Question bout New & Noteworthy

DizkoDizko Member Posts: 498
edited November -1 in Business and Marketing Theory
I was wondering about life after release and it seems to me that there is a lot of stock held in getting New & Noteworthy, which is understandable.

My game has been out for about a week now and since then the sales have tapered off to about nothing. I was hoping to get featured in N&N but I didn't make it this week nor last week.

Basically, has anyone got N&N long after they've released? I'm basically trying to decided if I should give up the idea of getting featured, or hold out hope.

Comments

  • EastboundEastbound Member, BASIC Posts: 1,074
    I'd give up hope of getting New & Noteworthy, but it has happened every once in a while in the past.

    I'm right there with you, though. I thought Alpha Swarm would for sure get New and Noteworthy, but it didn't :/

    Back to the drawing board!
  • IsabelleKIsabelleK Member, Sous Chef Posts: 2,807
    My game was N&N in main games, three months after the release date.
  • steve86steve86 Member Posts: 806
    TheMoonwalls said:
    My game was N&N in main games, three months after the release date.

    Do you mind giving us a small ballpark of how many sales you got in the entire N&N week?
  • IsabelleKIsabelleK Member, Sous Chef Posts: 2,807
    steve86 said:
    Do you mind giving us a small ballpark of how many sales you got in the entire N&N week?

    From about 400% to 800% of normal sales. Depends on the day. I had biggest sales in Sunday. My game was 6th in Top Paid Role Playing games in UK.
  • LumpAppsLumpApps Member Posts: 2,881
    So it already sold good before being in N&N?

    Lump Apps and My Assets

  • DizkoDizko Member Posts: 498
    Back to the drawing board indeed....

    I put so much effort into that game and now I'm sitting here not know what to do with it.
  • IsabelleKIsabelleK Member, Sous Chef Posts: 2,807
    LudwigHeijden said:
    So it already sold good before being in N&N?

    It was pretty good, but normal sales increased to about 200%, after being featured under main games N&N. Next sales increase was when the game was featured under main games "What we're playing", but it was smaller than increase during N&N week.
  • IsabelleKIsabelleK Member, Sous Chef Posts: 2,807
    I think that my game was featured 3 months after the release date, because I made a big update two or three weeks earlier.

    As far as I know, your game can be featured under main apps/main games N&N only once.
  • steve86steve86 Member Posts: 806
    Dizko said:
    Back to the drawing board indeed....

    I put so much effort into that game and now I'm sitting here not know what to do with it.

    You dont necessarily need a N&N to bump up sales. Have you tried sending some review request to popular sites? I'm sure a good review in those sites will give you a nice boost
  • steve86steve86 Member Posts: 806
    TheMoonwalls said:
    From about 400% to 800% of normal sales. Depends on the day. I had biggest sales in Sunday. My game was 6th in Top Paid Role Playing games in UK.

    Thanks for the info and congrats on the success.
  • MagoNicolasMagoNicolas Member, PRO Posts: 2,090
    I have never got N&N of any of my games! Even With ePig Dash that had 300.000 downloads in less than 2 weeks.

    Apple don't love me, Lol

    http://www.epiggames.com
  • IsabelleKIsabelleK Member, Sous Chef Posts: 2,807
    steve86 said:
    You dont necessarily need a N&N to bump up sales. Have you tried sending some review request to popular sites? I'm sure a good review in those sites will give you a nice boost

    I've sent about 30 or 40 Promo Codes, but my game was reviewed only in 148apps.com, and TouchMyApps.com.
  • DizkoDizko Member Posts: 498
    steve86 said:
    You dont necessarily need a N&N to bump up sales. Have you tried sending some review request to popular sites? I'm sure a good review in those sites will give you a nice boost

    I have done that, but haven't got anything definitively back. The problem with that is, you can't force a reviewer to look at your game let alone review it.

    I guess I should have expected my game to completely fall off the map, but I guess I had higher hopes for it. It's a bit hard not to feel a bit upset about it.
  • IsabelleKIsabelleK Member, Sous Chef Posts: 2,807
    Dizko said:
    I have done that, but haven't got anything definitively back. The problem with that is, you can't force a reviewer to look at your game let alone review it.

    I guess I should have expected my game to completely fall off the map, but I guess I had higher hopes for it. It's a bit hard not to feel a bit upset about it.

    There is only one thing that can help anyone to get nice sales - make a nice game :) Just take a look at MagoNicolas - he made many nice games, and he has nice sales.
  • DizkoDizko Member Posts: 498
    TheMoonwalls said:
    There is only one thing that can help anyone to get nice sales - make a nice game :) Just take a look at MagoNicolas - he made many nice games, and he has nice sales.

    I think I've done that as well, I suppose what I didn't do is make a clone. Perhaps that is where I went wrong.

    My Game:
  • IsabelleKIsabelleK Member, Sous Chef Posts: 2,807
    Dizko said:
    I think I've done that as well, I suppose what I didn't do is make a clone. Perhaps that is where I went wrong.

    My Game:


    You indeed have a nice game. I can give you few advices:
    1. Make a new icon. I think that this is the weakest part.
    2. Make a new description. I recommend to pay QS for this - his descriptions are amazing ( http://gamesalad.com/forums/topic.php?id=24848 ).
    3. Try to use different keywords.
  • quantumsheepquantumsheep Member Posts: 8,188
    Dizko said:
    I think I've done that as well, I suppose what I didn't do is make a clone. Perhaps that is where I went wrong.

    Come on mate, you're better than that.

    I keep saying it, but with the number of apps/games out there, getting featured is a complete lottery.

    You can increase your chances by making a good game. But there are so *many* good games, you really need to do something special, or be very lucky, to get main N&N.

    And *expecting* to get N&N is just going to lead to disappointment for most people here :(

    If it makes you feel any better, I bought your game :D

    QS :D

    Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home...
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/Quantum_Sheep
    Web: https://quantumsheep.itch.io

  • DizkoDizko Member Posts: 498
    quantumsheep said:
    Come on mate, you're better than that.

    I keep saying it, but with the number of apps/games out there, getting featured is a complete lottery.

    You can increase your chances by making a good game. But there are so *many* good games, you really need to do something special, or be very lucky, to get main N&N.

    And *expecting* to get N&N is just going to lead to disappointment for most people here :(

    If it makes you feel any better, I bought your game :D

    QS :D

    I suppose I didn't really expect to get it, but I reckoned that I could potentially get it. What I wasn't expecting, is how low sales would be with out it. That has been a severe eye opener.

    I was hoping that I would at least be able to buy my own Mac as a result of the sales, but that isn't happening. (fun note, I built this game on my wife's tiny 12" MacBook)
  • DizkoDizko Member Posts: 498
    TheMoonwalls said:
    You indeed have a nice game. I can give you few advices:
    1. Make a new icon. I think that this is the weakest part.
    2. Make a new description. I recommend to pay QS for this - his descriptions are amazing ( http://gamesalad.com/forums/topic.php?id=24848 ).
    3. Try to use different keywords.

    I agree with you about the Keywords things. I hadn't thought about them until too late and have been reading up on it since. The only thing that sucks about that is you can't update the keywords until you update the game, and I'm not sure when the next update for it will be ready.

    Also, thanks for your input! :)
  • quantumsheepquantumsheep Member Posts: 8,188
    Dizko said:
    I suppose I didn't really expect to get it, but I reckoned that I could potentially get it. What I wasn't expecting, is how low sales would be with out it. That has been a severe eye opener.

    Yep - now imagine that happening for the last two+ years - that is my story until Air Supply.

    I'm still here. I'm still making games. And I'm still loving it. This is something I *have* to do.
    Dizko said:
    I was hoping that I would at least be able to buy my own Mac as a result of the sales, but that isn't happening. (fun note, I built this game on my wife's tiny 12" MacBook)

    I use a 12" white MacBook - it's three years old. The battery needs changing, a disk is trapped in the drive and it's literally falling apart!

    I'm going to New York in the next few months and would love to pick up a new laptop while there - but I don't think I'll be able to afford it.

    A Mac Mini though, maybe ;)

    Keep at it. When I started, GameSalad was woefully underpowered, and I was still learning. My games had nice ideas, but they sucked.

    Now I honestly think I can make pretty much anything I want with this awesome software, and every time I release a game, they get better and better (I hope!), and it gets easier and easier.

    Be proud of what you've done, pick yourself up, and get on with the next one!

    Everybody makes games. Nobody quits!

    QS :D

    Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home...
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/Quantum_Sheep
    Web: https://quantumsheep.itch.io

  • osucowboy18osucowboy18 Member Posts: 1,307
    Dizko said:
    I suppose I didn't really expect to get it, but I reckoned that I could potentially get it. What I wasn't expecting, is how low sales would be with out it. That has been a severe eye opener.

    I was hoping that I would at least be able to buy my own Mac as a result of the sales, but that isn't happening. (fun note, I built this game on my wife's tiny 12" MacBook)

    I here ya man. My latest, and in my opinion my greatest app, iSubmarine was released on the App Store in mid June. I was expecting BIG things from this app, but that didn't happen. So what did I do? I built an insanely HUGE update that I plan on submitting tonight! So hopefully that will help sales pick up. I am also gonna write a press release for this app and send it to prmac.com. Hopefully that will help as well. Best of luck to you.

    - Alex
  • EastboundEastbound Member, BASIC Posts: 1,074
    quantumsheep said:
    Yep - now imagine that happening for the last two+ years - that is my story until Air Supply.

    I'm still here. I'm still making games. And I'm still loving it. This is something I *have* to do.

    I use a 12" white MacBook - it's three years old. The battery needs changing, a disk is trapped in the drive and it's literally falling apart!

    I'm going to New York in the next few months and would love to pick up a new laptop while there - but I don't think I'll be able to afford it.

    A Mac Mini though, maybe ;)

    Keep at it. When I started, GameSalad was woefully underpowered, and I was still learning. My games had nice ideas, but they sucked.

    Now I honestly think I can make pretty much anything I want with this awesome software, and every time I release a game, they get better and better (I hope!), and it gets easier and easier.

    Be proud of what you've done, pick yourself up, and get on with the next one!

    Everybody makes games. Nobody quits!

    QS :D

    This is the best advice right now. The crazy thing about the app store is no matter how big a flop initially, I always feel like there is something more to be done. A lite version is in review, maybe I'll get more sales then. I'm finishing a big update, maybe that will give me N&N. I still have to port it to the iPad, it might do better there. I could make a free game as promotion for my others! The list goes on.

    You have a good game. So if you make another good game, people may see your old one and it'll get sales in the future. It is disappointing as hell right meow, but don't feel like you're out of the running.

    @Quantumsheep: What you said about improving with each release is so true! By the time I finish a game, I feel like I've learned so much more along the way that I probably would've implemented the game differently if I were to start over. It's just a matter of time until that one iPhone hit, and when that happens I'll have a whole catalog of games to feed off one's success. :)

    @Dizko: I was right where you are a couple of days ago. Don't lose the faith! :)
  • DizkoDizko Member Posts: 498
    @Eastbound

    How are you handling the lite version? I was thinking about doing that myself.

    I was thinking about just doing the full game with iAds in it and a link to purchase the ad-free version. And I was also thinking about potentially stripping out the unlocks and whatnot since those are just fun extras.
  • EastboundEastbound Member, BASIC Posts: 1,074
    Dizko said:
    @Eastbound

    How are you handling the lite version? I was thinking about doing that myself.

    I was thinking about just doing the full game with iAds in it and a link to purchase the ad-free version. And I was also thinking about potentially stripping out the unlocks and whatnot since those are just fun extras.

    The only problem with that is the iAd fill rate could leave your game adless for a lot of people, essentially giving it away for free. I simply gave 1/3 the content (1/4 soon), and if they beat it they are automatically sent to the full version. I also included iAds, but just for the hopes of making a few extra bucks.

    Perhaps if we had more ad options I'd use them, but I don't think relying on iAds is a good option right now.

    I too stripped away the unlockables.
  • DizkoDizko Member Posts: 498
    iAds are that bad eh? (Never used them) I was just thinking about putting ads on the non-essential parts, menus and the like.

    I've also had the crazy idea of just making the game as is free and see if it can be a brand builder.
  • quantumsheepquantumsheep Member Posts: 8,188
    Dizko said:
    iAds are that bad eh? (Never used them) I was just thinking about putting ads on the non-essential parts, menus and the like.

    I've also had the crazy idea of just making the game as is free and see if it can be a brand builder.

    I'd wait before you do that. It might be an idea for your next game to do this:

    Make a second game. Grab the URL for it before it's ready for sale.
    Submit an update for your original game and put a link in it for your second game on the main menu somewhere - but in iTunes, select the 'I'll release this when it's ready' option.
    Set a date for your second game more than a week ahead (to give your first game a chance to be reviewed and ready for sale).
    On the day your second game releases, release your first game for free.

    Hopefully the first game will get a lot of downloads by being free, and anyone that already has it will update - they should all see the 'ad' for your second game, and if they like the free one, might check it out.

    Just an idea!

    QS :D

    Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home...
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/Quantum_Sheep
    Web: https://quantumsheep.itch.io

  • ultimaultima Member, PRO Posts: 1,207
    actually saw that strategy for the tower defense game... and it worked... at least form me... ended up downloading a bunch of their other games.
  • quantumsheepquantumsheep Member Posts: 8,188
    ultima said:
    actually saw that strategy for the tower defense game... and it worked... at least form me... ended up downloading a bunch of their other games.

    .Matrixx got pirated the hell out of - 79 sales - over 300 players on GameCenter - FUN! ;)

    But at the same time, my other iPad game (a pretty straight forward port of the iphone game Gravitrixx) sold a few copies suddenly.

    So yeah, I think if people enjoyed one of your games, the likelihood of them buying another is probably much higher.

    QS :D

    Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home...
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/Quantum_Sheep
    Web: https://quantumsheep.itch.io

  • HoneyTribeStudiosHoneyTribeStudios Member Posts: 1,792
    Dizko said:
    I think I've done that as well, I suppose what I didn't do is make a clone. Perhaps that is where I went wrong.

    My Game:


    I think your game looks pretty good from the trailer :) Downloading it now...

    How about a lite version and a new icon?

    ---
    Get Honey Tribe on iTunes
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