Hello everyone. My team has a few questions for game developers who make money. But first, let me tell you the situation we're in. The P.C.N. stands for Personal Computer Netnavi. It is a project that has been worked on for some years now and can be found here: projectpcn.tk The project is based off of Capcom(c)'s Megaman Battle Network. Our mission is to create real netnavis (with customization) as close as we possibly can. Don't worry though. Capcom(c) has given the team permission to make this 'fan-based' game. We can use any of their graphics and sounds as long as we do not charge and make direct revenue. However, they have given us permission to make money through donations and advertisements. So here is the question: What would you use to make money? Advertismeents or Donations, or both? What are the pros and cons to them? The PCN Staff thank you. ~Akira, PCN funds handler.

This question should really be directed to your lawyer.

Quote: Capcom(c) has given the team permission to make this 'fan-based' game. We can use any of their graphics and sounds as long as we do not charge and make direct revenue. However, they have given us permission to make money through donations and advertisements.

Capcom has given you a great license, and offered relatively few restrictions on revenue sources. Ensure that you keep the document granting you permissions in a safe place.

You will need to talk with your lawyer and possibly to Capcom about the specifics. If you violate the restrictions you could be in serious trouble.

Web page donations are probably okay (see your lawyer).
Web page ads are probably okay (see your lawyer).
In game ads might be okay (see your lawyer).
In game donations might not be okay (see your lawyer).
In game fees for special content are probably not okay (see your lawyer).


If you are going on an ad-based or donation based system, don't do it half-hearted. Two or three ads per page plus multiple donation methods per page are not too obtrusive if that is your only revenue source.

Your current web page needs a lot of work, and I suggest you host the files under the same domain name rather than an external hosting site. I also suggest you do your own hosting rather than the very annoying ad-based system you are currently using. A few ads per page are okay, but multiple levels of nested ads are not. Otherwise, it looks like a nice start to a fairly ambitious project.

Good luck.

Thank you for the reply, frob. I'll look into right away. In the meantime, we're going to stick with what Capcom(c) mainly told us: web-page onation.
Also, the document IS in a safe place.

About the website, the website WILL be changed and hosted on a paid domain in the future, but until we really need it, as in when donations and money are needed, we're sticking with what we have to use.

Thank you again,
~PCN

As Frob said you need to talk to a lawyer. However I would sugest steering clear of including ads or donation collection in the game.