IF I have a good video game trailer for a simplish but fun game,then do I really need to go the free lite to paid route? Or just go Doodlejump route with just paid game?
If you do only a paid version you'd better have made a lot of publicity. It's the only way to say only paid apps...
I've seen some dev threads talking about lite versions like they're old news but ime they're essential. Great Little War Game Lite has an in-app purchase to unlock all the features and it's made us a fair amount of money. Nowhere near as much as the paid version, but enough to be worthwhile from our point of view. Plus, getting the game out for free has to help with general visibility. I guess the other option for a free version is to make it advert supported. Dunno about this one, but if the ads don't make money (and subtracts from paid sales) then you cant really switch away to a locked version of the game either without angering a lot of people. All my future stuff is going to premium+lite as its the only method that ticks all the boxes.
it's been a couple of years (and not many releases) but from my POV having no kind of app where some content is "freely accessible" is a good route to making the minimal amount of money. If you have really nice production quality (or otherwise some ace up your sleeve to get serious buzz) then you have a shot at making some money this way, I suppose - but unless it is something really big then the odds are very stacked against you. Doodle Jump can only survive in the way that it does because it's got that longevity and has passed a threshold a very long time ago, when simple games of its ilk were still able to generate any kind of enthusiasm, so it's best not to compare to it. In my eyes, advertisements/IAP/some kind of gimmicks to get people to pay are the way to go.
Have to agree. I don't think you can just do a lite version these days and then hope the buy the paid one. Their's too much choice out there ........ unless your game is utterly amazing and has that factor that leaves people wanting more. I would say the the IAP seems to be the way to go, followed by ADS. The key is to strike whilst the iron is hot. If someone's really enjoying the game, that's the best time to ask them if they want to buy more things from you. Builds up momentum while you have their attention.
I released FishMoto without a Lite version. I won't ever do that again unless there's a crazy amount of pre-release buzz. But really, I think I'd like to explore the free + IAP model in the future. Depends on the game design though.
OK Thanks for all the advice however, it sounds as I only have one upgrade pack, that I do a lite with ads version and implement an in-app purchase costing 99 cents for releasing the extra pack?
Who thinks this is a good way? However should I keep ads going and served after in-app purchase if this is the way to launch?
that's hard to say and I am wrestling with this issue conceptually as well. I think there might be a perception that "if I pay any amount of money for something, the ads should disappear" - can anyone speak with experience on this matter? I think ads are the secret bread-and-butter if done properly, but it is imperative not to make the player feel cheated.
I'm fine with unobtrusive menu ads, but they do cheapen the experience a bit. and the average iOS user will burn you down if you add in ads. however, a more button on the menu is usually okay.
I think cross-promotion is acceptable (when you have in-app links to other apps that you have made/published). But if your app is free then do as you please, it's only when an app is paid that a user expects ad-free. An example of this would be how the BBC (TV) charge for a licence yet they are allowed product-placement...pi$$es me off! Sky are even worse - that package should be 100% ad-free at those prices IMO. BTW pinkandpurple, why do you write "UM" so often? It makes you sound very confused! Or maybe I am lol and it means something else?
