After working with so many games and trying to get all of them on as many portals as possible, I’ve learned a thing or two about portals. They can be the kiss of death but sometimes they can be the savior you’ve been waiting for.
Lets face it dealing with portals takes a ton of time. Time that you might not be willing to spend. But portals can bring a hundreds of thousands of sales to your game! Of course this is the rare occassion, it mainly occurs when you have developed a great game, something that is even more rare.Â
Think of portals as FREE advertising! Seriously who wouldn’t want that?! If a user buys your game on a portal, they are likely to Google your company’s name and see if you have any more games for sale. That’s why it is important to always have a homepage for your game: a place where fans can come together and talk about YOUR awesome game.
Another great positive to portals is that it makes your game seem legitamate. You don’t need a publisher to get your game onto portals. You can find a marketplace of millions of users without a publisher! Thank you internet!
Again though, you must be willing to spend the time to fill out the paper work. If you’re not, find a publishing company who will! Heck why not use mine Packom Interactive!
The worst part about portals is that they take a lot of money out of the sale. Most deals go for 60/40% in favor of the portal. That’s not really the best deal but if you’re not a proven developer why would any portal take a risk on your game? Portals are selling games to make money, just like you!
Another thing is that they could careless about your game unless it is a proven success. Don’t think your game will appear on the front page of their website just because they’ve added it to their catalogue.
I don’t suggest that you waste the time to send your game to portals if you have a mediocore game. Sure some portals are more forgiving than others, but the likelihood is that none will accept your game. So seriously don’t bother.
Most importantly, research into the portal before you send your game to them! Make sure that it reaches their audience.
I wish you all luck! You’re going to need it. 😉
