What would you say to convince an investor to your game?

[Deleted]

Sorry to be a downer, but if you have to ask us how to sell your game, it seems like you don't see the 'awesomeness' in your own game enough to sell it.
Of course you can say all the sentences that Snowraven typed, but the person that says them has to convey the message clearly and has to convince people that he himself believes in what he's saying. This is not easy to do at all, especially if you're trying to 'make them believe' it's worthwhile...instead of the product actually being worthwhile (as that wouldn't need much convincing).

Hope that makes sense. Best of luck with the game though, hope it turns out well! Have you thought of Kickstarter?

[Mormolyce]

Talk up the explosion of indie and small team gaming, hitting on obvious points like Minecraft and how it just got bought by Microsoft for 10 gajillion dollars.

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Sorry to be a downer, but if you have to ask us how to sell your game, it seems like you don't see the 'awesomeness' in your own game enough to sell it.

*Rolleyes*

[Deleted]

i think that if you need to come to mmo-champion to ask how to convince investors you're in the wrong business
hire a guy who knows this stuff

[zealo]

i think that if you need to come to mmo-champion to ask how to convince investors you're in the wrong business
hire a guy who knows this stuff

I assumed he wasn't the one in their office that does the PR when reading this thread, being a good developer doesn't necessarily translate into being a good businessman.

If he is indeed the guy that handles that, then yeah hire or at least consult someone professional that do know how to handle PR.

[Spiral Mage]

I'll contribute to this.

What do you tell an investor?

Convey a few key things when you sit down with him/her.
1 - Demonstrate how passionate you are about your project.
They are going to want to know that you are committed and will follow through if they help you.
2 - Tell them why you feel your idea will be successful.
What niche in the market does it fill, who will it attract and why?
3 - Show them you have a long-term plan.
Prove to them that you know where you're going with this.
You are not just standing at the fork in the road, having just chose to go right.
Tell them WHY you're going right, what you expect to find on that road, and that you have PLANS going forward.
4 - Optional: Have an advertising plan.
You can also try to come up with the advertisements and how you will spread the word about your game.
There are many online resources you can utilize to spread your game around without ever paying an ad agency.
I am sure you can HIRE an ad agency later but, I'd be impressed with someone who had their own plan at the start even if they changed their mind later and went with an ad agency. It shows commitment and proper scope on the venture, I believe.

Note #3: Applies mostly to MMOs since a console game is a one-shot deal. Unless it's something you can add to or expand on, DLC or say something like Minecraft, where you will be adding to it in the future.

Basically you need to go in there and show them you have the best idea ever and they'd be crazy not to take you up on it! You are offering them a chance at the ground floor of something amazing, and you need to show them they want in on this amazing chance. No, I am not going to say your game IS that incredible -- since I honestly have no idea -- but that is the confidence you want to show them when you sit down with them.

[Afrospinach]

Sorry to be a downer, but if you have to ask us how to sell your game, it seems like you don't see the 'awesomeness' in your own game enough to sell it.

I disagree, selling is a skill, presentations are a skill, and they are not necessarily tied to enthusiasm or development abilities.

[Deleted]

"It generates a lot of dosh."

[Bolson13]

"It generates a lot of dosh."

Simply put, this is key. Outside of making them enthousiastic about your product, the key is to show them what risk they run and for what return. For that I would suggest at least a business plan for your company and well thought out plan/journal for the product itself (marketing - not just advertising and cost/revenue analysis to start at least). If you have that, then you make sure that you focus at least I would say 1/3rd of the meeting about this. Because the bottom line is always money.

[Orange Joe]

Stuff like "gaming is currently above cinema in the entertainment world in revenues" and etc etc. What would you say, what facts do you know?

I'm asking this because me and a team of 15 dudes and dudinas are making a game. We are also probably getting an investor but we have to "fight" for it, convince them basically. And we need proper arguments like this so that they will invest in us. Mind they are not gamers, but normal investors, so that's the reason why we need facts to convince them.

What would you tell them? What facts would you use?

you should spend more time convincing them your game is worth investing in because it is a good game. Not to invest in you because the market can make money.

[Shinzai]

Having a playable demo, regardless of size, or at least a mock-up of in-game screens can seal deals far more effectively than anything else. Just having explanations and concepts of what your game may be is simply not enough these days. Anyone can have an idea. People with functional, workable concepts are something else altogether.

Concept art, enthusiasm and ideas do not make money. Investors will be quicker to accept something they can actually look at, or interact with, knowing that will be at least the basis for the end product.

[Razamith]

Watch a season of shark tank?

I'm not getting the best vibe from your question/posts... If you're a real developer/designer then i send my best wishes (more developers and ideas out there is always a good thing) but when your premise is to sell an investor on the benefit of investing in videogames [learning tools/motor skills/large market/social skills] rather than investing in your specific game [content/concept/artists/gameplay/developers/technology] its usually a sign of a weak product or a bit scammy. Obvious a mix of both is healthy but focus much harder on the latter.