RealNetworks is a huge company.

The idea is to offer an easy solution to developers who just want to get their game out there without a lot of hassle.

Sales numbers don''t matter. They mean absolutly nothing. So what if they''ve sold hundreds or thousands of games? It''s an outlet.

You can submit your game to DigiBuy, GarageDevelopers, Icarus Independent, ect and get more exposure. You don''t have to use just one.

It''s an idependent game. The last thing on your mind should be how rich you''re going to get off of it. You should just take every opportunity available to you to get it out there. Right now exposure is more important than money. At least it should be.

Ben

Icarus Independent

Jump Down The Rabbithole

Selling in different online shops is the best thing to promote your game.

But it''s stupid to go through garagedeveloper if you could handle
it directly to digibuy, or digital river and others.
Important is that not all online sales services site, require a credit card. There are enough online shop, who don''t use this as a requirement they take a bit from your sales.
And then they send you each month a check.

Important to know is that realnetwork uses two agreements Kalvin.
The first one is a standard agreement, you can sell also through other channels. But Real will promote a bit less your game, then if they got the exclusive rights.

Or you can choose for the exclusive agreement, they will take everything to promote your game. But you don''t may sell it through any other distribution channel in retail or online.
So they are the only one who sells your game.

This guy below sold his game through download.com and other sites but without any result. So why should selling through garagedeveloper, who handles the sales through digbuy(if you read the info on the digibuy site Kalvin). Garage upload the content etc. So then first digibuy takes a part of the profit
and then garagedeveloper takes a part. So what is left over is four the developer. Probarly not much...........

So I find this very stupid thinking.
Contact directly the online shop!!!!!!!!!!!!



Roman Arce
and some games like mine have a conversion rate of almost 0%, over 20000 downloads at download.com and more in many other sites and just 1 copy sold to someone who paid with someone else credit card...
Is my game so pathetic? Search for "punk" at download.com and it''s the only game with that name, but is it really so pathetic?

Important is if the game is well promoted.
Reviews, messageboards, etc.
Screenshots. Info on the homepage , updates etc.
A quick to access site is important.
Realarcade is a very easy and nice place to be as a gamer.
But garagedeveloper isn''t it. in know way.
It looks very ugly, especially the homepage. My 8 years old doughter could make a site like that.
So the site is IMPORTANT. It''s the first impression.
You must look it from the customers view.
Will I buy it or not. Also the name /label garagedeveloper is not orginal related to games developing.
In my opinion you get a 10 for being a top bad thinker.

I have to agree with the anonymous poster that the look of the website is very important for the customer.

Its a bit...strange...that people who have not sold a single game think they can bash on other peoples websites or give them advices.

So what is a good website? Tell you what, when I go on one of those "cool d00d" flash websites I leave faster than the screen has build up. That''s why I never visit the websites of those "professional" companies. I want the information, fast, that looks good, but without any high-tech stuff.

Websites are like art - some people like it and some hate it. Just make something that fits to your budget and don''t worry too much. If your game is good and on some download sites the sales will come from itself. And if not - then its your game and nobody else fault.

Now I get back to coding. I have a game to finish.

I feel the same about that, I HATE those "professional" flash sites with STUPID animations, all the flash animations are obviously shit compared to anything you can watch on TV for example, I prefer simple html[+java-script] and all the info fast and easy to visualize.

I agree that flash websites arent always the best. If flash is so cool why don''t Amazon use it? They are the most successfull site on the web...
I have spent a lot of time on my site, not adding flash, but redoing the graphics, trying to get it to load real fast and look as professional as I can. I discovered that using Cascading Style Sheets really helped me get a good look for my site. I try to make sure all my links are always active, and don''t add anything that looks unprofessional, like links to non-games sites that i think might be ''cool''.
The main thing that sells games is having a good game. After that, its a matter of promotion and good reviews. A good review or even a mention on Adrenaline Vault or StrategyPlanet can shift more copies in a week than you might otherwise sell in a year. submit your game to every download site you can find. If your game isn''t on at least 20 sites then you aren''t really trying.

http://www.positech.co.uk

I hate flash also.
What I mean is that the site (html) needs to have a fresh look
to feel comfortable as a customer. Of course the game needs to be good.

Compare it with a retail shop, where you can find easy and clear your needs. For an online shop this is also important, it doesn''t have to be a an animation disco. Just look again at realarcade. Nice html homepage. Of course websites is a design field, but you need to get something nice of it. Just like realarcade did. Also I have to say, that egames got also a good and fresh new website look. There first site was nice. But the second site is also good. A simple site like valusoft, and I refer then to the first one. It was nice and simple. A fresh look. There second new site is nicer. But again, you can see that there is a nice structure in those sites. And I don''t mentioned the sites of the biggies like EA etc. Those sites are also nice and fresh. But with front page the first site of valusoft is possible.

When you look at the site design of garagedeveloper, my 8 year old daughter could design it.

The site design of cliffski is much nicer and fresher then the site of garagedeveloper, when you make a compare between indie developers sites.

It isn''t just something personal, no way.
It''s a matter of good site design structures.

By the way I sold 2 years ago an
arcade game through eGames. It''s sold on there
big big game packs. They sell worldwide in many units.
Over the 100.000 a year. I am unfortunately not rich.
It''s on pro-rate base calculated.
But it''s a start. I believe that realarcade can be something
new, then the default shops like Digital River, Digibuy etc.

You keep complaining about the percentage. I don''t think you realize what it costs to produce a game. Even if you were to sell the game yourself you wouldn''t make 100%. There are quite a few costs involved. Materials, shipping, taxes, fees for accepting CCs, ect.

DigiBuy and Icarus Indie both mark up to the final price to cover those costs. The author gets the most profit. You can''t calculate the percentage from that. The more you demand the more we have to mark up the price to accomadate you.

Anywayz, Garage Developer is a decent site. It could be neatened up a bit but it''s still a decent site.

Ben

Icarus Independent

Jump Down The Rabbithole