of all, you have to have the legal stuff and contracting in place. That's very important. That's the first step to get these products up and running.
After that, it's really important for licensors to have style guides and we can collect assets and we can see all this really cool artwork that these IPs have under their name. So we can start creating the products. That's the third step, the product development phase, which is what we enjoy very fondly.
Me, I have a graphic design background, so I really enjoy product development. And this is where we get to get our creative side to shine through really cool products. After the approval of this, we call it the concept phase.
It goes for approval for all the licensors. And then we begin doing the samples and the manufacturing phase. That includes shipping to the warehouses and making sure the quality is great, having quality control, doing all the testing.
And then we move to our fifth phase, which is the fulfillment. So products go to our warehouse and fulfillment centers all over the world. We set them up and the products will be ready to be sold.
On the sixth phase, we are talking about the launch and marketing of these products. As we continue to know, no products are going to sell themselves, basically. So a good marketing campaign is always great for people to get the word out of the cool products we're doing.
So those are basically this.
Sean:
What kind of marketing stuff do we do? What are the different activations or things that we use to get the word out there?
Juan:
Well, in the wide array that is marketing these days, we tend to focus on an email list. We start gathering emails through the e-store from all the customers, and we use that email list to announce a future product launch, to support any marketing week that the licensors may have.
We also use SMS marketing. Of course, it's an opt-in option, so anyone can opt in on their phone and get instant SMS messages whenever we launch a product. There's a discount or different events at the stores.
And then, of course, we do social media. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, all the trending channels.
Sean:
Great.
You know, I personally hate getting notifications on my phone, but I'm surprised to see how many people willingly opt in to be the first to know when one of the cool new products we're working on comes out. And so I think it's a pretty neat service.
Juan:
Well, just today, talking about just today with the neon sign that we were discussing, we had a really great event in which all our subscribers had first dips on that product.
So the first 500 units were going to be fulfilled as they come in, and then the product enters the pre-order stage.
Sean:
Cool. Very cool.
You know, that brings to mind another activation we did just recently. There was the Anime Expo here in Los Angeles. And why don't you tell us a bit about, not about the Expo, but about the part that we play with regards to licensed merchandise at the Anime Expo?
Juan:
So Konami was working on a stand to promote their new game, Silent Hill F, that's coming later this year.
So we thought it was a great opportunity for the Konami shop to have a physical presence without having one specifically. So what we did is we created some banners, we printed a bunch of flyers with an exclusive QR code, and that gave you access to an exclusive design product made just for the Anime Expo attendees. So the QR code had a geofence that worked only around the Konami stand.
So people went into the QR code and they could purchase pre-ordered products that were seen there because we have physical samples at the stand. And that made it really special for those fans attending the stand and those really, really hardcore fans of the Silent Hill IP. And added to that, we saw a bunch of fans wearing our merch, the Konami shop merch, doing cosplays. And that was really fun.
Sean:
Very cool. You know, talking about events, one of the events we mentioned at the beginning of the show was the Licensing Expo.
And you and I both flew down there to Las Vegas and we attended the Expo and we set up a bunch of meetings and we ran from one meeting to the other. And what did you think of that event? I think it was your second time going. What was your takeaway?
Juan:
Personally, I really love Licensing Expo. I think it's a really cool place where brands can show their feathers, sort of like a peacock. And it's really cool to go to all the stands, seeing all the big brands that you and I grew up with. We saw some He-Man stuff.
Pokemon is always there. And, of course, all of our partners, Bandai, Konami, Sega, we work with them and it's really cool to say hi to everyone and to see all these brands, just seeing what they're offering for the near future.
Sean:
For sure. You know, we work with a lot of people in the game industry and those events are actually a good occasion for us to go to supper with somebody or have lunch or have a drink or coffee or if we can wake up in the morning, just to hang out with them and get to spend some time with them instead of being behind our computers all the time. So I really liked it too. A few years ago, I've been going for, I guess, 10 years now, and a few years ago it was all about the collectibles department.
That's what we talked about with everybody in our meetings. And now that we've cracked the code for e-commerce, and we can say in all modesty that we're getting pretty damn good at it, we talked exclusively about e-commerce and that's what everybody was interested in. They wanted to have a shop for their game or for their entire portfolio of different IPs. And we had, I don't know, 10 or 11 meetings set up, and most of them were pretty good. And we talked with a lot of game developers, game publishers, and licensing people, obviously, that were representing IPs, and we did pretty good there. We were on the way to set up, if everything goes well, I'd say three more stores this year, if not maybe more, maybe four.
So let's talk a little bit more about what is a video game license in e-commerce, and what exactly do you get, or what does that give us, and what are we able to do with a license after we get the paperwork out of the way?
Juan:
Right, so basically for anyone that doesn't know, at its core, licensing is the permission to make and sell stuff using someone else's IP, that means intellectual property. So the real work basically is on the details. After we get all the legal and contract stuff out of the way, the product development and sales of the products, it's what follows.
And like I said, I think the real work is in the details. What kind of products you're going to offer, where you can sell them, and for how long. And that brings me to the two different categories, I think resonate really well with video game licensing specifically, which are the limited edition, limited runs of products, and then we have the evergreen products.
And that gives us two different values. We keep people interested, and we keep FOMO up when there's limited drops.
Sean:
What did you say? Did you say FOMO?
Juan:
Yes.
Sean:
Is that what you said? If you're missing out, okay. So there's an evergreen product, and there's a product limited in time, or it could be limited in quantity. Sometimes I've seen you number them.
We don't do that for just any product, but I think I saw it on some skate decks we did, and they were numbered. It adds to the limited aspect of the products. And a lot of people, especially when you're a fan of that IP, or it's a very popular IP, a lot of people get excited about those things, and some of them are even disappointed when they can't get one. Isn't that right?
Juan:
Yes, it happened with the Yanmei Expo event that we discussed earlier. A bunch of people that couldn't go to Yanmei Expo were just asking if they could get the red shirt that was selling there. Fortunately for them, we had a different variant of the same shirt, but a gray one.
So they can buy that, but only the Yanmei Expo attendees were able to purchase that explicit variant.
Sean:
So let's stay on the topic of licenses specifically, and sometimes we get an exclusive license or a non-exclusive license. In fact, I'd venture to say we always get a non-exclusive license.
It's a term that comes up when we're doing a deal, and the question of exclusivity or not. And so exclusivity means that we're the only ones that are allowed to do a certain thing for a certain IP. For example, we're the only ones that can make figurines, or we're the only ones that can make T-shirts, or the only ones that can sell online, or whatever it is.
And we always go for a non-exclusive license, or we never put up a fuss.
Why do you think that is? What's your thought on that?
Juan:
I think having a non-exclusive agreement is better for everyone. I think that limits the reach of the IP.
As we move forward with getting to know a bunch of licenses that have become experts on what they do, and we try to work with all of them. Some people do original soundtracks, and do CDs, and buy long records. Some people are experts on doing customized posters and screen prints.
So I think having a non-exclusive agreement invites everyone to chip in and expand the world of each IP.
Sean:
Another point to that is that we've become quite confident in our ability to do good work and to deliver cool products that fans are going to like, that are going to sell well. And we're not so concerned if somebody else can also take a stab at it.
So we're not trying to sound cocky, but we really don't worry too much about that. We do insist on being the official shop. So our business model is centered around us being the central hub of where a retail person can go to buy items for the game.
And so one of the things you said earlier is the more licensees the merrier, we can have those products listed on our website. So for example, if Limited Run Games is doing something, or Mondo or Funko is doing something, we can list their products on our website right next to our own. This way, if you're a fan, you can come to the one-stop shop and get everything that you want for your favorite game.
Isn't that right?
Juan:
Yes, that's correct. Because whether we like it or not, people have come to trust these other brands. People know that Funko and Mondo sound great.
They have all the experience on manufacturing vinyl records, for example.
Sean:
Yeah, that's right. So let's talk a bit about expectations.
Now, sometimes we hear that the owner of the IP is really jazzed up about his or her own IP, and they feel that this is going to be a slam dunk and a big hit. And we've been burned in the past by just being optimistic and not having enough experience, by just going with what everybody says. And we've come to realize that that's sometimes not the case.
People think their IPs are really good, but when you look at some data in the future of the lack of sales that we're going to have, it kind of demonstrates that not all IPs are created equal. What do you think?
Juan:
I think that comes back to what I mentioned about the right mix of timing, demand, and execution. I think if the licensor doesn't have any art assets, we have nothing to decide.
That's on the execution side. If they have a niche fan base, the demand could be on the lower side. If we miss certain marketing beats, that could lead to bad timing in the launch of some products.
So we have to juggle these three things as we come to know on our experience to have great results. That's the word. So we need a mix of all those three things to see good results on any product launch.
Sean:
That's right. And in terms of expectations, there's also the flip side. The publisher or the licensor could have expectations that are unrealistic or maybe too low for what we're going to do on the e-commerce side. So we've met all kinds of different people, and some of them want to do everything themselves, and it kind of defeats the point of having us on board where they want to design their own products and they want to handle the customer service themselves or whatever the example is. We really try to cover the whole gamut of e-commerce, but sometimes they have expectations that are maybe too high as well, and a lot of companies want e-commerce to be an extension of their brand. So let's say they're not going to have a game release for another year.
Well, they want something to keep the party going in the meantime, and so they're not so concerned about profitability and so on, and they just like us to make a lot of cool products. They don't care if anybody buys them or not. And so we have to find a balance there between wanting a publisher that wants to surprise and delight their fans just like we do, as well as somebody who understands that we're in the business of selling merchandise, and we need to sell a certain number of units for it to be worth doing, designing a product, setting it up, getting it in inventory, dealing with all that.
There's a lot of work involved. Wouldn't you agree?
Juan:
I think I've identified certain events or certain things that could lead to a shop maybe not having the results that everyone wants. For instance, rushing to launch the shop or delaying the launch of a shop.
It all comes down to timing. You have to run the shop and have the shop launch at an exact time where people are trying for their brand.
Sean:
Right. We can't just keep having the shop go through design phases and everything keeps coming back with changes and it's never good enough, and there's some diva at the other end trying to micromanage all the design, and then by then the game's launched and the store didn't come out, and it's kind of a disaster. And so on the flip side, we really need the support and the insight from the licensor, who usually has a pretty good in-depth knowledge of what's going on with the game and the IP, what the fans are going to like, what they won't like. And so we need a balance between both of those, don't we?
Juan:
I think another thing that we've come to identify is especially for US-based publishers is ignoring or maybe underestimating international fans.
That's what led us to open our own fulfillment center in Lithuania to fulfill the entire European fan base. Because we've come to identify that IPs have a bigger reach than we tend to think. So Spanish-speaking people, Europeans, even Asia, have a great demand for certain IPs.
Sean:
For sure, I'm the first to be guilty on that one. I think we're here in the United States and I'd like us to focus only on the United States. It's simpler.
We have the warehouses here. We have the relationships here. Everything goes more smoothly. We don't have to worry about customs, getting stuck at the customs, getting lost, paperwork. We finally figured that one out as well and to great benefit because it turns out the rest of the world is a pretty big place and it's an easy mistake to make to want to just stay in your own little castle and then turtle in. There's no way. There's a real lost opportunity there when it comes to growth and finding new customers and expanding the reach of not only our sales but also of the IP. There's people that are into those IPs and games all over the world. And so yeah, we did open up a European warehouse and that's been great, well done. And we're working on a Latin American one, if I'm not mistaken, as well. And so that's been pretty cool. That reminds me of something we started doing as wholesale and that's relatively new to us but our products, some of them have done so well that they've gotten interest from other retailers who have asked us, hey, can I get 500 or 1,000 or whatever it is of those units to sell in my own shop online or even brick-and-mortar? Isn't that right?
Juan:
Yes. Sometimes we work with people that already have the experience and the distribution channels to sell products on brick-and-mortar stores. For example, in Japan, we would have to build a whole network of distribution if we want to sell T-shirts in Japan. That's where the wholesale strategy came about. We have a wholesale partner that sells products from the Konami shop in brick-and-mortar shops all over Japan.
Sean:
Yeah. You're a product designer at heart there.
Illustrator and a product designer and a graphic artist, I suppose. I was just thinking how it's kind of cool that there's this Japanese game that's being distributed in the United States and that an American company with a Canadian owner and an Argentinian product designer are creating products that are doing so well that we've gone back and made a wholesale deal with a retailer in Japan to sell our products. It's kind of come full circle there, hasn't it? It's pretty cool.
Talking about products, I think that's at least kind of like the singer of a band, the face of something. I think the product design and making cool products is what everybody sees. If you're making a movie, everybody talks about the actors and so on, but there's a lot more going on back there, right? There's the film director in the case of movies, crew and so on. In our case, there's a whole operation, but I think the heart of it is making those cool products and making a product line that makes sense and goes well with the brand and with the other products. Can you talk a bit about how you go about designing one of those cool products? Not so much the technical aspect, but how do you make a product like that from concept to, you know, in somebody's mailbox?
Juan:
Right, so to create a cool concept for a working online peak, you have to be a fan. You have to be a gamer.
You have to know the brand. Even if you haven't played the game, you have to go in and play it. You have to go and infiltrate the community, see what they're talking about, see what the popular characters, places, weapons are. So I think that's the first step, getting to know the brand at its core in order to have great results while designing a product. After that, it's just a decision-making. Then after that, you have to decide which kind of product are you going to make. A collectible, a pattern, a keychain, and a diamond pin. Sometimes it's something that resonates with all the fans. So there's different ways you can go about it.
You can go ahead and design an apparel element that's the same as the protagonist is wearing on the game. Or you can go ahead and just make an original illustration of the final boss of the game, which are usually one of the most popular products in every IP. Everybody knows the protagonist and the final boss.
So when you decide that you get to working and you start working alongside with a licensor, first you tell them your plan, tell them your idea, do some sketches, and just align with their design style and their marketing needs so you can deliver a great-looking product with an original app.
Sean:
Very cool. You know, we had a meeting with a company that orders products from us and something came up where you guys had used a symbol from the game and the licensor said in the meeting with everybody, a whole bunch of people and us as well, oh that symbol, you know, is not a well-known symbol and I called you out and said, well, do you guys just go around picking random symbols when you design something? Everybody looked at me like I was some kind of an asshole but what I wanted you to say was, no, and you did end up saying it eventually, no, this is the main symbol that's related to the final boss, right? And that shut everybody up, didn't it? Because it's like, hey, we're playing this game, we're familiar with it, we're fans of what we're working on, good luck catching us doing something silly like, oh, we're just going to work on dog shampoo one day, carrot packaging the next, no, this is all we do, we're doing it with reason and with care, right? And I thought that was a funny anecdote, so good job.
Juan:
Yeah, so it turns out that game is really difficult and only two out of ten people have gotten to the final boss.
Sean:
So let's talk about a few more things before we move on to some trends, you know? I want to talk about what's hot. Let's talk about digital goods. I think that's something we don't really do a lot of, unless I'm mistaken. I know we tried in the past but are there any digital goods that we sell or does something work well there or not work at all?
Juan:
Well, we do have a whole section on the Konami shop for digital Steam codes. So it's the same Steam code you can purchase at Steam but it's on the official Konami shop. With the added value that if you purchase it in the Konami shop you can get a 15% off on all the products, not to do an ad about the shop, but that's the added value on having those digital goods there. I think the reason why we haven't offered many digital goods is because we're dealing with mainly digital IPs. So I think there's a contrast there in which people already have the game, they can listen to the soundtrack. Many games have the soundtrack incorporated in the game so you can listen to it whenever. And I think people want that contrast on having, on living an adventure on the digital space but then having a physical product that goes along with it.
Sean:
For sure. So we don't really do much digital stuff.
I can't think of this other than Steam codes, for example. We don't sell, I don't know, digital art or digital art books or anything like that. We tried I think in the past and we don't really do that these days.
So that's not a thing for us.
Juan:
No, that's not a thing to us. I tend to think those as companions to any purchase. Like I would give away official wallpapers for any purchase on the store or maybe a digital version of a book alongside your purchase of the physical book.
Sean:
Yeah. Alright, let's talk about trends and opportunities. How about that? So I put some notes down here and I'm going through to make sure we cover everything. You know, I started playing this game recently. It's not a new game at all. It's called RimWorld. It's a colony sim builder. It's quite niche, I think, although there's quite a few players and a pretty active community. And I went to check out their store and absolutely everything was marked as sold out. Now, I don't think that's a good sign. I think there should be some products there because I would have bought a whole bunch. I've been staying up late playing that and to my girlfriend's chagrin. And so I think that if there were some products there, I would have bought some. And so one of the things I'd like us to figure out, which we haven't really figured out yet, is how to work with those indie devs. And I don't know if RimWorld counts as that or not, but, you know, those games that maybe don't have a huge mega corporation publisher backing them and that they might be more recent. They don't have a 20 year legacy of nostalgia and fandom and so on. And I'd like us to crack the code to being able to work with those those folks. And what I don't want us to do is become some templated site like Teespring or Breadbubble or one of those guys where you can just slap on the logo and that's it. I want to make cool products for them. And so I'm not sure how to do that yet. I don't know. Maybe you figured it out in the last five seconds and you have an idea.
Juan:
I've been playing a lot of Cult of the Lamb.
Sean:
Great game.
Juan:
Recently. And of course, they have a shop. You go in, you try to find these cool products. And I think most of these new-ish indie games have their roots in nostalgia. And two of the best looking games this year are a beat-em-up for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IP, which you can get more nostalgic than that. And in the same studio, I think they're launching a Marvel Heroes beat-em-up. That's exactly like the ones for the Ninja Turtles, but it looks amazing. So I think nostalgia goes a long way for people that grew up in the 90s and 2000s.
Sean:
Cool. Very cool. What's working right now? What's the separate subject? What's the biggest or the last few really big wins we've had when something went really well and resonated? It made lots of sales. It made lots of happy fans. You got lots of social media posts, lots of everything, lots of good stuff. What are the last few wins that we've had recently?
Juan:
Well, I can think of three right now. One of them is a music box for the IP of Castlevania. I think everyone knows Castlevania, going back to the nostalgia on the popular licenses. And you like it a lot. You have that soundtrack, that 8-beat, 16-beat soundtrack, just engraved in your head. So we thought music in video games is extremely important. And we translated the popular tunes from the Castlevania games into a music box, kind of a lullaby version of those that tie into the game.
And it sounds really cool.
Sean:
Very good.
Juan:
The other two products are for the Sonic Hill franchise, where we created the protagonist, the lead protagonist's iconic jacket. And it sold very well. And since it sold very well, we tried to do something very special for fans. So without telling anyone, we, in one of the pockets, you could find the letter that your dead wife wrote to you, and you find it out at the end of the game. So it was right there. People were delighted with it. And lastly, I don't know if you want to get into our April Fools product.
Sean:
Sure.
Juan:
Which was a very niche idea that go through and was really good. We sold a white pillow that the protagonist of the game uses to smother his wife at the end of the game. And it was kind of a dark humor idea that turned out to be really great. It wasn't just a white pillow. It had an invisible ink message on it. So it's a really cool collectible. It really resonated with fans, and they really liked it. It was very popular.
Sean:
Oh, cool. That's kind of a deep cut, right? It's something that only a hardcore fan of the game or the franchise would be familiar with. So those are some wins. You got any words of warning, any mistakes that happened, or something we'd like to avoid in the future that you can think of?
Juan:
Maybe underestimating demand for certain products. I think you have to plan for different outcomes. You have to plan for a product selling 100 units, 500 units, and then you have to plan for a product selling 10,000 units. So being aware of the different situations and different outcomes that a product launch can have will give you enough insight to know how to act. And I think the other thing I would say was focus on marketing. Marketing goes a long way. Doing no marketing at all, it's not good. So I think product sales, it ties in with marketing really closely.
Sean:
Okay. Yeah. So don't discount marketing from your plan. It's not just because you got a really great IP, really well-designed website, great products, great customer service, all those things. It doesn't matter if nobody knows about what you're doing. And so this show is supposed to be about licensing, and we talked about e-commerce and licensing, which is fine. The difference to me between when we deal with a customer, for example, who wants to order 15,000 collector's edition units from us, or when we deal with a licensor who wants to partner with us so that we can take care of e-commerce or merch part of their business, it's pretty dramatic. And because we've been around for 16 years, and we've been so customer focused, trying to please everybody and do things on time and on budget and over deliver on what their expectations are, we've had to change our frame of mind when it comes to dealing with a licensor, because they could still be in a position of giving you feedback on one of your designs, for example, and you would do their design just like if you were doing creative services for a customer. And in this case, we want the feedback to get the licensor approval, but this is really, in a sense, these are really our shops, our products. We're the ones paying for them up front and taking the risk. If they don't sell, we're the ones who get stuck with them. And so the relationship is really different.
And it's taken me a while to reframe how to turn on your licensee, licensor brain for a certain meeting or discussion versus talking to a customer who's paying you for your services. And I think we've come a long way, not to say that we're tougher at all on the licensor, but it's more of an equal partnership. They are providing the IP that we need in order to get started, to do anything, but we are providing pretty much everything else when you think about it.
And so you as well, who started off doing services for customers, how does that feel or what do you think about that?
Juan:
I think a couple of factors come into mind when I'm talking about it. And I think managing expectations with different licensors goes a long way in terms of what products we think are going to sell and what's the correct timeline for different products, manufacturing, et cetera. The second thing is basically becoming one of their team members. Just try and understand how their company works, work with them so your system works in tandem with what they do. A lot of licensors have different approval systems, different timelines, timeframes, and you got to work with them to make things work.
Sean:
For sure. I like the team analogy. It's like an extension of their team there, right? With our own leadership, our own objectives, our own agenda, but we still have to play as a team. I think that's really great.
So we're coming to a close here, Juan. As I often ask on all of the meetings I do with all of the people in our company, is there anything else that you'd like to say? Do you have any comments, questions, concerns, anything at all?
Juan:
I think if I could give some kind of advice on the e-commerce side would be to test your IP's demand and see what the community is doing, what they're discussing. Work with partners who understand both the games and e-commerce. I think that's very important. And to not treat merch as an afterthought. I think merch is an extension of the IP. It's an extension of your brand and it's as important as the brand itself. So I think that would be my advice.
Sean:
Very cool. Great advice. I couldn't agree more. So thanks a lot for the discussion today, Juan. We're WAYPOINT e-commerce. If ever anybody needs a website that sells merchandise, needs the merchandise for their website, feel free to call us. We're here for you. We love video games. That's pretty much all we do. And we're always on the lookout for a new cool partner to make a shop with. Do you agree with that statement?
Juan:
Yes. Thank you, everyone.
Sean:
All right.
Juan:
Goodbye.
