Fox_DL Posted July 13, 2013 Posted July 13, 2013 I am in the process of creating my own story with the aim of releasing it as a visual novel. Of course, my goal is to generate as much buzz with any product released and sales in proportion to the buzz created. I am not a businessman by heart. Altruism and being a utopian are my greatest flaws. But since life is unfair and you have to earn your daily bread, I envision my company (that will be created in the not so distant future) to have very controversial market moves but at the same time, have a sustainable means of income. So here goes: Whenever I release a VN, I'll release the full story for (what looks like) the most likeable character (in case it's a romance story) for free. Then stories of the other characters (which will be given the same level of character dev, of course) will never be sold separately. In case the VN is written by episodes, I'll just release the episodes as cheap as possible.. -The merchandise (meaning figurines, posters, licenses) would be the main source of income. I also plan to commission well known artists to make their own concept of the VN. Then the company sells their art. -Well. this will not be implemented right away, the initial investment has to be returned first. When the it's just all about margins and operating costs, I plan to share the profit with everyone. That would be during Christmas. :D/> This would be my computation: Bonus = {Revenue - [operating costs + salaries]} / number of employees -That will be done during November so the actual payment can be made during December. The company will have zero profit during that month. It will serve as reward for everyone's effort against our competitors. It also symbolizes my company's desire to treat each individual equally. -Of course, appraisals will still be made every year to reward the best and brightest. -My goal is not really to make tons money (like I said, that's my greatest flaw) What I really want is to gain their loyalty, everyone to earn their daily bread, and at the same time, enjoy their work. If I wanted money, I'll just trade stocks on my own. I just want to hear everyone's take on this. I think I'll only make a reply if I'll be asked to clarify something. I might actually make a story out this! Hahahaha! So what do you think? Edit: replaced some entries that didn't make sense and edited a few more words Quote
Sparkker Posted July 13, 2013 Posted July 13, 2013 I am in the process of creating my own story with the aim of releasing it as a visual novel. Of course, my goal is to generate as much buzz with any product released and sales in proportion to the buzz created. I am not a businessman by heart. Altruism and being a utopian are my greatest flaws. But since life is unfair and you have to earn your daily bread, I envision my company (that will be created in the not so distant future) to have very controversial market moves but at the same time, have a sustainable means of income. So here goes: -In case my company releases a visual novel, the paths (yes even the alternative paths are included) to the leading character are free. The other paths are to be sold in bulk. I prefer selling them at the cheapest price possible of course. -The merchandise (meaning figurines, posters, licenses) would be the main source of income. I also plan to commission artists to make their own concept of the VN. Then the company sells their art. -Well. this will not be implemented right away, the initial investment has to be returned first. When the it's just all about margins and operating costs, I plan to share the profit with everyone. That would be during Christmas. :D/>/>/> This would be my computation: Bonus = {Revenue - [operating costs + salaries]} / number of employees -That will be done during November so the actual payment can be made during December. The company will have zero profit during that month. It will serve as reward for everyone's effort against our competitors. It also symbolizes my company's desire to treat each individual equally. -Of course, appraisals will still be made every year to reward the best and brightest. -My goal is not really to make tons money (like my said, that's my greatest flaw) What I really want is to gain their loyalty, everyone to earn their daily bread, and at the same time, enjoy their work. If I wanted money, I'll just trade stocks on my own. :D/> I just want to here everyone's take on this. I think I'll only make a reply if I'll be asked to clarify something. I might actually make a story out this! Hahahaha! So what do you think? About the free thing- No simply no... You could do it the opposite way but the main free? If the main is already given, then some might not bother for the sides... Merchandise- Good, however, you can't rely on figurines and merchandise only.. Everything else, I'd skip.. I don't want to think about it anymore.. (Lazy) Fox_DL 1 Quote
Kendjin Posted July 13, 2013 Posted July 13, 2013 I don't think in-app purchase is a bad idea, but I'd argue you go down the route of: DEMO + Purchase Full Game to unlock routes, don't sell routes in batches, it will ruin the flow of the game. If you actually think you can generate merchandise, it would be a nice idea, but merch is expensive to get prototype first versions for molders and printers. The idea you have is someone with a large base capital and can afford to burn about 50k annually to pay for wages and other outgoings. Fox_DL 1 Quote
Fox_DL Posted July 13, 2013 Author Posted July 13, 2013 don't sell routes in batches, it will ruin the flow of the game. Definitely not gonna do this! wahahaha! I'm a gamer too so pissing off my peers/potential customers will never be on my list. Quote
Supah Kawaii Weeaboo Posted July 15, 2013 Posted July 15, 2013 -In case my company releases a visual novel, the paths (yes even the alternative paths are included) to the leading character are free. The other paths are to be sold in bulk. I prefer selling them at the cheapest price possible of course. -The merchandise (meaning figurines, posters, licenses) would be the main source of income. I also plan to commission artists to make their own concept of the VN. Then the company sells their art. Consider looking at the following: * Electronic Arts is selling episodes of "Cause of Death" on iTunes for $1 to $6 (US Dollars) each. * Voltage Inc sells its otome games by characters' main stories, and both sub-stories and epilogues are separate. All $2-4 each, and work on varied iOS devices. * Roseverte's method for selling "East Tower" is similar, but they only offer individual stories. This method may not work for computer games. Freemium? Maybe... Aside from that, I think selling art and spinoff merchandise might be a good way for a small team to make money from a niche product such as a visual novel. Quote
Fox_DL Posted July 16, 2013 Author Posted July 16, 2013 -In case my company releases a visual novel, the paths (yes even the alternative paths are included) to the leading character are free. The other paths are to be sold in bulk. I prefer selling them at the cheapest price possible of course. I think I didn't make sense with the entry so I'll try again. It looks like that a person has to spend sometime to understand what I was talking about :D/> Thanks for your effort guys. Let's say I released a VN, I'll release the full story for (what looks like) the most likeable character (in case it's a romance story) for free. Then stories of the other characters (which will be given the same level of character dev, of course) will never be sold separately. In case the VN is written by episodes, I'll just release the episodes as cheap as possible.. I'll replace the entry on the first post to avoid further confusion. And wahahaha prototyping really is expensive :D/> Even so, I still want the merchandise and art as the main source of income. Maybe I'll have to moonlight as a stock broker after all :P/> Quote
Sparkker Posted July 16, 2013 Posted July 16, 2013 It might depend>> on your popularity and how appealing it is to the crowd. Quote
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