Re: Forming Co. ???????

From: dani@netcom.com (Dani Zweig)

Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 07:35:07 +0000

gl8f@fermi.clas.Virginia.EDU (Greg Lindahl):
>However, $100k is probably a bit of overkill, although probably a good
>number to scare people with. An MBA friend of mine did a business plan
>for a class. Assuming that he did the programming himself, a $25,000
>initial investment and a $6/turn charge ($3.18 of which is labor,
>materials, and postage), he can break even at 100 turns per week.
>Making a reasonable income would require 300 turns/week...

The main thing that seems to be missing here is an appreciation of how
long it can take for that reasonable income to start coming in.  First
there's the programming, which takes much longer than people would believe.
A reasonable rule of thumb for producing maintainable code commercially
is 2500 lines of code per man-year.  The most popular ways for non-
professionals (and too many professionals) to speed that process up
(skimping on design and testing) tend to result in far *more* programming
down the road.  Then there's the play-test, which can be quite lengthy
if it's going to be an honest attempt to improve the game and shake out
the bugs.  Once that's done, it's time to get a revised rulebook printed,
buy ads, and start building up a customer base.

Most people who start pbm companies can't or won't face a couple of years
of startup costs until money starts coming in, so they opt to first
market the game and then iron out the bugs.  Which brings us back to my
original observation that most pbm companies fail.

Which, in turn, brings me back to my original contention, that the
fact that pbm games seem to offer so little for what they charge is
a reflection of the economics of the business.

-----
Dani Zweig
dani@netcom.com

The inability of snakes to count is actually a refusal, on their part,
    to appreciate the Cardinal Number system. -- "Actual Facts"

References

Forming Co. ???????
<34RIPSE@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU>
Tue, 25 Aug 1992 15:24:48 +0000
Re: Forming Co. ???????
dani@netcom.com (Dani Zweig)
Wed, 26 Aug 1992 00:19:38 +0000
Re: Forming Co. ???????
gl8f@fermi.clas.Virginia.EDU (Greg Lindahl)
Fri, 28 Aug 1992 04:02:16 +0000

Referenced By

Forming Co. ???????
<34RIPSE@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU>
Tue, 25 Aug 1992 15:24:48 +0000
Re: Forming Co. ???????
dani@netcom.com (Dani Zweig)
Wed, 26 Aug 1992 00:19:38 +0000
Re: Forming Co. ???????
gl8f@fermi.clas.Virginia.EDU (Greg Lindahl)
Fri, 28 Aug 1992 04:02:16 +0000