just a quick update to let folks how things are going.
Got day 1 sales in... 53 units (20 of which were promocodes)....so a little disappointing if Im being honest.
So far, the game has 8 appstore reviews across all territories but all of those are 5 star... and from what I can figure its mostly family or GS user reviews....
The game was making upwards movement, and has broken into the top200 sports games in the UK and US... so started out looking promising, but seems to have stalled now.
The game has gained the usual 2 category feature slots in at least the UK, US and a few other territories I checked, but so far they seem to be having no effect on sales.
The game appeared on pirate warez sites last night, and when I last did a google search, was showing over 40,000 references to it, mostly on warez sites. Im not too concerned about the cracked versions, as I know they were never going to be sales... but I'd be lying if I said it wasnt disappointing to see it on so many places so quickly....
Ive spent the last 2 days sending out promo codes and contacting as many review sites and blogs as I could think of... so for now, its pretty much all I can do...
Its only day 2... so still early days. I'll let you know how sales continue as I get the details...
sales so far: 53, 15, 11, 11, 7 ....so as you can see its not doing well, and is on a downward slope to oblivion.
At this stage, the game has yet to recieve any reviews on websets etc, and it only takes one good one to turn things around..but I think Ive accepted that its a failed project..saleswise.
Ive just submitted an update, with the download size halved, an improved loading sequence, and a direction indicator added to the minimap.
My plan now is to leave it a couple of weeks, and concentrate on getting the ipad version together, and then update the iphone version with more levels taken from the ipad build... featuring new gameplay mechanics and a number of new characters.
So..Im still going to improve and add to it for a while, but Im thinking its probably my last project I do with GameSalad.
@Chunky: Sorry to hear about sales, this is certainly a very polished game, and one of the top games in GS.
Tshirt is right, it is an app store issue, not a GS issue. I can't imagine the people that spend months programming in xcode getting sales numbers like these. Very frustrating! A lot of people leave the business because they expect one game to do well, and it's simply not that easy.
I'm also finding that around the holidays, the app store has a slew of new app releases, making it even harder to compete. I'm hoping by January, things will have settled down a bit, and new apps will have more of a chance of making it. I'm holding some of my apps until after the holiday madness.
I also learned never to have high expectations on any app. When I don't, sometimes good things happen, but if DL's aren't what I expected, at least I won't be disappointed. You can never expect anything from the app store. It's a lottery.
But the key is getting featured
@Tshirt: That's a great goal to set, it's still tough to even expect some apps to do $10-20 per day consitently though, and with more and more apps coming in, it's hard to even keep a ranking long enough to make $10-20 a day consistently. I hope to achieve that next year, and maybe get on the N&N list again!
I'll support your game and review for you Chunkypixels!
Yup.. dont get me wrong... Im not attributing the success or failure of the game to GameSalad... thats not why I think it'll probably be my last GameSalad game.
Im just really disappointed with all the niggles and fudges that we constantly have to go through with the software and the really bad support and communications we get from GameSalad. I think that, at this point, Im better off using other more professional development environments, where my efforts, and the time I put in have a better longterm gain and re-use. GameSalad is great up to a certain point, but then it just starts to hamper progress rather than liberate it.
So yup... its a seperate thing really... and wasnt meant to sound like I was blaming GS for poor sales.
I think the poor sales is just making me question the amount of time and effort I put into my projects, and as a side issue its making me question how much I really want to commit to the current engine and tools Im using, or if its time to move onto something with a bit more futureproof and scope.
Also sorry to hear the news. MIght you consider the Free for a while route or split off some levels and do a free version. I saw some reports that saw a great spike in downloads and a good conversion rate to buy the full app. Getting noticed is a large part of the battle and at least you would know more data.
If I'm correct the post xmas period sees tons of itunes downloads because of all those people getting new ipods and itunes cards so it might be worth trying leading up to xmas in case you can cut a piece of that action.
I think Im quite realistic, and actually set my expectations quite low.
But even so, for the effort put in, its still disappointing to see such low sales. I guess as an artist, creating all my own assets, I end up putting in double the time on a project... so end up having more time invested too. So when it fails, its a bigger fail on a personal level.
I dont know, maybe seeing it so widely pirated, so quickly has dented my enthusiasm a bit too. The pirates seem to be loving it, and spreading it like wildfire, yet the honest customers dont seem to even know it exists, or just dont seem interested.
Like I said though.... I still plan to do an iPad version, with double the levels, and do an improved iphone version, so Im not giving up just yet.
As I explained above, my disappointment with sales, and my disappointment with GameSalad are seperate issues though, and not related... so yup, thanks Tshirt and Butterbean for helping me to clarify that.
Well you are certainly one of the top developers here in GS, and this is an incredible game. Don't lose sight of that, and remember, some games don't become popular until months after as well. All hope isn't lost, and if you keep putting in the amount of work you do into your games, one will surely become successful.
Marketing is a whole separate issue, and there are many devs here that fail to see how important marketing is, especially when your app has just been released.
Spending months programming an app, and zilch on marketing is a wasted effort really, unless they get lucky and get featured.
It's not the answer to everything, but it certainly helps to do P.R, and get the word out there about your game from the get-go.
At any rate, good luck, and look forward to seeing more projects from you!
The update is mainly optimized download size to under 20mb, thanks to removal of the hidden screenshots folder that GS seems to leave in the App.
Ive also added a direction indicator to the minimap to make it easier to line up shots, as suggested by Quantumsheep, and Ive attempted to reduce the crappy GS whiteout screen and implement it a bit better into my front end.
So with a new version comes new Promo Codes. So if anyone would like to help the cause, and leave a brief review on the appstore, I can supply fresh codes. Either leave a request here, and I'll PM you a code, or email me at support@chunkypixels.co.uk
thanks Chunkypixels ... will update my copy later but I did a quick review in the Canada itunes store as I have been enjoying the game very much over the last few days.
Chunkypixels said: Update 1.1 is now on the appstore.
The update is mainly optimized download size to under 20mb, thanks to removal of the hidden screenshots folder that GS seems to leave in the App.
Ive also added a direction indicator to the minimap to make it easier to line up shots, as suggested by Quantumsheep, and Ive attempted to reduce the crappy GS whiteout screen and implement it a bit better into my front end.
Dude - that indicator made a big difference for me - top stuff and thanks for considering the suggestion and putting it in!
Played through several levels today and got over 60k, but the second world didn't unlock
Sorry to hear about the piracy - maybe it would be an interesting spin on a press release? "Chunky Pixels hopes all you pirates enjoy their game - requests you tell your non-pirate friends about it!"
The amount of effort, if I'm being serious for a moment, is always HUGE if you're making an at least semi-decent game. More so if you're making a good one.
Making games is HARD. Sure, GS makes it easier, but it's still hard.
I would have been extremely proud to have made a game like yours. It's a good game. But even good games tank - just ask utopiangames (As they'd made several good games before Bumps had success I mean!)
Comments
just a quick update to let folks how things are going.
Got day 1 sales in... 53 units (20 of which were promocodes)....so a little disappointing if Im being honest.
So far, the game has 8 appstore reviews across all territories but all of those are 5 star... and from what I can figure its mostly family or GS user reviews....
The game was making upwards movement, and has broken into the top200 sports games in the UK and US... so started out looking promising, but seems to have stalled now.
The game has gained the usual 2 category feature slots in at least the UK, US and a few other territories I checked, but so far they seem to be having no effect on sales.
The game appeared on pirate warez sites last night, and when I last did a google search, was showing over 40,000 references to it, mostly on warez sites. Im not too concerned about the cracked versions, as I know they were never going to be sales... but I'd be lying if I said it wasnt disappointing to see it on so many places so quickly....
Ive spent the last 2 days sending out promo codes and contacting as many review sites and blogs as I could think of... so for now, its pretty much all I can do...
Its only day 2... so still early days. I'll let you know how sales continue as I get the details...
"This game should be the next big hit! Think 'Angry birds' or 'Cut the Rope'...
Picked this up on release day and have played for a few hours since. Fun levels keep adding new obstacles to navigate. Gameplay is fun and seamless."
Hope it helps. ;-)
sales so far:
53, 15, 11, 11, 7 ....so as you can see its not doing well, and is on a downward slope to oblivion.
At this stage, the game has yet to recieve any reviews on websets etc, and it only takes one good one to turn things around..but I think Ive accepted that its a failed project..saleswise.
Ive just submitted an update, with the download size halved, an improved loading sequence, and a direction indicator added to the minimap.
My plan now is to leave it a couple of weeks, and concentrate on getting the ipad version together, and then update the iphone version with more levels taken from the ipad build... featuring new gameplay mechanics and a number of new characters.
So..Im still going to improve and add to it for a while, but Im thinking its probably my last project I do with GameSalad.
Tshirt is right, it is an app store issue, not a GS issue. I can't imagine the people that spend months programming in xcode getting sales numbers like these. Very frustrating! A lot of people leave the business because they expect one game to do well, and it's simply not that easy.
I'm also finding that around the holidays, the app store has a slew of new app releases, making it even harder to compete. I'm hoping by January, things will have settled down a bit, and new apps will have more of a chance of making it. I'm holding some of my apps until after the holiday madness.
I also learned never to have high expectations on any app. When I don't, sometimes good things happen, but if DL's aren't what I expected, at least I won't be disappointed. You can never expect anything from the app store. It's a lottery.
But the key is getting featured
@Tshirt: That's a great goal to set, it's still tough to even expect some apps to do $10-20 per day consitently though, and with more and more apps coming in, it's hard to even keep a ranking long enough to make $10-20 a day consistently. I hope to achieve that next year, and maybe get on the N&N list again!
I'll support your game and review for you Chunkypixels!
Im just really disappointed with all the niggles and fudges that we constantly have to go through with the software and the really bad support and communications we get from GameSalad. I think that, at this point, Im better off using other more professional development environments, where my efforts, and the time I put in have a better longterm gain and re-use. GameSalad is great up to a certain point, but then it just starts to hamper progress rather than liberate it.
So yup... its a seperate thing really... and wasnt meant to sound like I was blaming GS for poor sales.
I think the poor sales is just making me question the amount of time and effort I put into my projects, and as a side issue its making me question how much I really want to commit to the current engine and tools Im using, or if its time to move onto something with a bit more futureproof and scope.
If I'm correct the post xmas period sees tons of itunes downloads because of all those people getting new ipods and itunes cards so it might be worth trying leading up to xmas in case you can cut a piece of that action.
Good luck its a worthy game.
I think Im quite realistic, and actually set my expectations quite low.
But even so, for the effort put in, its still disappointing to see such low sales. I guess as an artist, creating all my own assets, I end up putting in double the time on a project... so end up having more time invested too. So when it fails, its a bigger fail on a personal level.
I dont know, maybe seeing it so widely pirated, so quickly has dented my enthusiasm a bit too. The pirates seem to be loving it, and spreading it like wildfire, yet the honest customers dont seem to even know it exists, or just dont seem interested.
As I explained above, my disappointment with sales, and my disappointment with GameSalad are seperate issues though, and not related... so yup, thanks Tshirt and Butterbean for helping me to clarify that.
Marketing is a whole separate issue, and there are many devs here that fail to see how important marketing is, especially when your app has just been released.
Spending months programming an app, and zilch on marketing is a wasted effort really, unless they get lucky and get featured.
It's not the answer to everything, but it certainly helps to do P.R, and get the word out there about your game from the get-go.
At any rate, good luck, and look forward to seeing more projects from you!
The update is mainly optimized download size to under 20mb, thanks to removal of the hidden screenshots folder that GS seems to leave in the App.
Ive also added a direction indicator to the minimap to make it easier to line up shots, as suggested by Quantumsheep, and Ive attempted to reduce the crappy GS whiteout screen and implement it a bit better into my front end.
So with a new version comes new Promo Codes. So if anyone would like to help the cause, and leave a brief review on the appstore, I can supply fresh codes. Either leave a request here, and I'll PM you a code, or email me at support@chunkypixels.co.uk
cheers....
Played through several levels today and got over 60k, but the second world didn't unlock
Sorry to hear about the piracy - maybe it would be an interesting spin on a press release? "Chunky Pixels hopes all you pirates enjoy their game - requests you tell your non-pirate friends about it!"
The amount of effort, if I'm being serious for a moment, is always HUGE if you're making an at least semi-decent game. More so if you're making a good one.
Making games is HARD. Sure, GS makes it easier, but it's still hard.
I would have been extremely proud to have made a game like yours. It's a good game. But even good games tank - just ask utopiangames (As they'd made several good games before Bumps had success I mean!)
Best of luck with it!
QS
Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Quantum_Sheep
Web: https://quantumsheep.itch.io
Day 1 sales for Running Wild are in and da dahhh 22 sales 1 review:P
Seriously depends on marketing and or apple liking it.
You have a great game don't forget that!
It's one of the best games made with GS!
Don't forget all future games will have a link to this game so all is not lost.
Darren.