SPAM-LOW: Re: [casual_games] Top Download List

[James C. Smith]

I agree that the current state of the casual games industry is very
different than the box office and that portals have many publishing
interests.  But I don't see why that would stop them from wanting to promote
the industry in general.  As James G. pointed out, having a standard top
sellers list to quote would create numerous opportunities for the mass
market media to mention casual games.  When this happens, everyone in the
casual games industry would benefit including portals, publisher,
distributes, retailers, and developers.  Everyone want a bigger slice of the
pie, but I think everyone also want to help the pie get bigger even if they
are a publisher and a retailer at the some time.  

-James C. Smith

-----Original Message-----
From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org]
On Behalf Of Juan Gril
Sent: Monday, January 16, 2006 1:10 PM
To: 'IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List'
Subject: RE: SPAM-LOW: Re: [casual_games] Top Download List


Wade was saying:

"What is the motivation for theaters to disclose box office numbers? Isn't
it because they serve as a marketing tool? If so, couldn't one make the same
argument for aggregated sales data from casual game portals?"

It's a very good point. Yes, it would work the same way if there would be a
clear line between distributors and publishers. The problem right now is
that most distributors act like pseudo publishers by looking for exclusive
deals or put little things in the contract between distributor and developer
that limit developers' distribution channels. They do this because 3 weeks
or more of exclusive distribution is an edge of sales over casual "hardcore"
users, something that impact a couple of percentage points in the P&L.

This is a very interesting topic, and also worth mentioning that the Movie
business dealt with the same problem in the first 4 decades of existence. We
should dig down in the history of the movie business and find out when
studios broke down exclusive distribution deals with theatres, and why.

Cheers,

Juan