Best place to connect with developers who want to publish their games?

[windrider07]

Are there any good networking sites where mobile developers go to seek publishers who can promote their app?

[David Phan]

No. You've got to pound the pavement and reach out to publishers. If you've got a good app/game and have some pre-launch PR going (ex "Upcoming Games" in Toucharcade) then you might have some publishers reaching out to you first, but generally it's all about you doing the legwork to contact them.

DP

[Ndemic Creations]

Also - think about what you really want from a publisher - they all have their strengths and weaknesses!

[windrider07]

I meant where can a publisher find a developer not the other way around

[Balloon Loons]

Right here is a start and we can use some or help. What are you offering?

[windrider07]

Revenue share 50/50 model and marketing your games. I mean it really depends on what your objective is for your games. Most developers want a publisher who has a decent userbase and knows their way around marketing. If your game has potential, we can negotiate on terms.

[PikPok]

Originally Posted by windrider07

Revenue share 50/50 model and marketing your games. I mean it really depends on what your objective is for your games. Most developers want a publisher who has a decent userbase and knows their way around marketing. If your game has potential, we can negotiate on terms.

50/50 rev share in exchange for only "marketing" services is a pretty big chunk to ask for, especially when your company only has one game on the App Store and you yourself are asking for advice on how to market and monetize games.

Do you provide any or all of the following that would be useful to developers?

- paid advances on royalties
- cross promotion from an existing install base
- leveraging Apple relationships for possible feature slots
- QA and usability testing during development
- tech and/or creative support during development
- customer support post release
- support/implementation of merchandising
- allow developer to cross promote to their other titles
- paid installs/paid advertising campaigns


There are publishers out there who provide all or most of the above and still ask for less than a 50/50 split.

[BazookaTime]

Just for perspective, when I talked with Alawar last year they were asking for 30%. I think there are some benefits to having a game published but only if that publisher is well established.

[windrider07]

Sure, you can go ahead and sign a deal with a major publisher, however your game has to guarantee success. Big publishers, most of the time, will only publish games that will guarantee revenue unless they already have a few big games and they are open to any game that gets sent to them. However, when you get into the scenario where a "well established" and high profile publisher has a few games published that are similar to your game, the developer will look for other companies to partner up with so the competition is fierce because you want a publisher who not only will accept you, but who has great marketing skills, business ethics, and has room for your game.

50/50 rev share in exchange for only "marketing" services is a pretty big chunk to ask for, especially when your company only has one game on the App Store and you yourself are asking for advice on how to market and monetize games.

Do you provide any or all of the following that would be useful to developers?

- paid advances on royalties
- cross promotion from an existing install base
- leveraging Apple relationships for possible feature slots
- QA and usability testing during development
- tech and/or creative support during development
- customer support post release
- support/implementation of merchandising
- allow developer to cross promote to their other titles
- paid installs/paid advertising campaigns


There are publishers out there who provide all or most of the above and still ask for less than a 50/50 split.

Everyday, people ask advice for what services to use. Big companies like Rovio, OMGPOP/Zynga, GameLoft....they won't show it but I bet you they spent a lot of time doing research everyday to keep up with the market. Things can change overtime. To answer your question, yes, we would provide all of those but it all depends on the overall objective of what the developer needs, how much budget is needed, and how good the games are. Most developers who ask for less than a 50/50 rich probably already have well established games that are getting a lot of revenue.

But as I said, there are a lot of start up developers out there who will get rejected by the big publishers and so they will lean towards the small publishers who know what they are doing. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[PikPok]

Originally Posted by windrider07

Most developers who ask for less than a 50/50 rich probably already have well established games that are getting a lot of revenue.

No developer should expect to give up 50% of their revenues in exchange for just "marketing services", regardless of their track record.

Originally Posted by windrider07

But as I said, there are a lot of start up developers out there who will get rejected by the big publishers and so they will lean towards the small publishers who know what they are doing.

I still find it a pretty big ask when you are offering so little with no real track record and asking for so much in return.