Submit game to portal or "publisher"?

[KNau]

Just curious about your thoughts on whether it would be better to submit a game directly to a portal or to go through a publisher / agent?

On one hand if you deal directly with the portal they may be willing to make a better royalty offer for exclusivity but hearing back from them and getting the deal done could take forever and if you drop off their front page, you make no money (allegedly).

On the other hand the publishers / agents seem to be able to get games on all the major and mini-major sites and probably have a better working relationship with the "gatekeepers" of portaldom. The problem, of course, is that revenue is much more diluted and you're only hope is that the broad exposure can compensate for having 2 companies skimming off your game.

Any thoughts from those of you who have used either of these methods? I'm specifically looking at Real Arcade or Oberon at the moment but I'm finding more potential distributors before submitting.

[svero]

Just curious about your thoughts on whether it would be better to submit a game directly to a portal or to go through a publisher / agent?

I think it depends on the agreement, and what the publisher is bringing to the table. A good publisher can be a great partner, can help fund your game, and can help you do the things you need to have a hit to sell. A bad publisher can bring little to the table and just collect on your hard work as a middleman. And I know of no end to stories from people who've made deals and never seen any return from publishers. I think just about everyone in the business has had that happen to them once if they've been at this for any length of time.

On one hand if you deal directly with the portal they may be willing to make a better royalty offer for exclusivity but hearing back from them and getting the deal done could take forever and if you drop off their front page, you make no money (allegedly).

Most portal exclusivity is short term. Usually if a portal wanted to act as a publisher and have long term exclusive rights they'd pay you some larger up front amount. While it's not exactly right to say that slipping off the front page makes *no* money, it's pretty close to the truth. You make much less. Probably not enough to live off of and fund another game. If the game sells though it's in their best interest to promote it. But they will promote stuff that sells better over your game.

On the other hand the publishers / agents seem to be able to get games on all the major and mini-major sites and probably have a better working relationship with the "gatekeepers" of portaldom. The problem, of course, is that revenue is much more diluted and you're only hope is that the broad exposure can compensate for having 2 companies skimming off your game.

A publisher with a track record will probably have easier access to the portals than you do, but if a game is really good the portals will deal with you. If the game is not very good they're no more likely to offer much to your publisher than they are to you directly. A company with a great track record may be more able to get a portal to take a risk on a new concept or game. They may even have an x title deal where the portal can't refuse. It will vary greatly from portal to portal and publisher to publisher. Revenue is definitely diluted, but if a publisher helps you get your game where you wouldn't have anyways.. well it's pretty clear 20% of 50k is better than 40% of nothing.

At the end of the day how good a deal you get and how well received you are by portals and publishers will be determined by how good your game is. If for instance you put the game up on one portal, say realarcade, and it was number one for 2 months.. you probably wont even need to approach the other sites. They'll come to you.

[gamemaker]

Great answer from svero there!. We went straight to a respected publisher because they have the power to get your game out all over the world (eventually), the royalty rate is good imo, there's usually less chance of getting ripped off and there's every chance of getting your other games published through them if you wish...oh, and they can also give you the opportunity to do licensed games (more dosh!).

[KNau]

Great answer. Thanks for the reply :)