Live data from Hacker News

Monument Valley in Numbers

blog.monumentvalleygame.com

11–19 of 19 posts

Re: Monument Valley in Numbers

#11
post #8

Anyone know how they achieved such huge sales the first day/week they released? From other app/game stories I've heard it often takes a while for people to notice new apps and gain traction.

It was Apple's Editor's Choice in the app store (across all apps, not just in games) in its release week plus a fair amount of pre-release hype. Though mostly it's about being Editor's Choice.

Re: Monument Valley in Numbers

#13
post #8

Anyone know how they achieved such huge sales the first day/week they released? From other app/game stories I've heard it often takes a while for people to notice new apps and gain traction.

The put it out there and gain traction model doesn't generally work for any game project that's going to make money. Yes, if you're making $20 in revenue the first week, you might make a bit more in some other week, but probably not.

Typically you need to plan press, cross-promotions, and hit up those Apple app-store review contacts (basically, listen to their vague hints about what it might be good to do) to try to get a bump on day 1.

Re: Monument Valley in Numbers

#14
post #6

People don't pay up front for games anymore. They need to make a MV 2 that is free with a few levels + IAP to unlock the rest. That way more people can get hooked to the game mechanic and decide to upgrade. Also, it still looks like android users expect free-ish games.

There is a group of people who want to pay up-front for games. It's a question of whether you can make this a viable business model.

I was chatting with the CEO of a company that makes kids' games, and he mentioned some interesting feedback from parents: The price of a $1 game isn't really $1, because they had to buy a bunch before finding one their kid liked. So, they would happily pay more than $1 for a trusted brand that's likely to satisfy their kids.

Re: Monument Valley in Numbers

#15
Interesting that Google Play made 12.1% of sales and 13.9% revenue. Amazon Paid was 3.7% sales to 4.3% revenue.

That said, I really do find the success of this game baffling. It's 45 minutes of play time. The graphics are good, but the puzzles are simplistic and the story is... thin.

Their previous game - Whale Trail [1] - was fantastic. Offered a huge amount of gameplay, was a critical hit, but appeared to be a commercial flop.

Is it just the luck of the draw? A better PR campaign this time? Or something else?

Still - good luck to 'em!

[1] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jakyl.whal... & https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/whale-trail/id450163154?mt=8

Re: Monument Valley in Numbers

#17
post #15

Interesting that Google Play made 12.1% of sales and 13.9% revenue. Amazon Paid was 3.7% sales to 4.3% revenue. That said, I really do find the success of this game baffling. It's 45 minutes of play time. The graphics are good, but the puzzles are simplistic and the story is... thin. Their previous game - Whale Trail [1] - was fantastic. Offered a huge amount of gameplay, was a critical hit, but appeared to be a comm…

"45 minutes of play time" - slight exaggeration there.

Re: Monument Valley in Numbers

#18
post #17
post #15

Interesting that Google Play made 12.1% of sales and 13.9% revenue. Amazon Paid was 3.7% sales to 4.3% revenue. That said, I really do find the success of this game baffling. It's 45 minutes of play time. The graphics are good, but the puzzles are simplistic and the story is... thin. Their previous game - Whale Trail [1] - was fantastic. Offered a huge amount of gameplay, was a critical hit, but appeared to be a comm…

"45 minutes of play time" - slight exaggeration there.

It took me less than an hour to complete. I don't consider that great value for money.

How long did you take to complete it?

Re: Monument Valley in Numbers

#19
post #6

People don't pay up front for games anymore. They need to make a MV 2 that is free with a few levels + IAP to unlock the rest. That way more people can get hooked to the game mechanic and decide to upgrade. Also, it still looks like android users expect free-ish games.

There is a group of people who want to pay up-front for games. It's a question of whether you can make this a viable business model. I was chatting with the CEO of a company that makes kids' games, and he mentioned some interesting feedback from parents: The price of a $1 game isn't really $1, because they had to buy a bunch before finding one their kid liked. So, they would happily pay more than $1 for a trusted bra…

But why wouldn't that same parent prefer a game that was free to try and then have a single IAP to unlock the full version? I'm a parent and I'd love to not have to purchase lots of $1 apps. I'd rather try them for free first.
Post reply on HN