European Distribution?

[Valkyrie]

Well, it looks like I won't be able to make the scheduled timeblock today, so I thought I'd get my question in early. ;)

I know the game is available in places like Italy and Spain, but it looks like it's not available elsewhere quite yet. I've got friends in both the UK and Finland who are interested in the game--do you have any idea of when/if Scratches will be available there?

[Agustin]

Alright then, I'll answer before you leave, while I'm having todays lunch (snacks and a soda).

Indeed, Scratches has been published in many places through Europe, but an English release is still missing. To make a long story short, a company was actually going to publish the game in the UK but it wasn't able to find a distributor - we had waited for too long already and decided to cancel the deal, and we're now seeking another publisher. This was very frustrating since the UK master was ready since March!

As for other territories, such as Finland, we simply don't have any contacts there, and I don't think there would be interest. Scratches might have been done very well in large markets such as USA and France, but it's still not that much of a blockbuster title to warrant distribution in smaller territories. You can never tell though, and this might change in the future!

[GSeven]

Hi, I was just wondering if in the U.K. people can free enterprise?

Say if someone wanted too, or had the money and the time; could they fly over to the U.K. with usa bought Scratches games and resell them at open markets? In the usa the open markets would be called Flea Markets or Swap Meets, or the like.

Not for me, but it surprises me that a person cannot just go and buy the Scratches game, off the shelf so to speak in England (uk).

[Möwe]

I think for indie games like schratches it would be convenient if they would be sold via internet/download, like sam & max. Even selling them in episodes makes sense for me: the developers mustn' t wait such a long time till their product bear fruits.
I' m interested in the game itself, but i know, many people want some hardware, like a nice package and a cd.
What do you think about it and about the distribution of your next game?

[Agustin]

Hi, I was just wondering if in the U.K. people can free enterprise?

Say if someone wanted too, or had the money and the time; could they fly over to the U.K. with usa bought Scratches games and resell them at open markets? In the usa the open markets would be called Flea Markets or Swap Meets, or the like.

Not for me, but it surprises me that a person cannot just go and buy the Scratches game, off the shelf so to speak in England (uk).
Trust me - importing games (or any other stuff for that matter) can be extremely expensive (think about taxes). In some cases, the shipping price can also be as high as the game price!

But yes, it would be possible for a company or store to import some Scratches units and sell them in the UK, which is probably being done at a small scale. But to make it widely available in shelves, I'm afraid not - that's too expensive to do!

[Agustin]

I think for indie games like schratches it would be convenient if they would be sold via internet/download, like sam & max. Even selling them in episodes makes sense for me: the developers mustn' t wait such a long time till their product bear fruits.
I' m interested in the game itself, but i know, many people want some hardware, like a nice package and a cd.
What do you think about it and about the distribution of your next game?
This is a complicated matter - selling online may only work if your website is really big and well visited. Even then it can be difficult to sell a product - I think that some factors include some reluctance to buy online, not being able to have the product on your hands, and the reputation of the website. For instance, we have been selling the Scratches soundtrack at our homepage. Even though we're having 10.000 unique visitors each month since early this year, and the public was anticipating its release, sales have not been as good as we thought...

As for episodic content, that strictly depends on the game. Scratches would have never worked as many episodes (because of its story and its design). The current title we're working on is among its same lines, so I don't think there will be many changes in distribution. You have to also bear in mind that publishers tend to do a lot of marketing, which we simply couldn't handle on our own!

[Valkyrie]

Thanks for the information, Agustín--I'll be sure to pass it along. Sorry to hear you've had so much trouble with the UK distribution; I hope it resolves itself soon!