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Where have all the iOS games gone?

minotaurproject.co.uk

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Re: Where have all the iOS games gone?

#111

Post by pmarreck »

fnayr wrote: post #14

I hear this myth perpetuated incessantly. (That there's no more middle ground in the app store, only the Clash of Clans and Candy Crushes and the rest with no downloads). People paint the picture that it's the top 0.1% and everyone else with an unsustainable business. The truth is there's plenty of us in the middle still. My two person iOS dev studio has pulled in 6 figures a year for the past 4 years. The problem is…

If you don't have a freemium game (I strongly dislike that business model), I would love to know what you're working on

EDIT: Nevermind, think I found it down below: http://www.bmcm.co/

Re: Where have all the iOS games gone?

#112

Post by Retric »

Consultant32452 wrote: post #100
Lerc wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Strangely they are willing to get milked after download through things like in-app purchase. I don't think that is true. I doubt many pay at all. I think there are a small number of people who are massively exploited to generate the revenue for these apps.

I'm curious if you feel that WoW at $180/yr is an exploitation. And if not, why would you consider someone paying the same amount of money for bonuses on Candy Crush to be exploited?

People spend 1,000-10,000$ per month on pay to win games. You don't need a lot of them to break even.

PS: It's actually become a fairly common issue people seek addiction counseling for.

Re: Where have all the iOS games gone?

#113

Post by themartorana »

k-mcgrady wrote: post #87
Lerc wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, this is the "Top Grossing 200" I wonder what percentage could be classified as abusive software. If that's the path I have to take to make money on iOS, I'll take a path on a different platform.

>> "If that's the path I have to take to make money on iOS, I'll take a path on a different platform." I think this is about much more than iOS. Anything that can be delivered online (software, music, movies etc.) is something that consumers think should be free. Strangely they are willing to get milked after download through things like in-app purchase.

"Milked" is seriously loaded. AAA console games cost $60 and up - do you know how hard it is to get a paying freemium user to even $10?

Yes. There are people that spend thousands. They also spend thousands on $60 AAA games as well.

The idea that players get "fleeced" is ridiculous. Spent $15 on Candy Crush, a game that you spent months playing? That really doesn't seem like a lot to me.

Edit: I should acknowledge that certain games, like Candy Crush, do play on psychological weaknesses. Not all free-to-play games (hell, I'd say vanishingly few in the sea of free-to-play games on the App Store) do. Free-to-play is the new shareware and try-before-you-buy. It's also the only real path to sustained revenue, and anyone that runs a game studio knows what I'm talking about with the roller-coaster that are games that take 1-2 years to develop and have an earnings bell-curve of 3 months.

Re: Where have all the iOS games gone?

#114

Post by makecheck »

I recently tried for about 10 minutes to find a game that met my criteria, using the iOS version of the App Store. I wasn’t asking for much (at least, so I thought): I wanted a game that could be purchased once (no In-App Purchases), and I wanted a particular category. The search was practically futile; every single match was In-App Purchases. I even decided to stop caring about the category and it was the same.

The browsing experience was almost unbelievably inefficient; I found myself scrolling through handfuls of games when I should have been able to rule out dozens. Apple likes to show you “only the icon” most of the time, which is really quite a terrible way to browse; you keep having to go in, out, in out, to learn anything about what’s in the list.

I ended up buying nothing at all because I couldn’t even tell if there were games that supported buy-once without any of the usual bullshit gem-buying tactics. Despite having simple goals, the App Store just failed me.

Re: Where have all the iOS games gone?

#115

Post by CydeWeys »

jarjoura wrote: post #107

How is it that Sony PS4/Vita stores can sell these same indie games for $20 a pop? Sony pushes these games hard and gives every one of them a fair amount of free marketing. They also celebrate their game developers by writing about them on their blogs and press-releases. The Apple App store in its current iteration is just mentally exhausting. Everytime I open it up I'm presented with a new grid of app icons and no c…

I'm a lifelong gamer who's entered a bit of a rut these past few years. I would love to pay to play great apps on my phone. But I don't have the slightest clue as to how to find them. The top grossing lists are all complete F2P junk, and there's nothing close to the cottage industry that's built up around PC and console gaming. Every time I try to go look up good mobile games I get hit with lots of dodgy top-10 compilation linkfarm spam sites. I don't even know where to go to find the best mobile games, and every so often after investing another ten fruitless minutes of research (into what should be fun!) I'll give up all over again.

Contrast with my recent gaming experiences on the PC -- Civ V, The Witcher 3, Kerbal Space Program, and Faster than Light. All excellent games well worth their price that I was able to find out about easily. I don't know if anything comparable exists on mobile gaming, or if it's all just shit, nor do I even know how to find out. Back in the day Sony and Nintendo owned and published official magazines that were excellent sources of finding out about games, and many other non-official rags filled any potential void left over (I'll forever look back fondly on my afternoons after school spent reading issues of PC Gamer, PSM, and EGM cover-to-cover). Nothing comparable exists for mobile gaming, and Apple and Google could be doing a much better job of curating their gaming content.

Re: Where have all the iOS games gone?

#116

Post by themartorana »

panic wrote: post #101
Lerc wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, this is the "Top Grossing 200" I wonder what percentage could be classified as abusive software. If that's the path I have to take to make money on iOS, I'll take a path on a different platform.

I think they should have developers choose a monthly limit for their games. This limits the abuse and prevents addicted "whales" from spending all their money on the game. And if the limit is too high ("free (up to $1000/month!)") people might think twice about buying it.

I'm not against this at all. I don't want to survive as a studio on people paying $10k/month. $10/month I don't mind.

For what it's worth, "rewarded video" is, IMHO a nice middle-ground. It's a trade of time for value that doesn't require an out-of-pocket spend, and is user-initiated, and still allows a studio to survive.

Re: Where have all the iOS games gone?

#117

Post by orik »

makecheck wrote: post #114

I recently tried for about 10 minutes to find a game that met my criteria, using the iOS version of the App Store. I wasn’t asking for much (at least, so I thought): I wanted a game that could be purchased once (no In-App Purchases), and I wanted a particular category. The search was practically futile; every single match was In-App Purchases. I even decided to stop caring about the category and it was the same. The…

What type of game are you looking for? Do you believe there's a untapped market?

Re: Where have all the iOS games gone?

#118

Post by cageface »

themartorana wrote: post #113
k-mcgrady wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> "If that's the path I have to take to make money on iOS, I'll take a path on a different platform." I think this is about much more than iOS. Anything that can be delivered online (software, music, movies etc.) is something that consumers think should be free. Strangely they are willing to get milked after download through things like in-app purchase.

"Milked" is seriously loaded. AAA console games cost $60 and up - do you know how hard it is to get a paying freemium user to even $10? Yes. There are people that spend thousands. They also spend thousands on $60 AAA games as well. The idea that players get "fleeced" is ridiculous. Spent $15 on Candy Crush, a game that you spent months playing? That really doesn't seem like a lot to me. Edit: I should acknowledge tha…

I'm happy to pay $15 or even $60 for a game I really enjoy and play for more than a few hours.

I'm not willing to pay to win though, which is what most of the top grossing mobile games require.

Re: Where have all the iOS games gone?

#119

Post by hinkley »

nxzero wrote: post #109
Consultant32452 wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious if you feel that WoW at $180/yr is an exploitation. And if not, why would you consider someone paying the same amount of money for bonuses on Candy Crush to be exploited?

Given the average WoW player likely plays 500+ hours a year, sounds cheap cost wise, but expensive time wise.

Years ago when one of my social circles decided to play WoW together, most of us found we had more money in the bank at the end of the month. It was far cheaper entertainment per day than most of the other options we would choose. One night out for drinks and you've paid more than a monthly subscription.

Re: Where have all the iOS games gone?

#120

Post by CmdrKrool »

andybak wrote: post #86
archagon wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The context is that this is Jeff Minter's blog. His iOS games have received high acclaim over the years, especially early on in the App Store.

Yep. I hope a few people reading this know who the hell Jeff Minter is and why he's worth listening to. (PS Jeff - if you're listening to. A new take on Llamatron would make me a very happy man)

One of those iOS games was in fact a new take on Llamatron:

http://minotaurproject.co.uk/Minotaur/minotron.php

It's very good :). If it's not on the store anymore I hope you find some way to get hold of it.

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