I'm from a small, relatively new company with 4 or so games under our belt. We've been fairly successful so far, but are having a hard time getting that initial exposure for our games. Is there a good way to get reviewers to look at/talk about your game?
Make something noteworthy that would fit in with the content found on "professional" review sites. We don't review too many simple memory games, drinking games, or phone spinning games and I'm not sure what I could say about Peg Board aside from "It's a faithful adaptation of that game you play while you wait for your food at Cracker Barrel."
We're looking more at publicity for our next two games. Hazards is a competitive, location based game, and Motocross Sniper is going to be a combination motocross/sniper game (as the name implies) with asynchronous multiplayer capabilities. Ideally we would like to get publishers involved with one or both of them, but should that not work out, we'd like to have some plans for doing publicity on our own. Any advice?
1. Kidnap them and let them go after they reviewed your app 2. Kidnap their family and ask for a review as a ransom 3. Seduce them and ask for a review after the sex 4. Gift them a Ferrari in exchange for a review 5. Call them as Steve Jobs and tell them, that they have to review your app Those area a few ideas. No clue if they work... j/k oc
Seems like the best way to get noticed by reviewers is to have a smash hit app that is really popular. Funny how everyone wants to review your app after you take off... (not my experience but from here.. http://struct.ca/2010/the-story-so-far/) and the best way to be successful... well a good app... but also a free version!
Not necessarily true. We had a game being Nr2 in top overall worldwide for a month and featured by apple many times and no big review site was willing to review it. Not just they didn't asked us, but even if we wrote them letters and sent them promo codes, they didn't even answer. Some small guys had reviewed the app, but nobody was interested from the bigger players.
That is crazy... I am going through it at the moment ... Sent of heaps of emails and get bugger all response...
That's more or less the situation we've been in, and I was looking for solutions before the release of our next games.
We were thinking of being creepy and sending pizza to different reviewer's workplaces but Hodapp's neighbors said they weren't in. Thankfully, "creepy pizza tactic 1(TM)" wasn't required for Pickpawcket
It's incredible how many website want to be pay for a review. We are almost near the ferrari example... Unfortunatly some website take the apple to seriously. -You will not get any review if you're game is not popular -Dude, how my game is suppose tu be popular if is not expose? -You must contact websites and after you will get expose, get back later -Dude...just...take a look at the game -No, it's not popular and the community didn't know about your game -ok ok or -Can I have a review? -**no answer** -I have sent to you a mail 2 days ago about a review and... -**no answer** -Can I have the price for Ads? (5 minutes later) - Yes of course, price is, blabla, thank you and have a nice day sir The funny part is that some website refuse to review a game because is unpopular but allow this game to be as an ads banner. It's like having ads of meats in a vegetarian magazine.
If only that were true. Our first game has over a million downloads and has been #1 in the strategy charts a few times. 25,000 user reviews have given it 4 or 5 stars. We've so far had 4 reviews from the bigger "go to" sites and one of those fixated on an iPad 2 problem we had and marked it way down and won't re-score it, so only 3 are useful. At least TA was one of the good guys.
Thankfully, we've never had this problem. Somehow we've gotten an amazing response from the reviewers all over for our latest game DEO. Our first game on the other hand has never seen the light of the day lol.
I'm not exactly sure who your audience was for your first game. yeah, the name implies a game for children under 8, but the actual content isn't like that. Also, the biggest thing that made DEO stand out, for me, was the art. The art, in GGG, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as good, IMO.
The thing about getting coverage is that it involves building relationships. Those take time and are hard to keep up. PR is a hard and you have to keep thinking of unique selling points of a game.
The first game was just us trying to learn iOS lol. And I hope that we'll be able to change your mind with the upcoming update. Lot's is going to change...well except the art haha.
Darn, Hodapp mentions something "Noteworthy". My game can run 3d red/cyan, I guess thats old tech tho And its Mac App Store, DOH.
