There was a story on here a month or two ago interviewing the founder of the company. This is basically a one-man shop, and from the few games I have played in their offerings, they look like a little more work to put together than Flappy Bird. If it's too much of a hassle for the return he's getting on it, then it makes perfect sense to refocus efforts.
Why We Are No Longer Developing for the iPad
61–70 of 509 posts
Re: Why We Are No Longer Developing for the iPad
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is there really that much of a difference between "Click [here](link-to-app-store) to buy this game!" and "Click [here](link-to-self-hosted-page) to buy this game!"? The only real difference I can think of is when software was primarily distributed via physical media, but that hasn't been the primary distribution mechanism for a while (and I would expect that nearly all software these days doesn't even have an option…
There are massive differences. For example, in the Windows world you are allowed to find out who likes your stuff and build relationships with them.
The only other interpretation I can think of is "Apple doesn't let you respond to reviews on the app store", but the ability to respond to reviews is not an industry-wide expectation. I can't think of anywhere before the rise of mobile gaming that anyone considered the idea that a game developer should be able to respond to reviews.
Re: Why We Are No Longer Developing for the iPad
#63I'm interested to know what changed in 8.3 that broke their game engine. It's supposed to be a minor update, after all.
A quick Google search led me to this thread: http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=259228 There are a few reports there of games on Unreal Engine 3 having graphical glitches and performance issues under 8.3. It looks like Unreal Engine 3 is not getting updates anymore[0], so it's possible that UE3 users are stuck. (I don't know if Spiderweb use UE3). [0] https://www.unrealengine.com/previous-versions
However, I wouldn't be surprised if they suffered from a similar regression.
Re: Why We Are No Longer Developing for the iPad
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is there really that much of a difference between "Click [here](link-to-app-store) to buy this game!" and "Click [here](link-to-self-hosted-page) to buy this game!"? The only real difference I can think of is when software was primarily distributed via physical media, but that hasn't been the primary distribution mechanism for a while (and I would expect that nearly all software these days doesn't even have an option…
> The only real difference I can think of is when software was primarily distributed via physical media, but that hasn't been the primary distribution mechanism for a while It was a major distribution medium until fairly recently, even if not primary. Heck, you can still go into lots of retailers and buy physical media for PC games.
Re: Why We Are No Longer Developing for the iPad
#65It is fascinating how much the "micro-transaction" model on the iOS platform continues to bury everything else. Spiderweb throwing in the towel I would guess has a lot more to do with their #1 point "Competition on the App Store has risen to a frenzied level." than the others. The top two grossing games - Clash of Clans and Game of War - receive metacritic scores of 74 and 67 respectively. Whereas the most recent Spi…
> And as anybody who's spent 5 mins on app-store "optimization" knows - the better your paid, the better your organic - by a right mile. Sorry, I guess my English is bad. I do not understand this sentence. Could you explain?
I interpreted it as meaning the higher your app is ranked in the 'paid' category (preferrably in the top 20 or higher), the better your organic acquisition rate is going to be (logically because you'll get all the "free" advertising for being featured on the front page of the "Top Paid".
It's a self-reinforcing cycle...more customers, higher ranking, more customers...if you can swing it.
Re: Why We Are No Longer Developing for the iPad
#66It is fascinating how much the "micro-transaction" model on the iOS platform continues to bury everything else. Spiderweb throwing in the towel I would guess has a lot more to do with their #1 point "Competition on the App Store has risen to a frenzied level." than the others. The top two grossing games - Clash of Clans and Game of War - receive metacritic scores of 74 and 67 respectively. Whereas the most recent Spi…
> And as anybody who's spent 5 mins on app-store "optimization" knows - the better your paid, the better your organic - by a right mile. Sorry, I guess my English is bad. I do not understand this sentence. Could you explain?
Re: Why We Are No Longer Developing for the iPad
#67It is fascinating how much the "micro-transaction" model on the iOS platform continues to bury everything else. Spiderweb throwing in the towel I would guess has a lot more to do with their #1 point "Competition on the App Store has risen to a frenzied level." than the others. The top two grossing games - Clash of Clans and Game of War - receive metacritic scores of 74 and 67 respectively. Whereas the most recent Spi…
> And as anybody who's spent 5 mins on app-store "optimization" knows - the better your paid, the better your organic - by a right mile. Sorry, I guess my English is bad. I do not understand this sentence. Could you explain?
Re: Why We Are No Longer Developing for the iPad
#68Re: Why We Are No Longer Developing for the iPad
#69It is fascinating how much the "micro-transaction" model on the iOS platform continues to bury everything else. Spiderweb throwing in the towel I would guess has a lot more to do with their #1 point "Competition on the App Store has risen to a frenzied level." than the others. The top two grossing games - Clash of Clans and Game of War - receive metacritic scores of 74 and 67 respectively. Whereas the most recent Spi…
> And as anybody who's spent 5 mins on app-store "optimization" knows - the better your paid, the better your organic - by a right mile. Sorry, I guess my English is bad. I do not understand this sentence. Could you explain?
Re: Why We Are No Longer Developing for the iPad
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
How do you define "competitive" if you're not defining it in a way that correlates with "popular"?
Competitive is a question of demand versus supply; you can have super competitive small markets. You have 1 yellow marble, 5 blue marbles, and 10 people. 5 people want a yellow marble, and five want a blue marble. Blue and yellow marbles are just as popular, but the competition for yellow marbles is much more intense.