DFG
10-12-2006, 11:59 AM
I thought it might be helpful to share some of my thoughts in what I am looking for in partnering with indie developers. For a year now, Download Free Games has been transitioning out of an affiliate model into a hybrid reseller/affiliate (partnering with Trymedia only). This way I can have a unified shopping cart experience and support for all my customers and not be constrained to only the titles I resell.
That said, here are the criteria I use in deciding to partner with an indie developer under a reseller agreement:
1 - A suite of 3 or more decent selling titles
I am looking for 3 or more titles that will make me $1,000 a year or more - meaning 10 or more sales monthly per title. That isn't alot, but I have had many games never reach that and they just aren't worth the time and headache of putting together a contract, negotiating, accounting, payments etc. Since I am a very small company (just me and whoever I have subcontracting at the time), I must be selective even though I do love seeing a small indie succeed. I have broken the 3 or more rule in the past but I have always regretted it.
2 - Unique titles
Although a clone or a genre advancer (like Cake Mania or Mystic Inn) can be good for a quick shot of sales, most of these do not withstand the test of time. There are too many other games in the genre that compete with them. They also do not add to a broad and unique content offering on my site which I am going for. I really hate having 6 or more Diner Dash or Zuma clones crowding out my puzzle and action categories - I just want maybe the top 2 now in these genres. I love the Conquests (Risk type), Smugglers 3 (space trading adventure), and President Forever (political sim) type games that are so different from what is normally being pumped out right now. Helps me differentiate from other game portals.
3 - Works with ActiveMark
Just needs to work with Trymedia's ActiveMark DRM. No exceptions. Most of the time this is no problem.
4 - Knows why their games sell
Although not a deal breaker, I really like it when indie developers really understand their audience and why their games sell. They might have discussion forums or some other system in place where they communicate regularly and often with their audience. They can pass this info on to me and really help me market the game more effectively on DFG.
5 - Willing to try new things/committed to improvement
I love the indie that just wants to make their product better. Amanda at Amaranth is the best example of this. She is so humble and wants any feedback at all to help improve her products. She is also willing to try new things to help her games sell better. She has been one of the best partners to work with (for the short time we have communicated) out of the whole industry.
Add to this is just a willingness to work with a portal/reseller. I know some indies just don't want to give up their assets for someone else to wrap or don't want to break out of the affiliate model. In some ways I can definitely understand that and it is a viable model for some. However, I think you are always going to see your most successful affiliates transition away from the affiliate model so they can keep their customers and get a higher percentage of the sale. I've seen this happen in many different industries on the Internet. There are so many services you can outsource to or hire to help make this transition fairly easy to those who are willing.
That is about it. If I think of anything else I will add it. I hope this is useful to some of you.
That said, here are the criteria I use in deciding to partner with an indie developer under a reseller agreement:
1 - A suite of 3 or more decent selling titles
I am looking for 3 or more titles that will make me $1,000 a year or more - meaning 10 or more sales monthly per title. That isn't alot, but I have had many games never reach that and they just aren't worth the time and headache of putting together a contract, negotiating, accounting, payments etc. Since I am a very small company (just me and whoever I have subcontracting at the time), I must be selective even though I do love seeing a small indie succeed. I have broken the 3 or more rule in the past but I have always regretted it.
2 - Unique titles
Although a clone or a genre advancer (like Cake Mania or Mystic Inn) can be good for a quick shot of sales, most of these do not withstand the test of time. There are too many other games in the genre that compete with them. They also do not add to a broad and unique content offering on my site which I am going for. I really hate having 6 or more Diner Dash or Zuma clones crowding out my puzzle and action categories - I just want maybe the top 2 now in these genres. I love the Conquests (Risk type), Smugglers 3 (space trading adventure), and President Forever (political sim) type games that are so different from what is normally being pumped out right now. Helps me differentiate from other game portals.
3 - Works with ActiveMark
Just needs to work with Trymedia's ActiveMark DRM. No exceptions. Most of the time this is no problem.
4 - Knows why their games sell
Although not a deal breaker, I really like it when indie developers really understand their audience and why their games sell. They might have discussion forums or some other system in place where they communicate regularly and often with their audience. They can pass this info on to me and really help me market the game more effectively on DFG.
5 - Willing to try new things/committed to improvement
I love the indie that just wants to make their product better. Amanda at Amaranth is the best example of this. She is so humble and wants any feedback at all to help improve her products. She is also willing to try new things to help her games sell better. She has been one of the best partners to work with (for the short time we have communicated) out of the whole industry.
Add to this is just a willingness to work with a portal/reseller. I know some indies just don't want to give up their assets for someone else to wrap or don't want to break out of the affiliate model. In some ways I can definitely understand that and it is a viable model for some. However, I think you are always going to see your most successful affiliates transition away from the affiliate model so they can keep their customers and get a higher percentage of the sale. I've seen this happen in many different industries on the Internet. There are so many services you can outsource to or hire to help make this transition fairly easy to those who are willing.
That is about it. If I think of anything else I will add it. I hope this is useful to some of you.