From fastgraph@aol.com Wed Sep 21 20:31:21 1994 From: fastgraph@aol.com (Fastgraph) Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer Subject: Re: Why do you write shareware? Date: 18 Sep 1994 23:45:03 -0400 Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364) NNTP-Posting-Host: newsbf01.news.aol.com For people interested in marketing games through shareware and retail channels, here is a list of useful contacts: Vendor List -- updated 09/18/94 The following royalty-paying Shareware and LCR vendors are accepting submissions from authors. Please send updates and corrections to this to Diana Gruber at Fastgraph@AOL.COM or 72000,1642@Compuserve.com ------------------ Khan Lowe Director of Product Development Expert Software 800 Douglas Road North Tower, Suite 355 Coral Gables, FL 33134-3128 (305) 569-1400 voice (305) 443-0786 fax Expert publishes mass-market software. They are picky about their product line and will only accept exclusive titles that have never been released as shareware. They are currently looking for DOS games and Windows productivity products. As of 1/94 they are not accepting educational titles, but that may change in the future. Authors report Expert is slow to evaluate new products, but if you can get on this product line, you will make excellent money. ------------------ Michael Callahan (A.K.A. Dr. FileFinder) Product Line Manager FormGen/Gold Medallion 7641 East Gray Road Scottsdale, AZ 85260 (602) 443-4109 voice (602) 951-6810 fax The Gold Medallion and Titanium Seal racks are royalty shareware racks, and FormGen publishes some high-end retail games and programs, including Spear of Destiny and Doom. The shareware distribution appears to be massive, and authors report getting good royalty checks. ------------------ Brad Wildes or Michael Stubbs UAV Corporation P.O. Box 7647 Charlotte, NC 28241 (803) 548-7300 voice (803) 548-3335 fax UAV publishes an LCR line with attractive, small boxes. They pay reasonable royalties, but as of 1/94 their level of distribution has not been determined -- this is a fairly new product line. Brad Wildes reports he would prefer to have exclusive, non-shareware products, but when I explained the economics of the situation to him, he agreed to take non-exclusive programs which also have shareware distribution. They prefer games. ------------------ Jim Green Shareware Testing Labs 5610 E Washington Indianapolis, IN 46219 (317) 322-2000 Shareware Testing Labs is a shareware rack vendor who pays royalties if the author requires it of all rack vendors. They have shown some interest in LCR titles, but as of 1/94 they are primarily a shareware vendor. ------------------ John Mayo National Systems Technology (used to be Software Concepts) 3130 N Arizona Ave #111 Chandler, AZ 85224 (800) 978-4440 This LCR distributor publishes a wide variety of products, but like most LCR vendors, has a higher percentage of games than other product categories. They pay monthly royalties. Authors report while previously being very happy with these checks, they have gone done markedly over the past few months. Some authors report talking to Jim Crabtree. ------------------ Gary Berg Sofsource 3186 Pine Tree Road Lansing, MI 48911-4205 (505) 523-6789 Formerly a shareware rack vendor, Sofsource is one of the original mass-market LCR publishers. They have several product lines including Personal Companion and Who. They have increasingly moved away from shareware and now tend to decline shareware titles, in favor of exclusive, retail-only products. Their new product line, Pro One, is straight shelfware in the $15 price range. ------------------ Jeff Weaverling Software USA, Inc. P.O. Box 526 Carnegie, PA 15106 (412) 276-8940 voice (412) 276-8943 fax This is a royalty shareware rack that closely resembles the Software Revolution racks. This company used to distribute for Software Excitement, and the color catalog looks remarkably similar, but they are no longer associated with SE or Mike Commish. Royalties on shareware programs are negotiable, and they are interested in acquiring some LCR titles in the future. ------------------ Jim Horowitz The Software Labs 8700 148th Avenue NE Redmond, WA 98052 206-869-6802 voice 206-869-1503 fax The Software Labs has massive shareware catalog distribution -- on the order of 10 million catalogs per year. They launched their shareware racks at Winter CES. I think their boxes are extremely attractive. Distribution, thus far, is unproven. Royalties are negotiable, they do pay royalties to some authors. I talked to Paul O'Dell. ------------------ Gary Roskin National Sales Manager Value Software 700 West Hillsboro Blvd, bldg 3, suite 102 Deerfield Beach, FL 33441 (305) 428-7408 ext 209 voice (305) 428-7428 fax This company claims to have a non-exclusive royalty LCR line, but their products appear to be mostly shareware titles. Level of distribution is unknown. This is a fairly new software vendor, previously they were in the video tape business. ------------------ Scott Stanley Author Relations MicroStar 2245 Camino Vida Roble, Suite 100 Carlsbad, CA 92009 (619) 931-4949 voice (619) 931-4950 fax MicroStar publishes shareware in game packs, up to 25 games to a pack. Scott reports he is trying very hard to resolve problems MicroStar has had with authors in the past, and he wants you to let him know if you have any complaints. MicroStar will pay royalties on LCR programs and royalties are negotiable on shareware. ------------------ Jon P. McKinley. Flagg's Floppies Willard Financial Group, Inc. 276 W. Bagley Rd. Berea, Ohio 44017 216 891-1190 (voice) 216 891-1193 (fax) Shareware rack vendor, member of ASP and NACS (National Association of College Stores). They claim to be in over 1000 locations, possibly college book stores? I was told they are coming out with new and better packaging. Royalties paid monthly. ------------------ Vince Webb Software Marketplace/BCN 710 S.W. Foundry Grants Pass, OR 97526 503-471-7881 phone 503-471-8836 fax Shareware rack vendor, unclear on whether they pay royalties. Distribution and packaging unknown. They have shown some interest in LCR. ------------------ Gil Gilgen Wiz Technologies 951 Calle Negocio San Clemente, CA 92673 (714) 366-8783 voice (714) 366-8784 fax Wiz is the home of the $5 Computer Software Store, Rainbow Avenue Software, and Cyberquest Software. They claim to pay royalties on shareware and LCR. There have been a variety of problems associated with this company. I personally have never received any royalties on a program they have been selling for years, and they refuse to stop selling it even though I have asked them several times. ------------------ Frank Cumberland or Paul Rinde The WizardWorks Group 3850 Annapolis Lane, Suite 100 Plymouth, MN 55447 (612) 559-5140 (voice) (612) 559-5126 (fax) The WizardWorks Group publishes a variety of primarily retail-only titles. However, they have some titles that are also marketed as shareware, particularly with their game collections. They distribute to major retailers under the names CompuWorks, WizardWorks, and MacSoft. ------------------ Charles Berrebbi WorldWide Software 54 B Brunswick Ave. Edison, NJ 08817 (908) 248-1150 (voice) (908) 248-1958 (fax) WorldWide Software produces royalty CD-ROMs for retail distribution. This is a newcomer in the LCR business who shows a lot of promise. ------------------ Some hints and tips: Rack vendors are looking for mass-market appeal, which means good graphics and titles designed for impulse buyers. Games are best. LCR means low-cost retail, in other words, not shareware. That does not mean you can not solicit after-sales of related products. Include a discription of your shareware offerings in the LCR product. Remember, you can distribute a game as shareware or non-shareware, exclusive or non-exclusive, or with cleverness, some combination of the above. You can change the name of a game and redesign levels and put it on more than one rack, but don't do anything sneaky, be honest with the vendors you deal with. Do submit programs in a professional manner, with attractive disk labels, cover letters, good documentation, etc. Follow up with a phone call. Do not throw your program away. Don't sign an exclusive contract unless you have some guarantees regarding release dates, distribution, and performance. Whenever possible, reserve the right to release your program as shareware, and don't sign away that right unless you are appropriately compensated. Do insist on written contracts, read them carefully, and discuss them with others in the industry. Do not believe everything you hear, rack vendors are notorious for making extravagant promises. Analyze your expected returns in terms of distribution, royalty rate, past performance, and future opportunities. Be objective and make your decisions carefully. Rack vending has the potential to pay off well for informed authors, but also has been known to make big money for the vendor and virtually no money for the author. Go into this with your eyes open! Good luck.