Testing IAP with 30,000 downloads , Loonimals is going FREE

POMPOM Member Posts: 2,599
edited January 2012 in Business and Marketing Theory
As most of you know , i recently made the iAds test , and my results were pretty straight forward , iAds will not give you enough revenue to your satisfaction AND will bring a rain of "crap with ads" type of reviews .
But to be honest , i don't think it surprised anyone , we all knew deep in our hearts that iAds is just not a good way for extra revenue ..

That being said, we carry on to our next test with a bit of more optimism ;)

Loonimals! is being updated! and as we speak both versions (iPhone and iPad) are waiting for review .

Let me tell you some info about the game we test , Updating Loonimals was not an easy task , the "code" was old and unfriendly , it was a big mess! , i had to rewrite most of it (with my new knowledge with GS) , that said , performance and loading times are much better than before .

Now to IAP , at first my plan was adding 2 IAP power ups , and somehow it came to be 4 different power ups , and 3 types of coin bags !
That is a major jump from 2 to 7 possible purchases .

Wait ... what ?, COINS?! in Loonimals?
YES! Loonimals now comes with a new mini game ! A slot machine, where you can win more power ups and coins! (or loose coins ;) )
Also , every day you come back to the game you get 10 coins for free !
Here is a quick vid to show you some of the updates :


As a developer and as a gamer , i can honestly say that Loonimals is nothing like it was , all those power ups and the slot machine and the addition of the new 4th level with the new twist , makes this game much more fun and intense than ever before !

With 20,000 downloads a day for iPhone , with 17,000 downloads a day for iPad and with more than 450,000 user base i can say we are looking for a good test about how IAP performs in terms of revenue !
Photobucket

Roy.
«13

Comments

  • HoneyTribeStudiosHoneyTribeStudios Member Posts: 1,792
    Exciting times...! The 10 coins for free every day is interesting. Here's hoping the majority of those users update to the new version.
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  • POMPOM Member Posts: 2,599
    edited January 2012
    Fixed the video in the initial post .

    @TSB
    Thanks mate , I'm gonna need it ;)

    @HoneyTribeStudios
    Yeah about the 10 free coins a day , first i was to do one free random power up a day (as suggested by another member) but due to the fact that this system can be hacked easily by changing the iPhone's date , i decided to give away coins , and make a whole new mini game (the slot machine) , this way , if the user is going to fool the system , i don't mind , let him fool the iPhone , let him get extra coins , and let him play the slot machine , it will only make him to want more ;)

    About the user base , last time I've updated Loonimals , i had about 250,000 users , and about 30,000-70,000 updates a day (it surprised even me), and that was when apple did not put the new updates in the "new release" section , so yeah , I'm hoping for some good amount of updates this time ;)

    Roy.
  • The_Gamesalad_GuruThe_Gamesalad_Guru Member Posts: 9,922
    API seems very exciting but we can't use it as our apps are geared to toddlers....but I do hope to use it in my tank game. Will be watching too.

    Guru Video Channel   | Lost Oasis Games | FRYING BACON STUDIOS  

  • HoneyTribeStudiosHoneyTribeStudios Member Posts: 1,792
    @p-o-m I've never read into it. Do that many people actually mess with their clock settings to manipulate games? Sounds strange to me, but then again I've never bought an iap either...

    I'm guessing you didn't put it in the kids category? What with the gambling and all... ;)

    So from what I've read a good conversion rate will be 1% of people buying iaps. And as for how much they spend each as an average... I've read anything from 4$ to $14. But it is the case that the minority of paying players will generate the majority of the revenue.

    Went to a pocket gamer thing last year. It was a freemium vs premium debate. The publishers who specialise in iaps tend to use a lot of player info to tell them how to build the game. i.e they use flurry (basically google analytics for apps) or something similar so they can see exactly how people are playing the game. And then continue to update based on that data and any verbal feedback they get. So the dev process and budget is geared towards changing the game after release.

    @SF Based on the above, are there any plans to allow GS games to implement Flurry or similar analytics tools?
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  • POMPOM Member Posts: 2,599
    HoneyTribeStudios
    Good points, I don't think GS going to implant it soon ;) first they need to add the ability to connect to servers from inside the game .

    And another good point for the "kids" category, just changed it to "adventure" and "arcade".. Is that appropriate? Or do you have a better suggestion?

    Roy.
  • JakeMorJakeMor Member, PRO Posts: 136
    AWESOME JOB!
    Happy you like the once a day thing ;)
    Good luck - and don't forget to post numbers!
    - Jake
  • HoneyTribeStudiosHoneyTribeStudios Member Posts: 1,792
    @p-o-m Well I'm no expert you but here's my logic...

    I'd say if you have a sure fire hit go for the busiest (and most competitive) categories. But if you wanna be more cautious go for categories that are less busy and less competitive. You can see which are the busiest by cross referencing the overall chart with the category chart.

    e.g the top ten action games will all be at the higher end at the overall top 100. Whereas the top 10 education games won't all appear in the overall top 100. Maybe just 3 of them will.

    So... that means its easier to get into a top 25 of a less busy category. Which means some visibility for your app as people search on their devices and it actually shows up. (Well, hopefully). And that extra visibility may get you more downloads which can help push into the overall top 100, which is more visibility again...

    Of course all that may be just speculative nonsense. Then again maybe it was a factor in my game getting in the top 100 the other day? I went for less competitive charts - kids and education.

    Who knows...?
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  • beefy_clyrobeefy_clyro Member Posts: 5,394
    Great work Roy. The game looks sooooo much better now! Looking forward to your results, i think you've done a good job at incorporating iAp into it by giving good power ups for your game!
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  • calvin9403calvin9403 Member Posts: 3,186
    Hey Roy did you add the thing I suggest in the thread you start the coin idea? Thtat will make users aside for cheating

    the numbers are awesome! Hiope you have sells in IAP!
  • CannonFodderCannonFodder Member Posts: 230
    Cant wait to hear how it goes, I can see you doing really well as its a fun, highly polished game.
    I downloaded it a few weeks ago and left a review on the UK app store (321cannonfodder) every little helps as they say :)
  • bradhermanbradherman Member Posts: 55
    Good Luck and I look forward to hearing how it goes.
  • ultimaultima Member, PRO Posts: 1,207
    Perhaps Mr.Roy already made a couple million dollars after implementing IAP, and sitting somewhere in an unmanned island on the pristine sandy beach of the Caribbean sipping on Piña colada.
  • POMPOM Member Posts: 2,599
    @ultima
    Oh no no no my friend , the island do have a name , its "Virgin Gorda" ;)

    Roy.
  • POMPOM Member Posts: 2,599
    *********************** In Review **************************
    :D

    Roy.
  • ultimaultima Member, PRO Posts: 1,207
    @P-O-M "Virgin Gorda" EXCELLENT! I better get busy too =)
  • osucowboy18osucowboy18 Member Posts: 1,307
    Can't wait to see some results Roy! Keep us posted.

    - Alex
  • POMPOM Member Posts: 2,599
    edited January 2012
    And off we go :D
    Loonimals and Loonimals HD are now free with IAP .

    If you haven't download Loonimals AND Loonimals HD yet , please download it now , and tell your friends and family also !
    Photobucket
    Lets hope for some nice numbers in the upcoming days !

    Roy.
  • Braydon_SFXBraydon_SFX Member, Sous Chef, Bowlboy Sidekick Posts: 9,273
    PLEASE keep us updated, can't wait to hear of your success. :P

    My GameSalad Academy Courses! ◦ Check out my quality templates! ◦ Add me on Skype: braydon_sfx

  • T8TRG8TRT8TRG8TR Member Posts: 120
    I'll download and rate it later today! Can't wait to see the numbers.
  • POMPOM Member Posts: 2,599
    edited January 2012
    Can you believe a new version with a bug fix is already waiting for review , good thing i noticed it early today, i gonna ask for a quick review process for this one.

    The problem was , that if you close the app(also from multitasking bar) and reopen it , its not loading the "coins" attribute ,
    Looking at the project the "loading behavior" seems to be missing the "game.Coins" attribute in it , its just empty ... oh well ....
    Its nothing serious , and is not affected if not closing the game from the multitask bar , good i caught it fast... so a fix should be up in a few days .
    Sorry for any inconvenience ;)

    Roy.
  • POMPOM Member Posts: 2,599
    Good thing apple responded and will review the fix within 1-2 business days .

    Roy.
  • Braydon_SFXBraydon_SFX Member, Sous Chef, Bowlboy Sidekick Posts: 9,273
    So your IAP won't work at this time?
    Darn - was hoping for some success stories by tomorrow morning. :P

    My GameSalad Academy Courses! ◦ Check out my quality templates! ◦ Add me on Skype: braydon_sfx

  • POMPOM Member Posts: 2,599
    @Braydon_SFX
    No mate , all is working , it has nothing to do with the IAP feature .
    And it will be fixed tomorrow or the day after it , its really no big deal ;)

    Ranking already climbing , its amazing how fast it goes up when you make it free !
    Roy.
  • App SurgeApp Surge Member Posts: 651
    Bookmarked! This is a great test you're doing @P-O-M
  • Braydon_SFXBraydon_SFX Member, Sous Chef, Bowlboy Sidekick Posts: 9,273
    Can't wait to hear those results. :D

    My GameSalad Academy Courses! ◦ Check out my quality templates! ◦ Add me on Skype: braydon_sfx

  • POMPOM Member Posts: 2,599
    edited January 2012
    Ok first update about this :
    Yesterday i had 31,000 downloads of loonimals AND loonimals HD combined , that was the first day of the "hype" cause all those "price drop" websites advertised that it went free , i expect to double this number tomorrow , since "MajicRank" shows me a significant increment in ranks today .
    Yesterday there were 11 IAP purchases for these apps , 10 for 0.99$ and 1 for 1.99$ .

    Highest ranks (as i write this message) :
    Loonimals -
    Taiwan - Top Free - #6
    Hong Kong - Top Free - #11
    Chaina - Top Free - #110

    Loonimals HD -
    Taiwan - Top Free - #16
    Hong Kong - Top Free - #22
    Japan - Top Free - #73
    Chaina - Top Free - #116

    By the way , i have a big boost in my paid apps , i think its due to the crossing advertisement in loonimals .
    Thats it for today folks , of course ill make another update tomorrow ;)

    Roy.
  • calvin9403calvin9403 Member Posts: 3,186
    Wait, Taiwan is number one of those countries! Gotta help you on this one Roy, going to prompt and some big forums out there
  • POMPOM Member Posts: 2,599
    edited January 2012
    Are you from Taiwan calvin?! thanks for helping !!

    By the way i believe the numbers of the IAP will go up in the coming days , people needs to play the game a bit before they start purchase things :)
    But clearly IAP beets iAds on day 1 .

    Roy.
  • calvin9403calvin9403 Member Posts: 3,186
    Yep

    And I think for the results IAP is better then iAds for sure
  • HoneyTribeStudiosHoneyTribeStudios Member Posts: 1,792
    What we really need is a way to track how people are playing the game so we can adjust how the iaps work.

    The best we can do at the moment is to post a high score each time the player starts a particular scene. Then we can see how many people started that scene each day (who were logged into game center).

    The other thing is having links that go to particular pages on your site and monitoring with analytics.

    But yeah, it will be good to see if the number iaps increase for Loonimals as people decide they like the game and will take the plunge...!
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