Τι προμήθεια παίρνουν τα Steam και GOG από game developers?

Τα Steam και GOG παίρνουν το 30% των πωλήσεων από τους developers. Σύμφωνα με τον δημιουργό του Fez, Phil Fish, το Humble Bundle παίρνει μόλις το 5%.

Το σχετικό άρθρο είναι παλιό, ωστόσο όφειλα να αναφέρω αυτή την είδηση προς όσους ασχολούνται με το game development και το είχαν απορία.

Παίζει να ξέρουμε τι γίνεται αντίστοιχα με τις προμήθεις σε XBL και PSN;

snikefriend wrote: Παίζει να ξέρουμε τι γίνεται αντίστοιχα με τις προμήθεις σε XBL και PSN;

Βρήκα την εξής λίστα σε ένα ξένο forum και νομίζω πως σε καλύπτει, Γιάννη:

Art/Design: 25% (about $15)

Programming And Engineering: 20% (about $12)
This expense includes the gaming "engine"--the software equivalent of a game's guts--which can be bought, developed in-house or licensed, such as Epic's Unreal engine. Also included: artificial intelligence programs, online game-play systems, video compression software and "localization" for international markets. Engineering and development costs can quickly escalate when publishers agree to port a game title to an additional platform--and most of them now have to do so, notes ABI Research's Wolf. Some third-party developers secure deals to receive a cut of royalties based on how well a game sells.

Retail: 20% ($12)
Most games wholesale for about $48, giving retailers like EB Games, or Best Buy $12 of markup; at best, a dollar of that may drop to the store's bottom line.

Console Owner Fee: 11.5% (about $7)
This is why Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are laboring so mightily to make their machines to success: Each gamemaker that wants to roll out a new title has to fork over a fee for each unit sold. This may vary per console maker--some publishers say creating games for the PlayStation 3 is more expensive because of fees Sony charges to use its Blu-Ray DVD standard. "But that number can get smaller depending on the publisher's status," says Peer Schneider, vice president of content publishing at IGN, News Corp.'s gaming portal. "The fee can be waived for exclusivity to a platform--that will buy you a kickback."

Marketing: 7% (about $4) The game marketing budget is smaller if a game belongs to a well-known franchise, such as one of Activision's Tony Hawk titles, or can benefit from the marketing extravaganza tied to a movie budget (like Activision's Spiderman games). But good luck trying to market a brand new game concept. "To say, 'This is our new universe that you've never heard of,' that'll pile on additional marketing costs," says Luke Smith, news editor of Ziff Davis Media's gaming site 1up.com. Market Development Fund: 5% (about $3) It's not just enough to end up on a retailer's shelf--if you want good placement, or a spot in a retailer's advertising, you'll have to pay up again. This includes paid placement for print circulars, banner ads and highlights within a retailer's TV spot.


Manufacturing Costs, Packaging: 5% (about $3) Blu-Ray discs might cost more, and so will collectible "special edition" sets. Otherwise, this amount covers the blank DVD media, the game imprinting, the sturdy plastic case and the included instruction manual.

Licensing: 5% (about $3) From athletes and sports leagues to Marvel characters and movie studios, if a game title takes its name and plot from a well-known pop culture icon, publishers can expect to pay top dollar for the licensing rights. Headlining voice talent, such as Marlon Brando in Electronic Arts' The Godfather game, may even receive a percentage of retail revenues; unnamed voice actors and musicians get a flat fee. Costs vary widely here. For original-concept games, this cost is zero.

Publisher profit: 1.5% (about $1) After all other parties--including the in-house or outsourced development teams--have been paid, the publisher collects about a buck toward the bottom line. As these pricey consoles become more mainstream, those dollars will add up.

Distributor: 1.5% (about $1) If a small publisher wants to reach mass audiences, or a large publisher wants to sell to a small-time retailer, they'll need help from a game distributor, such as Ingram Entertainment.

Corporate Costs (quantitative analysis, management overhead): 0.3% (about 20 cents) Number crunching is cheap, says Sega of America president Simon Jeffrey. Lawyers are not. But publishers need to pay all of them. And if they find themselves in legal trouble--as Take-Two Interactive did when it had to defend its Grand Theft Auto game's racy content in federal court--this number will shoot way up.

Hardware development costs: 0.05% (less than 3 cents) Before a game developer can begin its craft, it must have access to the hardware the game will run on. For Xbox 360 and PS3 games, engineering teams pay tens of thousands for access to developers' kits and demo units--some of which get destroyed in the process.

Πολύ ενδιαφέρουσες πληροφορίες!