[casual_games] selling game online

[Alex Amsel]

Actually there's a problem with this Brian. We've been in the industry 
for a long time, too long, and what you suggest as a solution is 
actually the beginning of further problems/ Fixed COGS can work in 
certain cases - magazine deals, per territory deals (esp for budget or 
low-profile projects), and long tail.

However, fixed COGS allows profits to stay with the 
portals/publishers/aggregators and they simply don't feed down. What you 
end up with is almost a work for hire business, and this is not going to 
get developers far in the long run.

The great thing about the download revenue share model is that you live 
or die based upon your sales, exactly how it should be. A great success 
will make you rich, well, well off. That's how it should be, and the 
increased discounting is worrying - done wrong it'll be damaging for the 
online industry just as it has been for retail. However, that's for 
another thread.

Can you imagine if Virtual Villagers had been sold wholesale?

(BTW: Good to meet several of you in Amsterdam, and hear some of your talks)

Brian Robbins wrote:

> The solution right now is to change the business from a purely rev

> share deal, which worked great a few years ago, to a wholesale deal.

> In doing so developers will be able to fix their costs and revenues

> without getting screwed over too badly, while Portals and Publishers

> will gain a fixed COGS and can continue to compete in the marketplace.

>

>

>

>   


-- 

Alex Amsel
Tuna Technologies Ltd (Sheffield, UK)
Cross Platform Game Development
Tel: +44 (0)114 266 2211  Mob: +44(0)7771 524 632