How would you fix the GameSalad splash screen problem?
Photics
Member Posts: 4,172
Yodapollo recently stated the following...
WITH MONEY OF COURSE!
Apple has an Affiliate Program...
http://www.apple.com/itunes/affiliates/
For example... RIGHT NOW... TODAY... you might be able to make money by promoting games made with GameSalad. That includes your own games! Not only does it include your own games... it includes iTunes apps in general. For example... my textbook!
http://itunes.apple.com/app/an-unofficial-gamesalad-textbook/id409726843
That book is currently listed at $24.99. I think the commission for Apple's iTunes affiliate program is 5%. So, that's a $1.25 per sale. You didn't have to write or research a book for months. You only had to create a hyperlink, either in your apps or on your website.
So... what GameSalad followed the same logic? What if the Apple Affiliate program also worked for the Mac App store? What if GameSalad was sold for $149... no different versions... just version 1.x for one low price. (Every year release a new version. I think that's a better business model than subscriptions.) That app would likely be a hit. Why? That's because an army of thousands would rally to promote it. If it works the same 5% of $149 is $7.45.
Suddenly, that splashscreen doesn't seem so bad. Does it?!
Yet, GameSalad might not want to share 30% with Apple. They might not want to offer the software for so low. (I think with competition from Corona, and seeing how 99¢ built the Angry Birds empire, they might make more money with a lesser price. I also think free app publishing should go away when 1.0 is released. I don't think that's boosting the popularity of GameSalad as much.)
So, there is an alternative. GameSalad could start their own affiliate program. Instead of giving 30% to Apple, they could give 10% to affiliate. That's $50 a sale for Professional license!
Do you still have a problem with the splash screen?!
Well... it goes even further. If I was running GameSalad, I would start a content market immediately. Naturally, the content market would also have an affiliate program. Let the content creators that make sounds, music, artwork, templates and even textbooks promote the GameSalad... hm, what to call this thing? Oh... GameSalad produce section. HA HA!
So, suddenly GameSalad is improving their marketing and creating additional revenue streams... from community members that don't even display the splash screen.
To sum up...
• Make the splash screen voluntary
• Take advantage of the iTunes Affiliate program. Encourage the community to engage in cross-promotion.
• Create a "produce" section - The GameSalad content market
• Take advantage of the Mac App Store
That's the way I see it anyway. Maybe you would fix the problem another way.
Yodapollo said:My suggestion... make it voluntary! I think if the community had an incentive to promote GameSalad, it would likely have a better effect. So, how do you do that?!
Thanks for comments. About the splash screen, we're definitely looking into some changes that could be made. Of course, we want to hold on to a certain level of our branding, but also give developers out there more opportunity to brand themselves. I'm sure there is a happy middle ground and, hopefully, we'll have a resolution to that very soon.
-- Yodapollo
WITH MONEY OF COURSE!
Apple has an Affiliate Program...
http://www.apple.com/itunes/affiliates/
For example... RIGHT NOW... TODAY... you might be able to make money by promoting games made with GameSalad. That includes your own games! Not only does it include your own games... it includes iTunes apps in general. For example... my textbook!
http://itunes.apple.com/app/an-unofficial-gamesalad-textbook/id409726843
That book is currently listed at $24.99. I think the commission for Apple's iTunes affiliate program is 5%. So, that's a $1.25 per sale. You didn't have to write or research a book for months. You only had to create a hyperlink, either in your apps or on your website.
So... what GameSalad followed the same logic? What if the Apple Affiliate program also worked for the Mac App store? What if GameSalad was sold for $149... no different versions... just version 1.x for one low price. (Every year release a new version. I think that's a better business model than subscriptions.) That app would likely be a hit. Why? That's because an army of thousands would rally to promote it. If it works the same 5% of $149 is $7.45.
Suddenly, that splashscreen doesn't seem so bad. Does it?!
Yet, GameSalad might not want to share 30% with Apple. They might not want to offer the software for so low. (I think with competition from Corona, and seeing how 99¢ built the Angry Birds empire, they might make more money with a lesser price. I also think free app publishing should go away when 1.0 is released. I don't think that's boosting the popularity of GameSalad as much.)
So, there is an alternative. GameSalad could start their own affiliate program. Instead of giving 30% to Apple, they could give 10% to affiliate. That's $50 a sale for Professional license!
Do you still have a problem with the splash screen?!
Well... it goes even further. If I was running GameSalad, I would start a content market immediately. Naturally, the content market would also have an affiliate program. Let the content creators that make sounds, music, artwork, templates and even textbooks promote the GameSalad... hm, what to call this thing? Oh... GameSalad produce section. HA HA!
So, suddenly GameSalad is improving their marketing and creating additional revenue streams... from community members that don't even display the splash screen.
To sum up...
• Make the splash screen voluntary
• Take advantage of the iTunes Affiliate program. Encourage the community to engage in cross-promotion.
• Create a "produce" section - The GameSalad content market
• Take advantage of the Mac App Store
That's the way I see it anyway. Maybe you would fix the problem another way.
Comments
tons of games have splash screens, be it cocos2d, unity.etc so i dont see why everyone complaining so much.
www.marcosriffel.com
(GameSalad doesn't support UIWebView)
If its that big of an issue I think GS should offer an Per app fee to remove splash screen.
I do think Pro Users should have an option for a custom combined splash screen since we are paying customers.
As far as free thats just the price of staying free in my opinion.
I think it would be nice to discuss this openly with Yodapollo to see what the teams thoughts were going forward, rather than coming up with a plan that nobody likes again, at least tell us what ideas they currently have and open up an informative discussion from both sides. It is clear that the pro version shouldn't have the splash though.
The secret to marketing - repetition! I like the idea of open discussion. Maybe I should call them. Maybe they should call me!
A dramatization...
Yodapollo: "Hi Mike, how's the snow? HAHAHAHAHA!"
Me: "Yeah... yeah... very funny!"
Yodapollo: "Hey, did the sanitation pick up the trash or do you still have a wall of garbage in front of your house?"
Me: "It's still there... how do you know all this?"
Yodapollo: "It's on the news."
Me: "In Texas?"
Yodapollo: "Yeah... we can use a good laugh!"
Me: "um... aren't we supposed to discuss the splash screen?"
Yodapollo: "Don't worry, we'll fix it!"
Me: "How?"
Yodapollo: "Gotta run, nice chatting with you!"
*click*
See, nothing to worry about!