I know a few Ea Mobile (EA) Chillingo (EA) Click gamer (EA) and Bulkypix Can anyone else suggest decent games publishers for IOS gaes? Also if you happen to know roughly what cut they take, that would also be nice. Thanks in advance!
Depends on the game. If you are doing 3D, speak with Crescent Moon. Almost all of their games get great attention and make it into the Top 25 for US charts.
I'm just wondering what can a publisher do for you that you can't besides have a name that will attract buyers?
Why get a publisher? Publishers will take a cut of the profits, anywhere from 30%-75% depending on the game and how much they perceive the risk to be, and also how much of the cost of advertising they need to cover. Publishers will typically invest a significant amount into advertising your game, 5k+, the good ones also have contacts within apple they talk to to and also a large customer base and database of engaged gamers that they post a release about your game to which boost initial sales as well, and a database of review contacts they post a press release about your game to and call the most important ones who they most likely already have good relationships with. They may also help with a promo video and social media coverage. 75% may seem like a lot, but 15% of 200k or 300k is a lot better than 100% of $2 a day worse case scenario if you try to launch yourself and don't get noticed. Most publishers can also assist with quality testing and advice on your game to make your game successful, and that can be invaluable. If you are a first time games developer I would strongly suggest going with a publisher at least for your first title so that you can get your head around how the industry works.
Thanks for the advice TheGreatWhiteApe... it adds a new perspective to my views towards self publishing.
Well, @: TheGreatWhiteApe It would really be nice, if you would make a percentage of 200k or so....but in reality only a small percentage of games which are published by a publisher do so well.... a good way to know how good a publisher really is, is to look up their last 20 apps or so and see, how well they´ve done at appannie.com. Some of you would be surprised at the result... but anyway: two more: http://rockyou.com and http://6waves.com/ But please do NOT give away your IP, if you make a deal. Good luck!
We here at PikPok have started publishing third party titles too. However, we are pretty picky and will only publishing a small number in the next calendar year.
I think iOS publishers get a list of successful titles by picking winners, much more so than any promotion they provide. If a publisher wants your game, it's an indication that your game will probably sell well even without the publisher. If they don't want it, you have some work to do. They can help with funding, but it comes at a pretty high cost. Again, if they're willing to plonk down cash to help you finish your game, you know that you have a worthy investment, and can probably find cheaper sources of funding. 30%-75% is a big bite, especially since it usually comes out of the 70% you have left after your real publisher, Apple, takes their cut.
I think it's also worth saying that a well-known name often can help your sales quite a bit as well. For example a household name like Chillingo will gain you lots of sales. The question there is whether it's enough sales to recoup losses taken by the publisher...
There are definitely pros and cons (probably more pros) to using a publisher. One thing that scares me though, is the rate at which some publishers release games. You may indeed grab a lot of sales initially, but it seems like after a week or two they're on to the next batch of releases. Also, like someone else mentioned, do not give up IP if you can. Just imagine if Rovio didn't own the rights to Angry Birds. Also check out this video, which was posted here about a week ago... http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/12/how-to-market-your-indie-games-ben-kucheras-lecture-at-run-jump-dev.ars
You're probably right for a huge publisher like EA. If nothing else, after it's all said and done, you get to say "EA saw fit to publish my game", which will gain you instant cred. The smaller the publisher, the less bang for the buck, obviously.
