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Fifty Million iPhone and iPod touches, Two Billion Downloads ... the iPhone App store looks great. The harsh reality that there are over 75,000 applications competing in this market. The sad truth? Most paid apps will lose money. With fifteen of our own apps in the store, four of which have been featured by Apple, we have learned a good deal about the App Store and how to market your app successfully to the iPhone and iPod touch user. Success begins at the start, with a clear understanding of what works on the iPhone and what it takes to get Apple to notice your App. I'll share the stories of success and failure from our and other's efforts.
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Deploying Your iPhone ApplicationsLessons from the Trenches
The New CD
William Volk
CEO PlayScreen
PlayScreen, LLC2
• Published 1st iPhone web games at launch
• 15 Apps in the Apple iPhone App Store
• Five on Google Android App Market
• Apps launched on Palm Pre App Catalog
• Four titles featured by Apple
• Latest iPhone Game Match 3D is a success
A Developer and Publisher of Social Games
Who is this guy?
Life Before The App Store
VEGETA!What does the scouter say is the cost of
launching a BREW app on Verizon?
IT’S OVER
Apple’s App Store
1. iTunes: An accepted unified billing solution2. On-Device and side loading purchases3. AT&T (etc.) relinquishes control of app sales4. Low friction for publishers and consumers
The Result?74% of iPhone users download apps (48% otherSmartphones, 12% all phones). Over 2 Billiondownloads, More than 75,000 apps
A model yet to be replicated by any other company…
• iShoot - $37,000 earned in a day
• Trism - $250,000 earned in a month
• iFart - $40,000 in two days
• Tap Tap Revenge - Over 2m downloads
• iSteam - $100,000 in it’s first month of sales
• Flick Fishing - 1 Million Sold
7
The Dream …
• Free Apps 10:1 over Paid App Downloads
• Most apps - less than 1000 downloads total
• Many apps - sell only a few copies a day (or none)
• Advertising? Current networks $0.50 eCPM
• Other App Markets - FAIL
• Ranking system favors $0.99 Apps
8
The Reality …
Power Curve: Daily Sales = 15000 * Ranking ^ -0.75
PlayScreen, LLC. From: Ajnaware’s Weblog9
Success of the Fittest
Reviews and Press
matter …Pre-publicity leads to a strong launch
Press and good reviews can boost sales….
… but being featured is
best“What’s Hot” or “New and Noteworthy” boosts daily sales 20x
Moving up into top rankings sustains sales
What Does Apple Care
About?EVERYTHING!
• The App - Does it make the iPhone look cool?
• License matters - 60% of top 10 all time sellers.
• The Icon, The Description - Will it draw attention?
• The ‘Minisite’, Videos - Does they show off the product?
• Reviews - YES, they do matter.
Every single bit of Match3D’s presentation it top-notch. The radialmenus, touchable icons, and the 3D graphics are clean and colorful.… I kind of appreciate the love that PlayScreen has clearly put intothis game. It looks fantastic, and it is abundantly clear that theyspent some extra time putting that bit of polish on the thing. -4ColorRebellion
App Success
iPhone-ness, “The elusive quality of iPhone feel.”
• Does the app FEEL like a iPhone app?
• Multitouch, Accelerometer
• That “iPhone App” look
Launch Strategy
• Free app at the same time as paid app. Link to App Store
• Mod release dates upon acceptance
• Get reviews via promotion
• Update OFTEN
Hey, let’s launch a TOPICAL GAME!
• You can’t predict Apple’s approval time
• Apple rejects/delays political apps
• Pre Publicity is wasted if the app is delayed
• If the topic is stale, this can backfire
Stupid App Tricks
Stupid App Tricks 2
Making the “Holiday Rush”• Don’t rush your releases
• Polish, polish and then polish
• Extended beta with outside testers is a must
• "A late game is only late until it ships. A bad
game is bad until the end of time." - Shigeru
Miyamoto.
What’s Next?
• Other App Stores “figure it out”
• Flash Pro CS5 - Many More iPhone Apps?
• Apple Tablet - Plan ahead now
• Will there be a shakeout?
• If you can make it there, you can make it
anywhere (take your iPhone apps to new
platforms)