Flybird was featured in both Kids and Action catagory in games under new and noteworthy. After I fell from the list I thought I was dead! But 2 days after the update , we got a boost bigger than being featured in both subcatagories. We figured the sales had to have been from word of mouth as the game wasnt as visible. #1st update adding a new power-up and graphics enhancements For the upcomming update we have added # 2nd update that has been uploaded to apple will feature brand new Achivements page for gamers to master. So we will keep updating and adding features hoping slowly word of mouth will continue. Also we really believe in this game and know it will be a success even though it will be hard fought. We are determined to make this game a success story and a million dollar hit. The journey will be long but the victory will be sweet at the end.
Are you sure that was a word of mouth? Doesn't updates reflect somewhere on iTunes store? I have some small boosts after the updates and I am sure that wasn't a word of mouth. By the way, congratulation with your success!
No actually since early last year apple stopped apps from bumping up through updates. But iphone buyers absolutely love updates , and will tell friends about updated games. If you constantly release updates with alot of content , those people will become rapid fans and support you through word or mouth. Iam hoping with alot of updates I get a huge following of rapid fans. Most developers will move on when the game doesnt do well and make more games. But now I think the market is saturated to the point people are being picky and dont want spend unless the game has alot of features and content. We believe this strategy will work and has showed to work by the progress we have made. We will keep you posted on our progress!!
Great Info Thanks for the info. I'll remember that when my app comes out. Thanks and I hope you have a million seller.
This is really interesting! How much time did you leave in between updates? Are we talking weeks or did you have have the updates ready before you launched and rolled them out continuously to provide fresh content?
The game has been out 8 days 1) Well its continuous update the moment the game was upproved , we had the update done and uploaded same day. 2) We work on the update while waiting for an update to be approved so the moment a update is approved, we upload the next. 3) Each update adds signifigant content. The 1st update was to add new firecoin power-up and a graphics enhancements on most of the game. The 2nd update comming (uploaded 2 days ago) has a whole bunch of new achivements to unlock. The 3rd update that we are working on now will have new birds to unlock and choose from. We feel like iphone buyers want a game that is a steal at the price and are expecting games to keep giving them fresh content. Most gamers love achivements and unlockable content , so thats what we are going to deliver.
Probably depends on your game/the people who play. Blood Fever was featured in Action&Arcade NN, but the 2 updates did not change anything sales wise.
It also depends on how fast the updates come , luck , and keep marketing your game. Yesturday was my 2nd best selling day , then today it slowed down. So that means me keep going around spreading the word about this game till it finally explodes. Plus I want to keep this fan-base going till it grows steadly larger. I can worry myself with the ups and down because its to be expected. But I will tell you this , if you keep adding content to your game , down the line people will notice and keep your game on thier device. As long as your game stays on thier device you have more chances to sell. Update's is one of the way to keep the game on buyer device becuase they cant wait till the next update. We are testing the thoery that content is king , so far its early but working. We are in it for the long haul so this is just the begining.
Yeah updates are a great way to keep people playing your game which is the best form of advertisement really. With Bouncing Birds! http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bouncing-birds!/id449095015?mt=8&uo=4 I plan on releasing content in the form of new worlds which contain 15 levels each..