Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!apple!sun-barr!newstop!sun!pepper!cmcmanis
From: cmcmanis%pepper@Sun.COM (Chuck McManis)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: No more Cinemaware stuff for Amiga !!!????
Message-ID: <119602@sun.Eng.Sun.COM>
Date: 4 Aug 89 19:34:41 GMT
References: <6712@warpdrive.UUCP> <1505@ndmath.UUCP>
Sender: news@sun.Eng.Sun.COM
Reply-To: cmcmanis@sun.UUCP (Chuck McManis)
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mountain View
Lines: 30

In article <1505@ndmath.UUCP> milo@ndmath.UUCP (Greg Corson) writes:
>Publishing for instance...nobody makes copies of a paperback book, because
>it would be too much of a pain to copy a book that only costs $4.

There are 100,000,000 people who might buy a paperback book, about 1-3% of
them do that is 1,000,000 to 3,000,000 sold. Just about every book these
days that isn't a total dog has the "over a million copies in print" that
gives you a pot of $4,000,000 to $12,000,000 to cover expenses. The Amiga
market is between 300,000 and 400,000 machines. 1 - 3% is 3,000 to 12,000
people. At even $10 a pop that is $30,000 to $120,000 to cover all expenses.
Assuming a markup of 60% then that leaves $18,000 to $72,000. Given a 
distributor markup of 20% your down to $14,400 to $57,600. Lets say the
disk and box and flimsy sheet of instructions cost you $2.00 total, now
you are down to $8,400 to $33,600. Note that from the distributor's 
perspective selling 5,000 copies is a *Killer* hit program. With games
3,000 is more likely. Say it takes you one year to write two games. And you
sold a total of 5,000 copies for both games. You've made $14,000 in 
income and just broken the Federal poverty line. 

The key thing to always remember is POTENTIAL MARKET SIZE. Ever wonder
what a "paperback" cost when Ben Franklin was running the presses? Well
the literate population as a percentage of total population was about the 
same as the computer literate population is today, and books cost over 
$100 each. (In today's dollars) If it no one can make a living writing
games, they won't. 

--Chuck McManis
uucp: {anywhere}!sun!cmcmanis   BIX: cmcmanis  ARPAnet: cmcmanis@sun.com
These opinions are my own and no one elses, but you knew that didn't you.
"A most excellent barbarian ... Genghis Kahn!"