I got an issue about the subject "Selling Mobile Games thru distribution companies"... I'm a developer, i need a distrubution company. What are the steps that i need to take to do a correct and formal agreement with them? For example: 1) Contact them. 2) Negotiate with them. 3) Sign an agreement 4) Write (we, the developers) a license for the product. 5) We both, the distribution company and us sign it. 6) Deliver the product. Another issue is that, we want to focus on international markets. So... how can i do all this \"stuff\"?? Thanks

Here's the warning: Hiring a distributor can cost you a lot of money if your product doesn't sell well.

Most home-brew products aren't worth hiring a distribution company. You will probably do best to start out with web distribution on your own, until you get enough profit to warrant spending the money for it.

Distributors need to make money. They will have a per-sale percentage plus up-front fees. If they figure that you won't have many sales, they will charge you a huge up-front fee to cover all (or most) of their expenses. Usually when they do that, they will give you more back per sale.

Assuming you still want to give them lots of money, the steps are:

Quote:
* Contact them.
* Discuss product and see if they have any interest in distributing and/or marketing your product.
* Negotiate with them.
* Discuss agreement with a lawyer, unless you are experienced in writing legal agreements.
* Sign an agreement.
* Perform a bunch of work according to your agreement, such as adding branding information.
* Write (we, the developers) a license for the product. This is part of negotiating above
* We both, the distribution company and us sign it.
* Deliver a version of the product.
* Verify that delivered product meets agreement and they will accept it. If it does, move on. Otherwise, go back up to 'Perform a bunch of work...'
* Take active steps to verify that they are doing what you expected.
* Work with them on creating promotional material
* Actively request complaints and suggestions to make your product better.
* Improve product, repeat, profit.

That's not a fixed list, and it will change for each company you work with.

Quote:Original post by Goguigo
Another issue is that, we want to focus on international markets. So... how can i do all this \"stuff\"??

A professional distributor working internationally will be more expensive than a local distributor. They will require additional work to ensure internationalization of your product. You also need to trust them a lot more since it is difficult to verify that they are doing the work in the target country.

On your own, web distribution will generally work well enough for international markets. You just need to have a payment system that works in your target country -- like PayPal.

frob.