Mac App Store Sales are Horrendous

TumbleSoftTumbleSoft Member Posts: 63
edited November -1 in Business and Marketing Theory
I recently decided that it would be a good idea to join the mac developer program as I had seen a lot of positivity on forum about it with successes such as Tiny Balls and Spooky Hoofs.

I didn't expect to get a top game like that however I have found the sales that I have been getting are absolutely awful.

I have released to Mac Apps so far:
Sun Runner http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/dodge-vortex/id467942070?mt=12
and
Dodge Vortex http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/dodge-vortex/id467942070?mt=12

I have had 13 paid downloads of Sun Runner at 0.99$ and only 5 of Dodge Vortex.

Am I doing something wrong or are these typical Mac sales.

Here is a video of both the games so you can get an idea of what they are like.



Comments

  • TumbleSoftTumbleSoft Member Posts: 63
    I understand that however it seems that it is easier to get higher in the charts as I have not seen any Gamesalad games at number 2 on the iPhone or iPad. My main concern is that I won't make my money back that I spent on the membership.

    What would you advise me to do to maximise my profits.
  • PortgasPortgas Member Posts: 71
    Maybe you need to make not so awfully rubbish games, no? Of course nobody will buy it. Sorry if harsh, but it's true. Learn art, create good graphics, hire an artist, musician.
  • TumbleSoftTumbleSoft Member Posts: 63
    Portgas what games have you made so I can see the how far off my games are from the quality you recommend.
  • MPCavMPCav Member, BASIC Posts: 81
    TumbleBug, dowload the top 10 games, and compare the quality of theirs to your own game. Does it match up? if not you need to put more work into your game.

    Hope this helps.
  • JohnPapiomitisJohnPapiomitis Member Posts: 6,256
    Portgas said:
    Maybe you need to make not so awfully rubbish games, no? Of course nobody will buy it. Sorry if harsh, but it's true. Learn art, create good graphics, hire an artist, musician.

    this. No offense but i wouldnt buy your games.
  • SparkyidrSparkyidr Member Posts: 2,033
    Also. You need to get in the mindset of who buys games for their mac, and what they expect from a desktop/laptop game.

    Something simple and pickup and play that works for the iOS market, may well not work for the desktop/laptop.

    I would suggest 2 things :
    1. Those punters probably expect a higher level of polish to a game on an actual computer as opposed to a mobile device.
    2. They probably expect a higher level of depth to their desktop/laptop games than games on a mobile device.

    No look at your 2 games, and be honest with yourself, about where they fit into that space of the market.

    Not wanting to put your or your products down, but I would suggest a fairly simple dodge-em-up, and an endless runner (all be it with a nice gimmick with the sun stuff..yours is the once that changes the background depending on the time of day right?) fit less in that space than they do on the iOS devices.

    Did your games do well on iOS or not? If not, I don't know why you thought doing a port for OSX would do any better (unless the games were more tailored for OSX....which they seem not to be)

    It might sound harsh, but am sure you would rather we were honest with you about what we think is the answer to your question.

    Try not to take the criticism to heart, and use it in your future projects.

    Sparks.
  • TumbleSoftTumbleSoft Member Posts: 63
    I understand what you are all staying. I appreciate that both these games are fairly simple and probably more suited towards mobile platforms.

    My other game which I have released for iOS. Down! Has a lot more depth however I am currently in the process of updating the graphics as they are not very good. I want to do that before I release it on Mac. I will see if that does any better.

    The reason I made this thread was because I had seen several threads where people were asking if it was worth signing up to the Mac Developer Program. The resounding answer was yes so it seemed to me that people were doing quite well on the Mac. That is different from my experience so I wanted to know what other people thought.

    Thanks for all the feedback and I will try and use it to improve my understanding of how to make a successful game.
  • lildragnlildragn Member Posts: 105
    Question, did you do any focus testing before release of the above two titles? I mean besides your family and close friends. Have you done any marketing at all? Have you posted to Touch Arcade forums and such?

    Like the others have said, the quality bar has been raised significantly within iOS and MacOS platforms, you really have to be honest with yourself, these feel more like prototypes. You really need to go back to the drawing board and dig in there to make something special.

    One last question, how long did each game take to make? Curious

    Best of luck

    ~t
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