People in high places have clearly stated that being a indie developer in the US economy, is not only more attractive to the consumer, but also has alot of advantages that most inhouse, or large development companies do NOT have. I prefer to label myself and indy developer, and I believe that it will give me alot of headway into the future. When you guys see the work I've accomplished, you will probably say to yourself "How in the hell did he do that alone, in one lifetime?". That is EXACTLY the impression that I want to leave in the brains of all of the hardcore gamers, aquistions headhunters, and indy develepors.

There is nothing that could be better for me then being a solo developer, putting out a product labeled indy. It shows dedication, and outstanding professional qualities. If people by the game because they feel its fun, then wonderful. I feel that I will generate more sales than I ever could, by representing the indy commmunity first.

This forum topic is not about being indy, ornot; incorporation, LLC, or any derividation. It's not about theorizing the best solutions out there for making it in the biz, or the quality "polished look" of the product. It is about:
(I hate qouting myself)

#1 Is a 5,000 USD 4 inch x 4 inch, two week add on Gamespot really worth it?

Assume that I make the ad eye catching and professional. Gamespot "garauntees" 3 million impressions, and the sales department claims that "on average" 1% of their customers get hits, and 2%-5% of those hits result is sales. They also get approximately 5 million hits per day on their website, so alot of people visit. If you do the math, thats approximately 26,500 USD profit if the game sells for 30 USD. How realistic do you feel these figures are?

#2 In the past, did you find that selling your games in the indy communities generated positive feedback, that out weighed the negative feedback of your game. And if so, was the financial return worth the investment of your time promoting in the communities?

#3 Before a publishing company will seriously take a look at a indy game, where the creator or team does not have an prior experience, how many copies do they wish to see sold?

#4 What types of advertising have you done, and which were the most lucrative?

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#3 Before a publishing company will seriously take a look at a indy game, where the creator or team does not have an prior experience, how many copies do they wish to see sold?

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Pursuent to an earlier point, in my experience, a publisher will not care one whit about sales or experience if you're not incorporated. This is also for your protection: if your game goes belly up and you end up oweing the publisher monies, they can't take it from your house or car if you are an LLC. So if you're not, take my advice and do it. This whole thread may be moot if you don't.

But okay, let's assume you are incorporated or want to risk it solo. No matter for this question is pointless. I've never gone up to a publisher and asked this and if you do, I'm not quite sure what their reaction will be. The obvious answer is "as many as possibe" but a publisher my see hidden potential in a low selling game or a fluke in a high selling game. So if this is your strategy for getting a publishers attention I feel it is incomplete and short-sighted.

Which leads me to your main question:

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#1 Is a 5,000 USD 4 inch x 4 inch, two week add on Gamespot really worth it?

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No and I'll tell you why. Nobody knows you or your game. There is no "buzz", no anticipation from you. You have no idea what your game is worth to indies or mainstream. Hence people will see the gamespot ad and most likely not waste any time on it. Furthermore, there are so many other ads that your game just gets lost. A better question to ask is "How many of you have bought a game you've never heard of before after seeing an ad on gamespot or similar site?" I will hazard a guess that the number is going to be close to zero.

But here is my biggest reason: for 5000k USD and depending on where you live, you can attend two or three gaming conferences. As you are at the start of your gaming career with a first project, I believe that the networking and direct advertising you do at these events will generate a lot more interest in your game than an ad. Furthermore, since you want to get the attention of a publishing house there is NO better way than to do this directly at the GDC or other conferences. I can guarantee you that a personal connection with a publishing house representative will be worth 100's if not 1000's of sales for the simple fact that companies don't invest in products, they invest in people. If they can see you, talk to you, see your passion and your dedication to the game, then there is every chance that they will pick you up with little to no sales.

Last piece of advice (I know, I'm full of them today (or is it full of it?)): This is the WRONG forum for your questions. There are a handful of people here that have actually gone commercial with their products and thus you won't get the feedback you want here. Go to a) gamedev.net, b) gamasutra.com, or c) IGDA.org sites, find their buisness forums and ask there. They will give you better advice and numbers than I or most anyone else here can.

Greeitngs,

Peace. We released our first game in September 2007. However what I wanted to share, was that our hope is to go in February to the Game Developers Conference (GDC), if you check out the conference some of the lectures I believe address your issues. It would seem a good place to network with those who have the level of experience you desire to answer your questions, before spending what I consider "big bucks". You probably know about this and just want information sooner than later...but figured I would just re-iterate that which you probably already know

They also have an independent game festival which we plan on attending as well, the expo ticket is only $175 for all of the days

Here is the link: http://www.gdconf.com/

Something that was very useful to me:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5143191351705936614

There's more of those videos on google video about indie developers / developing really worth checking out,

(There's a bunch of websites too worth checking out where I found this movie: http://www.indiegamesummit.com/ is one of those)

Cheers