Original post by Xing Interactive ... That's all you need to know in the end...
Uh, sorry, there, Alex--but anyone who would be doing business with you needs to know a LOT more.
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Original post by Xing Interactive BTW thanks for sticking up for me Codemonger, Edward Ropple has a right to be sceptical but referring to Crystal Interactive isn't really my idea of objectivity in commenting on a programme Xing Interactive (note that these are NOT affiliated with eachother in any way!) presents.
Objectivity? Who said I had any?
This isn't something to be objective about, Alex. I don't say this to insult you or to be mean or anything--but here you've got a track record of problems with developers. I know a few people who published with CI and I agree that Rahman was a large cause of it--but you, sir, strung a lot of people along.
Again, I don't say this to be mean or insulting--it's just what happened. I'm still considering where I want to offer my game--Spiderweb's near the top of the list, but it's an awfully short list, and Xing is still on there--and the people behind a company matter a lot more than the company name.
Original post by codeandroid http://xinginteractive.nl/xing/action.htm http://xinginteractive.nl/xing/
Hmmm. I'm pretty sure I recognise a couple of those titles from a display in a bookshop near here. Which is a good thing. It might not be Game, but it seems like a fairly inexpensive way of getting a real life product in the shops.
I'm a little skeptical of this as well - I wrote the soundtrack to a game which was given to Xing Interactive for publishing/distribution (or whatever). So far, at least 5 months have gone by, and the developer says Xing has not done anything for him yet.
[Edited by - zircon_st on December 6, 2004 8:01:24 PM]
http://www.zirconstudios.com/ - original music for video games, film, and TV.
Well, I think it might be best if Xing interactive did not use, the word "Publishing" with this. This seems to be more of a marketing service. People associate getting published with getting money. I think this might cause some confusion with people especially newer developers.
Also, what I'm wondering is how much control do the developers get in the marketing process? Do they turn it over? Or do they play a part? I think for a game to be successful it might be a good thing for someone on the team to be envolved.
Original post by Agreenknight Well, I think it might be best if Xing interactive did not use, the word "Publishing" with this. This seems to be more of a marketing service. People associate getting published with getting money. I think this might cause some confusion with people especially newer developers.
Umm...
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a) CD replication (if required) b) Packaging design (if required) c) P.R. and Promotions (if required) d) Logistics (if required)
and last but not least:
e) Sales and distribution
That doesn't sound all too much like marketing. In fact, it sounds mostly like publishing. The distribute your game, and if you want, can also produce the CDs/packaging/etc. Which is why I'm somewhat stunned that people are wondering about the 10% royalties. Sounds perfectly acceptable considering they take absolutely no risks. You pay for replication/packaging separately. All they do is get your game on store shelves through their current distribution system. If your game sucks, no big deal, they don't lose much other than the space your game took up that prevented them from packing their shipments with better sellers and gaining their 10% there.
Well, besides this being an agent service (if I'm reading this properly), ten percent for sales and distribution alone is about a 5% charge from most services. Where are they gonna get the rest of the stuff out of the remaining 5%?
Gentlemen, publishing is taking care of everything from A to Z. We offer only a sales and distribution service at 10% commission. The reason I listed the B to Z also as optional is because it is likely that a developer does not know how to get a cost effective method of CD production or maybe doesn't know anything about P.R. and marketing. Which is fine, as you can't be expected to know everything. We've got the experience and we can set you up with the right people or handle some of these things for you. Not out of the kindness of our hearts but simply because we may be offering the proverbial car to people who do not even know how to drive yet... Understand my point? All the extra services are custom so we need to discuss with our client what he wants to do and how far his budget will stretch.
I always wonder how some people theorise wildly about our possible motivation and how on earth we can provide all this at just 10% but let me spell it out one last time: we only provide a sales agent service to get finished goods into retail through our established channels. Taking 10% is the established rate for a sales rep in the industry and we provide just a tiny portion of what a publisher does. A publisher is FYI not just a company slapping a box around your game and putting it in a store and sitting back to relax until the money rolls in of which you get your %. A publisher positions the product, goes through the long hard slogging match of convincing a buyer at a retail chain to please take unknown product A over Tomb Raider 5 which is also just $4.99, and last but not least has the financial risk of getting a ton of returns if unknown product A turns out to be a tad less of a AAA game the developer claimed...
Our offer therefore is a fair deal for anyone who thinks he does not need a publisher but rather uses a sales agent. Hope this clears things up.
The offer seems genuine and Xing Interactive does genuinely appear to get games in front of the public. The only thing I'd advise potential takers -- and I'd advise this regardless of whether it was Xing or anyone else -- is to perform the usual sanity checks.
The following are what any good skeptic should consider before signing on the dotted line:
1. Get statistics and examine their track record. I can understand Xing not wanting to give out precise figures in a forum like this, but if you are planning to sign a deal with them (or anyone else in this line of business), make sure you get some hard stats to mull over before signing. It'll help you determine what kind of sales you can *realistically* expect.
2. I can't stress this enough: "Published" does NOT equate to "paid". (Ask any writer!) Often, royalties won't appear for six months. In some cases, it can take a _year_ to see any return. It depends on the accounting processes used. Make DAMNED sure you are prepared for this! It can catch a lot of people out.
3. Be realistic: many budget titles are NOT sold in Game, but might be taken on by other retailers looking to fill up valuable sales space an impulse-purchase POS
space. (Remember, even the local corner shop is laid out so as to make money from every possible square metre of floor and shelf-space.) Budget-priced software doesn't follow the mainstream sales trend of peaking high within a few weeks, then tailing off rapidly; instead, it tends to sell in low volumes, but consistently over a much longer period.
4. Budget software is usually sold as an 'impulse purchase' and shelf-life is longer. Much longer. I'm still providing front-line support for games released back in 1999. Make sure you take these 'hidden' costs into account. It may actually make more sense to remove a game from sale after a few years simply because you might otherwise lose money on the support side.
From Alex's post, it's clear that Xing are offering consulting services (points a-d) and agent services (e). The sales and distribution are key: all the CDs and fancy packaging in the world won't help you if none of it is being stacked on shelves in stores. For 10% it's a good deal, but remember: CD duplication is extra, packaging is extra, PR and Marketing are extra, etc. That 10% is *only* for the sales and distribution. The original post doesn't hide this, but some posters here seem to be misreading it nonetheless.
I don't think it's a rip-off, but do check what it is you get for that 10%. At the very least, you'll want to see regular reports and have the right to audit Xing's figures to ensure that everything is above-board. (This is, in fact, a standard clause in most publishing agreements. Ultimately, you are relying on Xing's figures to tell you how many skus they've sold on your behalf. The auditing clause gives you the right to have an independent auditor go over their books.)
I don't see what all the big fuss is about. Xing Interactive have been around a while. There's no reason _not_ to go with a company like this as long as you follow good business practices.
-- Sean Timarco Baggaley
"Point Of Sale". Usually the place where you hand over your hard-earned cash, such as a cash register. (Technically, most of these are now referred to as 'EPOS' -- 'Electronic Point Of Sale' -- since mechanical cash registers are hard to find nowadays.)
Sean Timarco Baggaley (Est. 1971.)Warning: May contain bollocks.
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