Getting Games Noticed at the App Store
November 24, 2009 11:29 pm
There is an app for everything. That is iPhone’s claim to fame, and at 100,000 apps and growing, there really is an app for everything you could possibly want – and then some. Of the 100,000 apps about twenty percent are games. The math is easy on that one, but how about adding 125,000 developers into the mix? There is an incredible array of games and game makers, so how does any one app become a standout?
Super Happy Fun Fun CEO Mark Pierce summed it up neatly: “How do you make money if you have a 99 cent app and there’s about 50,000 game developers and I imagine 20 to 30 thousand of the apps are games and 70 percent of the apps are free?”
It helps to be big. Names already established in the gaming world, such as Electronic Arts and Gameloft, have a leg up on the competition. But even small, one man operations can get noticed. And the key is quality, according to Rock Ridge Games CEO Mike Mann. “You have to focus not so much in the games that your competition is doing, but in the quality that they’re doing. And when you’re putting out low quality games to get stuff out quickly, you’re not going to make any money. You’re not going to go anywhere. So we have to raise up our quality level and raise the bar on what we expect out of ourselves in order to compete with these heavy hitters that have entered the market.”
In the App Store itself, there are various ways an app can get more exposure, increasing the likelihood that customers will download it. The App Store has a “What’s Hot” section and a top twenty sales chart. In each category, such as games, cooking, travel, etc., there are a dozen or so featured titles, and a “Staff Picks” section can increase exposure as well. Getting on one of these lists is essential, especially when there are tens of thousands of other games from which to choose. And it’s worth it to get noticed: in 2008, game downloads generated $46 million in revenue. That is projected to rise to $2.8 billion by 2014 as more people turn to their iPhone or iPod for entertainment.
The upside for iPhone users is that they are reaping the benefit of this fierce competition. Everyone is raising the quality level to compete, and this means more great games for users. The developers may be wishing for a less crowded field, but it is excellent news for the App Store customer.
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