iDevGames

The Macintosh has always been blessed with a great library of shareware games. Companies like Ambrosia Software, Strange Flavour, and DanLabGames, have pushed the boundaries between “shareware” and “commercial” titles. Even with a wider audience and more Mac users (no doubt thanks to the iMac and Mac OS X), making a living as a shareware author isn’t as glamorous or easy as it sounds. For a great look at the business, read the article “The Do’s and Don’ts of Shareware, Part 1” at O’Reilly Network.

Distribution and exposure for a shareware game, along with its gameplay, are key factors in building sales for shareware authors to continue their development work. In the beginning, BBSs and “disk-catalogs” were the preferred (or should I say only?) option to get a game in the hands of as many prospective game players as possible. With the Internet revolution, the distribution capabilities for shareware authors exploded. Sites such as Mac Game Files and VersionTracker allow Macintosh shareware authors to distribute their games to thousands of gamers and reach a global market. With broadband costs coming down in most of the world, the Internet has played a greater role in the way we obtain our games.

Nevertheless we are forgetting another popular form of software distribution—the magazine “cover disk.” To my knowledge, this practice started with UK-based magazines and their monthly “floppy disk” cover disk. Floppy disks soon gave way to CD-ROMs, and each month the reader could enjoy numerous shareware titles, fully-working older versions of commercial software, and much more. In the last few years this marketing idea meant to increase (or shall I say retain?) readership caught on with US-based magazines.

I recall subscribing to magazines that included CD-ROMs and even to a CD-ROM only game magazine, and often wondered how they could fill the media with 650MB of data each month. Well, more often than not, the content on the CD-ROM was far less than 650MB. However, in the days of 32Kbps modems, who complained? Times have changed, though, and many commercial demos can now weigh in at over 80MB. The 650MB that was once so hard to fill is now actually restricting to magazine publishers, so much that they will charge a commercial software company up to $5,000 to place their “demo” on the magazine’s CD-ROM.

Companies such as Adobe and Macromedia find this a small price to pay to put their products in the hands of potential customers. However, returning to the original subject, shareware authors are finding themselves caught in this new trend. (Commercial developers are accustomed to this practice at the retail shelf level.) So how many magazines charge shareware authors for precious real estate on their CD-ROM? My research shows one—MacAddict. Sources tell me it costs $500 per title. You don’t need the Apple calculator to figure out that at an average cost of $10 for a shareware game, it will take many sales to break-even. When contacted, the publisher of MacAddict made it clear that the fee only applied to shareware (not freeware), and that it is waived if the magazine is interested in the software as an editorial tie-in, such as the “Shareware Pick of the Month” section.

Unlike the Windows market, the percentage of Mac developers working full-time on shareware games is much less. The majority release shareware as a hobby and dream of the possibility of quitting their day jobs. The $500 fee is a barrier that hurts us all, gamers and developers alike, since no doubt the platform is missing out on some great shareware game gems.

Since I live in Japan, I went to the local bookstore and had a look at the Macintosh magazine market. With half the population of the US, Japan boasts over six Mac-specific magazines, of which more than half include a CD-ROM. (And did I mention the average page count of 200 pages!) After a few phone calls, I learned that none of them charge shareware authors a fee. In fact, many of them attempt to teach their Japanese readers how to fill out English registration forms to pay for their shareware games. (Tip for developers: localize your game, docs, and the registration form!) I’ve been told by some shareware authors that Japanese magazines even contact them for permission for inclusion on the CD-ROM—a practice that should be followed through for any shareware in my opinion.

In summary, although the quality of shareware games is increasing each year, it is still a difficult business. MacAddict‘s policy is hurting the future growth of the Macintosh as a gaming platform. In short, we want to encourage shareware developers to create better games and nurture our own John Carmack, Sid Meier, and Peter Molyneux. (If you don’t know them, you shouldn’t be playing games!)

Some shareware authors see the business as a side income, and some are full-time shareware authors. Either way, we need to support good shareware, so if you think that the $500 fee is a bit too high, let MacAddict magazine know.

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