but then you don't make any money because the volume is missing
Also we don't want this race to bottom happen to mac apps...
I think it's already happening. Considering the amount of games that are under $10, for sales to be that low I'm really hesitant to even attempt putting together a project complex enough to be worthy of being on the desktop.
Hopefully games that are much more in depth than their iPhone counterparts can still fetch $20 or more a copy, but with Playfirst games going for $5 when they used to be $20 isn't encouraging.
The Game side of the Mac App store is to be honest just plain offensive to anyone who would consider themselves a Gamer. There are over 1 billion of those awful mystery hidden objects in a room games - i have an iPhone and iPad, that is the place for those games. Any of the games that could be conceived as "proper" games are pretty much just ports from the iPhone, or have been given more but have had a bad implementation of the UI (plants VS Zombies you must click instead of taping on a sun - ill be clicking my mouse a million times a game and wearing it and my hand out). And lets not forget COD 4 the reviews i saw on that were heavily scathing for such a game.
When i heard of the Mac App store i thought AMAZING, then it came out and i thought - well give them some time. And now i dont even bother launching the app store unless im looking for a utility or productivity app. Where is World of Warcraft, COD Black Ops, Halo, Crysis, Red Dead, Resident Evil, GTA... So much missing that had they been released now would have started to redefine how people buy software, as opposed to games with graphics i used to see on my sega Game Gear, and gameplay from the 1970's which has turned it into the festering pit of self pity that it is now in. I hope that Apple does something major about it - i theorise that with Lion we may see a significant increase of quality - otherwise it will fade into nothingness, and i like the idea of not having CD's to loose r have stolen from me!!!
Where is World of Warcraft, COD Black Ops, Halo, Crysis, Red Dead, Resident Evil, GTA...
IMHO, those games don't need the app store, the companies that publish them can sell direct and don't pay the 30% to Apple, which is significant considering their price, but for indie games, the idea of having a store out of the box from the OS is just great.
Indeed, but dont forget that WoW doesnt make much money on initial sales, it is your subscription that makes them the money.
I think it is great that it is there for indie developers to publish on, but where is the variety? Everything is the same on there, and nothing is interesting.
At the end of the day the iOS market is much much bigger and most likely a better place for an indie dev to go, but the desktop has so much more to offer in the way of power and ability. Im sorry but i dont even see a market appearing for 90% of indie dev's on the mac app store (games category) because i dont think that people want games that look like they were made in the 18th centuary. And no offence to the indies - im not exactly part of a huge company and i intend on publishing games via the iOS app store. But for iOS people are willing to slide back 20 years in graphics (woot woot bring back the 8-bit) as long as the colors are pretty and the pictures move smoothly. But on the desktop? come on dude would you pay £5 for a game that looks and plays whack on your desktop? or would you pay £5 for the same game that is more intense and fun but on an iOS device - again i bring PvZ to the table 10x more fun on my iPad than either Xbox or Desktop and cheaper than both.
Its a great idea, but people dont want to repeat buy what they already have, and are used to seeing amazingly designed games on their desktop, not - like i said - game gear games.
I would conclude by saying that i think the games market on the mac app store will be the last of the bunch to pick up any real pace. The other categories should do as well as their iOS counterparts, but i just dont see people going in for gaming through it yet at least not until some major titles come over - well more major than borderlands that is :P
I agree with you on that Meredi86, I have not bought a single game on the app store because of the statements you mentioned (and lack of time), I expect a lot from a game and don't bother spending a high price for it, but there are very little games there for hard core gamers like me. On the other hand there are causal gamers or not gamers at all, who maybe just want to download a game to kill time, so they may pick anything they are familiar with, like a solitaire card game, chess, or a puzzle, and they don't even expect state of art graphics. and yes, it is far more attractive iOS to make games, because the market size and the quality of games.
You know while i was typing what you said popped into my mind. what about people like my mother? she doesnt hardcore play games, but she may just want a quick game of solitaire. shame you have to pay for simple card games on the Mac (yeah there are free version i know :P) when windows has shipped with 4 for as long as i can remember.
Hopefully if all my dev work over the next few years goes well enough i can get a proper game out on the Mac app store - as long as my current ideas pay off that is lol
You know while i was typing what you said popped into my mind. what about people like my mother? she doesnt hardcore play games, but she may just want a quick game of solitaire. shame you have to pay for simple card games on the Mac (yeah there are free version i know :P) when windows has shipped with 4 for as long as i can remember.
Hopefully if all my dev work over the next few years goes well enough i can get a proper game out on the Mac app store - as long as my current ideas pay off that is lol
the problem is people are already use to free webgames of that type
In US Store you can go up to top-150-200 with around 15 sales per day.
In categories situation is as following: 2-3 sales per day keeps you in top-200 (i'm about Productivity category, since my app is there).
In GB store 3-4 sales gives you top-30 position in Productivity, and it seems to be an entrance level for top-200.
In less popular stores 1 sale gives you overall top 20-50 position.
mac app store sales
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