Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Dedicated Server : dedicated hosting for a browser game

[nicmo]

hello, i run a browser based game in (php/mysql/javascript) and i currently have noticing with the growing numbers of players that my shared hosting is not going to handle the load, obviously.
i am not sure if this is the right place to ask but are there any hosting companies out there willing to negotiate a deal where they provide hosting for such a thing in return of advertising?
we havent even began to advertise the game and expand it, it will reach thousands of players easely... we would need atleast 2 highend boxes to split up the database from the webserver.
thank you for your time.

[cristibighea]

Why don't you just start off with a VPS in the meantime, and try to optimize your game so as to reduce the number of database queries it does and try to find advertisers for your website, since it's not easy to find a company willing to sponsor a single server for you, let alone two "highend" servers.

If you are on shared, the next step would be VPS. Start there and as you grow and increase revenues from the game, then look at a dedi.

[bsh]

I agree -- VPS will work very well for you.
bsh

[nicmo]

i dont really need the options of a dedicated server or vps, what i need is cpu usage and fast disks.
i though it would be a good deal, something like a permanet logo of the hosting company for all the players to see. should sell some virtual hosts...
thank you for the replies.

[JakFetch]

Advertising generally isn't accepted as a form of payment since there is no guarantee at all that your demographic is a good match for the company (i.e. if you have a bunch of 14 year olds playing your game then they're not really going to buy any hosting) and also whether or not you get the traffic you expect. Make sure you've got your own ads on the site so you can generate some revenue, and ask for player donations in return for a 'donation bonus' or something in the game itself. I have a client that does both and he's been able to easily afford a quality server with us for several years with a user base of several thousand.

[Mike - Limestone]

nicmo: Sponsorship is generally pretty difficult to find, due to the visitor demographic issues that Jamie mentioned.
A VPS would probably be the best option.
-mike

[Matt - Kerplunc]

Definitely look at some of the offers in the VPS Offer forum, that's the place to look