Presentation slides for this year's (2012) Digital Shoreditch presentation, PLAY Summit. I explore the notion that publishers are dead in digital distribution of video games by comparing two identical games published through two marketing strategies: with and without publisher.

1. The Publishers Are Dead?! Lessons
From Digital Game Distribution
Joost Rietveld
@gjrietveld
08/06/2012 Digital Shoreditch | Play Summit | Joost Rietveld

2. 08/06/2012 Digital Shoreditch | Play Summit | Joost Rietveld

3. What is the impact of digital distribution
channels on effective commercialization
strategies of independent game developers?
CONTEXT
• Total market of digital games estimated at $20 billion for 2011 (IDG, 2011)
• Barriers to market eroded
• Lower development costs due to smaller project scope on digital channels
• Publishers are demanding both from monetary and creative perspective
• … Kickstarter!
08/06/2012 Digital Shoreditch | Play Summit | Joost Rietveld

4. “We don’t work with publishers because they
cannot guarantee success at all. We can consider it,
but then they have to come with a very good deal!”
– Indie developer in recent email conversation
“The publisher is dead!”
– http://whoneedschillingo.com/
“We do not write a marketing plan,
marketing doesn’t work.”
– Indie developer in recent email conversation
08/06/2012 Digital Shoreditch | Play Summit | Joost Rietveld

5. 125,802 games on the iOS Appstore
– 148apps.biz
85% of all games on iOS sell no more than 1,500 units
– Simon Careless (Gamasutra)
"I think that is ending now because if you have a million apps
in an app store, just because your app is in an app store, it
doesn't mean it's going to be discovered. So you've got issues
about how you're going to bring traffic to it."
- Trip Hawkins (Founder EA, now CEO indie studio Digital Chocolate
59% of all Apps don’t break even, 68% of all Apps earn less than $5,000
– App Promo
Digital Shoreditch | Play Summit | Joost
08/06/2012
Rietveld

6. Digital Shoreditch | Play Summit | Joost
08/06/2012
Rietveld

7. 10000
Units comparison (LOG)
Units Strategic alliance Units 'Artist-led'
platform feature
1000
Units sold
price drop
100
us release
10
1
4
7
10
13
16
19
22
25
28
31
34
37
40
43
46
49
52
55
58
61
64
67
70
73
76
79
82
85
88
91
94
97
100
103
106
109
112
115
118
121
124
Days from release
08/06/2012 Digital Shoreditch | Play Summit | Joost Rietveld

8. indie strategy partnering strategy
units sold 20,961 135,288
revenue generated (€) 88,347 110,363
publisher fee (€) N/A 14,847
market performance Bottom 60% Top 5%
meta score (0-100) 79% 86%
08/06/2012 Digital Shoreditch | Play Summit | Joost Rietveld

9. reputation marketing network portfolio
08/06/2012 Digital Shoreditch | Play Summit | Joost Rietveld

10. low reputation high reputation
low complementarities Don’t even think about it, look Invest in complementarities
for reputable partner through in-house
(95% of all developers) development or acquisitions
(Rovio)
high complementarities Focus on building large Commercialize independently,
portfolio through contracts exploit complementarities
with other developers through portfolio
(Chillingo) (Zynga)
Digital Shoreditch | Play Summit | Joost
08/06/2012
Rietveld

11. £20,000
£18,000
£16,000
£14,000
£12,000
£10,000
£8,000
£6,000
£4,000
£2,000
£0
Independent strategy(100%) Partnering strategy (70%)
08/06/2012 Digital Shoreditch | Play Summit | Joost Rietveld

12. @gjrietveld
www.strategyguide.nl
08/06/2012 Digital Shoreditch | Play Summit | Joost Rietveld