What is the problem with opengl ? games like quake3 use it and unlike dx its multiplatform so doesnt that mean it is better?
Why do you have to be aslave to the portals, surely there are better ways to publicice ur game.
if i ever make a game i think is worth selling, and most games i see on portals frankly are not. then i would write a native installer that automatically dl's / updates the jre when it installs, and informs the user in a simple way what it is doing also.
And how will people find your game in the first place?
That's what the portals do - you bring the game, they bring the customers - Millions of them. It's not impossible to do on your own, but it can take years to build up the traffic to your site and alot of time and money. Even if they get to your site, why will they come back?
The reason the portals get the customers are -
1) Advertising dollars
2) Constant influx of new games to keep the customers comming back.
3) Support for the customers
They...unfortunetly... have the upper hand and to play in the casual games world, you need to play with them or forget the idea of making a profit.