Another problem on selling my games.

[Jayne]

Alright, I have a problem. Which I was not really going to sell yet since I haven't finish it, but I wanted to know how do I sell games.

Problem below that I'm facing :

1. I do not own my own website and I do not have the money to start a website yet, so how am I going to sell it?

2. I think on selling it on my blog but what I heard from my brother is that, blogger cannot upload that big file and sell it.

3. That's it actually.

Anyone here can help out please?
Thank you!

[dramspringfeald]

1. I do not own my own website and I do not have the money to start a website yet, so how am I going to sell it?
Don't need one. Either a free site or Facebook/twitter/LiveJournal will do. Next All you really need is a Paypal and an Email account. Paypal Digital Goods should help you with the rest. As long as your game isn't pornographic id doesn't matter.

2. I think on selling it on my blog but what I heard from my brother is that, blogger cannot upload that big file and sell it.
Host your big files off site. A link to an encrypted Mediafire or something. Locking your Zip/7/rar and mailing them the password works too.


I have no direct experience selling games online but it should be that simple.

[Jayne]

1. I do not own my own website and I do not have the money to start a website yet, so how am I going to sell it?
Don't need one. Either a free site or Facebook/twitter/LiveJournal will do. Next All you really need is a Paypal and an Email account. Paypal Digital Goods should help you with the rest. As long as your game isn't pornographic id doesn't matter.

2. I think on selling it on my blog but what I heard from my brother is that, blogger cannot upload that big file and sell it.
Host your big files off site. A link to an encrypted Mediafire or something. Locking your Zip/7/rar and mailing them the password works too.


I have no direct experience selling games online but it should be that simple.

But if I uploaded it to Mediafire, how am I going to sell? Would you mind on telling me the details on how you sell your games on those free sites like Facebook or upload it onto Mediafire to sell them?

[Spiky Caterpillar]

If you want to sell downloadable non-hentai games, I recommend BMT Micro. It's what Hanako and I use. You create an account with them and upload the game to them; they will then handle the billing and ship the file to your customers. In exchange, they get a percentage of the money.

If you want to sell downloadable hentai games, try DLSite. Again, you upload your file to DLSite; they handle the billing and ship the file to your customers, and get a percentage of the money.

I don't recommend trying to use ad-supported 'free' file lockers to sell files - it makes you look dodgy and unprofessional, and most of them make their money by annoying the users into paying for premium services. Many of them also delete files if they go too long between downloads, so you'll have to re-upload files periodically.

[Jayne]

If you want to sell downloadable non-hentai games, I recommend BMT Micro. It's what Hanako and I use. You create an account with them and upload the game to them; they will then handle the billing and ship the file to your customers. In exchange, they get a percentage of the money.

If you want to sell downloadable hentai games, try DLSite. Again, you upload your file to DLSite; they handle the billing and ship the file to your customers, and get a percentage of the money.

I don't recommend trying to use ad-supported 'free' file lockers to sell files - it makes you look dodgy and unprofessional, and most of them make their money by annoying the users into paying for premium services. Many of them also delete files if they go too long between downloads, so you'll have to re-upload files periodically.

Wow! Alright! That seems to be quite useful for me! Thanks for the information! I would try out the BMT Micro once I finished my games. Thanks again!

[leon]

If your game is a visual novel, you can get a website for free (webstore, big files and 18+ content are fine). Check here - http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewto ... 13&t=14350

I recommend you buy your own domain name ASAP, because that's your own online property. The problem with Blogger, FB and other platforms as your main "money site" is that you don't own them; you have to deal with their limitations and conditions. You also can't redirect the visitors and preserve all the traffic to your site, once you are ready for a site of your own.

You should use these social platforms as well, of course - to promote your main site. And don't wait with promotion, until you have a product - the sooner you start, the more potential buyers you'll have when you launch. Tumblr seems to be particularly popular in the VN community. Twitter and Facebook also seem to be pretty good.

The same goes for BMT Micro and DLsite - all the promotion you do, is directed to a property you don't own. But you might still consider using them in addition to your site, either to handle the billing or as an extra selling platform; they both have affiliate programs allowing anyone to promote and sell your game for a small commission.

[Jayne]

If your game is a visual novel, you can get a website for free (webstore, big files and 18+ content are fine). Check here - http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewto ... 13&t=14350

I recommend you buy your own domain name ASAP, because that's your own online property. The problem with Blogger, FB and other platforms as your main "money site" is that you don't own them; you have to deal with their limitations and conditions. You also can't redirect the visitors and preserve all the traffic to your site, once you are ready for a site of your own.

You should use these social platforms as well, of course - to promote your main site. And don't wait with promotion, until you have a product - the sooner you start, the more potential buyers you'll have when you launch. Tumblr seems to be particularly popular in the VN community. Twitter and Facebook also seem to be pretty good.

The same goes for BMT Micro and DLsite - all the promotion you do, is directed to a property you don't own. But you might still consider using them in addition to your site, either to handle the billing or as an extra selling platform; they both have affiliate programs allowing anyone to promote and sell your game for a small commission.

Wow! That really help! I can have my own website for free? Seriously?! That would be great! Thanks for the information!

[TheGuraGuraMan]

This thread makes me think there should be a kind of "tutorial" for people who wants to make a commercial game...

[RunicV]

This thread makes me think there should be a kind of "tutorial" for people who wants to make a commercial game...

It would be a good idea. It would be nice if they could give us a short definition on how it works (eg. buying your own domain), and not just the steps. While I know that lurking and using Google certainly can someday teach me how, it'll be better if someone did a short tutorial on it.

I tend to avoid asking questions in any way that can be solved by Google/lurking, but I think for this it might be neccessary. Or just have someone explain their method of selling commercial games, like their basic run-down on how it works.

[SundownKid]

PixelProspector already has a ton of tutorials about making and selling indie games (this should apply to visual novels as well).

Otherwise, the process of selling your games comes down to some simple questions:

1) Is my game quality enough to make people want to buy it? (This should be based on the opinions of prospective buyers)
2) Do I have a large social media presence, and/or enough paid or unpaid advertising?
3) Do I have a site, and payment processor hooked up to my bank account?

Learning how to set this stuff up is all on Google if you search for it.

[leon]

Wow! That really help! I can have my own website for free? Seriously?! That would be great! Thanks for the information!

Sure, just PM me or redeyesblackpanda and we'll hook you up.

This thread makes me think there should be a kind of "tutorial" for people who wants to make a commercial game...

I wrote this thread that covers a few of the basics - Domain name, hosting and website - How to. It doesn't cover processing payments or promotion, just the basic things you need to know to build a website.

On a side note, I don't think the approach to making a quality free game is much different from doing it commercially. You still need promotion and you need to convince the visitors to download and play it; for some people investing their time in a game is worth a lot. In a way you are always "selling" your product, free or not.

It would be a good idea. It would be nice if they could give us a short definition on how it works (eg. buying your own domain), and not just the steps. While I know that lurking and using Google certainly can someday teach me how, it'll be better if someone did a short tutorial on it.

I agree to this. Especially on the subject of promotion, Google isn't very effective, because there is simply too much information - and a lot of it is obsolete or plain wrong (based on assumptions instead of testing).

On the other hand, a short tutorial is also a problem to write, because these are all huge subjects - especially research and promotion (two things that SundownKid pointed out); website and handling payment (the third thing) is a relatively smaller subject, but just one part of the whole equation.

[TheGuraGuraMan]

I was also thinking of copyright stuff, which aren't all that obvious (font for example...), or just making a list to be sure you didn't forget anything. adding links like Leon's or Pixelprospector's would also be interesting.

[leon]

Yeah, copyright stuff is another complicated subject, with all that lawyer talk...

You can also find plenty of information and resources about all these on OELVN Community Wiki.