iCombat

When I initially launched iCombat in April, I decided to wait on releasing a lite version to first see if I could manage to get up the charts without one. My fear was that a lite version would cannibalize my potential user base if I accidentally put too much of the game’s “secret sauce” out there for free. Looking back, I realize now I was so afraid to get the feature mix for the demo wrong that I irrationally avoided the option much longer than I should have.

And while part of my hesitation had to do with my optimism about iCombat’s potential and my marketing ability, it also had to do with the fact that I rarely buy full versions of games (although I do occasionally). After just launching my lite version yesterday I can say that my concerns about the lite version were misplaced and might have cost me quite a bit in lost income. Below are my main takeaways from having waited on launching the lite version and why I think too many indie iPhone developers wrongly steer clear of lite versions:

1. Know your Apps Core value and its core user: This sounds douchey but it really is harder than it sounds to have the discipline to know the profile of your core user and then choose that feature you think will resonate most.  For example, if you are making a game it is easy to think kids and adults will like it and they will all get hooked on the game play AND the graphics AND the story equally.  Odds are your app will not resonate with everyone, and one salient feature will be the hook so the sooner you figure it out and admit it to yourself the better. You may be wrong, but better to know your target than water down your strategy by pursuing too many angles.  Needless to say once you have your app’s core value outlined it will also be that much easier to design your lite version.
2. The App store is not a lemonade stand: The App store is one of the largest, most seamless content delivery platforms ever and when it comes to pricing most of us fail to understand just how fundamentally different this is from anything we have ever seen.  As a result we apply our personal conceptions of scarcity, value or what it means to transact with someone to something that is totally different.  If you have released an app you will agree that pricing decisions or the debate about a lite version are often more emotional than rational.  I am sure more than one developer has though “I don’t want to give it to someone for free when I worked 3 months on it every night after work while my wife was screaming at me because I was never around.”  That would be okay to think if you toiled on a model airplane or a painting for that period and were selling the one unit you had created, but in the App store you can divide that effort across 40MM+ people so who really cares if 5MM users get your app for free if in the end 250k of them buy it? Read more…

Some readers who read my post “My Experience Getting Owned by App Store Pirates” criticized my approach to handling piracy so I thought I would explain my point of view by sharing a recent encounter I had with an app pirate.  About a month ago someone posted a comment to my “You Jacked My App” page (all pirates were sent here after 5 levels of play if using a cracked copy) that said the following:

WTF man. Nobody does this. Ever. And the damn point of Installous is to let you try before you buy. And you just f—– up the whole system. So f— you dude, I would have bought it after trying it out, IF it was any good. I think it probably sucks so you don’t want people to test it out first…Nice job man. Way to suck at life. And I hope that nobody will buy from you just because of this.

I was in customer service mode when I saw this post so I quickly fired off one of the most unnecessarily nice e-mails of my life:

Hey dude,
Thanks for the post.  I disagree with you that most people use Installous to try before they buy.  So you know, I spent the last 3 months on this project and currently over 60% [of users] are not paying.

I get your point…and what I was trying to do here was convert the type of people you are not talking about (those that pirate everything with no intent to buy) as opposed to letting it just go unchecked.

I would like you to try the game though…would you download it if I sent you a promo code?  Let me know.
Thanks.

Now me sending this e-mail was crazy I know but from my point of view iCombat had just launched and I didn’t want to have anyone be negative on my app.  What followed my e-mail was surprising, the pirate responded in a very conciliatory tone, apologizing and so I sent him the promo code.  His response several days later was enthusiastic, saying “I love the app dude, it’s awesome.”  And this is where the craziness begins, he then proceeded to make a YouTube clip of the game and he even offered to host a contest and do a more serious quality demo. I even found a comment of his on YouTube where he actually attacked a pirate who linked through to a piracy site.  This pirate had gone from cursing me out to cursing out other pirates, defending my interests and helping get the word out about Combat.

Now maybe this pirate was emotionally unstable or just a kid, but either way I learned quite a bit from the experience.  Key lessons below: Read more…

With all of the media hype success stories like Pocket God, iShoot, and Trism receive it is tempting to think that App store success is right around the corner.  All it should take is to make something and launch it, and then just watch the bills come rolling in.  While all of us developing apps would like for this to happen, the reality is that success, if it comes at all, usually takes much longer than expected.  Take for example iShoot, where Ethan Nicholas had his game in the app store several months before releasing the lite version that pushed his paid version to No. 1.  Or Pocket God, that launched after only a week of development but took 6 (or 7?) weeks of updates and community building to get it to the No. 1 spot.  These were not overnight Sound Grenade or iFart gimmicky successes, but took a long term perspective and a prolonged marketing effort. Read more…

As I think about a price for my new app the question I keep struggling with is just how exactly does pricing affect user buying patterns.  Apple’s frictionless purchasing process, where the vast majority of app store users already have a credit card on file, allows for painless one quick purchasing and has quickly made $1 dollar the new free.  The question becomes though, where is it that the user begins to think twice?  $2, $3 or maybe $5?  From my point of view there seem to be 5 major types of application in the App store right now that make embody the current pricing trends:

1. “Crapware” – cheap to make in terms of time and resources.  Targeted by both experienced and inexperienced developers.  Business model is either ad supported or sell for $0.99.
2. Full fledged apps by amateur developers – more elaborate design and execution by part time developers.  Attempting to create a full game experience with iShoot and Trism being good examples.  Business model is pay model with prices between the $1 and $5 range.
3. Full apps by funded start-ups – professional developers focused on higher quality games.  Here we have iBowl by the Social Gaming Network for example.  Quality of applications is high, business model is anything under the sun (to see one of the more creative examples check out Toy Bot’s $10k giveaway marketing strategy)
4. Professionally produced games – major studios like Sega or EA using teams of developers to leverage the iPhone platform.  Business model is selling games for $5+, probably closer to $10.  A good example is Spore. Read more…