Has anyone with pro license made their 2000 back?

joemaukejoemauke Member Posts: 41
edited November -1 in Working with GS (Mac)
I was just wondering of you that have a pro license, how many have made your money back so far? And if you have, how many games did it take?
«1

Comments

  • scitunesscitunes Member, Sous Chef Posts: 4,047
    Ive made 2300 without the pro
  • PhoticsPhotics Member Posts: 4,172
    It seems that a lot of the ones with Pro didn't pay full price for it.
  • PhoticsPhotics Member Posts: 4,172
    I think there was a sale about a year ago.
  • WeswogWeswog Member Posts: 1,171
    It was a regular membership for $500 in the beginning and then they changed it to $99 express and $2000 pro and all the $500 people got pro memberships, I didn't get that great deal :(

    Cheers, Weswog
  • 777ideas.com777ideas.com Member, PRO Posts: 895
    Hey Weswog I have a question for you .. Did You Review My Game Yet For Youtube.

    Sorry For Changing the topic.
  • WeswogWeswog Member Posts: 1,171
    which game?

    Cheers, Weswog
  • 777ideas.com777ideas.com Member, PRO Posts: 895
    Mad Pops, I Sent You a Promo before
  • StusAppsStusApps Member, PRO Posts: 1,352
    like scitunes, in 3 weeks I've just hit $2000 without pro (am considering it though)
  • 777ideas.com777ideas.com Member, PRO Posts: 895
    great Job!
  • JamesZeppelinJamesZeppelin Member Posts: 1,927
    Yeah, made it back.

    I missed the $500 dollar deal too.

    The URL feature has been a huge asset

    Without being in the rankings i really rely on getting my 20 or so sales per day from people upgrading from the free versions.

    Hard to say if i will re subscribe though.

    I really love game salad but i also really love Unity. I guess we'll see when the time comes.

    Even though I'm getting pretty descent with C# and JS I still find working with GS to be a lot of fun. You can't beat it for that. Unity is work. I can't stress that enough.

    GS is easy to take for granted. Making a build in xcode and trying to figure out why you have 476 errors is a bitch!!!!
  • AfterBurnettAfterBurnett Member Posts: 3,474
    Good points! I know what you mean about Unity... as much fun as it is, definitely hard work!
  • joemaukejoemauke Member Posts: 41
    OK, so far from what I have seen its 3-1 on making the money back from it. The reason Im even asking is that Im thinking of upgrading and creating a lite version of the game I've been working on and I need URL forwarding for the lite version.
  • iDeveloperziDeveloperz Member Posts: 1,169
  • joemaukejoemauke Member Posts: 41
    Wow, I somehow expected more feedback then this. Doesn't really help me make this decision
  • StusAppsStusApps Member, PRO Posts: 1,352
    joemauke said:
    Wow, I somehow expected more feedback then this. Doesn't really help me make this decision

    There's not that many pros on the forum, if they are pro then it's more than a hobby to them so they may not want to share figures and financials.
  • PhoticsPhotics Member Posts: 4,172
    joemauke said:
    Wow, I somehow expected more feedback then this. Doesn't really help me make this decision

    I don't think that's a fair statement. The feedback in this thread is pretty good. In general, the forum has plenty of conversations on the matter. In my book, The Unofficial GameSalad Textbook, the sample PDF compares the different versions.

    It's a tough decision. I think $1999 is a lot of money. It seems risky... especially since Gendai Games hasn't made their announcement yet. Maybe they're going to be offering a sale. Maybe they'll be adding more features to Pro. Right now, I'm waiting. I think the $1999 per year price is not competitive with other software packages in this class.
  • joemaukejoemauke Member Posts: 41
    tshirtbooth said:
    I recommend trying to make some cash with the express first. If you cant make good money with the express then you will not make any with the pro.

    Well, if that were the case why would anyone on the AppStore make a lite version? That's a pretty asinine statement. What I'm looking for is a sample of game developers that have made lite versions that link back to full paid versions, and what their level of success was. I think sharing financials with other developers would further help the game salad product in my opinion.
  • EastboundEastbound Member, BASIC Posts: 1,074
    joemauke said:
    Well, if that were the case why would anyone on the AppStore make a lite version? That's a pretty asinine statement. What I'm looking for is a sample of game developers that have made lite versions that link back to full paid versions, and what their level of success was. I think sharing financials with other developers would further help the game salad product in my opinion.

    Except you don't pay for a lite version, you pay for express.

    And don't insult the help you do receive. "That's a pretty asinine comment."

    Tshirt is right, though. You should just get the express version (you can upgrade at any time) and see how you do.

    The pro version will just help you look more professional and give you the resources to do better than you would be, but will hardly stunt your success.
  • design219design219 Member Posts: 2,273
    We made our money back with our first app. And it is a free app!

    Let me explain. (when I say we, I mean the studio I work for) I made the first game app (Food Fight!) as a promotion for a client that we've been doing other work for for years. We basically charged them the cost of the pro license and just ate the time because we wanted the experience of doing it. We are currently developing another app with GS for a different client that will make us well over the GS Pro cost. This new app will have a lot of external links to videos, websites, and customized Google Maps. You can only do that with the pro license.

    To us, a promotional app for a client would be loosing a lot of that promotion with a GameSalad splash screen. And of course, the url feature is very, very valuable.

    Now, the two paid apps I've made have just been for fun (and on my own time) with the studio's blessing. And they are at about the $450 mark right now... just about enough for Apple to cut a check. They are both nice apps that I'm proud of, but I rather doubt I would have made either if I was doing it for income... hard to say, but I sure didn't expect them to make a lot of money.

    If I were personally going to devote myself to full-time game development, I would definitely invest in the Pro license. No question. It's a business investment.

    _______________

    Nesen Probe http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nesen-probe/id377766693?mt=8
    Tickle Stones http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tickle-stones/id363484260?mt=8
    Food Fight! (free) http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/food-fight/id352646643?mt=8
  • joemaukejoemauke Member Posts: 41
    Eastbound, I already am an express member, so I don't understand your logic. Design219 has actually provided some great feedback, thats the kind of thing Im looking for. I think the conventional wisdom is to make the most money you can in first week or so of your app hitting the store when its new. And, or prey that people get the lite version and like it enough to purchase the pay version (which is how a lot of people I have talked to outside of GameSalad have made the majority of their money). Saying something like, "if you cant make money on express, why would you buy the pro version doesn't help me".

    Also, actually linking to your apps helps me also gauge where I stand with my own product. Most people will tell you that you have one shot at release and I want to do this right, with the smallest cost possible. And Photics is right, 2k is a lot for url forwarding.
  • WeswogWeswog Member Posts: 1,171
    design219 said:
    We made our money back with our first app. And it is a free app!

    Let me explain. (when I say we, I mean the studio I work for) I made the first game app (Food Fight!) as a promotion for a client that we've been doing other work for for years. We basically charged them the cost of the pro license and just ate the time because we wanted the experience of doing it. We are currently developing another app with GS for a different client that will make us well over the GS Pro cost. This new app will have a lot of external links to videos, websites, and customized Google Maps. You can only do that with the pro license.

    To us, a promotional app for a client would be loosing a lot of that promotion with a GameSalad splash screen. And of course, the url feature is very, very valuable.

    Now, the two paid apps I've made have just been for fun (and on my own time) with the studio's blessing. And they are at about the $450 mark right now... just about enough for Apple to cut a check. They are both nice apps that I'm proud of, but I rather doubt I would have made either if I was doing it for income... hard to say, but I sure didn't expect them to make a lot of money.

    If I were personally going to devote myself to full-time game development, I would definitely invest in the Pro license. No question. It's a business investment.

    _______________

    Nesen Probe http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nesen-probe/id377766693?mt=8
    Tickle Stones http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tickle-stones/id363484260?mt=8
    Food Fight! (free) http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/food-fight/id352646643?mt=8

    What app did you make for the client?

    Cheers, Weswog
  • StusAppsStusApps Member, PRO Posts: 1,352
    joemauke said:
    Saying something like, "if you cant make money on express, why would you buy the pro version doesn't help me".

    I think that is pretty good advice. The salability of a game is not down to whether you have pro or not (take bumps as an example). It's really down to your skill, ideas, graphics abilities. If you can make a game that is popular and sells well then of course you'll make your money back.

    If you want rid of the GS splash screens (which won't impact your download numbers) and forwarding (usually good if you have a few apps) then $2000 is not even going to be a months earnings if your games are good.

    In design219s case, if making games for a client. Then of course use the pro license. It does not look good to clients if you have a big 'made with gamesalad' on their splash screen.

    The advice is pretty good because if you can't make a game that sells then don't waste $2000. If you can, then decide whether you want your own splash screens and whether you need to forward urls.
  • TymeMasterTymeMaster Member Posts: 527
    Great advice! Plus keep in mind that the cost is $2,000 per year, not just once. So you need to sell 2857 copies of a 99 cent game to make that 2K back (actually more since you will have to pay taxes on that income, but its a rough estimate).

    Put it this way, if you are in this for a hobby, it would be foolish to spend that money each year. Spend that 2K on something like programming books, Photoshop, Modo, etc ;^)
  • DevilsDevils Member Posts: 561
    I have a question. If I have the express which has the GS splash screen and I release a game that makes over the $2000 and I buy the pro could I remove the splash screen from the game that I released using the express?
  • chosenonestudioschosenonestudios Member Posts: 1,714
    Devils said:
    I have a question. If I have the express which has the GS splash screen and I release a game that makes over the $2000 and I buy the pro could I remove the splash screen from the game that I released using the express?

    Yes, you just have to update it.
  • design219design219 Member Posts: 2,273
    Weswog said:
    What app did you make for the client?

    Cheers, Weswog

    Food Fight!, the free game. You will see the current version starts with their logos on the load screen [although it has the upside down issue till next update ;-(]. It also has some information, basically an advertisement, in the "morsels" section of the app... no in game interrupting ads, they didn't want to do that, just information.

    They wanted to do this because they noticed they deal with a lot of professional people who all seemed to have iPhones, so they thought an app would just be cool. Doing a game was our idea, and GS came to our attention at just the right time.

    Wes, if you haven't checked it out, it's free and here is the link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/food-fight/id352646643?mt=8
  • UtopianGamesUtopianGames Member Posts: 5,692
    I think it's morally wrong to charge $2000 every year for something that's free (after a 1 off payment) with all other engines.

    URL, iAds, Custom Splash for $2000 a year = no thank you. (and we made more than $2k in 2 days with Bumps so it's not about the money, we think its just wrong...very wrong).

    These features should be in a single version of GS and all for the same $99 price.

    Do away with Pro make one version for $99 a year and stop being greedy.

    Even if we were rich we wouldn't buy Pro just on principle....just my 2 cents.

    Darren.
  • touchcreamtouchcream Member Posts: 63
    I totally agree with utopiangames, paying 2000$ for the pro version is okay but every year ... no thanks ! Moreover, Gamesalad is still in beta, so 2000$/year is just insanely expensive.
  • StusAppsStusApps Member, PRO Posts: 1,352
    using my mystical powers of seeing into the future I think the licensing prices/deals are going to change within the next month.
  • chosenonestudioschosenonestudios Member Posts: 1,714
    utopiangames said:
    I think it's morally wrong to charge $2000 every year for something that's free (after a 1 off payment) with all other engines.

    URL, iAds, Custom Splash for $2000 a year = no thank you. (and we made more than $2k in 2 days with Bumps so it's not about the money, we think its just wrong...very wrong).

    These features should be in a single version of GS and all for the same $99 price.

    Do away with Pro make one version for $99 a year and stop being greedy.

    Even if we were rich we wouldn't buy Pro just on principle....just my 2 cents.

    Darren.

    +1 Great post Darren
Sign In or Register to comment.