Do you think iOS and Android games should be launched the same day?

Discussion in 'General Game Discussion and Questions' started by noteatino, Jul 28, 2015.

  1. noteatino

    noteatino Well-Known Member

    Jun 27, 2014
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    Taking in consideration that there are more sales on iOS than on Android and other things these stores offer, what are the pros and cons you think there are in launching first on the AppStore or first on Google Play or at the same time?

    I never have used Google Play but I know there's a lot of piracy, other refund models. But I really dont know how Google Play advertise new apps or sales.

    Sorry for the English, isn't my main lenguage.
     
  2. julesantenor

    julesantenor Active Member

    Jun 15, 2014
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    The reason that applications don’t launch on the same day is because Apple and Google have different methods in reviewing apps. So it sometimes takes longer on Apple or vice versa.
     
  3. Stingman

    Stingman Well-Known Member
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    Aug 14, 2012
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    Unless you are a reputable publisher or you have slaved away at marketing it probably won't matter. Am I too blunt? Sure, but at this point after all I've learned in the last few years is you need to accept the truth and learn from it, and adapt. If you have both iOS and Android versions of your game ready then just launch on both stores. If your game is amazing, unique, or a combination of the two, then you need to let people know about your game before it's launch... far ahead of launch. If you are just launching on a whim and you are worried about promotion on one store or the other then read on...

    At this point the way the markets have developed, unless you know someone at Google or you have partnered with a reputable publisher / cross promotional service, or you some other nifty trick up your sleeve your app will probably not rise above the crowd. There is too much competition.

    On iOS it's also increasingly difficult to get noticed for the same reasons, however I do believe that you do gain a little more visibility at launch and it can help if you spend time to do ASO correct, although your marketing should only begin with that. I can't stress the importance of pre-launch marketing. Our next 2 games we plan to start promotion about 6 months and 18 months prior to launch. And if you made the app in less than 6 months well maybe you'll be the next Crossy Road, but don't hold your breath. Even Crossy Road devs had massive promotion from pewdiepie and some backing and connections at Apple :)
     
  4. ackmondual

    ackmondual Well-Known Member

    Dec 25, 2009
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    iOS AppStore takes average of 8 to 11 days since all apps have to be approved and signed by Apple. Google Play can be very quick. As short as hours, or even 20 minutes.

    According to one podcast where someone stands up for Android development, his group had a bug that got fixed within hours, so those who DL-ed it ASAP reported on it, and they fixed and resubmitted it within 3 hours. The majority of folks who DL-ed after that never knew of it. Android users tend to be better about citing specific reasons why something failed. For example, it was when they tapped on this, after doing "that".

    iOS draws more devs it seems due to less piracy. OTOH, it also seems they have a lot more competition, as it has become more popular than ever. On average, iOS users still spend more money.
     
  5. psj3809

    psj3809 Moderator

    Jan 13, 2011
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    No it shouldnt be the same day. I love iOS gaming as we get premier games and devs make more money. Android is so full of pirates/hackers and people who faint if a games not free.

    I did have an android phone for about a month but i soon moved back to iOS. Way way way too much rubbish on the google store as its like an unmoderated Mad Max style wasteland !

    Granted sometimes the Apple censors are a bit too strict but i prefer the iOS market. Still miss games i had on Android such as Quake II/Jedi Knight etc
     
  6. kmacleod

    kmacleod Well-Known Member
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    Jul 1, 2009
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    Apple is more likely to feature your game if it's exclusive. No guarantees, but if your game is good enough to be featured in the first place, being able to be listed in the "only on iOS" section is worth it.
     
  7. wonderspark

    wonderspark Well-Known Member

    Jul 29, 2015
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    re: approval - unless you're desperate to launch the very instant you're approved, coordinating a simultaneous launch is trivial.

    Pro Apple-first:

    1.) Possibility of promotion. Apple likes exclusives, and if you're a simultaneous or Android-first launch, you're much less likely to be promoted. That said, Apple promotion is basically a 1:1,000,000 lottery anyway unless you've got connections or have something really mindbendingly unique (and also have connections).

    2.) Less hardware to support. You can develop & release and test on a much more constrained platform.

    3.) Way better monetization. If you're doing this as a business, per-user monetization on iOS can be 4x+ Android.

    Pro Android-first:

    1.) Better possibility of getting featured on Google.

    2.) Better mechanics for discoverability for apps without monstrous marketing budgets.

    3.) Much faster iteration time, since you don't have to wait for Apple's approval process. This means you can fix critical bugs, make critical tweaks often 50x faster than you can on Apple's side, which means if you've got a new game, you can take a brand new game and fix or optimize it much, much faster.

    ---

    Overall, we've chosen to focus on iOS, because as a small team (four people) we simply can't deal with the support that Android requires. We don't have time to test on all the devices you need to to even cover the majority of your potential audience, and while it's possible to potentially get a larger audience, the disparity in monetization is a killer. Once you're competing for the upper-end Android users, they're just as expensive/difficult to get as iOS users anyway. That said, Google's been busting their chops to create things that are *really* useful and *really* appealing to devs than span the whole gamut of development tools to marketing & analytics tools. They know they're #2, and it's often extremely useful and exciting to be an ally to the team that's hungry for success.
     
  8. BookerMaxX

    BookerMaxX Member

    May 4, 2015
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    That's possible but it mainly depends of Apple & Googles stores.

    They have several tests and validations to do before putting a game on their stores.

    They also have very differents ways of managing them so It's not vera easy to make them launch the same day. As you to try to negociate with them
     

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