The other day I came across a cool children's toy someone was raving about, and the thought struck me "is this something that could suit a computer game?"

I was wondering if it is viable to look for cool products that might transfer well and contact the company to say "are you interested in having a digital version?" A great example (which is already done) is Lego.

However can you simply send an email introducing your company and asking, "are you interested?" Is there a 'correct way' to do this, a standard kind of letter they would expect, or what? Should ideas of cost/time/scope be mentioned or a very generic open-ended introduction... "My company X does Y and I wondered if you had any interested in an online version of your product Z?"

Sorry for being vague, I'm trying not to post a really long question since those who know probably know the questions to ask better than I do!

You have to do it by telephone, not by email. And you need to be a game publisher to get a license from a toy manufacturer. Reason is, a publisher has the money to spend on the license, and a publisher has the ability to sell lots and lots of copies of the game (thus earn lots and lots of royalties on the game for the manufacturer).

If you think you're going to just develop the game for the manufacturer, well, think it through. What's the manufacturer supposed to do with the game once you've developed it? They'd need to go find a publisher for it. And they have no way of knowing (if they do give you permission) whether or not your game will be marketable. It's better for them to just skip all that, and just license the game to the big guns in the first place.

You can try, but the likelihood is that it'll just give them the idea to take the license to the big publishers without so much as a thank you for the idea. Or they've already had the idea, and some publishers might already be thinking about it.

As for having a digital version, the answer is yes, they have almost certainly thought about it.

Rest assured that they have thought about it, and that they haven't done yet because it requires money, implementation, marketing, branding, testing, distribution partners, customer relations, and more.

When it comes to business-to-business relationships, your options are generally:
* Schedule a meeting to discuss in person, and once you have a relationship use email or other preferred communications channel.
* Discuss over the phone until you convince them enough to discuss in person, and once you have a relationship use email or other preferred communications channel.
* Using an existing relationship, discuss it using your preferred existing communications.


But what do you present to them? What are you bringing to the bargaining table?


You'll need to present a plan that overcomes most of those problems. If you aren't bringing money to the table, you need to bring your own distribution network, marketing strength, customer support, or otherwise address their blocking concerns. Just being a game programmer by itself will not be enough. That only answers a portion of the problem of how it will be implemented. It does not address the much bigger concerns about funding, marketing, branding, testing, distributing, and otherwise doing business.

Come up with answers to those questions if you want the job.

Just for completeness, I am largely considering online web-based games/products here rather than something which has to be shipped and published. Perhaps more of a marketing tool or add-on to the physical product than something which is sold. One example of this is http://www.ridemakerz.com/ - they're not a publisher in the conventional sense. And I have seen precisely this model followed outside the world of games... a startup approached a big corp and said "we could make a virtual version of your product".

Maybe it makes no substantial difference but I would agree publishing is a big hurdle, if we remove that then the games are (a bit) more akin to creating a new website for a company than creating a shipping product.

the games are (a bit) more akin to creating a new website for a company than creating a shipping product.

It's kinda like a plumber coming to your house and offering to fix your unbroken plumbing for you. It comes down to what you can demonstrate to the company -- how much they stand to make, how much of a cut you'll take. Are you willing to work on it for no up-front money, and just a cut of the income, or are you coming saying "hey, I'll make this thing for you that you don't know you want. Pay me this much." So you really have to make a very well-researched presentation to show them why they should want this thing, and how much profit they stand to make, and when.

Essentially, you have to have very sharp sales skills, and the technical/artistic chops to back it up.

You should try to connect with someone in their licensing or marketing department. If you are pitching for a license, then you need to address the operational issues in Frob's post as well as how you intend to monetize their IP so that they can see the benefit of doing business with you (as opposed to a larger publisher/studio). Alternatively if you are only pitching your development services to build the virtual product as a work for hire, then you need to demonstrate your team's ability to complete the project on time and on budget. Either way it is imperative to demonstrate your professional capabilities beyond thinking their toy is cool. If this toy is popular and selling well, then the owners have probably been approached by other parties. Good luck!