Sphinx Group

[GreatWolf]

I note that there are at least a couple folks here represented by the Sphinx Group.  Spill the beans.  Are they good?  What do they do?  Are they worth it?  Etc. etc.  Don't horde the goodies, guys!  :smile:

[Ron Edwards]

Seth,

When the Resources page gets updated, there's going to be a lot about Sphinxgroup on it.

As you know all too well, the biggest hassle in getting your game out to the masses is the distributor. There aren't very many of them, they watch one another like hawks to see what the other guy is doing, and they are reeeeeally afraid of doing "the wrong thing."

So there you are, game publisher-person, and you have to get these guys to buy your game. They might ask the retailers - "Never heard of it." They might ask each other - "Never heard of it." They might, just MIGHT ask some other publishers - "Never heard of it." Sorry, no sale. Maybe 10 copies or something, just on the off-chance, and no hype to the retailers.

Advertising doesn't work on them, because they know that's just money. The only thing that works is rep - someone says, "Yeah, that guy." And someone else says, "Oh yeah, I heard so-and-so talking about that game."

That's where Sphinxgroup comes in - Liz Fulda knows all the folks in the so-called industry, and she reps you to them. She is, in a word, your agent.

Her prices are reasonable, her work is great, she's respected in the biz, and she won't pick up just anyone. She's been tremendously helpful in terms of my game-plan for Sorcerer, and she understands the indie scene as well as the book-type scene.

I suggest that such individuals are the ONLY way folks like us can really get ourselves ordered and promoted at the moment, if we go to book. I'm not Greg Stafford or John Wick - the distributors have never heard of me, and they don't associate my name or Sorcerer with MONEY.

How many games have you seen, over the years, show up on a game-store shelf with one piddly copy, NEVER get mentioned or promoted by anyone in the store, and basically collect dust? Some of these are some really amazing, innovative games - but if they don't show up in some bulk, if they don't get ordered across the board instead of here & there, and if they - most importantly - don't get re-ordered when they DO sell, then they die.

I needed representation, from someone who could actually be there on the phone if a distributor had a question about the game. There is no way I would have dreamed of entering the book-publishing side of things without Sphinxgroup.

Best,
Ron

[Dav]

I echo all of Ron's sentiments.  Liz has helped us immensely in any number of departments.  She has helped streamline a lot of our ordering/shipping to traditional distribution chains, as well as exposing us to the more "mainstream" crowd through popular distribution such as Ingram and DC.  

Recently, she has been helping us make a big push toward translation efforts, and has all but secured us more than a few of our foreign efforts.  All in all, she is worth every penny we pay to her.

Keep in mind that she has myriad different deals, all dealing with different levels of support.  One of the biggest benefits you can get from her, however, is when she likes your game.  Make sure that when you are securing the deal with her, you sell the game as much to her as she will to others in the future.  

She is a markting genius, and I highly recommend exploring avenues of partnership with her and her company.

Dav