To those who own a game store

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Reality's Fringe

Reality's Fringe

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I was just wondering; How ahrd is it to open up your own independent shop. I've heard conflicting statements from around other messageboards and even at my local SBA. Some tell me it's probably the most difficult thing they've ever done while others tell me that after setup, the job is relaxing and often fun. The other problem is vendor information. It's impossible to get vendor info unless you have a Tax ID and I haven't taken it that far as of yet. I just want to hear it from the owners. Is it hard, fun? What vendors are best/worst? How long did it take you to setup your business? would it be wise to get a tax ID just to get info, and if not, where can I get more information? Just how much is the usual base cost of a game? I implore you to tell me your stories and help a guy with a dream.
 
Im no expert, nor do i own a store, but I would think that it would be pretty hard. You have to keep stock, good reasonable (Yet cheap) prices, tons of stuff. But i would thinik that it is a good challenge, but if you lose, thats a big (financial) loss.
 
Small business ownership IS hard, true. And true again, this would be a major loss due to the expensive inventory. However, I just have this intense desire to have a place of my own to manage as I see fit. It would be a GREAT experience for me, and if it's popular, then all the better. The problems I'm encountering are the fundamentals, which is why I'm making this plea. Again, anyone out there, I'm asking for your input.
 
You can ask Defender on this forum. He runs http://www.videogamedeals.com. I think the most difficult thing about knowing or trying to find out a new business is getting someone in the business to actually tell it as it is. Most people either "sugar-coat" it or feel threatned to give you the "nuts" of the operation. Good luck!
 
Yep. Go after the neo-geeks. People like us...
Younger Professionals who grew up on Transformers, GI Joe and Masters of the Universe... while playing the NES and SMS.
 
I own a video game store, and it's actually kinda easy. Of course the 100,000.00 it took to open was kinda steep but hey. I have been trying to deal with Sony but they are kinda slow, Microsoft is cool but expensive. Nintendo is impossible to buy straight from wholesale. If you plan on staying in business for a long time I would say open a store, but if you are not willing to work 16 hour days and go to every conference, convention, special showing and any other promotion then I would say don't do it. I personally enjoy doing this, the key is to adapt to changing times. You can no longer sell just games and live through it, you need to have a niche, I will leave it at that. MWAAHAHAHAHAH.......
 
From time to time I chat with the guy who owns the 2-store "empire" that is pretty much the only independent video game place in my immediate area. He's been open for around 8 years now. I mention this because of Spiritseed's post about finding a niche: the store(s), for 6 years, were video game sales and rentals. About 2 years ago this guy installed 6 or so PCs in each store, set up for LAN gaming, and started charging something like $15 an hour to play networked games. It took off like wildfire. He told me that it is the most profitable part of his business, by far, over the game sales...and in fact he dropped the rentals - too much work for what he was making. I think he's got 10 terminals in each store now at $20/hr., and good luck getting in on one - they are always packed with teenagers. The owner was also smart enough to start selling six-packs of soda, and he lets kids order pizzas there. Low overhead after the initial investment in the machines (which, these days, isn't that bad) and the money just kinda comes right in. I'm really oversimplifying here; I recognize that it's not as easy as the money "coming right in", but hopefully I'm getting the point across...find your niche. Anyone can sell a wide variety of games, and margins are such that you are not going to be able to really compete with the chains by undercutting their pricing - they've got quantity over you. You've got to find another way to distinguish yourself.
 
Yeah too much to deal with with something like that. I'd just like to be the guy who is friend with the owner of the store, help him out, and of course perhaps get in some deals.
 
I been in biz 10 years. Been in retail for 13.

DO NOT OPEN A GAME STORE. Terrible idea...and I say this not because of competition but I say this because the margins are too low to open a store, pay rent, and pay employees. The best you can do is work yourself 16 hours a day. While you may enjoy it for a year or 2 after 5,6,7,8 years...not any fun anymore. But thats life I guess. The game industry sucks ass. The best thing to do is join a company and try to move up in the chain...learn all you can every day. When you feel you know enough or have the balls then go for it. The niche discussion is very true. For me it was classics. I been selling Atari, ColecoVision, Vectrex, and Intellivisions years before it was a trend. I did rather well. Ebay has of course killed that market along with just about every other collectible market. How rare is anything if you can get it on Ebay any time you want? Sure...there is rare...but rare games used to go for $200...or more even. Ebay has flooded the market with sellers and less and less buyers.

Anyways. If you want to be in the game industry try something other than retail. Try media....or designer...or even better...accountant.


Just to give you an example of markup in the game industry..typical EA games are $42-$43.50 and you sell them at $49.99 or less...I sell at $46. You cant return games if they dont sell and if there is a price drop...you just lose the money. Start doing some math based on a 15% markup on your sales. Also note...systems are loss leaders. Cost on a GameCube is $95 to sell for $99. If someone uses a credit card there goes $2. There is some good...you make more on used games of course but you have to hope your in a good spot to buy games. And you have to be a good buyer...in other words haggle well where you make the customer happy yet dont overpay.

I have setup 2 people in retail stores as a consultant and they are doing pretty well. I can get someone going fast and save them a ton of money from mistakes. Not to mention I know everyone and I also get my clients better deals. Most of the time if you call asking a wholesaler for a price you will pay top dollar. You have to be in the industry and have volume to really get deals. I get deals that 99% of other stores would never get. I get emails and offers every day. If you are new...you will just be bait for the wholesaler unless you can show savvy and have buying power over $100,000 a year. I have 10x that.

Spiritseed spent $100,000 to open. I can open a nice spot with $40,000-$60,000 without a problem.
For 100k I can start a mini-chain of 3 stores. lol
He is right though about Sony..they are slow. Nintendo is insane and MS are just too new to the game but they are at least eager. You really dont deal with them as much though....you should deal with larger wholesalers to start as they can typically give you better deals than MS, NIN, or Sony would.

One day I should write a book.
 
[quote name='defender']I been in biz 10 years. Been in retail for 13.

DO NOT OPEN A GAME STORE. Terrible idea...and I say this not because of competition but I say this because the margins are too low to open a store, pay rent, and pay employees. The best you can do is work yourself 16 hours a day. While you may enjoy it for a year or 2 after 5,6,7,8 years...not any fun anymore. [/quote]

He's absolutely right. The margins are terrible, the competition fierce, and the hours a nightmare. I owned a shop for 2 years, sold early last year and made not enough of a profit to make it worth my while financially. I was in it for the small scale business experience aspect so I got exactly what I wanted, but if I was in it to pay my bills I would have starved. For my stated purpose however, it was fantastic. I also have other sources of income, so it was never an issue for me.

The best thing to do is join a company and try to move up in the chain...learn all you can every day. When you feel you know enough or have the balls then go for it.
Click to expand...

I agree, but I would stress the need for a supplemental education, one rooted firmly in business. No amount of time working for someone else will give you all the insight you need and neither will the college hours, but together they will give you the best possible start.

The niche discussion is very true. For me it was classics. I been selling Atari, ColecoVision, Vectrex, and Intellivisions years before it was a trend. I did rather well.
Click to expand...

You will not survive without a niche. This cannot be overstated. You must decide what your niche will be, finding the market for that niche, and then delivering to that niche. The jack of all trades is the master of none, which is why Best Buy sucks ass and overcharges to fix computers. You are not Best Buy, and as a startup, you will constantly be having money crunches. Find what you can do better than anyone else and do it.

Ebay has of course killed that market along with just about every other collectible market. How rare is anything if you can get it on Ebay any time you want? Sure...there is rare...but rare games used to go for $200...or more even. Ebay has flooded the market with sellers and less and less buyers.
Click to expand...

werd. Realize that no matter what your market niche is, the marketplace has been greatly expanded by the internet. Virtually any good is available via the internet, and your customers will expect to compete with them directly.

Anyways. If you want to be in the game industry try something other than retail. Try media....or designer...or even better...accountant.
Click to expand...

lol. Sign of a businessman. Damned accountants. My love/hate relationship with them runs deep. Love their information, hate having to pay them. Vampires, the lot of them. :?
 
welcome speedracer...for a first post you showed some good skillz

When I said he should work for someone I didnt mean like at Gamestop...I meant at some corporate office if possible. If you want to get rich hang around the rich. It works. If I had to do it again I would stay in the workforce for another 2-5 years and learn more about larger corps. I keep having a hard time converting my small business into a medium size and I am sure its from a lack of knowledge about the organization it takes. I tend to micromanage. Although I am getting better :)

Damned accountants. My love/hate relationship with them runs deep. Love their information, hate having to pay them. Vampires,the lot of them.
Click to expand...
This is how I feel about bankers and CC processors.

You should also read some books...lots of books...at least 3 books concerning the industry you want to get into. This way you can see 3 authors point of view...if they all agree on one thing then its most likely to be true. You should also read books on marketing, small business management, accounting, tax laws, people management, and how to file for bankruptcy just in case.
 
It's a good idea if u can start in a town not over-popualted by game stores.There's one area in my town I can think of 4 stores that do used and new games that i could walk door-to-door to them.That't doesn't account for BB,Target,kmart,and TRU.Of course this is by or at the biggest mall in my town but still that's just way to many stores in one small area.
 
Hey Defender. if everyone marks up games nearly 15% to get to 49.99, then how the heck do people on ebay sell games for 37.99 new when they come out?

Are these guys theives and they just post stolen merchandise or something?
 
I don't know about you guys, but I've thought that Game Over: Press Start to Continue was an interesting read about the videogame industry.

It's probably a decent book for anyone at all interested in the videogame industry during the mid eighties to nineties to read.
 
Oh, what about an ebuisness? I've been thinking of starting one for a while now but I'm not sure about what it's really like...
 
Is the price drop thing good for all publishers or just EA? For instance, when Mortal Kombat dropped to $20 from $50, did Midway get $42 or $18? thanks for the help!
 
[quote name='thingsfallnapart']Hey Defender. if everyone marks up games nearly 15% to get to 49.99, then how the heck do people on ebay sell games for 37.99 new when they come out?

Are these guys theives and they just post stolen merchandise or something?[/quote]

In many cases...YES! You will notice that a seller somehow has one or two copies of every new release and that's it. It's a good chance they are a walmart employee waiting to get busted. It happens all the time. Also some are legit reviewers or people on a list to get a copy of a game. The game industry can send out as many as 5000 free copies of game. There are ways to get on lists. There are A lists and B lists...I am fortunate enough to be on some A lists to get premiums. Konami really hooks me up. I just send an email to get what I want. LucasArts is really liberal as well with their list.
 
It's even tougher now than ever before to start a gaming store. Stores like Walmart, Best Buy, Circuit City are all willing to sell merchandise with low profit margins at a loss to draw in customers. DVDs can be found at close to half off MSRP during the week of release and new games are priced at around $35 to $40. Recently, FAO schwarz and Kb toys have filed for Chapter 11 protection because of poor sales during the holiday season. They just can't compete anymore with the Walmarts and Targets.

Retail has changed alot in the last decades. Many customers are no longer loyal to reliable stores with knowledgable salespeople. They go where the bargains are.
 
[quote name='gamefreak']Oh, what about an ebuisness? I've been thinking of starting one for a while now but I'm not sure about what it's really like...[/quote]

see thats the problem...an ebusiness is relatively easy to open and the risk is much lower...you can actually start with a few hundred...and a good plan
 
Everyone who wants to open a B&M (bricks & mortar aka offline) game store, please be careful. It's okay to dream. It's okay to pursue that dream. But be prepared to lose more than you originally planned on risking. Once most people have poured money into their business, they will find ways to justify spending more to keep it afloat, until everything they have is gone. Why am I being so negative, so depressing, so worst-case-scenario? because, unless you are prepared for the worst, you're not ready to start your own business. Do more research than you've ever done your entire life, then have someone doublecheck what you found out. Why? because some people are so in love with their own ideas, they don't see the flaws that others notice quickly.

Check your local paper, national headlines, etc to research other businesses that failed that were targetting the same industry you're planning on entering. find out why they failed so you don't make the same mistake. if you can't figure out why they failed, then you better have a damn good edge that they didn't have. and you better have a good reason why you won't fail where so many others have.

I've seen people lose friends, family, marriages, houses, cars, savings, etc trying to keep the dream alive.

And if you all are thinking of owning a video game store, I wish you the best. but look at the current state of the marketplace. Even KBToys is closing most of their game sections, and the KBs that are still selling VGs are only carrying GBA. Look at the massive closeouts, price drops, liquidations, etc. All these are great for the consumer, but how great are these for the retailers. Look at how many people frequent this site and sites like it.

Look at how many retailers (COMPETITORS) are already in or are getting in this industry:

GameRush [owned by Blockbuster] (rent,sell,trade,buy)
GameCrazy [owned by Hollywood Video] (rent,sell,trade,buy)
GameFixx [owned by CompUSA] (sell,lan-gaming)

the superstores: BB,Target,TRU,CC,WalMart
the wholesale clubs: Costco, Sams, BJs
the national chains:
EBGames
GameStop [owned by Barnes & Noble] buy, sell, trade, lan-gaming

add in all the independents
add in online: EBAY, Amazon, etc
add in GameFly (rent by mail)
other discounters, wholesalers, bootleggers, thieves, etc.


now, decide if you still want to get into this industry.
 
[quote name='GameDude']Is the price drop thing good for all publishers or just EA? For instance, when Mortal Kombat dropped to $20 from $50, did Midway get $42 or $18? thanks for the help![/quote]

your question is confusing...price drops are BAD for retailers...and this is industry norm not just EA..they all do it

and when a price is dropped....it is because the publisher has dropped the wholesale price and the msrp...the publisher makes less money but doesnt really lose money since they dont price protect or take returns...of course a game has to sell a certain amount to cover liscence fees and development costs so they can still lose money and often do

games that are made and released at $50 and dont sell....eventually go to $20 and ...and YES the publisher may have paid as much as $30 of a liscence fee for each game already so they lose money on whatever inventory is on hand....

you can view financial reports on most game publishers at yahoo

ticker symbols
=================
AKLM acclaim
THQI THQ
ERTS EA
TTWO take two
ATVI activision
ATAR atari/infogrames
MWY midway


you can see for yourself that many have a negative EPS and they bleed money
 
and it doesn't matter how much money you start with. yes, it would be great to start with $1,000,000. Last year, one of my competitors (B&M, not vg industry) started with exactly that amount of capital. Guess what, they lasted 3 months. they burned through all that money opening 1 location and on advertising budget. Now that they've failed they are trying to find funding from VCs because they say that they have "proven" that their concept works because they already found out what went wrong and won't do it again. WTF. lol. I am spending far less and still around today.

another competitor in a different marketspace (online), raised $1 billion during the internet bubble. Yes, you read it right - $1 Billion. They almost lost it all and are responsible for some of the web's biggest flops. When the internet crashed, so did they. they have less than $150,000,000 left but are struggling, laying off, fighting lawsuits, etc. sounds like a lot of money, right? Of course it is, but not to a company that has a huge burn-rate and losing money each month and haven't learned from their mistakes. They may last another year, then I'll come in and pick up the pieces at liquidation/auction prices. How do I know all this? Because I built a competing online business in my house (less than $1,000) and sold it to them before the crash. I sold it for cash + retained an equity stake (business I sold), plus took equity in their parent company. They still send me q-reports. they could have built the business for the same amount of money I did, but they wanted to buy instead of build, and in the process spent much more money. Sometimes too much money robs you of wisdom. Nowadays, i only start a business if i can do it with my existing hardware/software/techies or spend less then $1,000 of my own money to do it. otherwise, OPM (Other People's Money - bank, VCs, angels).

but regarding video games, start small (tiny), test the waters, see if you even like the industry from the retail side. Spend a few hundred dollars buying a few hard-to-find or cheap games offline, try to sell online, see if it's worth your trouble - ebay fees, shipping, handling, returns, etc. If you make money, then re-invest what you made but not more. That way you only risk your initial investment. kinda like playing with house money in Las Vagas. or go the O.P.M. route - but do not ask family or friends for money, unless you want to lose them, too.

IMHO, YMMV.
 
yeah...I am gonna start a wholesale program exactly for people that mr rhee described..those wanting to get some merch to see if they can sell it via ebay, friends, or flea markets

anyone with a store or who wants to open a store is also welcome

mr rhee...your story is awesome PM me the details of whoms I also just sold the ColecoVision trademark to someone...gonna get a decent check
Yeah...I owned the trademark of ColecoVision...how odd is that?
 
I'll tell you when my non-disclosure agreements expire. I'm going to write a book/ebook about the deal. funny thing is that when they paid me, they made sure I signed an iron-clad NDA but never mentioned or had me sign a non-compete agreement. unbelievable. blinded by money.

why did you sell the Colecovision trademark. can I still make an offer? j/k, actually not kidding, did you flip it to atari or acclaim? wow.

you should write a book about that transaction.

I'd read it.

how long did you own it? did you sell the domain with it as well?
 
well...actually its not sold just yet...the paperwork is being faxed this week..we have just come to a number

if you are really interested you have to act fast and also there is more to the story about this...PM me about this if you arent just playing around

Its a weird and long story so you really out to PM me if truly interested
 
The book "Game Over: Press Start to Continue" is a great read, and the definitive early gaming history, but it has absolutely nothing useful about running or maintaining the business end, especially for a small business owner. Sorry buddy, that's not a good reference.
 
Wow some good stories here.

Mr. Rhee - what kind of business(es) do you own now? You mentioned a comic/anime store in another thread, but you said you sold your stake in that.

defender, can you talk a little about owning the ColecoVision trademark? I've always been involved in picking up rights to things that are now public domain (mostly old TV shows), and am wondering if it's the same type of thing.

Jeremy
 
I have a small video game and electronic ebay business. I started of selling older rare PS1 games that I got for cheap, and I have now been selling for quite a while now. I sell a little bit of everything that has to do with collectibels/electronics and entertainment. I'm still small with only a few auctions going at a time. I would like to sell more but I just don't have a good source to get those things for cheap, so I just resort to looking around for good deals on things to sell. Also I am only 18 and haven't even started collage yet, this is about all I can do right now. I plan to go to collage and study small business ownership and work at a retail store I enjoy at the same time, hopefully moving up in the ranks to get experinece and knowledge. Ultimatly I want to start my own business, Probably a dollar store or small closeout store, because I enjoy them and they don't cost much to start and also they do very well. Look at how big Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Dollar General, Big Lots, etc. are. Anyway, I enjoy retail alot and I've always wanted to start a business. Anybody else have advice for owning a business? Is a Ebusiness a better choice than a B&M business?
 
[quote name='Cuzza40']The book "Game Over: Press Start to Continue" is a great read, and the definitive early gaming history, but it has absolutely nothing useful about running or maintaining the business end, especially for a small business owner. Sorry buddy, that's not a good reference.[/quote]

Funny, don't remember saying that Game Over had anything at all to do with running and maintaining a business.

Let's look at what I said:

[quote name='JSweeney']
"I don't know about you guys, but I've thought that Game Over: Press Start to Continue was an interesting read about the videogame industry.

It's probably a decent book for anyone at all interested in the videogame industry during the mid eighties to nineties to read.
[/quote]

Yep. Absolutely nothing. I was throwing this in as some misc. to add to the great posts by Mr. Rhee and Defender, who I would defer to anyways because they already run thier own B&M's.

I don't know if you misread my post, but you walked away with the wrong impression... either you read it to quickly or placed it in a context it didn't belong.

However, I don't apriciate the tone you took in your post.
 
Rhee, Defender, any comments on the advent and prominence of emulators on retro/old school games sales? I once wrote a paper on Bleem! and misrulings driving market inefficiencies, but wanted to know if, retail side, Bleem! clones and the plethora of emulators/ROMS on the internet have influenced software sales.

I imagine direct causality will be difficult to ascertain but I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts.

Many thanks, and Defender, I'm about to become one of your customers.
 
[quote name='defender']Game Over is a good read...
Also Phoenix is about the best book academically speaking.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...f=sr_1_1/104-3373377-2532751?v=glance&s=books[/quote]

Thanks for the suggestion.. I'll have to go look and see if I can pick that book up. It sounds pretty interesting.

I think it's great what you and Mr. Rhee are doing for these young enterprising entrepeneurs in this thread... not to harsh, yet not candy coating it. If anything, maybe this will get you a few new clients for when you start up your wholesaling venture.
 
My interest int his matter stems from my current job. I work at GameStop and I fuckING hate it. IT's depressing to go in everyday and see the totallly shameless rape of my favorite hobby. I remember back when I was about 10, we had an independent game shop here. You could go in and talk with the owner, chat about games, find some real good ones (Not this Madden Ultra Y2K 80 copies while we only have 2 of this sleeper game" crap" and even pick up a six pack of independent soda. When you left, you actually felt contented with your purchase and your hobby. It's no where near that anymore. Any fo you who work at a Gamestop can easily relate to the stupid ass quotas, publisher sweetheart deals, and the reprecussions of not meeting them. Perhaps it's an overly romanticized and seriously deluded dream, but I miss the days of the local gameshop. Anyone with me on that?
 
I also miss the mom & pop video game stores.

Anyhow, I have to thank you guys for all this information you've provided. I've had the desire to open a game store but lacked the knowledge and drive to actually do it. The proft margins were too low and I couldn't really find a definitive niche.

There are still some ideas brewing, but we'll have to wait and see.
 
Two quick questions for you B&M store owners:

1. I read somewhere that when a game is eligible to become a GH, Sony will give subsidies to the game's developer if the game is re-released as a GH. The developer wouldn't receive as much as if the game still had a $50 MSRP, explaining why GTA3 took so long to become a GH, but they would get a substantial amount. Sony feels that more GH games will promote the PS2 and increase its sales, so it offers incentives to game developers. Is this true, and if so, do you see any of this money when a game on your shelf becomes a GH, or do you swallow the loss?

2. Is any of your business conducted through eBay?
 
Reality's Fringe]My interest int his matter stems from my current job. I work at GameStop and I FUCKING hate it. IT's depressing to go in everyday and see the totallly shameless rape of my favorite hobby. I remember back when I was about 10 said:
I'm with you, but gaming is no longer the rare hobby that it used to be, it's mainstream now. So now you have videogame award shows on networks like Spike and MTV (and MTV funnily enough, used to be a niche station that has now become mainstream). So now instead of gamers playing games, you have alot of different people playing games. Since your average Joe Shmoe likes football, he'll buy a PS2 and all of the madden games, and nothing else. The rising popularity of videogames is a dual edged sword, yikes!
Click to expand...
 
O-Dog, re: emulators, not my expertise.

jrutz, yes, I owned a collectibles store in early 90s (comics, anime, toys, ccg, etc.) it lasted a while but I sold my stake to travel and do conventions, expos, trade shows w/i same industry. then set my eyes on the web completely by accident and the rest is history. currently run online only businesses and constantly incubating new concepts. opening video game center (b&m) soon (defender is lol) but not as retailer; opening tournament (lan/net) gamecenter(s) in my area. all CAGers are welcome to drop in when I've narrowed down a location(s) in MD/VA/DC area. defender is still lol because we chatted for awhile today and he thinks I'm crazy because I bought all my gear/hardware/software/etc BEFORE I found a location. ;) Yes, sometimes I do things bass-ackwards. LOL.

also, opening up tiny B&M "small biz help center" and possibly small cafe/lounge with a twist. originally was going to invest in a new nightclub/lounge in DC/Baltimore but did not want to hate an industry I enjoy so much and found a smarter way to tap into that fragmented industry without alienating myself by being anyone's direct competitor. everyone's friend, no one's enemy.

plus, working on several location-based localized online services and will consider taking on partners/affiliates in other cities to share the wealth/workload. of course, at no cost to anyone who works with me. no franchise fees. no starter kits or bs like that.

and after speaking with defender this afternoon, his video game wholesale idea makes perfect sense for all you entrepreneurs who want to get started. I am going to buy some items from him to give away as consolation prizes for my gamecenter.

whew, I've got a lot of work to do. Plus I started a new thread:
Help Create List of Video Game Tournaments/Leagues
 
[quote name='defender'][quote name='GameDude']Is the price drop thing good for all publishers or just EA? For instance, when Mortal Kombat dropped to $20 from $50, did Midway get $42 or $18? thanks for the help![/quote]

your question is confusing...price drops are BAD for retailers...and this is industry norm not just EA..they all do it

and when a price is dropped....it is because the publisher has dropped the wholesale price and the msrp...the publisher makes less money but doesnt really lose money since they dont price protect or take returns...of course a game has to sell a certain amount to cover liscence fees and development costs so they can still lose money and often do

games that are made and released at $50 and dont sell....eventually go to $20 and ...and YES the publisher may have paid as much as $30 of a liscence fee for each game already so they lose money on whatever inventory is on hand....

you can view financial reports on most game publishers at yahoo

ticker symbols
=================
AKLM acclaim
THQI THQ
ERTS EA
TTWO take two
ATVI activision
ATAR atari/infogrames
MWY midway


you can see for yourself that many have a negative EPS and they bleed money[/quote]

The publisher has to pay $30 per game sold? I though it was like $8 or so. How would it be possible to make any money at $30 fee per game? Let's say the publisher sells it to retail for $42. Then, remove the $30 = $12 profit?
Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but don't many games take 10+ million to develop? If a game sells 1 million copies (which doesn't usually happen), the publishers only make about $2 million. Thanks for the input. I really do appreicate it!
 
[quote name='defender']the phoenix book is a dry read...its basically information laid out like a textbook...it is highly informative though[/quote]
Yeah, reading the synopsis of the book and looking at reviews I figured it might be as such. It sounds like it's paying more attention to the business end of the industry rather than the human part of it... thats part of what I found so interesting about Game Over... it let you peer into the minds of some of these people and see how that shaped and affected Nintendo.
 
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