Nice story Nice story Mikka Mobile I just check the charts and Zombieville is still in the top 25 , but I dont see Battleheart in the top 150 . Here is the link http://www.148apps.com/148-top-paid-games/ I dont see how battleheart can outpace zombieville if its not in the top 150. Please do explain so I can understand.
I'll spell it out clearly. You might recall Zombieville was in a higher chart position for a longer period of time... 2 years ago. The store has changed a lot since then. Being in the top 5 back then was like... 3000 units a day. Now it's tens of thousands. Battleheart's weekend in the top 3 (#1 on iPad) generated over 100,000 sales. Battleheart is also available (and wildly popular) on both iPad and android devices, and costs more than Zombieville. All of these factors combine to make it more profitable despite what an uneducated glance at the charts might indicate.
Exactly. The runaway success of the entire line of iDevices, particularly iPad which is purchased largely as an entertainment device, has grown the game app market exponentially in the past two years. Chart position doesn't mean what it did when Doodle Jump was new.
great story Iam not talking about 2 years ago , the link I posted was yesterday top 148. Zombiville was in the top 25 and Battlehearts wasnt in the top 148. So as of now Zombeiville is still outselling Battleheart , even with the price difference. I understand your a successful developer but I dont take sucessful peoples words as law , I do research. I didnt make any guesses as you suggest , I looked at the ranking.Also I never said anything about 2 years ago , Iam talking about the present. Iam not one of those people who if someone is successful , I submit to whatever they say because it sounds good. Yes you made alot of money and have 2 hit games , so obviously you know what your doing. But when you say it all talent and no luck , then I have a problem. There are many games that are good that get swept under the rug and dont sell well. Your 1st game sold more now and will sell more than your 2nd game in the future. Time will tell how your 3rd game will do , by the way you talk any game you make will do very well. We shall see but the proof is in the rankings and not your words.
yemi your not really arguing with mika about their sales and want to know better than them? lol ...way to go and you extensive research gets you very far if you link to an iphone chart for an universal game which is even avaiable on android?! ...
Iam not arguing with them , nor do I want to get to know them better. Iam stating what I see by doing research and I cant see what they are seeing. Also Android sales on any game does not compare to iphone at all. Iam merely stating from my research on thier game using iphone charts , how they are comming to the conclusion that BraveHeart will sell better than zombieville in the future. I just dont see that happening based on the proof I see. The way it sounds here no one can question a millionare , we just assume whatever they say is fact. Iam not that easily convinced , so I look at charts and graphs, stats and figures. Is it a crime to question Mika Mobile , are they somehow above us. Lol!
do you even read what mika wrote? apparently not.. because you think you are right and your "research" whatever that means shows clearly you don't even understand what you are seeing.. you completly ignore ipad sales and android but still toot around you are right.. and of course you can ask them a question, they even replied and you still play the little child who want to be right where he is completely wrong. maybe you should realize that your "extensive research" is not much worth if you come to a conclusion thats off from reality? who else will know better than the developer themself who have the actual sales numbers down to single sales of their product across all platform they offer it too? of course yemi knows better.. like i said.. way to go..
Agreed. You may have more than one, but the most obvious seems to have something to do with reading comprehension. (I know this board has an international following, so apologies if English is your second language.) Sarcasm aside, what Mika told you are the facts. Why would they tell you otherwise?
This is amazing. You looked at a website that gathers the unit sales (not revenue) from one country on one platform and are accusing me of lying about my own figures? Why would I bother? I came into this thread trying to encourage people that they can see success with an app that isn't just a mindless casual game aimed at the lowest common denominator, and I get shit on because I dare suggest that there's anything other than pure luck involved. Lovely. This is why I steer clear of forums. Enjoy wallowing in your self pity, I won't interrupt you again.
My personal motto: "Illegitimi non carborundum" Latin translation: Don't let the bastards grind you down. Well, we appreciate you insights and encouragement. Thanks for sharing, and know that your advice is invaluable and immensely useful to those of us with half a brain on our shoulders.
Yemi, it's not that they can't be questioned, it's the fact that unlike the vast majority of developers on this forum, they actually have some real life experience at making a successful game. Their experience and opinions thus naturally carry more weight. Instead of saying "I think this" they can say definitively "I know this." Those of us interested in making a serious go of developing need folks like them around to help. Otherwise it's just Mr. Ugly holding the fort and shouting at all the kids to stop running amok all the time!
As a general rule of thumb, don't get involved in Internet arguments with people who can't differentiate between your and you're. You've already won.
Well not everyone is a native english speaker so if your draw that line there it just adds to the picture. I for example write possibly 90% of my your with an e because thats an silly spelling mistake thats somehow saved up in that gray matter up there and i do the mistake it over and over.. must have something todo with the way i speak "your" out. If someone judges others by the ability of their english grammar that actualy tells you alot by that person in my book.
I'm just saying it's generally the tip of the iceberg of a terrible argument usually not worth getting involved in.
From my experience niche can work... Jet Car Stunts was niche, just take Track Mania and add a twist, and make the product as slick as possible. Just by doing that the game has had a good run in the charts since release. Anyway, that is my past now. We learn and we move on. One of the many things I am doing at the moment is thinking niche again - I like the idea releasing an iPad version only (other tablets as well) and releasing something at $2.99 and will take 3 months to do. Something where I can do the art and programming myself, and spend most of the budget on sound and music (which will not cost much). All you need is about a 100,000 buyers to make something like that a success. A game like that needs to ride off the back of another games marketing (which is in the pipeline) to get the exposure. My theory is that slick graphical presentation and audio, plus a very playable game will get those downloads. But for all this to work you need to choose the right game, something that has worked and players enjoy and target that audience. That's the big question, though, which game do you go for? And that is down to every app makers own tastes. I'll be pretty blunt now... Most apps on the App Store are pretty crap and I really wonder why their makers dare to release them. I find that these are the people that say luck is a big factor and moan about how bad the eco system is. But in honest truth, what do you expect when sub-standard tat is released. My advice is deliver something that is 100% better than most releases and you will find success. Also, research the market, learn about marketing, target the games you make that will get on the review site. And above all have fun!
i could not agree more.. most of the stuff out there is crap..i would even count a few of my own projects i worked on to that list.. but if they want to have it their way.. be my guest.. but its always an perception.. individual point of views.. a hobbiest who spend to much time and effort into his little project is so close to his product so he can't really make a proper judgement of the quality.. but how should he if he lacks the experience and skill thats needed to pull of something worthwhile.. so they go into an unknown market "mit einer fixen idee" (with a fixed idea, a limited view on things) and then fail and point the blame to circumstances who are out of their hand.. and yes.. having fun creating games is one of the most important things (imho) ... even if you don't achieve much with your own tiny projects.. at least you have made some game, no matter how rubbish it is.. if you are realistic about the quality of your own product..
My whole point is no one can predict or knows exactly what will sell well in the appstore. I can say make a game on par with gameloft or game evil and your chances are greater. Other than that name brands like sega,capcom,atari,etc will sell decent. Lets say I release a game and the game goes on to sell a million units. Would that make me an expert on what will sell in the appstore? I tell you right now the answer is no. Alot of factors could have taken place , timing,quality,percieved value, and the almighty apple feature. Even if I sold 3 games and they all sell a million , I still wouldnt consider myself an expert unless I could do it year after year consistantly. Thats the way I see things ,but hey thats only my opinion.
non one said that yemi.. you where arguing with mika about his sales and your sales prediction of his products.. which is completly bonkers since they have the numbers you don't have.. all based on your extensive research.. and no one said anything of any gurantee.. but if you have a tophit on your hands your exposure get x fold bigger than before so your next project will stand in the spotlight not matter what because then you are the developer of game X.. this still doesn not mean it will sell better or worse than the first game.. thats up to the market.. but chances are alot higher.
I think you guys are being a bit hard on yemi. Mika mobile had suggested that yemi was using old data to estimate downloads. This wasn't the case. It's pretty obvious looking at the (public) charts why yemi was confused. It is true that zombieville is currently higher ranked on iPhone sales charts than Battleheart, and only slightly cheaper. If I were to put blinders on and only consider pure iPhone revenue (not iPad or android) I too would suspect zombieville is making more money at this point in time than the "niche" battleheart. Taking iPad revenue into account obviously changes things, and as mika already pointed out they had a nice haul recently from when battle heart peaked powered by apple's features. Anyway, to get back to the point of this thread, niche has it's advantages. You can make decent money outside the charts if your app is search friendly, well executed, and unique (fills a niche). Obviously it can also really help if you can leverage a popular established game to help drive awareness of a new title. I'm not sure if CardShark is "niche" or mainstream (you could argue that the whole card game category is niche), but it's by far my best seller. In a second place is the decidedly niche pocket boxing, a remake of punch out arcade. Currently I'm scrambling to wrap up Kung Fu Monk - been pouring my heart and soul into it for months. I have no idea what kind of reception it will get, but I'm determined to make it as good as I can to "make my own luck"
