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Locutus
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ACS CTP1/2 Manager & Civ4 Co-Manager
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Hengelo, The Netherlands
Nov 1999 time: 06:18
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quote: Originally posted by Trip
Definition of publish:
"To prepare and issue (something) for public distribution or sale." |
That would be a pretty accurate description of game development as well, or for baking cookies for that matter 
quote: Originally posted by Araanor
I Don't know if you're trying to be funny.
Going by how the terms are used in the games industry, publishing and distributing are two clearly separate activities. They're often handled by the same companies, publishers. Atari are not publishing Paradox games. |
In this context they are effectively the same.
What does a game publisher typically do besides distributing the game? Bluntly put, they only get to design the CD label, do tech support and put their logo on the final product. Of course this is grossly oversimplifying the situation but that's basically what it boils down to. Development companies actually design the product, publishers physically issues copies and distribute and sell them. The difference between self-publishing and external publishing is merely in how much influence the companies involved have over things like distribution format, retail price, box/manual/CD art/logo's, tech support, etc. This power distribution differs per company (and often even per game) anyway, so this so-called 'self-publishing' is merely a matter of semantics. As it stands, Paradox can't sell a single copy of any of their games without the aid of a publisher like Atari or Strategy First, even if the word used to describe the activities of these latter companies for a specific game is not 'publishing'.
In the context of Civ4, the suggestion would be that Firaxis would design the game, Paradox would publish it and Atari or Strategy First or someone else would distribute it? I don't think so! If true, I think that would be a first in the history of the gaming industry and not a very smart move as it would merely reduce the profit margin for all parties involved.
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