“Developers outsource publishing to publishers”
Nicholas Lovell suggests it here:
Think about it. It’s your baby, your dream, your idea.
My own way of describing this is:
- Who owns the IP? (dev, initially)
- Who invented the IP? (dev)
- Who – therefore – understands *why* the IP exists, *how* it works, *why* it’s “good”? (dev)
- Who cares most about the IP? (dev)
- Who would you trust most to pour their heart into making the most of the IP? (?)
- …and do so without destroying the bits that made it good and unique in the first place? (?)
Years of publishing have made people come to assume the answer to the last questions is “the publisher” without even thinking about it. It took me very little time working in actual publishers to see first-hand how wrong that is as an answer – in most publishers, most of the staff don’t even play games. At all. They couldn’t care less about the IP’s they are supposedly shepherding and exploiting.
When you speak to people who know nothing about the games industry, they invariably answer “the developer”, as this is the natural answer: the person who invented and nurtured the answer is bound to care more about it, and work harder for it, than anyone else.
These days, now that I believe in hiring on enthusiasm instead of competence, that’s also the answer that will tend to maximize “success” / revenue.
Valete, Publishing industry!
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As long as at least some of the people at the developer have some basic understanding of marketing, sure. Oh, I know that the publisher should vet for that sort of thing before they start funding, but all too many devs seem to miss the basics….
(When I mean “the basics”, I mean you say “Marketing Mix” to the boss and they look blank)