Due to some recent talks here and also as i get mails with questions on such things each week i decided to post threads on such topics every now an then once i get to it
All points are based on personal experience and may vary in your case.
I try to put this a bit like a FAQ
Any feedback/ additions are welcome to make this a useful ressource to all developers

So yea, let´s roll, today´s topic: Licensing your game(s) to portals:


Q:

How to approach portals, is it ok to just show em my game right away?

A:

There are of course also naughty websites who spread around content as soon as they see it/ get hold of it, so ideally before showing it to certain sites you should at least add a url check in your game and obfuscate the swf.
Check the protecting games thread and others here for more info on that topic.
Overall, at least the bigger sites are normally trustworthy so for those negotiating about price/ licensing deal specs,then doing a licensing agreement contract and then licensing the game to them AFTER showing the game to them is fine

Besides that protection side its not a bad idea to make a promo page for your game which features some screenshots and highlights its USP well though, it can only help you in negotiating talks and quickly showing clients why your game is special.


Q:

What about prices? How much can i get for game X ?

A:

Regarding pricing i can´t tell any exact sums because that varies a lot from client to client,depending on the specs of the licensing deal and the game with its features itself.
To give a general ballpark range licensing prices for web games range from 500 $- 50 k $ normally so you could get anything in between.

Again, your results may vary based on the licensing deal specs you go for, which clients you approach, your negotiation skills/luck etc


Q:

Licensing deal specs?

A:

Generally speaking, regarding the licensing agreement specs: you have to watch out to clearly state whether you licence a game exclusively to one site or non exclusive (so you can license it to several clients) and what usage rights the client gets
(like is he allowed to spread the game to other sites,allow users to download it, publish it in other form,edit the source,reuse the source for other things etc) and what rights you get (add mochiads in the game for example,keep all IP rights etc). Also clearly state which todos/features are included in the base price (like adding an intro,adopting game to some hs/tracking system)

The more the client wants of these points and on some other ends,the more it normally reduces your options to make money with the game in other ways, so regarding that you should change your pricing (upwards) accordingly or reevaluate if the deal is worth it.


Q:

So tell me, how much do you get per game?


A:
I can´t tell what a normal minimum price for our games is, again, that depends on many points (like many of our current games are custom developed to the needs of a client and licensed exclusively to him for a certain timespan at least, but to that thing more in another post/ thread),
but yeah, our prices are meanwhile normally higher than what the average portal pays per non exclusive game license.
(Still a very fair deal regarding dev efforts/timespans though )
Also its not seen as nice business manner (counted even illegal in some countries) to tell/ discuss prices openly.


Q:

I want connections to clients, how?

A:

Regarding building up solid connections, those come automatically with time, once clients see you deliver good stuff and you see which clients stick to their word, are friendly and pay well and then you do several deals with em