This is a terrible news, i wont to publish games from my own account, thAt the only problem i have with this model. Dont mind paying a % o fee for publishing games with my account( i will prefer paying 2000 now...)
WTF? I hope this is a joke!!! I want to publish the game under my company name. How am I going to market my game? I don't want GameSalad to market it for me, I want to be responsible for the website and everything involved in the promotion of the game. This is so bad! Damn it feels like the worst day of my life After investing so much work in my game now I find out that can't be mine anymore, what the hell ??
You guys realize UDK is coming out for iPhone soon right? It's got revenue sharing 25% and it does 1000x more than GS
I'll stay with GS if the following happen: - since you only do s fraction of what UDK does your only entitled to a fraction of 25% therefor you take no more than 5% - all contracts CLEARLY state that the IP I develop is Mine, not Yours. - you give me a fracking debugger soon! - you give me something of value for that 5%! You wanna play publisher, then get my games sold! - Your brand is synonymous with junk games, i want to get rid of your splash screen. - what if I want to publish a free game? - clause in your contract that says that if GS goes bankrupt that we get a copy of the build tools.
tshirtbooth said: LOL .. like i said im not even 100% about this. I have my concerns for sure. Do i wish things can stay the same. Hellz ya i do. But like i said i also want to keep using gamesalad and i also want more features. This takes money. So i have to sit back and look at the big picture.
For this to work they HAVE TO have 2 accounts. Just like chilingo one for the best apps and one for the rest.
Fingers crossed
yeah I agree...but then that raises the question of who decides what goes in account A, and what goes in the runners up account I guess.
It will be interesting to hear what the revenue split will be too. Again, with the cynical head on, I would liken it to music publishing, and be expecting a 60/40 in favour of the dev split.
A much better solution would have been to have had this as an additional publishing method, to sit alongside independent publishing (with fees of course). The concept will be great for a few, but devastating for the majority.
Sparkyidr said: yeah I agree...but then that raises the question of who decides what goes in account A, and what goes in the runners up account I guess.
It will be interesting to hear what the revenue split will be too. Again, with the cynical head on, I would liken it to music publishing, and be expecting a 60/40 in favour of the dev split.
tshirtbooth said: LOL .. like i said im not even 100% about this. I have my concerns for sure. Do i wish things can stay the same. Hellz ya i do. But like i said i also want to keep using gamesalad and i also want more features. This takes money. So i have to sit back and look at the big picture.
For this to work they HAVE TO have 2 accounts. Just like chilingo one for the best apps and one for the rest.
Fingers crossed
No offense but if you get a hit in the "rest" category they would finally deem you worthy and move it. Now we have two judges apple and GS
1) Can I still request a refund for my current subscription? I don't want one right now, but want to know.....
2) Your telling me that GS is removing our ability to publish under our own iTunes Connect account? To me, this is such a stupid business move, and this will turn people away who want to PUBLISH THEIR OWN games. I wonder if GS has heard of the FTC. IMO, this will be a Monopoly, we can't publish games on our own because we will be REQUIRED to use GS.
Well, I'm excited to here there is a update, but not excited about the update's contents.
This thread is moving rather quickly, so let me inject my thoughts into the mix.
Going through StusApps' list: - While we do lose "independence as iOS developers," but as GameSalad emerges as a publishing company in the likes of Chillingo, Ngmoco, Electronic Arts, and other similar large brands, we will be similarly backed by a strong presence in the App Store community, and therefore their "cut" will be justified by the marketing blitz, press releases, and publicity that your app may never would have gotten as an independent publisher.
- While we do lose "ability to publish unlimited games for $99," GameSalad, as a viable publisher, will assist in making sure that every title that goes out under its name will have passed a certain level of quality control. Let's be honest and frank here for a moment - there are a lot of titles on the market that are just crap, and some of those titles have been created with the GameSalad engine. We, as developers, have taken a hit because of that, so we should be working together and GameSalad will be working with all of us to make sure that future titles will be worthy of its price tags.
- While we lose "our line of contact with Apple," GameSalad already has excellent rapport with Apple, with its engine being one of the first to be in the "safe zone" when that whole "Section 3.3.1" incident hit. Apple regards GameSalad to be a positive force on the App Store, so rest assured that they will properly represent us should any situation arise. With over 1,000 apps in the App Store making money, our line of contact with Apple has never been stronger.
- While we lose a portion of our "revenue," again, GameSalad will be there to provide the additional push that your apps need, justifying their costs. Remember, 70% of $1,000 is still a lot less than, say, 50% of $10,000. As an independent developer, I just do not have the muster, nor the pull with magazine companies, websites, and reviewers to get the exposure my game might deserve. With GameSalad, that picture completely changes for the better.
- While we lose the "ability to have a Pro account and remove all traces of GS branding," again, I'm going back to how GameSalad is drastically turning themselves around towards the likes of the other major hitters on the App Store. Unless you're a runaway hit, or only have an Express membership, this should have little impact on you as it is.
- While we lose "our own brand identity," this again will affect a small group of individuals here at best, but for the most part, it should actually strengthen your titles, as it will be part of a growing library of other quality titles that GameSalad will push out to the frontlines.
- While we lose "our iTunes Connect facilities," I believe that GameSalad will still enable us developers to access the necessary features to cross-connect to the iTunes Connect equivalent, such as metadata, pictures, and pricing, not to mention daily/weekly/monthly sales reports and analytics. As a matter of fact, without having to sign up for various services (some of which can be costly), GameSalad may in fact bring us all the analytics we need to monitor our game's sales performance.
As you stated, we're mixed in with a wide variety of quality apps - some that don't deserve a "FREE" price tag on iTunes, and others that are greatly undercharging themselves. I believe that it will all change as GameSalad turns to publishing mode. I, for one, would like to have an additional set of eyes to tell me if my game is worthy, or what I can do to improve it. After all, the more I make, the more they make, so it's obviously in their best interest to make your game as profitable as possible.
Alone, it's tough to survive in the App Store. What some of us are earning right now are peanuts. Literally peanuts. I can only look at this thing in a good light - as long as the numbers are fair, of course - and it will hopefully give me the push I need to make my games more prominent in the ever-growing App Store.
Oh I think I am going to get in trouble for this with the community but I have to... I been here since june and in this 4 months I been reading all this post about the pro is to expensive... give us the iads... charge us per app instead of the $2,000 and more and more comments about how to eliminate the pro fee... They just say its over... and now you make a big issue... They are just giving you what you asked for... and now you complaint... Yes not everybody ask for it, but the vast majority did... go back read the post from the past... you asked for it... and now GS is giving you what you want Cheers
your entire point is pinned to the idea that they cut the crap games. Do you really think this is going to happen when they get a publishing fee from anyone that wants to submit.
Is this based on facts or on your opinion of how it'll work? Was this mentioned at the NY meet up? I think to compare gamesalads reputation with chillingo is quite a push.
This sucks big time. I would continue to pay for the right to publish under our company name. This is going to be the end of me with GameSalad if that option doesn't exist.
I think that Gendai is not taking care of old customers, he just wanted more new users, I do not think GS studio will have any big improvement, anyway, there are many new users are coming!
It's not the cost per app/per subscription that's the main issue.
The way I have read into this thread is the fact that there will a loss of control over what we can and can't do.
If they numbers look good, and if they can convince us they have the chops to be a decent publisher, then there really shouldn't be too much of an issue.
But....I also think they need to cater for users who don't want to be part of that publishing model, but still want to use a great tool for making apps quickly, and relatively easily.
Simply put, Gamesalad is making a DETRIMENTAL mistake with this new system. Game Maker will allow for iphone publishing hopefully in the next year, and other competition is on the horizon.
We have Alternatives. If you want to scare everyone away with this plan, you're doing a fine job.
This is clearly a desperate attempt to save a failing company.
You NEED to offer more options and there is no way in hell I'm giving away MY commission to Gamesalad. NO WAY.
LordTarantor said: Oh I think I am going to get in trouble for this with the community but I have to... I been here since june and in this 4 months I been reading all this post about the pro is to expensive... give us the iads... charge us per app instead of the $2,000 and more and more comments about how to eliminate the pro fee... They just say its over... and now you make a big issue... They are just giving you what you asked for... and now you complaint... Yes not everybody ask for it, but the vast majority did... go back read the post from the past... you asked for it... and now GS is giving you what you want Cheers
Exactly right! I've been so annoyed by all the complaints, and now GS has responded and it is going to screw us all. Damn this sucks.
tshirtbooth said: I would like to know how photics fees about this for sure. He has a great mind for business and it will be interesting to know how he feels.
Thanks Tshirthbooth. You honor me with your comments.
I don't know all the details about GameSalad Direct. Do we pay per app and have the app sent to us? That seems fair to me, as Gendai Games needs to keep the lights on. The initial shock will be a problem for the community, but it will force developers to be more serious about what they upload to the iTunes store. If it's like $25 per app, but it has hyperlinks and iAds, I think this is fair. I publish like 1-2 apps per month. That's $50x12 is like $600 a year. I don't mind the GameSalad splash screen. That wasn't a problem for me.
If all apps have to be published through the GameSalad iTunes account, I will stop using GameSalad when my subscription expires. I'm not sure that's what Gendai Games is stating though.
For professionals, perhaps they should keep the Pro license available. Some professionals need to remove the splash screen. If it costs $50 per app, and you make over 20 apps per year, suddenly "Pro" becomes economical.
Heh, it figures they make this announcement now... as I'm just about finished with the ePub version of my book.
If my app is no longer my IP, I will lose the right to make a sequel, change the game brand direction, etc.. How is any of this incentive to publish through GS?
design219 said: Exactly right! I've been so annoyed by all the complaints, and now GS has responded and it is going to screw us all. Damn this sucks.
I don't think people were asking for THIS. Mind you, people wanted all the features like iAds etc, but NOONE asked for this, and clearly our opinion didn't matter.
This is TOTAL BS.
Time to learn a new program, and search elsewhere, because once my membership expires, I'm leaving GS for good.
design219 said: This sucks big time. I would continue to pay for the right to publish under our company name. This is going to be the end of me with GameSalad if that option doesn't exist.
I'm with you on this one.
They say we could still publish under our own name until our membership expires. But, for MANY of us (including me) our memberships expire right around the corner. (February)
Comments
How am I going to market my game? I don't want GameSalad to market it for me, I want to be responsible for the website and everything involved in the promotion of the game.
This is so bad! Damn it feels like the worst day of my life
You guys realize UDK is coming out for iPhone soon right? It's got revenue sharing 25% and it does 1000x more than GS
I'll stay with GS if the following happen:
- since you only do s fraction of what UDK does your only entitled to a fraction of 25% therefor you take no more than 5%
- all contracts CLEARLY state that the IP I develop is Mine, not Yours.
- you give me a fracking debugger soon!
- you give me something of value for that 5%! You wanna play publisher, then get my games sold!
- Your brand is synonymous with junk games, i want to get rid of your splash screen.
- what if I want to publish a free game?
- clause in your contract that says that if GS goes bankrupt that we get a copy of the build tools.
It will be interesting to hear what the revenue split will be too. Again, with the cynical head on, I would liken it to music publishing, and be expecting a 60/40 in favour of the dev split.
60% of 70% of course.
If you are a "publisher", you are going to have to act as one.
On saying that every music publisher I have ever know has been a glorified "revenue collector".
1) Can I still request a refund for my current subscription? I don't want one right now, but want to know.....
2) Your telling me that GS is removing our ability to publish under our own iTunes Connect account? To me, this is such a stupid business move, and this will turn people away who want to PUBLISH THEIR OWN games. I wonder if GS has heard of the FTC. IMO, this will be a Monopoly, we can't publish games on our own because we will be REQUIRED to use GS.
Well, I'm excited to here there is a update, but not excited about the update's contents.
Going through StusApps' list:
- While we do lose "independence as iOS developers," but as GameSalad emerges as a publishing company in the likes of Chillingo, Ngmoco, Electronic Arts, and other similar large brands, we will be similarly backed by a strong presence in the App Store community, and therefore their "cut" will be justified by the marketing blitz, press releases, and publicity that your app may never would have gotten as an independent publisher.
- While we do lose "ability to publish unlimited games for $99," GameSalad, as a viable publisher, will assist in making sure that every title that goes out under its name will have passed a certain level of quality control. Let's be honest and frank here for a moment - there are a lot of titles on the market that are just crap, and some of those titles have been created with the GameSalad engine. We, as developers, have taken a hit because of that, so we should be working together and GameSalad will be working with all of us to make sure that future titles will be worthy of its price tags.
- While we lose "our line of contact with Apple," GameSalad already has excellent rapport with Apple, with its engine being one of the first to be in the "safe zone" when that whole "Section 3.3.1" incident hit. Apple regards GameSalad to be a positive force on the App Store, so rest assured that they will properly represent us should any situation arise. With over 1,000 apps in the App Store making money, our line of contact with Apple has never been stronger.
- While we lose a portion of our "revenue," again, GameSalad will be there to provide the additional push that your apps need, justifying their costs. Remember, 70% of $1,000 is still a lot less than, say, 50% of $10,000. As an independent developer, I just do not have the muster, nor the pull with magazine companies, websites, and reviewers to get the exposure my game might deserve. With GameSalad, that picture completely changes for the better.
- While we lose the "ability to have a Pro account and remove all traces of GS branding," again, I'm going back to how GameSalad is drastically turning themselves around towards the likes of the other major hitters on the App Store. Unless you're a runaway hit, or only have an Express membership, this should have little impact on you as it is.
- While we lose "our own brand identity," this again will affect a small group of individuals here at best, but for the most part, it should actually strengthen your titles, as it will be part of a growing library of other quality titles that GameSalad will push out to the frontlines.
- While we lose "our iTunes Connect facilities," I believe that GameSalad will still enable us developers to access the necessary features to cross-connect to the iTunes Connect equivalent, such as metadata, pictures, and pricing, not to mention daily/weekly/monthly sales reports and analytics. As a matter of fact, without having to sign up for various services (some of which can be costly), GameSalad may in fact bring us all the analytics we need to monitor our game's sales performance.
As you stated, we're mixed in with a wide variety of quality apps - some that don't deserve a "FREE" price tag on iTunes, and others that are greatly undercharging themselves. I believe that it will all change as GameSalad turns to publishing mode. I, for one, would like to have an additional set of eyes to tell me if my game is worthy, or what I can do to improve it. After all, the more I make, the more they make, so it's obviously in their best interest to make your game as profitable as possible.
Alone, it's tough to survive in the App Store. What some of us are earning right now are peanuts. Literally peanuts. I can only look at this thing in a good light - as long as the numbers are fair, of course - and it will hopefully give me the push I need to make my games more prominent in the ever-growing App Store.
I been here since june and in this 4 months I been reading all this post about the pro is to expensive... give us the iads... charge us per app instead of the $2,000 and more and more comments about how to eliminate the pro fee...
They just say its over... and now you make a big issue... They are just giving you what you asked for... and now you complaint...
Yes not everybody ask for it, but the vast majority did... go back read the post from the past... you asked for it... and now GS is giving you what you want
Cheers
IMO, this will be a Monopoly, we can't publish games on our own because we will be REQUIRED to use GS.
It's not a monopoly, you have alternatives.
your entire point is pinned to the idea that they cut the crap games. Do you really think this is going to happen when they get a publishing fee from anyone that wants to submit.
Is this based on facts or on your opinion of how it'll work? Was this mentioned at the NY meet up? I think to compare gamesalads reputation with chillingo is quite a push.
It's not the cost per app/per subscription that's the main issue.
The way I have read into this thread is the fact that there will a loss of control over what we can and can't do.
If they numbers look good, and if they can convince us they have the chops to be a decent publisher, then there really shouldn't be too much of an issue.
But....I also think they need to cater for users who don't want to be part of that publishing model, but still want to use a great tool for making apps quickly, and relatively easily.
We have Alternatives. If you want to scare everyone away with this plan, you're doing a fine job.
This is clearly a desperate attempt to save a failing company.
You NEED to offer more options and there is no way in hell I'm giving away MY commission to Gamesalad. NO WAY.
I don't know all the details about GameSalad Direct. Do we pay per app and have the app sent to us? That seems fair to me, as Gendai Games needs to keep the lights on. The initial shock will be a problem for the community, but it will force developers to be more serious about what they upload to the iTunes store. If it's like $25 per app, but it has hyperlinks and iAds, I think this is fair. I publish like 1-2 apps per month. That's $50x12 is like $600 a year. I don't mind the GameSalad splash screen. That wasn't a problem for me.
If all apps have to be published through the GameSalad iTunes account, I will stop using GameSalad when my subscription expires. I'm not sure that's what Gendai Games is stating though.
For professionals, perhaps they should keep the Pro license available. Some professionals need to remove the splash screen. If it costs $50 per app, and you make over 20 apps per year, suddenly "Pro" becomes economical.
Heh, it figures they make this announcement now... as I'm just about finished with the ePub version of my book.
This is TOTAL BS.
Time to learn a new program, and search elsewhere, because once my membership expires, I'm leaving GS for good.
They say we could still publish under our own name until our membership expires. But, for MANY of us (including me) our memberships expire right around the corner. (February)
I may just leave iOS development for now.
not too happy with this news, but I think we need more firm info before making an informed judgement.