More than 20 years after the start of the adventure, Philippe Guigné, founder of the famous internet sailing game Virtual Regatta, has announced his departure from the company in May 2023, after selling it in 2021 to online gaming specialist 52 Entertainment. He answers our questions on the company's success, his plans and his vision of digital in the boating industry.
How did Virtual Regatta come about? Can you tell us about its origins and rise?
It's a long story. The company was born under the name Many Players. It all started with a vision of the time, which turned out to be incredibly accurate. Back in 2000, I believed that the Internet would democratize video games. Before, you had to buy cartridges and travel, and with the Internet, all you had to do was download it and you could be playing in minutes.
I'm a former professional sailor, I won the Tour de France in 1997 and I managed it in 1996, when Bruno Troublé took a sabbatical. And my second intuition, having worked as a sports event organizer, is that the Internet will make it possible to do so, without everyone having to go to the same place. This gave rise to e-Sport, which didn't even have a name at the time.
That's how, in 2002, I created Many Players, starting with a soccer game. I felt there was no easy game to play. It worked, but didn't make any money. It was difficult to monetize. We entered the free-to-play market. The principle is that anyone can play and access 98% of the game, and some are willing to pay for the remaining 2%. We raised a little money and financed a small team by selling IT services. We're continuing with other sports like rugby, but none of them are doing very well.
In 2006, France TV and France Télécom, with whom I was also working, came to see me and said they were partners in the Route du Rhum and wanted a sailing game. I told them that I could see what needed to be done, but that I was afraid my passion would lead me into entrepreneurial nonsense. There were things out there, but they weren't very accessible, reserved for hard-core sailors who were also a bit geeky. Nevertheless, we got together again and finally developed a fairly clean 2D Flash game. There are 50,000 players.
After that, we were sued by a distant subsidiary of the Rothschild group for patent infringement. Not having the means to defend ourselves, the game was put on hold for a year, before a settlement was reached.
The Vendée Globe 2008 launched a call for projects for a game, which we won with a breakthrough offer. The game is not the property of the Vendée Globe, but we have a license on the Vendée Globe name, and are taking risks with Virtual Regatta. It was a success, with 340,000 players, and the adventure really got underway.
It's taken off even more with the arrival of the iPhone and the mobile game for the Route du Rhum 2010.
In the 2010s, we're working on the Virtual Regatta Inshore version, which corresponds to my real passion for sailing.
Today, the game doesn't have a monopoly, but it's the arch-leader.
How do you see digital technology evolving in the boating industry?
Today, virtual sailing is part of the equation. If a major race didn't, its fans would kill it! 1 million players on the Vendée Globe is a world record. It works and will continue to work. Not all sports are created equal. For example, soccer is very complex: 1 person has to manage 11 players at the same time, so in practice 1 and the computer the other 10. In sailing, we keep the best, and remove the rest. Strategy is the most interesting thing, and it's what's pushed the furthest. We don't adjust the jib sheet or the carriage position. All we've kept is the course and the choice of sails, even for inshore sailing. What's important is good wind modelling, with rights, lefts, reefs, slack water... And a good implementation of the racing rules, which was the most complex part.
What will you be doing from now on? Do you have any plans for the boating industry?
Above all, I'm going to enjoy life. I'm 53 and I've got the money to sail. Secondly, I didn't set out to make video games again, and in any case, I have clauses that don't allow me to do that. What motivates me is to bring digital solutions to boating and sailing, to help sailors and those who sail. I'm talking, for example, about race registration, finding a berth... Let's face it, there's a lack of interest in sailing. We need to make life easier for those who want to sail!
