Are Lite apps worth it now? I know they used to be the best way of getting people who were unsure. But if your app is only $0.99 is it still a good idea? It seems they've basically become known as "Ad apps". Do they still boost your marketing, sales, etc?
Absolutely they are. If your app is not that appealing at first sight but with excellent content, then a lite version is necessary.
Always release you paid version first. When sales start to dry out, release a free version. But this free version is not here to sale your paid one. Limit your free version, so people have to paid with IAP to get the missing bits. This way, you'll maximise your income. If you can have adds in the free version, then put them in too. My 2p. JC
i was thinking about that. they are nice to complement but with .99 cent apps, are they worth the space?
Hard to say. My experience is limited, but in our case (0.99 app with a free version as well) the free did nothing to effect sales one way or another.. We took it down and left it off and I don't miss it.. after interest in our game disappeared, we'd average ~20 DLs a day for the free (there were no ads in it)
Seems like a hit or miss to me... with N.Y.Zombies we didn't really see a change whether we had the lite on the store or taken off, so we ultimately removed it altogether. Then again, its hard to tell how the lite affected us during release. On the other hand, I've seen games like Hungry Shark and currently 2012 Aliens vs Zombies rise up the charts do to a free version. There have obviously been a bunch more, but I cant remember them at the time. But like I said initially, I'm sure there are just as many games that aren't affected by the lite. In the end, I suppose its worth a try at least.
With freemium/free to play apps mostly taking over the free charts (along with the sheer number of downloads you need now to chart) the old thought process of charting with the lite version to drive customers to your paid version doesn't seem to be working as well as it once used to. Personally, I love the free versions of games with IAP unlocks but you really get the short end of the charting stick going that route it seems.
We're considering dumping our Lite versions for Great Little War Game. We're selling decent numbers of the premium version and getting good reviews, so we know people are basically happy with the game. Which then leaves me wondering why the lite versions are getting shitloads of downloads but relatively few conversions (via an IAP upgrade button). It's only been on sale a couple of days, but the difference is already quite telling and I can't foresee it changing around any time soon. We'll give it a few weeks and see first though, just in case.
It's hard to tell for our game since we don't have enough data, but right now our game is converting at 3-5% ratio. I'm not 100% sure if it attributes to our free versions because we aren't tracking links from our lite version. Which we should be doing Coming from a tiny bit of background in casual games I believe it still helps as long as you have all the right links and ways to push the player into making the purchase. Maybe I'll know even better once Apple removes our What's Hot in family and puzzle category. I figure sales mostly trickle in from those links or our lite versions are working.
Exactly. If you make a free version of you game, you shouldn't be thinking about using it to drive sales to your paid version, but as its own, separate thing. I think what Trenches is doing is a good idea. They keep the paid version and release a free version you can upgrade via IAP. Now, notice that the free version is coming more than a year after the release of the original. If you release the free and the paid version at the same time, you're competing with yourself. Once your app has run its cycle, a free version may be a good idea to give it new life. Maybe one valid use of the traditional lite version would be as a demo of sorts if you're releasing an expensive game that people may want to try before committing their hard-earned cash.
I'm releasing a puzzle game next week. I'm launching a free and lite version at the same time. I'm confident that the lite version will give people enough of a taste to want to play more. The levels in the two versions are completely different so once the lite is complete players wont need to replay the same content. Personally, I haven't see any free games with paid unlocks doing well. This is a myth as far as I'm concerned. More likely is the fact the user will feel nickel and dimed and rate you poorly. Virtual goods on the other hand you can't argue with. That appears to be massively successful for some. Though personally I have a moral problem charging the price of a console game for some virtual coins. Frankly, it disgusts me. Like I say though, I'm releasing my new game on April 5th. I guess I'll find out with my lite version works well or not. Find out more about it here: http://blocke.es
I agree. Until Apple figures out how to better sort the apps going free with paid unlock is suicide. The competition in the free arena is absolutely insane and most likely your app will get lost in the shuffle. I'm just going to make the best games I possibly can, charge a dollar and see what happens. No gimmicks... just pay the buck and you get the game and any updates thereafter.
it's such madness - I honestly do not know what to think anymore (and I say this without trying to sound dramatic) if you charge, no one wants to pay (no matter the price). if you are free, you have no chance to chart. you're screwed coming and going. honestly the best you can hope for is that your app is good enough that the press picks it up, despite however heavily you market it on your own - and that you get lucky with some word of mouth to float it beyond "just a couple thousand downloads" in either case. I've learned a lot from all of this and I am trying something elaborate with my next release in a few weeks, at this point I've detached from it enough that if it bombs, at least by then I can say "well, I tried everything" I truly think getting a little experimental is not the worst thing to do these days, it cannot hurt given the alternatives. I'm very interested to talk to KuyiMobile - if you are reading, pipe up ! - he released a (short) series of completely free (mini) games to drive traffic for his paid apps, this was maybe more than 6 months ago. I know he got a ton of downloads (and therefore a good user base) out of it, but I am curious how much of that translated into sales (if it was worth developing the free apps, in the end). I do recall his paid game got featured in the US store as well.
Do you have any advice when to start with a lite demo version? For Blood Fever we got the first three days ok sales (probably from friends/coworkers) and now sales are dropping extremly. And what features you would like/expect in a lite version / how much crippled can/should it be?
That's the problem... no one knows anymore. If you released a crippled version of your game, it will most likely not chart and you'll get slammed in reviews. If you release a full featured lite version then people may not buy your paid version. One idea that I like is to release a 'free' version that has completely different levels than the paid version. So if they buy the paid version they aren't replaying the same content twice. If your free version happens to catch on, patch in some IAP and see how it goes.
It'll be interesting to see what you've come up with. Are you talking about iPhone release or your Android port?
Yes, a very pertinent question these days. While our team members are working hard on the code and the art, I constantly try to figure out the *right* pricing method for our upcoming diving game. The basic set would be a freemium with limited content supported by IAP to unlock all features. Besides the unlock we have two consumable items (airt tank and battery recharges for underwater lights). I'm thinking to provide with the unlock IAP some free consumable items, like 10 tanks, so customers will see that if they unlock the full version, for let's say 3.99, they got 10 tanks and 10 battery recharge included beyond the extra content and features. These items would cost 0.99 + 0.99 separately, so it is a bigger bargain together. The other method could be not to have a free version at all, just charge 3.99 for the game, including 10-10 (or even more items, just to be generous) consumable items as courtesy, and if those are over, the player can buy them again... Of course, either way, the consumable items would be available in the freemium version and the full paid version as well. So our players could purchase them as they consumed... Bundle purchases will be offered, like 10 tanks for 0.99, 30 tanks for 1.99 etc, even unlimited tanks for 19.99... The only question, which method will be the winning one
Jet Car Stunts did this for the lite version and it worked very well - actually True Axis were the first people to do this. Then once the paid users helped chart the lite version, maybe a delayed time period or until the lite version drops out of the charts you add the free levels back into the paid version as free DLC, which in turn brings more publicity.
just Android for now, iPhone is kind of up in the air Don't get me wrong, I am still happy with where the iPhone version is at (even if it stays that way for awhile) I am trying to be fairly transparent about my future plans in my development blog, of course I've not spilled all the beans yet but leading up to (and following) release I'll detail it out fairly thoroughly, for those interested.
