Starting profit?
RandomTurkeys
Member Posts: 17
I'm wondering how much money is normally earned for the first iphone app that you put up in the app store ON AVERAGE. I'm pretty sure my app is solid, but i'm just not positive that people will buy it for the $0.99 fee, so would I be better off making it free or selling it for $0.99? And also, I would like to know if there are any other fees I should know about after the yearly $99 for uploading.
Comments
1. Would YOU pay $0.99 for it?
2. Are you doing it for fun or money?
Fun: then you wants lots of people to play it so Free would be better
Money: Set it to $0.99, expect criticism, and lower rates... my first app got me about $10 and I thought it was alright...
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-danger-room/id354164732?mt=8
but some have put out complete drivel and it did ok for them....
I just D/L'd danger room to try it out.
I can tell you why it wasn't popular:
1. On screen joystick caused my thumbs to block half the screen, thus frustrating me.
2. Controls were unreliable and jerky leading to further frustration.
If you fixed the controls it's be a lot better.
I really liked smash tv!
@debug, No offense, but sometimes It's better to show less in the screenshots. You have so many for that app that it leaves little to the imagination and I feel like I've gotten the "experience" without even playing the game. Maybe a good intro "box-art" screen, another showing a "box-art" line-up of the heroes and baddies, some level maps crammed onto a single screen (cover-flow style) and leave it at that!
Also, your icon is killer(!), but would probably represent better without the apple gloss...
I've seen quite a few apps with little or no description, an awesome icon and a few good (non-gameplay) screenshots rocket up the charts in a day or 2. If your app is a keeper, it will stick around the charts. If it sucks, it will plummet.
Maybe a re-release is in order? I'm sure the 14+ people that bought the original wouldn't mind/notice! ;-)
I'd sell if for a dollar. You'll do alright.
Unfortunately though, as I said above most people do not even make enough money to have Apple send them a check (you need to sell 215 copies at 99cents in order to make the $150 minimum and get paid, and that is per region). Based on what I read, this is about slightly more than 50% of the developers.
Then (again based on what I read), 40% of the developers make 5-20 bucks a day.
And then that leaves the rest, 10% who make a living out of it. And out of that 10%, my guess is less than 1% ever get "rich". It's a guess because nobody knows except Apple. When you count on the fact that the only reason why some got rich in 2008 was due to the fact that there was no competition, it is very hard nowadays. The goldmine / easy money is over, although its still possible to make good money (or even get rich), it takes a lot of work and dedication. A fart app for example will not make anything. LOL
The easy way to make money is to sell iPhone developer tools, scripts, books, and other junk to the wannabe developers
I might revisit it after Dragon Fire and give it a polish...
Is a re-release an update or a whole new game... I have learned a lot since I first created that game so it could be worth it.
Re-work the graphics and gameplay a bit.
Re-Title it (shorter and more interesting) and redo the icon (I think currently its a bit weak and needs to be better). Icons should have good bold colors and a bold idea...so it stands out. Your current icon has no pop and disappears in the sea of icons. Bumps had a GREAT icon...simple idea...and it popped.
Lastly...pull the old app at release of the new app.
Graphics Suggestions:
Add a little more detail to the textures and color. Make them pop more visually and dimensionally. Increase contrast and depth. Overall it seems a tad muddy. I am sure you can improve on them some.
I haven't played it so can't comment there. Just make sure its smooth, bug-free, and fun with good depth and sufficient challenges.
@Mr. Turkey...
Release it at $0.99. You may sell 25 in the first day...most do...if they have even an ounce of interesting content. You can always make it free later. But its virtually impossible to start free and raise to $1. Once (and if) you do make it free...make sure you have a paid sequel to it or a smashing new title coming out soon after...then advertise the hell out of the new title in the old free app.
Check out "Zombie Inflection" for an icon example that is similar to what yours could become with a bit more polishing, color and attention to detail.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zombie-infection/id360178712?mt=8
Check out Dark Nebula 1 and 2 (if you haven't already) for some graphics ideas on the game background plates themselves that run along the same vein (texturally) as to what you have going on. Its all about creating depth and visual immersion. Granted Dark Nebula is ridiculously good visually...but perhaps it can provide some fresh inspiration and/or ideas.
Upon rereading (after some sleep) I thought I should mention that I wasn't making a "dig" at your game...as I think it has great potential. The suggestions above are merely suggestions in maybe ways to make it a bit better to improves sales performance. Hopefully they were taken as constructive suggestions. I wish you the most success with the game and it seems you have a lot of talent to make a great game. Again...just some ideas on how to take it up a notch and really polish it up.