Jared Petty of Limited Run Games on the business of joy

I love physical media. I believe in its importance as a cultural commodity, but also because we have to preserve our art. Nobody else will do that for us. People are quick to forget, and many would see film, music, and games reduced to single-use items. So I jumped at the opportunity to meet with Jared Petty, senior manager of digital publications at Limited Run Games, a company that for years now has stood by their mission statement: Forever Physical.

During our talk, we touch on topics of game conservation, the joy of collecting, and what goes into building a good collector’s edition.

The interview is edited for clarity.

Why physical media matters

Jared Petty, why should we care about Limited Run Games?

Limited Run brings physical versions of digital-only games into the hands of gamers worldwide. If you have a game like Celeste, we are the ones that create a cartridge, produce it, and build a high-quality version of it. That’s something special. We make high quality collectors editions for those who care about them. We put a lot of effort in making old games available to everyone that are affordable and that provide quality of life updates.

We’ve created a thing called Carbon Engine. It’s a pipeline software that allows us to implement games on multiple platforms with fairly minimal distress. It allows us to make high quality versions of these games. We’ve also started making digital copies of these games. We realize that some people want to play these games, but don’t necessarily want a physical copy. So they’re available on the digital marketplace.

In essence, it’s taking neat stuff, games that deserve the red carpet treatment, and putting it into your hands. We celebrate it.

Video games are toys that are also art. Toys are thought of as disposable, but they can be very precious to us. They can bring us back to who we were.Jared Petty

Why does conservation of physical media matter?

Video games are a very new medium, and as a medium we haven’t done a good job taking care of our legacy. Important video game artifacts from the 60s and 70s are now lost forever. We don’t have the punch cards for them. We don’t have the documentation or trade show flyers. They’re just gone. That robs us of understanding the context of how things have come to be. Video games are toys that are also art. Toys are thought of as disposable, but they can be very precious to us. They can bring us back to who we were. Touching them, holding them, playing with them reminds us of ourselves. Art deserves to be celebrated and made accessible. Limited Run Games operates at that intersection.

We hope to do our part to change the landscape. People seem happy with most of the products we’ve made and how we approach them. It feels there’s an audience out there who want to have that touchstone.

Choosing the titles

What is the process like to scout for a new game?

There are a lot of factors that go into it. Sometimes it’s as easy as, “hey, I love this game!” Our company is full of people who collect and love games of all kinds. So, we take that product, examine it, and see if we can make a business case for it. I don’t want to sound cold, but the truth is that we still have to keep the doors open. We love the game, but do enough people in our audience love it? Can we sell it and serve our audience with what they want?

Sometimes it’s a matter of just making a deal. We get in touch with our partners, like Konami or SEGA, and we ask them what they want to do. Sometimes it’s the other way around. It’s very iterative. It comes in layers. At the start is a giant cloud of games, and at the end it’s just very few that get made. Sometimes it takes years. The market might not be right, and then a few years later it is again.

We’re a joyful business. We sell fun. The more people that can buy our products, the happier we are.Jared Petty

Are the digital releases a response to the criticism of the limitations of physical releases?

I’d call it an extra rather than a response. We’re a joyful business. We sell fun. The more people that can buy our products, the happier we are. We put things on digital, so people can buy it for the entire lifespan that it exists in digital, that’s great for everyone. I’m a marketer, so I think of the business end of things. We have an enormous amount of joy in our work, but we have to make this sustainable, too. A lot of companies who try to come along and bring back old games prove that it’s not sustainable for them. Limited Run is always going to be in the business of physical games, but there’s no reason to cut people out.

What was the original model for this like?

Originally, we only sold a limited amount of copies. Once they sold, that was it. Now it’s a window, say four or six weeks, for preorders. Then we count them and make the order for the games. That way we can have a sustainable model where we don’t overextend ourselves. But if they do miss that window, there is the digital offering now.

We learned a lot of how to conduct business over the years. Limited Run began when our CEO, Josh, made a game, and it flopped. It was a digital release, and he wanted a physical version before it got wiped. He found out he couldn’t manufacture one, but a large number. So he decided to sell the rest, and it sold fast. It started to build from there.

Building a collector’s edition

Limited Run has a reputation for thoughtful collector’s editions. What’s the process in making them?

I love this part. Love it. When a high-profile collector’s edition comes along, a call goes out across the company. We get hundreds of thoughts from everyone on what should go into it. We review them, we take a look at what’s economically feasible, what thematically works. Then we narrow it down for our partner, they come back with their suggestions, and we negotiate it down. After that, we make mock-ups of the final suggestions before we settle into the final product. It comes from passion.

Do you have a personal favorite?

I used to work in the book division, so I love the Monkey Island collector’s edition for its book and the square box. It’s beautiful. The Scott Pilgrim one is great. It makes you feel good just to see it. I go open it up at times just to feel happy.

Is there something you’re working on that you can tease from the future?

Very little. Obviously the Gex Trilogy, which is coming next year. My job in particular is to grow the digital releases. Right now, not everyone knows we exist, or that these releases are out. So a big part of my next year is growing awareness of the digital publishing arm. If you draw the graph, people who like Tombi and people who want physical discs overlap to a point. But there are a lot of Tombi fans who just want to pay the price, grab Tombi, and play within minutes.

We want to serve that.