Googles Guide to the App Galaxy

Mr E

Just launched by Google. A nice site with tips about publishing an app/game to the Marketplace, as well as tips on pricing, promotion, adapting product based on feedback, etc.

Some good reading here....

http://www.guidetotheappgalaxy.com

Check out the Case Studies too. One snippet that caught my eye from the Ant Smasher Case Study:

For Best, Cool & Fun Games, it's only the beginning. We've extended Ant Smasher to the Android platform, and have been seeing fantastic growth. As we've navigated through the App Galaxy, we've been able to quickly re-evaluate our business strategy by offering the full version of Ant Smasher for free while relying on ads for revenue. Today, most of the apps in our portfolio are offered to users at no cost, and we use an ad-supported business model. Ant Smasher currently garners $2 million in annualized revenues, with 80 percent coming from ads, primarily via AdMob.

The piece in bold is staggering..... 80%?

Ads in games drive me nuts (I have never clicked on one), so I don't know how accurate that figure is.

I'm working on an android game at the moment, and I'd never have thought that ad revenue could possibly be even close to that amount...

The Corinthian

Mr E wrote: »

The piece in bold is staggering..... 80%?

Ads in games drive me nuts (I have never clicked on one), so I don't know how accurate that figure is.

Probably very. For Android in particular, both in-app purchases and app purchases have a very low conversion rate in general. Advertising has become the largest earner as a result, but if you take into account that your revenue per active install will generally work out at a fraction of a cent per month, it's clear that you won't make much unless you have well over 100k active installs (which probably represents 20% - 30% of your total installs).

Mr E

I downloaded that Ant Smasher game. The general ads were annoying (as expected), popping up at the bottom of the screen while playing.

What really bugged me (pun intended) was the aggressive IAP protocol in the game. Every chance it got, it was "Buy more lives here", "By the full version here", "Buy more modes here", etc.

Each IAP was $4.99 (!), with an IAP for Baby mode for $19.99 (I'm not joking). Baby mode is a mode to keep toddlers happy - the ants keep coming down the screen and you won't lose if they reach the bottom.

One of the comments in the marketplace feedback that jumped out at me was this:

DO NOT LET TODDLERS PLAY THIS
by Tiffany– October 26, 2011
My kid has racked up OVER 30 BUCKS in charges on this game, keeps accidentally pressing buttons. Ridiculous! The purchases are all nonrefundable and I can't figure out how to take my stupid credit card off. Ten bucks for the game, 6 for "kid mode", another 5 for "fun mode" and now 5 for "five lives instead of three". I'm going to uninstall it. I'll lose all the money, but at least he won't keep racking up charges.

I wonder how much of their $2m annual revenue is from accidental IAP or kids just pressing buttons?

The Corinthian

Mr E wrote: »

What really bugged me (pun intended) was the aggressive IAP protocol in the game. Every chance it got, it was "Buy more lives here", "By the full version here", "Buy more modes here", etc.

Aggressive marketing works, I'm afraid.

I wonder how much of their $2m annual revenue is from accidental IAP or kids just pressing buttons?

Someone who considers taking their credit card off the appstore before considering uninstalling the game does not get my vote of confidence.