OrR
Corporate games suck.
I already said in some other threads that I'd like the GP2X to get many commercial independent games. Some people seemed to like the idea, some seemed to dislike it and most of you are probably going to misunderstand me if I don't explain further:
What I do NOT want is that everything on the GP2X costs money or that emulators cost money.
I want games that cost money, though. The GP32 had few of these, I'd like to see more on the GP2X. These games are what I enjoyed most on my Zodiac.
Now you might think "What a stupid guy, he wants games to cost money!". Well, here are some reasons why I think games that cost money are a good thing:
Of course only games worth money should be sold for money. Selling a rather boring Tetris clone can and should not be forbidden but you should not do it for two reasons: 1. Nobody will buy it anyway. 2. It will damage the community spirit if suddenly everything is only availiable for money. I also don't think emulators should be sold and also not ports of other's games. (Well, most of those cannot even be sold I think.)
However, if someone makes a high quality game in his free time in his basement, why should he not sell it for some bucks? It does not hurt to pay for a good game and it brings a few good things:
-the developer will get a reward for his hard work
-he will be able to use more time for development
-he will be more motivated to further polish and improve the game and offer support
-he will make more and better games
I don't know how big the GP2X scene will grow and it also depends on if commercial games are accepted but maybe some people would even be able to earn a living with GP2X development which sounds pretty awesome to me. It's like kicking Sony and Nintendo in the balls and saying "Hey, we can do it, too!".
Commercial games also have another great side effect: They tend to be taken more serious by the gaming media and might give the GP2X the press exposure it needs to succeed further.
Of course, money always brings trouble. Based on my experience with the Zodiac I can give the following rules that would in my opinion ensure a user and developer friendly market:
1. Always make demos. A user has to be able to try a game before he buys it. If you buy a game and realize it's different than you imagined, this only creates anger.
2. Never take preorders. Preordering downloadable games makes no sense. If a game that people have already preordered is delayed, this creates a lot of hate. There is also the possibility of the developer running away with your money.
3. The highest acceptable ESD margin should be around 20%. Everything above that has to be boycoted by developers. ESD means Electronic Sales Distributor and it means a central web company that sells games from different developers at a central source. An example would be GPH themselves and they are the only ones that an exception of the 20% rule could be made for. An ESD margin of 20% means that 20% of the game price goes to the ESD, 80% to the developer. However, the best thing would be to avoid the creation of ESDs since they can go bad very easily. It has happened in the Palm market where Handango and Palm Gear take away half of the money you pay for a game and only give half to the developer. They can do this because they have gotten so big that they pretty much control the market. The best possible scenario would be that every developer sells his games himself.
4. The game price should be from 5$ to 30$ depending on the quality of the game and the work involved. Most games should probably be priced between 8$ and 15$.
5. Never pirate independent games. Well, this should be a given anyway, I don't think I had to mention it.
What do you think? Is there potential for a small commercial market to be established on the GPX2? Would you like to see some commercial Indie games? Or do you hate the idea of having to pay for your games?
What I do NOT want is that everything on the GP2X costs money or that emulators cost money.
I want games that cost money, though. The GP32 had few of these, I'd like to see more on the GP2X. These games are what I enjoyed most on my Zodiac.
Now you might think "What a stupid guy, he wants games to cost money!". Well, here are some reasons why I think games that cost money are a good thing:
Of course only games worth money should be sold for money. Selling a rather boring Tetris clone can and should not be forbidden but you should not do it for two reasons: 1. Nobody will buy it anyway. 2. It will damage the community spirit if suddenly everything is only availiable for money. I also don't think emulators should be sold and also not ports of other's games. (Well, most of those cannot even be sold I think.)
However, if someone makes a high quality game in his free time in his basement, why should he not sell it for some bucks? It does not hurt to pay for a good game and it brings a few good things:
-the developer will get a reward for his hard work
-he will be able to use more time for development
-he will be more motivated to further polish and improve the game and offer support
-he will make more and better games
I don't know how big the GP2X scene will grow and it also depends on if commercial games are accepted but maybe some people would even be able to earn a living with GP2X development which sounds pretty awesome to me. It's like kicking Sony and Nintendo in the balls and saying "Hey, we can do it, too!".
Commercial games also have another great side effect: They tend to be taken more serious by the gaming media and might give the GP2X the press exposure it needs to succeed further.
Of course, money always brings trouble. Based on my experience with the Zodiac I can give the following rules that would in my opinion ensure a user and developer friendly market:
1. Always make demos. A user has to be able to try a game before he buys it. If you buy a game and realize it's different than you imagined, this only creates anger.
2. Never take preorders. Preordering downloadable games makes no sense. If a game that people have already preordered is delayed, this creates a lot of hate. There is also the possibility of the developer running away with your money.
3. The highest acceptable ESD margin should be around 20%. Everything above that has to be boycoted by developers. ESD means Electronic Sales Distributor and it means a central web company that sells games from different developers at a central source. An example would be GPH themselves and they are the only ones that an exception of the 20% rule could be made for. An ESD margin of 20% means that 20% of the game price goes to the ESD, 80% to the developer. However, the best thing would be to avoid the creation of ESDs since they can go bad very easily. It has happened in the Palm market where Handango and Palm Gear take away half of the money you pay for a game and only give half to the developer. They can do this because they have gotten so big that they pretty much control the market. The best possible scenario would be that every developer sells his games himself.
4. The game price should be from 5$ to 30$ depending on the quality of the game and the work involved. Most games should probably be priced between 8$ and 15$.
5. Never pirate independent games. Well, this should be a given anyway, I don't think I had to mention it.
What do you think? Is there potential for a small commercial market to be established on the GPX2? Would you like to see some commercial Indie games? Or do you hate the idea of having to pay for your games?
