Comments on: The publisher shall pay the developer… eventually http://www.obscure.co.uk/blog/2007/03/23/the-publisher-shall/ Biz Dev support for Creative Developers Mon, 26 Sep 2011 00:59:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Raelifin http://www.obscure.co.uk/blog/2007/03/23/the-publisher-shall/#comment-212 Raelifin Sun, 25 Mar 2007 17:45:33 +0000 http://www.obscure.co.uk/blog/2007/03/23/the-publisher-shall/#comment-212 Alright, thanks. The edit, I feel, adds a lot to the general message. Just as a general question, you said that developers "can, and should, negotiate a better contract." What about the percentage of royalties (15%)? Should a developer try to haggle for a larger slice of the pie, or is that a generally fixed number in the industry? Alright, thanks. The edit, I feel, adds a lot to the general message.

Just as a general question, you said that developers “can, and should, negotiate a better contract.” What about the percentage of royalties (15%)? Should a developer try to haggle for a larger slice of the pie, or is that a generally fixed number in the industry?

]]> By: Dan Marchant (Obscure) http://www.obscure.co.uk/blog/2007/03/23/the-publisher-shall/#comment-209 Dan Marchant (Obscure) Sun, 25 Mar 2007 13:44:24 +0000 http://www.obscure.co.uk/blog/2007/03/23/the-publisher-shall/#comment-209 Actually the problem isn't that publisher are evil (though I always have a clove of garlic with me when I have a contract meeting) but rather that developers don't pay enough attention to their own business. Publishers are in business to make as much money as possible for themselves and the contracts they offer are designed to do just that. Developers focus too much on the creative side (which is great) but neglect the business aspects. They don't understand the deal they are being offered and/or don't understand that they can, and should, negotiate a better contract. The clause mentioned above is fair if you negotiate the various times down as much as possible - it isn't reasonable to expect publishers to be cutting royalty cheques every week. The key point of my post is that developers need to be aware of the cash-flow implications. They need to make sure they have another paying contract that starts as soon as their current one finishes. They can't rely on royalties to support the company as soon as a project finishes. Actually the problem isn’t that publisher are evil (though I always have a clove of garlic with me when I have a contract meeting) but rather that developers don’t pay enough attention to their own business. Publishers are in business to make as much money as possible for themselves and the contracts they offer are designed to do just that. Developers focus too much on the creative side (which is great) but neglect the business aspects. They don’t understand the deal they are being offered and/or don’t understand that they can, and should, negotiate a better contract.

The clause mentioned above is fair if you negotiate the various times down as much as possible – it isn’t reasonable to expect publishers to be cutting royalty cheques every week. The key point of my post is that developers need to be aware of the cash-flow implications. They need to make sure they have another paying contract that starts as soon as their current one finishes. They can’t rely on royalties to support the company as soon as a project finishes.

]]> By: Raelifin http://www.obscure.co.uk/blog/2007/03/23/the-publisher-shall/#comment-202 Raelifin Sun, 25 Mar 2007 05:02:09 +0000 http://www.obscure.co.uk/blog/2007/03/23/the-publisher-shall/#comment-202 Wow, you make it sound like publishers are nosferatu out to eat your firstborn. ;) In addition to royalties, don't developers get paid when they hand over the game? Wow, you make it sound like publishers are nosferatu out to eat your firstborn. ;) In addition to royalties, don’t developers get paid when they hand over the game?

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