Economics Of Game Publishing Analyzed

Thanks to 1UP for its feature discussing the precise financial details of videogame publishing, described by Mastiff Games publisher Bill Swartz at GDC in San Jose last week. Swartz "put together various slides showing where the money goes for a hypothetical game", revealing that "a publisher can clear seven dollars on a game [after all costs are taken into account]." However, it appears that "only one of every five games will sell enough copies to make money, since publishers have to consider things like taking back inventory that doesn't sell through to customers", and elsewhere in the article, photos of the GDC slides show "a breakdown of how much publishers, wholesalers, and retailers can make, as well as what risks they face."