[game_edu] Publishing a Game

[carl callewaert]

For the iPhone is very simple. You can sell directly on the appstore or work
with a publisher.
There is no standard rule that the publisher can set towards you.

Carl 


On 15/02/10 1:37 PM, "Ian Schreiber" <ai864 at yahoo.com> wrote:


> LOTS of different ways this happens. Time for me to raid my Game Industry

> Survey lesson plans...

> 

> Simplest route: self-publish as an "indie". Easiest on PC, although some

> services like XBLA and WiiWare are finally making this a possibility for

> console (though it's still limited). Direct download from your own website,

> shareware, put it up on game portals (which generally take a majority

> percentage, but are usually non-exclusive, so you can at least put it on many

> portals), make it free but with advertising... lots of ways to monetize this.

> Or, just put it up for free and your game is published... it is not a

> prerequisite that a published game must make money in order to be considered

> "published" (just ask any publisher ;-)

> 

> The more traditional route, common for console, is the third party developer /

> publisher model, which works almost exactly like book publishing. Publisher

> puts out a request for pitches (or developer cold-calls with a pitch).

> Publisher green-lights a project, and pays developer an "advance" (i.e. the

> money that is required to actually make the game, and typically not much

> more). Developer becomes a machine that turns money into a working game.

> Publisher pays for marketing (for high-profile titles, marketing cost ~=

> development cost), manufacturing, distribution, etc.  Business model is that

> retailer takes a good chunk of sales (which they need; they operate on thin

> margins as is, and shelf space is expensive). First Party (i.e. console

> manufacturer -- Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo) takes a small bite, around $10 or

> so for a $60 game per unit (and they need this too -- with the exception of

> Nintendo, first party typically starts selling consoles at a loss with the

> hopes they'll make up the difference in games sold). Publisher gets what's

> left. Developer gets screwed. :)

> 

> Okay, ACTUALLY what happens is that publisher gets what's left, and pays

> developer a percentage of that (typically around 10% or so, depending on a

> bunch of factors), which is called "royalties." But the catch is that the

> developer must "earn back" their advance out of their royalties first. So...

> for example, if a game sells at $50 retail and developer gets 10% of that, but

> they had a $5M advance, that means that the game needs to sell 1M units before

> the developer sees anything (and then they get $5/unit thereafter). So,

> developers typically don't earn royalties except on massive breakout hits.

> Publisher breakeven is much lower, so a lot of the time you'll have a game

> that makes a modest profit for the publisher but puts the developer out of

> business. (Is this fair? That question makes a great class discussion if

> you're prepared to argue whichever side your class doesn't :-)

> 

> Anyway. If you're a publisher, another route is to do the development

> in-house. That way you don't have to worry about royalties, so you get to keep

> more of the pie. (Or looking at it the other way: same deal if you're a

> developer with enough cash reserves to self-publish.) Which is one reason why

> EA has this habit of buying development studios, for example.

> 

> If you're First Party, then another route is to do the development AND

> publishing in-house, and then you get to keep even more of the money (it's

> just you and the retailer at that point). All first parties do this to some

> extent, historically Nintendo relies on this more than the others.

> 

> You would think at this point that you could continue the pattern, and it

> would occur to someone to consolidate development with retail, where a first

> party would merge with a chain of retail stores or something, but so far that

> has not happened. (Why not? That's another good class discussion :)

> 

> PC development has the advantage that there's no First Party to pay (and, if

> you offer direct download, no retailer either), so you keep a greater

> percentage of sales. Down side is that, in spite of the larger install base,

> there are fewer PC sales for standalone titles (presumably most of the PC

> dollars are spent on MMO subscriptions these days, although there are some

> people still trying to make the argument that lower retail sales means the PC

> is a dying platform, go figure).

> 

> So, those are the typical models.

> 

> Are there other ways to make money? Sure, tons of ways. MMOs and Facebook

> games each have their own business models, and some indies are getting

> creative on this front. One of the Project Horseshoe reports from this year

> suggested a bunch of other theoretical ways a game could be funded. But what

> I've listed above is the most common.

> 

> - Ian

> 

> 

> From: Nic Colley <Nic.Colley at cpcc.edu>

> To: IGDA Game Education Listserv <game_edu at igda.org>

> Sent: Mon, February 15, 2010 11:45:35 AM

> Subject: Re: [game_edu] Publishing a Game

> 

> Yes. Mainly console and pc are the main avenues I am looking at.

> 

> Thanks,

> Nic Colley

> Faculty, Simulation & Game Development

> Nic.Colley at cpcc.edu

> ________________________________________

> From: Stacey Simmons [ssimmons at cct.lsu.edu]

> Sent: Monday, February 15, 2010 10:50 AM

> To: IGDA Game Education Listserv

> Subject: Re: [game_edu] Publishing a Game

> 

> Nic, there are several different avenues depending on the source of

> the game, and the type of game it is (console, handheld, etc).

> 

> Are you looking for your class?

> 

> Stacey

> 

> 

> 

> On Feb 15, 2010, at 8:53 AM, Nic Colley wrote:

> 

>> > I have been looking around online now for a bit but my searches are

>> > coming up short. I am trying to find a solid breakdown of what

>> > happens or what steps are taken when a game is published or wants to

>> > get published. Any help would be much appreciated.

>> >

>> >

>> > Thanks,

>> > Nic Colley

>> > Faculty, Simulation & Game Development

>> > Nic.Colley at cpcc.edu

>> > _______________________________________________

>> > game_edu mailing list

>> > game_edu at igda.org

>> > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/game_edu

> 

> _______________________________________________

> game_edu mailing list

> game_edu at igda.org

> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/game_edu

> _______________________________________________

> game_edu mailing list

> game_edu at igda.org

> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/game_edu

> 

>  

> 

> _______________________________________________

> game_edu mailing list

> game_edu at igda.org

> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/game_edu


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://seven.pairlist.net/pipermail/game_edu/attachments/20100215/ad2f94a6/attachment.html>