We have three games out. Hungry Birdz with a worldwide average rating of 3.5 stars. Stacked Sevens with an average worldwide rating of 4.5 stars and Jab A Jelly with an average worldwide rating of 5 stars. Excellent reviews as well from users like:- Hungry Birdz - This game is so much fun, the baby birds are just adorable, and its really addicting! Buy it! Stacked Sevens - It's hard to believe this has been out for a year without a review. Jab A Jelly - This game is action packed and really fun. ...it's just so amazing!!! That last game is New and Noteworthy in 7 countries so far and also in those short lists of 20 apps in other countries as well. Yet out of probably 50 or more review sites we have contacted personally, not one has reviewed it. None of this has resulted in any notable sales of the apps in question. Being in New & Noteworthy apparently has zero effect on sales. Good ratings has had zero effect on sales. Enthusiastic reviews on the appstore has had zero effect on sales. Will actual reviews on review sites translate to any effect even if we could get them to respond? I suppose the most important question is, how do two independent guys without a budget get eyes on? (We do have the advantage of very understanding partners who pay the bills and the like while we have some fun attempting to build apps and games.) We don't think there's a problem with the games, because when we can convince people to play them, they usually love them, and in a a lot of cases, play them to death! (not saying they're perfect, by any means, but they're good, fun games that hold their own against many of the others on the appstore.) We just clearly are not getting anywhere with our marketing. Not trying to sound like I'm whining. We're just in a bit of a reflective mood at the moment, because our developer license is coming up for renewal and honestly, it just doesn't seem worth it right now. Thanks in advance. Mike
http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=102002 This thread has a lot of good ideas and info. Hope it helps
Honestly I think it is part luck and part the reviewer's personal preference on what type of games they like to play. There are so many games released every week there is just no way the majority of them will be reviewed. Out of the 100 plus promo codes I sent out (all games) I received one review.
+1 The best we can do is to create games that look appealing enough to play, not only appealing to the target market but also appealing in a general sense. Gameplay videos help Pumping money towards PR and advertising can also do wonders, though mileage can vary
I've got limited experience having only released one game, but I'd agree, there are so many apps available that unless yours is already recognizable by name, it probably takes a bit of luck to get your message to a major review site read or taken seriously. From there though it's up to having created a quality product that someone actually wants to take the time to review. Results wise on our game, we've sent out most of our allotted 50 codes and got 1 review which seems more or less in line with the results others have had.
I am not bothered really. I enjoy what I do. I am sure my wife wouldn't quite see it that way mind you. We are about to do something that may either spectacularly fail big time or intrigue folks so much that who knows what may happen. I look at the first 4 apps as being my apprenticeship apps. Mike
it's been awhile since we've had this thread! same things apply as usual.. so many indie mobile developers enjoy making games, yet have no idea how to market/promote them, just because you make something/make a website/make a twitter/make a forum thread doesn't mean anything anymore, the days when there were a fairly constant stream of apps being steadily released are long gone and replaced by the days of NOW where there is an unbelievably overwhelming stream of apps, many of which are getting to be higher and higher quality, and therefore if you haven't taken the hint, then seriously - learn how to do some marketing, or just keep repeating the same cycle. There's so much you can do to get noticed (now I am talking about by reviewers, not even customers anymore). Seriously, come with your A game. Know what you are up against. Look at what typically dominates the headlines on TA, Pocketgamer, slide to play, etc. At this point anything they are writing about is typically the very least of what they would be interested to see more of, regarding scope and quality level of a game. No more match puzzlers, no more card games, no more physics toys. If you have something unique and polished and looking like it would not be out of place running on a SNES or PS1 then it's a good start. You have got to cover all the bases too - compelling screen shots, compelling icon/app name, etc. On top of that, you really need to get a good notion of how to assemble a proper media kit. Retro Dreamer have written a very nice blog post detailing their method here. Sorry to be a little blunt, it's tough love If you are going to spend so much time and energy developing apps and want a chance to get them seen and talked about, you need to consider that "your job isn't done when you've finished making art, writing code, testing gameplay, and passing submission" - that's half the job right there.
Interesting link. Except a few never actually tell you what they want so you have to guess based on previous games. That's what I did. For those that actually state what they want I gave them what they want although instead of a large email attachment I assumed it would be better to give them links to download. (perhaps wrong.) Our server is very reliable. I cannot think of any time it has ever gone down in... I don't remember how many years. As you say there is plenty we can do and its 3:21 am here in the UK and I am still working even though my year old son will be up and about in a couple of hours so I will have yet another night with no sleep. Hard work does not phase me. Mike
That's a bit how I look at it too. While it would be awesome if our first game was a massive hit, I'm also willing to take it as a small step towards future success. I was able to have a good time working on, completing, and releasing a game with a few friends that so far has gotten positive feedback. That seems like a good first step, beyond that it's going to be a learning experience trying things out and seeing what works. Already from this thread I have a few good places to start with learning how better to approach things next time.
Thanks to everybody for your advice. I've bookmarked everything and plan to pour over it soon. I gotta say some of this stuff is a little scary for small-time guys like us still working on our first game. It seems like you get better odds in Vegas! My question is how important do you think it is to market your game before it comes out? I figure we all have to work 10+ hours a day to finish the game by January (our goal). That doesn't leave a lot of time for marketing. Our game is kinda a niche product, and I don't expect it to blow up on the charts on launch date. I was kinda hoping to spend a lot of time marketing once we're done with the game. My hope is that the quality of the title and word of mouth will help us build a fan base once our game is out. Is this stupid? Should I make marketing a major focus even if it means delaying the game by a month or two?
The app-store is like a web page. If you don't get eyes on to your product then you have a hard slog. The app store itself is of no use. For some reason the search within the app store takes keywords even before the title of an app. An example. Type in the word Jelly and look at how many apps that do not mention the word Jelly show up before any game that actually has the word jelly in its title. Its what you can do outside of the store that is most important. Sony don't rely on stores to let you know about their products. Neither do Apple or any of the big boys. My partner is distrusting and because we can never tell how long a certain feature will take to do he refused to allow us to talk about the apps or games we are working on before hand. That is a mistake but I agree with him especially for the games that nobody has a clue about. If you can figure out how to get peoples eyes on to your apps then you will have hit on the secret ingredient everyone on next to zero budget is looking for. Just remember, eyes on, eyes on, eyes on. Failing that start name dropping big name producers you have had links with. That might get eyes on. I could do that with a very big current name in the business if it felt right but I wouldn't personally do that as I hate the thought of being a user. Better to work your guts out and die trying than grab onto the coat tails of someone who is already there. Mike
I agree with everything you say except this statement. I think there's plenty of room for games in these genres as long as you can innovate and bring the genre forward to a new play experience. Don't limit what genres can and can't be experimented with. If that was the case no one would have made a first person shooter after Half-life...etc.
I agree with you, all of these genres can undoubtedly be improved upon. I am just stating that they are the ones which have got the most mileage already, and when it comes to reviewers, they will typically breath a heavy sigh and move onto "what's next" rather than dig through such an app (regardless of what novelty may lie underneath the surface). It's regularly said around here by the editors, and many other places as well. It is still worthwhile to create such apps, but it will always be much harder to get over the hurdle of "the media will take interest" unless you've already got something else going for you as well.
The problem is that every app has to compete against every other app on earth. With aroung half a million apps already published and around a thousand new apps added every day this must be one of the most difficult and competitive markets on earth. No journalist can possibly hope to keep up to speed. Even just keeping abreast of the low hanging fruit is a huge task.
I dont care for the reviews in the App Store, so many seem to be fake or just instant 5/5 reviews by friends or 'scratch my back and i'll scratch yours'. Reviews on websites such as Touch Arcade often change my view on games, as do gameplay youtube videos. But just depends on the type of game at the end of the day, i cant stand puzzle or card games so whether the App store has games as 5/5 or 1/5 makes no difference to me. But sadly the app store ratings I personally find a joke, I try and leave some lengthy reviews to help people, but games where they get 5/5 and 'awesome' and thats it, then i avoid those games. I mean look at sections of this forum, companies asking for 5/5 reviews and people might win a gift voucher etc for the best review, so you'll get plenty of fake 'i love it !' just because people are stupidly trying to win a voucher.
Wow really? I think you perhaps you got something wrong. Like you I can spot a fake review a mile off but it doesn't stop me looking at an app. In fact if there are others like you I would say it would be wise to try and avoid any high scoring reviews from customers by nobbling your app in some way to make sure you would more than likely get a 4 star review. Doesn't make sense. About two years ago I had a pm through this site asking for a promo code with the promise of a good review. Here was my reply back then. December 09. "Hi thanks for the message. Prior to the first update we are not sending out promo codes. Sorry. Keep an eye out in the next month for news on the first update though and I will keep you in mind for a promo code if your still interested. One thing I would say though is this. We don't want good reviews for the sake of good reviews. They must be truthful as that is how we will find out what changes players want made or features added in future updates. Thanks again. Mike"
