As background, please briefly describe the different ways a game can get to the consumer market after it has been created. Distributing a game can sometimes be as expensive as developing it. Not only do you have to replicate all of those millions of CDs you believe you can sell, but you've got to package and market the thing as well as find someone who can assemble all of the components and ship them out. The easiest way for a game developer to pull this off is to have a publisher do the dirty work for them. It's a difficult route to go at it alone.
Retailers are also very choosy with whom they do business.
Even if you have an award winning, hot selling, well-known game, if you're not represented by a major distributor either through a publishing or affiliate relationship, the retailers probably won't do business with you. The wave of the future. Moreover, your packaging can be compact and generic - it just needs to meet US Post regulations. Just create a smaller version of your product and disseminate over the web. Even though our parent company, American Laser Games, had a very good relationship with the retailers, many were uncertain that a game for girls would sell.