Publishing
Are you an independent game developer struggling to find a way to market and sell your game? We've been there, and we know how difficult it can be. An independent developer has few options, and none of them are very appealing.
Option #1: Contact a professional publisher. This is the dream solution to all developers. Who wouldn't want to see their game professionally published and sold in stores throughout the world? Unfortunately, the odds of this happening are not in your favor. Less than 10% of all independent games ever get professionally published...and even when they are, there is no guarantee that they will sell well. To make matters worse, commercial publishers are notorious for neglecting to pay developers on a regular basis.
Option #2: Give away your game for free. This option is best for those who have created a low-budget game that is small enough in file size that it can be downloaded online. However, if your game has money invested in it or your game is too large to upload to the web, then this is obviously not a viable option.
Option #3: Sell the game yourself online. This is by far the easiest and most successful method of selling for independent developers. However, there are numerous things to consider. First of all, will you be making the CD(s) for your game yourself? This requires a lot of time and effort, and the results will most likely not look professional. On the other hand, if you decide to have your game duplicated/replicated via a professional burning service, there is a costly upfront fee. Next, how will you accept payment for your game? You could create your own web store, but this causes problems both in regard to the money involved and the question of whether or not buyers will feel safe ordering from your store. There are also CD-on-demand services available, but they charge a steep per-sale fee that impacts your profit.
All of these options are possible, but none are preferable. Fortunately, there is a solution.