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self publishing or getting a publisher?
#112627
02/18/07 22:42
02/18/07 22:42
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,012
germany, dresden
ulf
OP
Serious User
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OP
Serious User
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,012
germany, dresden
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hey there, iam wondering what you guys think about this. i have a casual game finished pretty soon. its fun to play (at least for me)  i developed it during the last 2 years in my sparetime. now that it comes near 100% completetion iam asking myself if i should email some publishers in order to get the game in the shelves. if i go to a computer market in germany there are a lot worse games there than the one i have developed... or should i try to publish it myself via the internet worldwide. or is there a way to combine both ideas?? i know that there will be more sales if the game hits the shelves but i guess i wont see a lot money from that. i have never ever done it the indy way setting up a website, shop system and publishing the demo at sharewaresites, giving out press releases and so on. my plan was to, make a website for the game, make a demo with like 7 levels (final will contain 30). but how should i go on. do some publishers make it the way that they sell the game burned on a cd and on their website and permit me to sell it on my own site too? how much in % can you request if the game is finished with the installer, manual, onlinescoresystem, website and so on so the publisher has "nothing else" to do than burn the cd, and print the package. i really dont want to email them now because i have not made up my mind yet. i read that a lot of indy developers make good money with their own model. but i fear that i will totally fail with that idea cause in my mind it has to do with who you know from wich news site. in other words i want to squeeze out the maximum of my casual game. please add your thoughts here or post if you have some figures similar to those http://www.gameproducer.net/category/sales-statistics/greetings
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Re: self publishing or getting a publisher?
[Re: ulf]
#112628
02/19/07 01:47
02/19/07 01:47
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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 4,506
Germany
fogman
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 4,506
Germany
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From my experience itīs easier to work together with publishers. Many small publishers are willing to sign non-exclusive contracts. So you can get in contract with more publishers and you can sell the game in a lot of countries. Besides that youīre even able to sell it by yourself, if your contracts are non-exclusive. Keep in mind that youīll need different versions for different countries. After all a good publisher will provide you with tips, content and motivation. You should get in touch with your first publisher as soon as you can. You must accept some changes, basically when it comes to graphics and user interface. These are my thoughts so far... Quote:
how much in % can you request if the game is finished with the installer, manual, onlinescoresystem, website and so on so the publisher has "nothing else" to do than burn the cd, and print the package.
50%, otherwise the publisher has a problem...
no science involved
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Re: self publishing or getting a publisher?
[Re: ulf]
#112630
02/19/07 09:46
02/19/07 09:46
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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 4,506
Germany
fogman
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Expert
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 4,506
Germany
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Itīs very difficult to get games into the stores, at least in germany. But itīs a challenge. Edit: Quote:
so selling it online should not be a problem.
Itīs a lot of work to advertise your game on every big download portal.
Last edited by fogman; 02/19/07 09:48.
no science involved
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Re: self publishing or getting a publisher?
[Re: fogman]
#112631
02/19/07 11:52
02/19/07 11:52
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,012
germany, dresden
ulf
OP
Serious User
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OP
Serious User
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,012
germany, dresden
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Quote:
Itīs very difficult to get games into the stores, at least in germany. But itīs a challenge.
why do you think so? if the game is good and the feedback from testers too. i know at least a handfull games that are far worse and in the stores already.
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Re: self publishing or getting a publisher?
[Re: ulf]
#112632
02/19/07 12:49
02/19/07 12:49
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Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 324
Germany
maybenew
Senior Member
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Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 324
Germany
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Quote:
Quote:
Itīs very difficult to get games into the stores, at least in germany. But itīs a challenge.
why do you think so? if the game is good and the feedback from testers too. i know at least a handfull games that are far worse and in the stores already.
it has really nothing to do with quality. or lets say not that much. you have to make a convincing argument that you have a target audience on the market and that the game will sell.
if you sell a really bad game for not more than 10 bucks and get a few game magazines to report how bad the game is, chances are that it sells 3 times better than a good game in the same price range.
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Re: self publishing or getting a publisher?
[Re: PHeMoX]
#112634
02/19/07 16:44
02/19/07 16:44
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Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 324
Germany
maybenew
Senior Member
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Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 324
Germany
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Quote:
Publicity only works for short-term sales so in the end the bad product would suffer because of it's own lack of quality. Best to make sure you make a good game, instead of trying to get magazines to report on how bad it is, your image as developer suffers bigtime, eventhough such publicity could temporarily boost your sales.
of course you have to make an extraordinarily bad product. make it, publish it, let them say it is extraordinarily bad and everybody buys it because its extraordinarily bad, nobody will be disappointed or angry at you, they just laugh, but in the meanwhile you make a lot of money and can fund the next project with it. more money means better quality and so your new game will be much better. now the magazines will say "remember the studio with the crappy game a year ago, seems they got their acto together..." and you have publicity for your new game...
a few years ago there was a world war 2 shooter game. game star called it worst game of the year and gave it an award for sucking. the game sold around 15k units in germany in one year... that is around 5 times as much as a similar game in the same price range...
another example: look at the pearl harbour series in the us... let us call the games "simple"... part 1 sold more than 200k units because all magazines reported the game extraordinarily sucks and therefore is fun to play... part 2 was a solid game sold very well because it got attention of the magazines for its predecessor sucking...
its a risky game and maybe nothing to be proud of, but if played right i do not see where your image is harmed in a way you can not make up for it... and it is the perfect way to get the money and the media attention to produce a better game..
but thats just to explain my initial statement...
it is not suitable for casual games, they have to be top quality to reach maximum conversion rates...
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