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Siggy999 · 26 April 2008, 23:07

Digital purchase and transfer is the way to go for anybody starting up.

Packaging - boxes - disks - printed manuals - cover art - shipping and handling - they all add up costs that not only have to be passed on (and I know some people are more than happy to pay that extra cost for nice packaging) - it *FIRST* has to be laid down by the people putting out the game, and thats a huge risk for a fledgling group.

Through my work I have access to a transfer house - and have to use them fairly regularly for the same kind of thing (bulk DVD presentation packages for some clients) - small run orders, the cost is too much to even think about, even bulk orders aren't a cost I'd want to gamble on just starting out.

'But you can do it at home.. label and print yourself!' I hear you cry....
Printer ink very quickly adds up - as do label and paper costs - so go to the local Kinko's or OS equiv. for copying - again.... starts to add up with small runs again. Do I order in lots of 100 and lose my hat, or have something too expensive to break even - or do I order 1000 - hope for the best, and end up with 900 copies in my garage....
Even cost wise - I'd certainly take a risk and show some support for a budding developer with a $5 - $10 shareware cost.... and if the game/app sucked... I wouldn't feel TOO bad about it. Maybe the next update/product will be a lil better.
If I payed $30 bucks plus $10 - $15 shipping and handling and it was crap, I'd feel a little jaded about buying more stuff from the same folks.

And of course there is the bigger question: How would you prefer to see any remaining Amiga Developers out there spend time..... stuffing envelopes, or coding games/apps? At this level, and at this time, chances are person you are contacting with an order is the same person who wrote the software...

There aren't really any publishing houses left to 'pick up' games and distribute - the current Amiga market seems to be pretty much on the net nowadays, so it's a smart way to go for the 'bedroom game company'.
You can buy a game from the otherside of the globe, and be playing it in under 10 minutes!

Last Amiga related convo I had in real life was spent laughing about the days when 2-3 guys could get together after school and start a 'games company' and how nowadays it's all big names.....
...in hindsight I think the indy game writer has more tools at his disposal, and more power to make things happen than ever before.

26 April 2008, 23:07	#31
Siggy999 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Las Vegas/Nevada Posts: 103	Digital purchase and transfer is the way to go for anybody starting up. Packaging - boxes - disks - printed manuals - cover art - shipping and handling - they all add up costs that not only have to be passed on (and I know some people are more than happy to pay that extra cost for nice packaging) - it FIRST has to be laid down by the people putting out the game, and thats a huge risk for a fledgling group. Through my work I have access to a transfer house - and have to use them fairly regularly for the same kind of thing (bulk DVD presentation packages for some clients) - small run orders, the cost is too much to even think about, even bulk orders aren't a cost I'd want to gamble on just starting out. 'But you can do it at home.. label and print yourself!' I hear you cry.... Printer ink very quickly adds up - as do label and paper costs - so go to the local Kinko's or OS equiv. for copying - again.... starts to add up with small runs again. Do I order in lots of 100 and lose my hat, or have something too expensive to break even - or do I order 1000 - hope for the best, and end up with 900 copies in my garage.... Even cost wise - I'd certainly take a risk and show some support for a budding developer with a $5 - $10 shareware cost.... and if the game/app sucked... I wouldn't feel TOO bad about it. Maybe the next update/product will be a lil better. If I payed $30 bucks plus $10 - $15 shipping and handling and it was crap, I'd feel a little jaded about buying more stuff from the same folks. And of course there is the bigger question: How would you prefer to see any remaining Amiga Developers out there spend time..... stuffing envelopes, or coding games/apps? At this level, and at this time, chances are person you are contacting with an order is the same person who wrote the software... There aren't really any publishing houses left to 'pick up' games and distribute - the current Amiga market seems to be pretty much on the net nowadays, so it's a smart way to go for the 'bedroom game company'. You can buy a game from the otherside of the globe, and be playing it in under 10 minutes! Last Amiga related convo I had in real life was spent laughing about the days when 2-3 guys could get together after school and start a 'games company' and how nowadays it's all big names..... ...in hindsight I think the indy game writer has more tools at his disposal, and more power to make things happen than ever before.