A warning about Amazon's Free App of the Day!

AfterBurnettAfterBurnett Member Posts: 3,474
in Miscellaneous
Just thought I'd share my experience... I really should have thought it through before agreeing to the FAOTD with Amazon with my title Project Downforce. You see, if you have a niche game, it's going to be downloaded by THOUSANDS of people (40k in my case) who would never have even considered purchasing it in the first place... as a result, you'll have a ton of people leaving 1 start reviews because it's not their thing.

This really annoyed me, as my game has had an average rating of 4.5 stars on both iOS and Android.... now it sits with an average rating of 2.5 on the Amazon store.

Personally I think it's a bit rude to give a bad review on something that you got FOR FREE anyway, but obviously I can never control that.

If you have a game that will appeal to the masses, FAOTD would be a great way to get it out there... but, if like me, you have a game that really only appeals to a smaller market, DO NOT DO IT... unless you don't mind a barrage of insults from the "freetards".

Sorry if I sound bitter... I AM! Haha.

Cheers!

Comments

  • ChakkuChakku Member Posts: 1,513
    @POLYGAMe
    Did you gain any sales after the promotion period was over, at least?
  • RPRP Member Posts: 1,990
    Sorry to hear that.

    It's the same on Appstore. People that are not willing to pay and seek out freebie Apps tend to leave the harshest reviews that I have seen. Ungrateful? Yes, but was their heart really into playing the game when they downloaded it a few others to see which one was worthwhile for their gaming freeloading needs? Probably not so much. A legitimate review?, probably also not so much since they just got done trolling youtube videos while they waited for the apps to download.
  • AfterBurnettAfterBurnett Member Posts: 3,474
    @POLYGAMe
    Did you gain any sales after the promotion period was over, at least?
    Dunno yet, but I doubt it, from all the negative reviews. There were a few really good reviews too, people who love the genre but not enough to be very visible...

  • ChakkuChakku Member Posts: 1,513
    @POLYGAMe
    What's your game called, by the way :p

    Chakku
  • AfterBurnettAfterBurnett Member Posts: 3,474
    Sorry to hear that.

    It's the same on Appstore. People that are not willing to pay and seek out freebie Apps tend to leave the harshest reviews that I have seen. Ungrateful? Yes, but was their heart really into playing the game when they downloaded it a few others to see which one was worthwhile for their gaming freeloading needs? Probably not so much. A legitimate review?, probably also not so much since they just got done trolling youtube videos while they waited for the apps to download.
    I realise that the reviews (and reviewers) themselves can't be taken seriously, but it's the fact that there are now all these negative reviews and a low rating that will effect my sales. Project Downforce was selling reasonably well on the Amazon store. I was getting more downloads than on Google or Apple... I think that will now change...

  • AfterBurnettAfterBurnett Member Posts: 3,474
    @POLYGAMe
    What's your game called, by the way :p

    Chakku
    Project Downforce :)
  • morphinegamingmachinemorphinegamingmachine Member, PRO Posts: 449
    edited March 2013
    obviously not gamesalad games(which is totally fine), do you use corona?
  • AfterBurnettAfterBurnett Member Posts: 3,474
    edited March 2013
    obviously not gamesalad games(which is totally fine), do you use corona?
    EW NO!!!! :P I should elaborate - I prefer designing, not typing :) I use Unity atm.

  • DigiChainDigiChain Member, PRO Posts: 1,288
    Just checked out the gameplay vid and I love it. Also, the music is awesome!

    Real shame about those bad reviews, hopefully it'll continue to sell well when the dust settles.
  • SnapFireStudiosSnapFireStudios Member Posts: 1,603
    @POLYGAMe - That's too bad..
    You'll have to let us know how sales do after the fact. I'd be interested to know, after you experienced problems like this.
    - Thomas
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  • AfterBurnettAfterBurnett Member Posts: 3,474
    @POLYGAMe - That's too bad..
    You'll have to let us know how sales do after the fact. I'd be interested to know, after you experienced problems like this.
    - Thomas
    Yeah, I will ;-)

  • CrazybreadmanCrazybreadman Member Posts: 674
    edited March 2013
    @POLYGAMe - Same experience with me. I did Bow Assassin which is a difficult game. Some people loved the difficulty but most people didn't "get it." The FAAD w/ Amazon did about the same to my rating. On the up side, I'm not sure if it correlated, but my Google Play sales for Bow Assassin shot up afterwards.
  • AfterBurnettAfterBurnett Member Posts: 3,474
    @POLYGAMe - Same experience with me. I did Bow Assassin which is a difficult game. Some people loved the difficulty but most people didn't "get it." The FAAD w/ Amazon did about the same to my rating. On the up side, I'm not sure if it correlated, but my Google Play sales for Bow Assassin shot up afterwards.
    Good to know! Will check out your game, too ;-)


  • gamesfuagamesfua Member Posts: 723
    @polygame i'm going to create 45,001 fake email accounts, download your game 45,001 times and leave 45,001 five star ratings. This should hopefully counter balance the idiotic reviews. Now where can i get 45,001 devices...
  • AfterBurnettAfterBurnett Member Posts: 3,474
    @polygame i'm going to create 45,001 fake email accounts, download your game 45,001 times and leave 45,001 five star ratings. This should hopefully counter balance the idiotic reviews. Now where can i get 45,001 devices...
    LOL. Well, I have two I'm getting rid of... despite the ease of publishing to Android, compared to iOS, the piracy is just too much for me (and I'm not particularly a fan of Android itself). I'm only supporting iOS, PC (Win and Linux) and Mac from now on.

  • gamesfuagamesfua Member Posts: 723
    Fair enough @polygame but you've got an ally here. You say leave 45,001 five star reviews... and i'll leave 45,002 ;)
  • DanDaMan123DanDaMan123 Member Posts: 216
    Hey I'm just wondering do all apps (if the developer wishes) get to be a "free app of the day"
  • SnapFireStudiosSnapFireStudios Member Posts: 1,603
    @anatomyofdreams *pst* You need some "devices"? I can hook you up, but it's gunna cost you 20 big ones.
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  • AfterBurnettAfterBurnett Member Posts: 3,474
    Hey I'm just wondering do all apps (if the developer wishes) get to be a "free app of the day"
    No. Only if selected by Amazon. I'm hoping my other game Bogan's Run will be as it has a much wider appeal than Project Downforce.

  • AfterBurnettAfterBurnett Member Posts: 3,474
    Well, it's not ALL bad... 55 paid sales so far on the day after the promotion. At $1.99 each, not a bad day's work for doing nothing :D And at least I know THOSE downloads are people who actually want the game!!!
  • ElfizmElfizm Member Posts: 489
    Well sorry to come off so positive but you had 40000 players in that time download a game. Not all of them left bad reviews so you still have a lot of user base fans that, if done the right way, you can work with.

    And in all hopes they might just spread a word around. 55 after is ok considering it's 1.99 and it's the android market. So I would say although it does have bad things you do have some beneficial things to work with.

    All the best with your sales.
  • AfterBurnettAfterBurnett Member Posts: 3,474
    edited March 2013
    I'm afraid quantity over quality never works. 40k people downloading doesn't help me at all if I end up with a rating of 2.5 when previously it was 4.5. Sure, I got a few extra sales as a result but that short term gain is nothing considering how many sales I'm likely to lose in future because of bad reviews. Now if 40k people who loved SNES Mode7 games downloaded it, I'd be happy ;) At the end of the day, lesson learned... Beware the freetards.

    Edit: also, this wasn't meant to be a whinge, just a warning to anyone who is offered the free app program to think carefully before they accept. I'd do it again, just not with such a niche title.
  • beefy_clyrobeefy_clyro Member Posts: 5,394
    Interesting take and one I would of never thought of ... Thanks for sharing
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