I've been thinking about this a bit lately. I'm getting "closer" to finishing a game i've been working on, and I really need to make a decision about whether or not to delay the release of my game to implement a potentially important/substantial feature or cut it to ship before Christmas to try to cash in on increased app sales. As this is my first ipad game i'm not sure what to expect when my app gets into the appstore and i'm wondering if a pre-christmas launch will do anything to help generate more sales...of what is essentially a half finished game. Here are the details: My game is called iBots launch. Its a disc throwing game with power ups two modes; a fast paced arcade mode and a slower classic mode. I've completed the 2 player version with all the bells and whistles and i've been reading up on AI for the 1 player version. I'm guessing to create the 1p feature the way I want it (3 difficulty levels, tournament mode, mini games etc) will take another 4 to 6 weeks. So far beta testers tell me that the 2 player version is a lot of fun. Any thoughts on whether I should release a two player only version before Christmas or wait until I finish the 1 player mode for a February 2011 release? Andrew http://ibotslaunch.com
Keep on working on it until it's 100% finished and then release it. I don't think having it released before Christmas will really help much (especially with the insane amount of big titles coming from the bigger developers), and it won't help in the long run if it's only half finished.
Agreed. I'm betting you may have better sales after Christmas when everyone's finished playing the big releases and want something new.
No offense but here's how I would see it: Who would buy a half-finished game after Aralon and Infinity Blade, Real Racing 2, etc? I think there may be less "good" games after Christmas and thus less competition so you could try to finish the game (taking a break around Christmas of course!) and release it somewhere in Jan or Feb.
I belive that the launch of a game is an important time. It's hard to get the same relevance in a major update. So, in my opinion, it's better launch after Christmas an awesome wonderfull completly finished game.
Agree with everyone. Plus, if you can get it close to after Christmas, everyone can buy it with their brand new iTunes gift cards!
Don't release it prior to Christmas, wait. You have to look at it like this, will the additional sales at Christmas make up for the lack of polish that will later pick up sales if you wait until it's finished? They won't, you only get one release you've got to make a great initial impression. Waiting will allow you to give people that awesome first impression that will get the train moving and allow you to move up the charts. It's a LOT harder to get things going after a less than impressive first release and while it might give you a nice little bump in sales because you're releasing at Christmas in the long run it's going to be a lot harder to really make an impact.
You already missed the pre-Christmas approval cutoff, so barring some kind of Christmas miracle or direct intervention from someone high up at Apple even if you submitted today it wouldn't be approved until after the holidays. As far as how important Christmas is, well, if you're able to chart for the holiday iPhone freeze the amount of money you can make is incredible. Doodle Jump was #1 on Christmas last year and I want to say they made $100-200k on that day alone.
A game I'm seriously interested in was submitted December 3rd, will it not be released till post Christmas?
Hi Hodapp, I write this post with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. I've submitted Christmas Mishap to App Store the past 4th of December. In my worst prediction I thought the game would be approved in two weeks, so the week between 20th and 26th this game would be available on App Store. Your comment has left me completely devastated. It's been a really intense months of work. I worked during the day (in my main job) and night (developing the game) until exhaustion. To arrive on time, I have sacrificed precious time working instead of sharing it with my wife and my daughter. All to get to be on time ... I do not care about sales, what distresses me is that all that effort was not useful for anything. Today is a really sad day for me. :'(
I'll cross my fingers for you, mate. It would definitely be a disappointment to have your Christmas-themed game come out after Christmas. BUT, it doesn't necessarily doom your project. I just clicked on your thread, and the game looks (visually) very nice. I can definitely see the amount of work you've put in to it. And a good enough game should be able to sell regardless of the season. If it doesn't come out before Christmas, this forum might be your best friend. If you do have a good game, getting the TA crowd to take interest in it could still net you at least some measure of success. Still, in the worst case scenario you could always modify, refine, and repackage the game in order to re-release it when next Christmas rolls around. And obviously then you could submit it earlier and with less pressure. Having said all that, though, I really don't know anything when it comes to game sales. But I still just hope that your hard work won't prove to have been for nothing. Good luck to you.
I agree with what most have said here, and would suggest waiting. I very much agree with TheRhino's comment: "...you only get one release you've got to make a great initial impression. Waiting will allow you to give people that awesome first impression that will get the train moving and allow you to move up the charts. It's a LOT harder to get things going after a less than impressive first release." If you were to release too early and end up with a lot of negative reviews and a low star rating in the App Store it would make for a difficult hole to get out of. At any rate, I think sales should still be good after Christmas. Considering that people may receive an iDevice as a gift, or get gift cards for the App Store, there should still be plenty of shopping for apps after the holidays.
