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GDC - The Importance of Self-Publishing

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the if-you-want-something-done-right dept.

Eric Zimmerman, head of the Gamelab development project, has announced on the eve of the Game Developer's Conference that they're moving to a self-published format. From the article: "I think we have something else to offer ... and we've decided that it's hard finding partners that share this kind of vision and that want to take the risks that we're talking about to really create new sorts of games. And additionally we're working in a field right now of online games with a downloadable distribution model, which means that we can self-publish. It's relatively straightforward for a small company to publish."

4 of 34 comments (clear)

  1. Thi is the promise of the internet by ChenLing · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The promise of the internet is that we all become publishers (if we choose)...from news, blogs, games, music, and movies....this is the "New Economy". The "Old Economy" is dominated by the gatekeepers, the middlemen--the ones that own the means of distribution, starting with railroads.

    Let freedom ring!

    --
    "You have the option of insanity. I do not. And that makes me crazy!" - Brian to Angela, My So-Called Life
  2. Another approach by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Go public, rake in every kind of startup money, shell out some mainstream games and wait for the buy out. Sell them the brand and head off with the dough.

    Then take the buy out money and go for #1. And THEN start to make the games you like!

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  3. Comments From Another Self-Published Pro by spidweb · · Score: 5, Interesting

    For the last over a decade, my company has done quite well for itself self-publishing our role-playing games. (Spiderweb Software, http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com/ If you can pull it off, it's a great way to make a living. With electronic distribution and a huge profit margin, you don't have to sell too too many copies of your game to buy a house.

    The problem is getting off the ground. Once you write your great game (oh, and it does have to be great), you have to get that first group of people to notice you. Then, hopefully, this core group will turn, through word-of-mouth, into an actual audience.

    Once that very difficult thing is accomplished, you, like me, can live your basement-dwelling dream life.

    Best of luck to Gamelab!

    --
    - Jeff Vogel
    Spiderweb Software
    Fantasy RPGs for Mac and Windows.
    http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com
  4. My two cents by Teppy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We almost had a major publisher for A Tale in the Desert. They projected around 30,000 subscribers. Now, 3 years after release, the actual amount of money we put in our pockets each month is just a bit less with ~1300 subscribers than we would have made with a large publisher at 30,000.

    And, no bureaucracy, no suits second-guessing me, and I can try any crazy thing in the game that I want. My advice: If you can self-publish, do it. If you can't, find a way that you can ;)