Very informative. On average if you're in the top 100 you're selling at least 1000 copies a day (he says when Enigmo was on top it was selling 18,000 copies a day. Folks who STAY in the number 1 spot get $250,000 to $1million in sales. On the low end devs make $50 to $100 a day. Decent-good apps that don't make top 100 make $100 to $1000 a day.
Yes, well, if Pangea actually made good games, I'd be happy for them, but I just really wanna toss that guy in a vat of boiling for Engimo alone. Nanosaur, I'd give a vial of Spanish Flu to the entire design team for that!
Well while I don't get the hype about their games myself it was cool of him to give gamers and devs such candid glimpses into the inner workings of the Appstore.
Actually, I disagree. I thought that Enigmo was plain and boring, while other games such as Cro-Mag Rally and Nanosaur 2 were much better.
Enigmo wasn't even made for the iPhone. They were just lucky that the port fit well. I bought all their games like a fool when some of them were a dollar. All of their games combined weren't worth $8 so I feel bad for people that paid that for one game. If you're going to port a game, at least change something. I actually take that back a little, Enigmo was worth a dollar but it's too bad that I paid $2 for it
I know, I bet it's because some of their games look like they are more suitable for kids, which isn't true. I found Bugdom 2 extremely fun, and same with Nanosaur 2.
I don't think this thread was intended to flame "Pangea" or their software. Not all software will serve the needs of all customers. Since it was selling so well it means that there were people who quite enjoyed it. My company's upcoming game Sparta: Lords of War is surely going to be criticized for being "too violent" and that it isn't family friendly. I believe I read that Enigmo earned him $1,500,000 and that is a fair bit of change. I just don't understand why he went out of his way to give away that information.
On the low end, you make about $1 a day. There are thousands of apps out there making next to nothing, some of them are really decent as well. From personal experience, Splat has gotten excellent reviews on every site I've been able to get it reviewed on, currently has a 4.77 rating in iTunes, and sells about 2-4 copies a day. On days when there's an update, I'll sell about 10 copies or so by being on the new list. The reality is much harsher than people make it out to be; the curve after the top 100 drops like a brick with a jet engine strapped to the back of it. So if you can't get on the top 100 list, get featured by apple, or even get reviewed by some of the large sites, you'll likely not earn enough to get an actual check from apple.
Wow Kris you're right I thought everyone would be talking about such an industry trade secret (sales) instead of flaming Pangea.
When the 3.0 update comes out, developers are going to go crazy with it. If the app sales don't decrease from the update then there income they make will be off the charts.
Hehe, er *cough* yeeaaah, we find it a *bit* easier to complain. Buuuut, I kinda started it, so I'll try to help get it back on track. Considering Enigmo was on half the ads displayed with the iPod touch before the AppStore didn't launch, that might have boosted sales. Just like with Cro-Mag Rally, Crash Kart, and MotionX Dice. And while the games may be sub-par, the graphics are gorgeous. No, Apple needs to fix their rating system and interface. Games are rated by solely by their sales. If we can somehow implement sales with customer ratings in there, we could come out with a pretty decent chart. Believe me, people won't leave through thousands of apps. They all end up looking the same after a while.
It was slightly amusing hopping around with a grasshopper and flying with a dinosaur and than I started to get dizzy... it was so choppy that I wanted to throw up. I really want to play the games, but can't because they make me sick. Enigmo was the only Pangea game that didn't make me dizzy. Too bad the controls were awful... EDIT: I don't want to flame Pangea's games (yes, really), I am just baffled at how some of their games make 50 times as much money as games that are 50 times better... and then they need to go tell everybody about their success.
BACK TO THE TOPIC: I believe that Brian Greenstone may be a little optimistic on his outlook for the apps. I do need to note there was an error in the description. Brian says that "on the low end, apps make about $1 to $50 per day." The description states $50 to $100. It is no secret, if you ever go to the AppStore, that many of these so-called apps and games are just AWFUL. Some are even beyond AWFUL. Yet they still make at least a little bit of money. I am very excited about this environment that can profit small and indie developers, but sadly the market is being saturated with such garbage that the few quality apps will be overshadowed by the hordes of crapware. But I also believe that Apple is doing the right thing. Being too restrictive will make it too challenging for indies to profit in the market.
There is no such thing as luck. Luck is preparation meets opportunity. They have been programming for Apple for 2 decades before it even popular. They have invested a lot on the platform and I think they deserve every bit of success for being the first.
So how do you go about separating the good stuff from the crap for consumers to pick up? Only reason I have a good idea of the proper games is because of the forums. If I bought an iPhone today I'd be looking to buy some Match 3 game instead of iDracula cause that game isn't in the top 100, and that game is a heavy hitter!
