So.. why thursday?

Discussion in 'Public Game Developers Forum' started by DungeonPlunder, Feb 24, 2013.

  1. I just submitted my first ios game and am now facing stuff that I never gave much thought toward such as the release day: A majority of games seems to delay their release to match on a thursday so much that it seems like an automatism.

    I can see that releasing on a weekend or on friday is a no go due to press being off (and even then, why couldn't they catch up on it on monday?)

    Is there such a big difference vs a monday release? Anyone from the "thursday-crew" care to share some light on the why of it and perhaps their experience with thursday and non thursdays releases?

    Thanks.
     
  2. bramblett05

    bramblett05 Well-Known Member

    Aug 29, 2012
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    Well Nintendo has Tuesday (I believe) and iOS has Wednesday its just some thing I dunno (didn't know till a month after getting my iOS and joining TA)
    Your more then welcome to bring it out early though *winkwink*
     
  3. I think so, many veteran gamers now only look for games on Wed and Thurs.

    I would highly recommend you to release on those days, even though it doesn't seem fair, and I got no idea how this whole silly thing started. Seems more natural that a Monday launch would be good, especially with press, broken releases that need quick patching, and consistancy, but now it is well known throughout the gaming world to be on the lookout wed and thurs, if you release against this standard, it probably will only hurt you.
     
  4. CygnetSeven

    CygnetSeven Well-Known Member

    Feb 6, 2010
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    If they did that would the title of this post be, "So.. why monday?"

    But seriously, Apple changes it new and noteworthy section and editors choice on thursday so if a developer releases their game wednesday night/thursday morning they are the most visible and more likely to be picked. That is why most games release at that time. Gamers have grown accustom to this schedule and you'll see TA's hits spike on wednesday. Some gamers only check on wednesday night to see what's new.

    Hope that answers your question.
     
  5. Great replies, thanks for taking the time. Looks like it's going to be the first wednesday following approval.
     
  6. You are a smart man. :)
     
  7. Appvism

    Appvism Well-Known Member

    Feb 9, 2013
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    This is interesting and something i haven't really thought about, thanks! Maybe i'll go against this trend and launch my game on another day to be different! :)
     
  8. chiragm984

    chiragm984 Member

    Feb 20, 2013
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    Yes , I am also agree with this............:)
     
  9. krautboy

    krautboy Well-Known Member

    Apr 20, 2011
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    You'll probably loose a lot of visibillity if you launch another day. Not to mention a lot of people get a new itunes card on wednesday. And willing to spend it all when new releases hit their store.
     
  10. craneballs

    craneballs Well-Known Member

    What he said.

    And when your Thursday comes, you are hoping no big shark like EA is releasing their title :)
     
  11. Startup Culture

    Feb 27, 2013
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    Ok I'm old so I can give you a historical perspective on why Thursday is not just the most valuable day for games but for all media. If you go back to the early 80's and Televison, NBC is the network that helped make Thursday night important. It started with their comedy block of the Cosby Show, Cheers, and their evening drama LA Law. From their market research, they were able to determine that entertainment related advertising was at it's most effective Thursday because people were planning what they were going to do for the weekend on that day. So on a Thursday is when you'll see your heaviest spending on Movie and Food advertising. Fast forward to today. Consumers have been conditioned over all this time to think most about their discretionary spending choices on Thursdays. Games and apps fall under recreational discretionary spending. So unless you are launching a non gaming/entertainment related app like a workout app or a productivity app, your best bet is to launch on Thursday.
     
  12. lif

    lif Well-Known Member

    Oct 8, 2012
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    #12 lif, Mar 1, 2013
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2013
    A few weeks ago, R3v posted this interesting article in a different thread. Strangely enough, sunday wins by a large margin according to them. Maybe because people stay cosy at home on their phones and tablets after a long week-end?

    This got me thinking, and personally I'm going to release my first game on a tuesday. My reasoning is that, for a first game with no real pretensions, a review or even a notice on a blog is very unlikely. Therefore the only thing I would get from releasing on the same day as everybody else would be to see my app lost in the middle of a much more visible crowd. Tuesday should be quieter, and if by chance I get noticed, it's still close enough to thursday.

    And I will definitively try to release an update on a sunday!
     
  13. Appvism

    Appvism Well-Known Member

    Feb 9, 2013
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    Interesting! I was thinking of Friday - different from Thursday but close enough and after it, plus start of the weekend. But in all honesty, i suspect i'll release it on Thursday too - mainly as @Lif said too, mainly its my first game/app.

    Cheers,
     

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