I see alot of successful people on here making decent money on the App Store. What I don't see very often is people making decent money from games. It always seems to be a non-game application of some sort.
I'm coming to the conclusion that the competition in the games category is becoming too great. Where big studios and publishers with big budgets and teams of people have taken over. There only seems to be the occational success story for indy's like Tiny Wings.
I'm just curious, have you made a game that is successful on the App Store? Is it a unique game or a clone of games like Doodle Jump, Angry Birds or Tiny Wings etc.? If so how large is your team, how long did you spend on development, what was the cost of development, did you use a publisher and what sale model did you use (freemium etc.)?
It uses Freemium model, took two years to make. I was working on it pretty much alone (aside from hiring freelancers to do the art, which cost roughly $10,000). The game is not a direct clone of any other game I saw on the AppStore. It's a combination of things I liked in few games twisted into one product that people really seem to like.
And I strongly disagree that you can't make money with games. Quite the contrary, I believe that it's the games (and the Freemium model) that generate real revenue.
I am one of those who make er.. basically like 0-3 bucks per month from games.
My first game Arkaneum was made using pure XCode alone. I spent about 2 month to make it. The game is actually my first game that I wrote with 100% original graphics, sounds, and design. I felt proud when it was completed and thought it was gonna be a hit lol. (u gotta admit we all feel the same with our first game, don't lie to me haha).
My second game Blast The Droids was also made using pure XCode as well (pure QuartzCore engine). The game actually started when I was designing my first game, and I had the main engine working so this time, I just had to create graphics, polish it and release.
Even with such discouraging sales, I will still make games, because it is the best thing to do. I just love it.
Totally agree with Aragorn about making money with games. IMO it's the best opportunity for any aspiring developer these days. While plenty of app ideas have been done 100 times over, the possibilities with making a unique game or improving an existing one are limitless.
imho Games, opposed to productivity, are more like a hit|miss thing. Unless you get into Top25 you may get tough time earning enough.
In productivity etc. it's a little easier, because you can find a nice niche, and get organic traffic from it.
__________________
App Store marketing toolbox, use Ťdevforumť code for $1 first month. Tools for App Store SEO, competitor tracking, etc. http://appcod.es/
Unless you get into Top25 you may get tough time earning enough.
Strongly disagree.
Dragon Lords is hovering between 100 and 200 rank in Strategy and RPG categories, which is very, very far from the top 25 *anything*, and yet it has been consistently getting $10,000-$15,000 a month.
Aragorn, that's pretty interesting. So if I understand you correct you have some Fremium-Game? So the game itself is free but players can buy stuff in the game?
Is it playable without that as well?
And do you have these InApp Buys in the Android version as well?
edit: Oh and please change your app description for Android, especially: "FREE Massively Multiplayer Online Strategy/Role Playing Game (MMORPG) for the iPhone and iPod Touch"
I am one of those who make er.. basically like 0-3 bucks per month from games.
My first game Arkaneum was made using pure XCode alone. I spent about 2 month to make it. The game is actually my first game that I wrote with 100% original graphics, sounds, and design. I felt proud when it was completed and thought it was gonna be a hit lol. (u gotta admit we all feel the same with our first game, don't lie to me haha).
My second game Blast The Droids was also made using pure XCode as well (pure QuartzCore engine). The game actually started when I was designing my first game, and I had the main engine working so this time, I just had to create graphics, polish it and release.
Even with such discouraging sales, I will still make games, because it is the best thing to do. I just love it.
Have you done any marketing? The game look like you have put a lot of work into them!
Have you done any marketing? The game look like you have put a lot of work into them!
I did the usual:
-pr releases
-give out codes at TA
-make youtube vid
-emailed to "review sites" (this i have stopped doing for all my apps/games since
i have not got ANY review for all these 2 years).
I did the usual:
-pr releases
-give out codes at TA
-make youtube vid
-emailed to "review sites" (this i have stopped doing for all my apps/games since
i have not got ANY review for all these 2 years).
ya that's about it.
TA has changed quite a bit :/ I remember when I released Tangled in 2009 and I posted in their forum and I got lots of feedback and overall I had a great experience, but ever since then no one ever replies to my threads
__________________ My Games: My Blog 13" Macbook Air 1.7Ghz Core i5, 4GB DDR3, Intel HD Graphics 3000 iPhone 4S - PSPGo - 3DS - Wii - PS3 - 360
IMHO, unless you have a good game, N&N quality or something unique, don't bother advertising it.
for any other game, post on TA for a few eyeballs, tweet it, facebook, that's it.
TA has changed quite a bit :/ I remember when I released Tangled in 2009 and I posted in their forum and I got lots of feedback and overall I had a great experience, but ever since then no one ever replies to my threads
People has accustomed to superior-than-average-indie game quality AND brands. So they always look for big names like Chillingo, Rovio, and so on.
I also posted some promocodes for my games ocassionally in TA, but normally just 2-5 replies.
IMHO, unless you have a good game, N&N quality or something unique, don't bother advertising it.
for any other game, post on TA for a few eyeballs, tweet it, facebook, that's it.
Yea this is my take on it as well. You basically gonna lose $ if you advertise a simple game, no matter how much efforts were put into it.
Anyone making money from games?
Linear Mode
