What constitutes a successful app you think--and people sure like FREE apps
Stormtrix
Member Posts: 256
Morning all,
Just curious what the GS Team would consider a successful App as well as our peers here on the GS website?
As a new indie developer and just proud of the fact that i've learned how to make apps (thank you gs community for responses and demos) and the process of working with apple I would think that as a solo noob developer at a minimum a Paid app that tops the $5k - $10k mark or a Free app that tops 10-20k downloads could be considered successful from our standpoint.
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Side note - what a difference making an app free does.
My Toddler Fun iphone app has been available for a few weeks with not many sales where as the iPad version is steady. Well i dropped the price from $.99 to free for iphone and in 1 day i went from non-ranked to Ranked #10 on all free educational games with 1400 downloads.. pretty cool
Just curious what the GS Team would consider a successful App as well as our peers here on the GS website?
As a new indie developer and just proud of the fact that i've learned how to make apps (thank you gs community for responses and demos) and the process of working with apple I would think that as a solo noob developer at a minimum a Paid app that tops the $5k - $10k mark or a Free app that tops 10-20k downloads could be considered successful from our standpoint.
------
Side note - what a difference making an app free does.
My Toddler Fun iphone app has been available for a few weeks with not many sales where as the iPad version is steady. Well i dropped the price from $.99 to free for iphone and in 1 day i went from non-ranked to Ranked #10 on all free educational games with 1400 downloads.. pretty cool
Comments
I would suggest Firemaples 'Grisly Manor is a success' making it into the top 10 paid apps in the UK, and selling a shed load in the first month...
me on the other hand, my Game Quake Builder I would'nt call a success. The paid version has made about £750, and the lite version has now had over 100,000 downloads... and its been out for around 6 months ( or there abouts). With between 450 - 800 free sales a day. So probably not a real success, but it is cool to know over 100,000 people downloaded it...
T-shirt Booths, Red block remover was high up in the puzzle charts for ages, (and possibly still is)...certainly successful...
Ya i know FMG, Orbz and Tshirt's games have been very successful and what we all should shoot for for sure.
I'd also consider your Quake Builder with 100k downloads even though that's free it's still very successful in the fact that people were interested in your app and downloaded it to try it out vs. not at all. great job!
Have you thought about updating it with iAds Stormy?
We're building games. If I wasn't doing this, I'd be doing something else... but probably less productive. I treat Game Development like a game, one where the loot is real. It's entertainment for me. Considering that I'm not wasting time grinding for some pointless Guild Wars titles — instead I'm making my own games — iOS game development is a huge success for me. I'm having fun and I get to be creative. During the last year, I would have made more money delivering pizzas... but I wouldn't consider that successful. That's not the type of work that I enjoy.
The reverse is true too. If you enjoy delivering or making pizzas, and hate making video games, then the pizza man is more successful than the disgruntled game developer.
Although, if you don't accept that. If you're looking at financial success of apps, I do have ways to rate my apps. Just because I find a game fun, it's not entirely successful if it doesn't make money. In that regard, success is something quantifiable.
Economic success = Net Profit
(Labor + production costs + Taxes < Revenue)
If you would be doing freelance work at $25 per hour, you create a GameSalad game in five hours, and you spend $300 on game content, software and Apple licensing fees... I consider that game to be a success when it hits about $500. That's not a high goal. Even if you get 1-2 download a day, your app will be successful in about a year.
Sure, firemaplegames hit about $50,000 in a couple of weeks. That's great... an inspiration for this community... but that shouldn't be used as a litmus test for success.
If you make a dozen games, but none of them sell well, yet you learn and improve your skills... which ultimately leads to a better and more fulfilling day job... is that not success too?
I also treat GS like a game, working at one problem for a couple of hours then feeling some proper exhilaration when you finally crack it and it works as you wanted it too.
Also getting a game on the app store no matter how terrible is satifying in itself.
@Stormytrix, I have cnsidered putting iads on Quake Builder, and maybe making the paid version completely free. But I've not done it yet as I'm working pretty solidly on my current game project. Plus I know when I decide to put ads on Quake Builder, I'll also want to fix a few things at the same time....
I'd love to be able to squeeze Quake Builder lite up into the top 10 just to see what would happen...
See how close its got in the past here:
http://www.topappcharts.com/370953543/app-details-quake-builder-lite.php
Here is a short topic I made about this issue..
probably should have mentioned more about personal success in your app..
I'm doing this for fun and on the side, if I get lucky and make a few thousand better yet.
I have a full time job that keeps me plenty busy.
For me personally i feel i've made a successful app that people enjoy, well toddlers anyways