Quote: "When you get offered 25% it`s most likely with the additon "from breakeven", what means that you get the first buck after the game has paid itself of for the publisher."
Ive been offered a lot more than 25% and yes its from when the game has covered its costs, but Ive never negotiated a game I didn't have 50-70% of the dev cost coming from me, so that's perhaps why I can get more than 25%
Quote: "Also it`s tricky if the percentage is calculated based upon revenues or profits. "
I cant see of any other way to calculate it. They pay taxes and do their books, cost and profit should be readily available, if it isn't the tax man shows his displeasure in a hurry, they should have the figures.
Quote: "So if you really know a publisher willing to fund the development AND pay you 25% of the revenue from the first sold unit on, please tell me who, I´m gonna change the sides and be only developer then...."
nope I don't either, like I said I cover 50-70% of the dev costs, and then its not from the first unit sold, but my percentage is significantly more than 25%, I have even negotiated their part of the dev costs as non recoupable as well, as in they cant claim it back on the products selling, marketing and distribution costs they can, but that was with the publisher having no budget and the game requiring hard work from my end to make up for that, and the fact I knew they would have a small marketing budget, if any at all, so I dint see what costs they had to lay out for.
I will note that unless the publisher is very large, the money they have to spend is so tight, its virtually to small to be in the business, I hear these massive budgets being claimed by the big major publishers, frankly I cant see them spending those kind of figures, I mean 20 million etc, its all hype, do the figures yourself, look at the sales figures that would be needed to cover the costs.
The cut off to the publishers small developers work with is a drop in the ocean compared to whats claimed by the big wigs, there is a major cutoff in budget size, in fact its so small as its worth not bothering with them and looking for smaller games one can make oneself, safer markets with small outlays and quicker turnovers, they are there if you look hard enough.
