As a consumer, i see that gone are the days that you could search the appstore for the new games list each day, under paid/free in each category. Those sections are now gone. Instead, we only have what Apple chooses to feature / favorite and the top games for each category. Doesn't this mean that unless your work is astonishing or you are already famous/featured, your work is never going to reach the consumer- not even the choice to see it? This in conjuction with the ban of TA, Appshopper and similar apps that helped navigate the Appstore releases. On one hand, i am happy i dont have to go through the TON of non-localised / assetstheft / same-app-with-10-different-names- app list every week. On the other hand, i can't help but feel Apple took it to the other edge-putting blinders on us to show us only what they want. What are your thoughts? I ask as a curious gamer, since the future of gaming depends on game developers. PS :if there is a way to search for the new releases inside the Appstore(non3rdparty apps), i missed it and will certainly feel foolish-but grateful- if somebody would point me to it.
Unfortunately now is even harder not to sink immediately for us small indie. Only a feature or tons of money in ads/influencers can define the success of a game. The problem is that they always feature the same games over and over again
It's long since stopped mattering to smaller studios. Unless you're on the landing page you're getting nothing from features etc.
It's been that way for several years now. Our last big release - Epic Little War Game - did even did a minor feature and still we've not made 1,000 sales in total for example. Didn't pay one programmer for one month of work, which means we will soon have less programmers.
It's been years since they removed the list of all new apps (I don't remember if there was any cutoff or if those lists essentially showed every app first, beginning with the latest submission) which was present in every category and sub category. I discovered some real gems scrolling through tat list on my iDevice.
Yup, I miss that list as well. It was a sure way to get an initial burst of visibility for a new app. It used to include both new apps and updates. Apple removed it in part because developers began taking advantage of the visibility with minor updates and even re-releases of apps. Same goes for screenshots/descriptions - you used to be able to update them any time, but after developer abuse, Apple decided to allow screenshot updates only upon submitting an app update. Thank goodness for sites like Touch Arcade, that still provide a comprehensive list of new releases each week, and ability for developers to create their own announcement threads.
I am actually pretty optimistic about the new store. I have been watching the "Today" section every day. This is providing many new opportunities to get featured. Also apple is regularly featuring games as old as 2 yrs in this sections. This means that after you release a game, if you don't initially get featured you still might get featured down the road.
Not to be cynical, but if an app isn't initially featured by Apple, I can't imagine any circumstances where they'd change course and suddenly decide to feature it years later. Have you seen this happen? I'd expect it far more likely that older successful games would end up being re-featured.
You could be right. I don't know if these games were featured in the past. Crossing my fingers though.
Ive been thinking about this too. On one hand, curation is good in promoting the quality games that are available out there. The less the AppStore looks like a dumping ground for hundreds of trash games and fart sound apps, and the more it is viewed as a marketplace for quality gaming experiences, the better it is for promoting iOS as a gaming platform on whole. On the other hand, it puts even more concentrated power in Apples hands. Thats good for Apples business, but it presents a huge challenge to indie developers, and it threatens the view of the AppStore as an open and accessible space where any developer can make an honest effort and honestly hope for success. TA, and other sites, could provide a much more effective counter balance, and a window for discovery. But Apple likes to make things unnecessarily challenging with what would seem to be beneficial to all involved. Honestly, Im looking at Steam moving ahead of the AppStore again in terms of the place for game discovery and accessibility. One benefit with the power of mobile devices catching up with computers is that more games are able to port from PCs and Steam to use mobile as a second market for exposure. iOS-only development looks like the bigger risk.
I've been experiencing good things and think it's a big win for Indie developers. Now you don't have to compete as hard with apps like Facebook, Instagram and other non-games. Putting the "featured" games up first helps new games get more downloads. The separate top charts are easier to crack as well. Cheers, Dave
I remember back in the day checking the new apps list every day. Obviously it has been a long time since that was feasible and discovery has become the biggest problem on the app store. I think aesthetically the iOS 11 app store is very nice, but I agree that it almost feels like discoverability has gotten even worse. That being said, it is an incredibly difficult problem to solve and I don't have the answer for that.
I'm told that if you don't want to lose the Steam crowd, then you need to release your game on Steam first. If you release it on mobile first, then Steam, it'll give the Steam audience the impression that it's some "lousy, throwaway mobile game", and they won't bother with it. OTOH, iOS users have no such negative views on iOS games that were Steam first releases.
