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My Steam Game Revenue Stats

donislawdev.com

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Re: My Steam Game Revenue Stats

#21

Post by ManBlanket »

techrat wrote: post #10

The game is far, far too much of a niche style game for it to even be all that popular, IMHO. I'm not quite sure what the Dev here expected to happen. It's also Early Access and it's fair to say that unless a game has broad appeal (which shop simulators don't) and hype (definitely not in this case), people tend to stay away from Early Access games from unknown developers with insubstantial catalogs. I know I do, been…

He could yet get another bump in sales from a 1.0 release, but you're right the stars are just not aligned to make Yerba Mate Tycoon an indie smash. This was not necessarily a story of loss though. Taking a project all the way to release is a feat, and his attitude toward finishing the game, not to mention supporting it after release is commendable. All this seems like it helps position the developer to solicit publishers for future projects, convince others to work with him, and even help sway potential buyers of future projects. Not to mention it's a critical learning experience, feedback like yours is very helpful. All things considered pretty successful for a first game. This dude definitely has the potential to turn a profit in the future.

Re: My Steam Game Revenue Stats

#22

Post by tekromancr »

ManBlanket wrote: post #21
techrat wrote: post #10

The game is far, far too much of a niche style game for it to even be all that popular, IMHO. I'm not quite sure what the Dev here expected to happen. It's also Early Access and it's fair to say that unless a game has broad appeal (which shop simulators don't) and hype (definitely not in this case), people tend to stay away from Early Access games from unknown developers with insubstantial catalogs. I know I do, been…

He could yet get another bump in sales from a 1.0 release, but you're right the stars are just not aligned to make Yerba Mate Tycoon an indie smash. This was not necessarily a story of loss though. Taking a project all the way to release is a feat, and his attitude toward finishing the game, not to mention supporting it after release is commendable. All this seems like it helps position the developer to solicit publi…

Tenth game, according to the post

Re: My Steam Game Revenue Stats

#23

Post by jmd42 »

bogwog wrote: post #11

> At launch, I was selling my game for $3.5 (10% discount), then the price went back to the full price of $4. Why would you launch with a discount?

Drive day 1 sales, increasing your chance of getting featured as a "hot new release", increasing visibility and trying to ride the recommendation algorithm.

Re: My Steam Game Revenue Stats

#24

Post by vincentpants »

jay_kyburz wrote: post #13
evo_9 wrote: post #2

"In terms of cash, it was not worth it, if we count costs (without time) + taxes, then the “earnings” from those $632 will be lower than 0. I had lost the cash, the first month is mostly the “best” month of sales, so my next month’s sales will be worse and worse, maybe a few % of my first month. Someone might be curious why I’m still keeping early access, working on the game, to be honest, I don’t believe in some mag…

You can't really make a super niche game and expect it to sell well. Nobody knows what Yerba Mate is. Nobody is searching for Yerba Mate. Also, the video is funny, but it really doesn't tell us anything about what you do. It doesn't show us the consequences of any of your decisions. Anyhow, I wish the developer all the best. I hope sales to pick up and that they enjoyed making the game.

I know what Yerba Mate is, I’m even drinking some now! I even managed to start a Yerba Mate scene at my old work. And considering how many dev stations have gourds among their vinyl toy collection makes me think there were a bunch of Canadian video game developers googling Yerba Mate at some point. I imagine this game can do well with a little bit of niche online community spelunking. We’re out there!

Re: My Steam Game Revenue Stats

#25

Post by paulryanrogers »

DrJokepu wrote: post #7
Tarsul wrote: post #3

As far as I know we users cannot see how many sales a game has from steam, so I very much appreciate the creator telling us. I often try to judge from the number of reviews if a game has made at least a few thousand bucks. This game here has 19 reviews with 420 sales, which means that 4,5% of all people have reviewed the game, which is more than I expected (I expected a ratio of about 1%). But this means that probabl…

If it’s a game I’m excited about, I sometimes buy the early access to support the developers pre-release and only play it once it’s done.

I'm afraid of doing this since so many games never leave early access, or even improve significantly after first appearing

Re: My Steam Game Revenue Stats

#26

Post by paulryanrogers »

imtringued wrote: post #17
hsbauauvhabzb wrote: post #8

Don’t downplay the value to you in fixing bugs, customer support etc. you’ll be better equipped when you release a title that is successful.

It's also easy to burn bridges by canceling early access games. The vast majority of people should stay away from early access games by default because of the risk that the game remains unfinished.

Perhaps there is a better name for what these projects are: "experimental" or "exploratory" access. Something that doesn't so strongly imply their will be a later or finished state.

Re: My Steam Game Revenue Stats

#27

Post by cmeacham98 »

tekromancr wrote: post #22
ManBlanket wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He could yet get another bump in sales from a 1.0 release, but you're right the stars are just not aligned to make Yerba Mate Tycoon an indie smash. This was not necessarily a story of loss though. Taking a project all the way to release is a feat, and his attitude toward finishing the game, not to mention supporting it after release is commendable. All this seems like it helps position the developer to solicit publi…

Tenth game, according to the post

I believe it is his 10th _attempt_ at a game but 1st finished/published game. The author at least has no other games published on steam.

Re: My Steam Game Revenue Stats

#28

Post by lommelun »

tekromancr wrote: post #22
ManBlanket wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He could yet get another bump in sales from a 1.0 release, but you're right the stars are just not aligned to make Yerba Mate Tycoon an indie smash. This was not necessarily a story of loss though. Taking a project all the way to release is a feat, and his attitude toward finishing the game, not to mention supporting it after release is commendable. All this seems like it helps position the developer to solicit publi…

Tenth game, according to the post

For a 22 year old that’s very impressive if true.

Re: My Steam Game Revenue Stats

#29

Post by Krasnol »

vincentpants wrote: post #24
jay_kyburz wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't really make a super niche game and expect it to sell well. Nobody knows what Yerba Mate is. Nobody is searching for Yerba Mate. Also, the video is funny, but it really doesn't tell us anything about what you do. It doesn't show us the consequences of any of your decisions. Anyhow, I wish the developer all the best. I hope sales to pick up and that they enjoyed making the game.

I know what Yerba Mate is, I’m even drinking some now! I even managed to start a Yerba Mate scene at my old work. And considering how many dev stations have gourds among their vinyl toy collection makes me think there were a bunch of Canadian video game developers googling Yerba Mate at some point. I imagine this game can do well with a little bit of niche online community spelunking. We’re out there!

> Yerba Mate scene

How did such a scene work? Did you have get togethers to talk about your Yerba Mate experiences? Are there Yearba Mate VIPs you worship together? Did you have Yerba Mate merchandise?

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