Big budget iPad Games

[Astraware]

Originally Posted by jnscz

We're planning a demo (i.e. one normal map, one bossfight) for free. Also a 75% off during the first weekend and a lot of promos etc.

I'm not convinced that DLCs are the right way, as many players feel ripped off.

We really don't want to sell it for i.e. 5 bucks, that's too much. We believe that 1.99 or 2.99 would be the proper price tag for the game of high graphical quality, polished gameplay and interesting story, which should appeal to teenagers (or basically the usual 17-25 group). Also, it's a price tag we can work with - it's easier to make i.e. a 50% discount and the change of price is also a lot more visible.

Currently, we are researching how to make the shooting fun and rewarding, so the game will work even with placeholders and without proper graphics. Then we will attempt to pitch it.

We believe that our games should be worth that and more, and I'm sure many other developers do too, but what you believe the market should do, and what the market actually will support aren't necessarily the same thing.

Quite a few experience devs in here have suggested you test the water with an iPhone game first. The App Store is a massive, harsh market which needs to be thoroughly researched and tested before you launch to it. There are absolutely no guarantees, but making sure you've listened to valuable advice and built that into your game design and launch plan is the best way to give yourself a fighting chance!

Best of luck!

[Emeric]

Squids user base on iPad represents 6% of the overall iOS user base.
Also, if you sell the game 2$ you get 1.4$, therefore, to breakeven with $60k you to sell more than around 40k. On iPad only, that's a LOT.

My advice : go for a PC version, make it multiplatform on iOS and Android and PC. If it's self published, that's probably the best way to be profitable in the end. And also as a developer it always feels good to have a wider audience...

[MikaMobile]

Are people willing to pay more for something with above-average production values? Sure, I think so. I'd argue its "safer" to pursue the demographic you're talking about - more complex, more expensive, graphically rich games - because its still somewhat under-represented on the app store. There's an appetite for it, but most devs aren't willing or able to go for that level of polish. If you've got the chops, go for it. Just do yourself a favor and target iPhone as well as iPad - iPhone is still the majority of the market.

How profitable such a proposition is depends on how efficiently you can work. I'd say if it takes a team of 30 people a year and half, you're doing something wrong.