18 replies to this topic

[SillyCow]

Short Version: "How do you make money from your android game?"

Long Version:

My day-job as a non-games programmer pays the bills.
I develop many games and prototypes in my spare time.
I've been doing it since I was a child (It's a hobby, nothing more).

Recently the mobile markets have made it easy to publish games.
So, I said to myself: "If you call yourself a hobbyist, it's a sin not to publish a game in this day and age".

Making money off of something does not mean it has to even come close to paying the bills.
Think about playing your garage band at bars on weekends.
Getting economic recognition for your efforts (like free beer at the bar) is very rewarding.

And so, I said to myself: "If I could make 100$ off of this game it would be pretty cool" (I should really stop talking to myself, it makes people stare )

As I see these are the ways I can make money:
1. Post only a paid version - This will reduce the amount of people who play my game (Getting my game played is more important to me than money).
2. Ad-Supported - As far as I read on the internet this will make me ~5$ if I am an average admob user.
3a. Freemium Preview - Release a free version that does not contain all levels [But then most players will not get the full experience ] .
3b. Freemium Crippled - Cripple the free version. (Don't allow people to save progress or something like that...)
3c. Freemium Paid Bonus - Only paid users will be able to enter scores into the leader-board.
3d. Freemium Ads - Release a full add supported version, and charge money for ad-free [Will anyone actually pay money for this? ].


So how did you make your 100$ on android market?

[CRYP7IK]

I have made $8.48 from an unfinished (with bad art) game put on the Android Market using only Ad-mob Ads as the revenue (Which sometimes doesn't show??). (2nd option)

My next game will be much better and there will be:

• A free version, which will only include a few levels and limited game play. This will also have Ads.
• A paid version, has all levels and all game play with no ads.

Edit: In reply, you need a fun game to get $100 but to get more than that, you need good marketing!

[Olof Hedman]

This is a really complicated question actually, and very hard to give any general answer to.
It even depends a bit on what kind of game you are making.

All the alternatives you list are viable strategies and have their pro:s and con:s.
3a, 3b and 3c are exactly the same though, just a difference in how you choose to describe it (marketing tip: select the one that sounds good to the buyer)

Also, there is in app purchase, you can release a free version and have extra content or features available through in app purchase.
I wouldn't recommend that for a first game though, that takes quite a lot of though to do it right and not just piss people off.

I'd say the "paid only" would be the worst for someone like you without any brand recognizion.
Specially on Android, since the will to pay is very low there. (at least compared to the App Store)
On App Store, having a free version might very well end up hurting your sales.

On Android though, it seems to be common practice to have some kind of trial version available.
Its pretty common to add lots of ads to the free version, not so much for the revenue, but to have one extra incentive to buy the paid version (to get rid of the ads)
But as you say, its probably not so many that would pay _just_ to get rid of ads, you probably should throw in something extra for the guys who choose to support you.
And don't overdo the ads, then you just piss off your users again

And do add a link in your game to the full version on the app store for easy upgrades

I guess my TL;DR answer is "All of the above"

Release a free and a paid version, and make sure the users who choose to pay is rewarded somehow.
If you want to maximize revenue, then you have to balance how much you "give away" in the free version, you want the player intrigued enough to want more, but not satisfied enough that they feel the free version is enough for them.
Finding this balance is not easy.

[SillyCow]

I have made $8.48 from an unfinished (with bad art) game put on the Android Market using only Ad-mob Ads as the revenue (Which sometimes doesn't show??). (2nd option)

Thanks for the reply.
Just to get a general idea:
What game did you make?
How many downloads did you have?
Did you put ads on all screens, or just on the menus?

[SillyCow]

Right now I think I will go with disabling progress saves for the free version.
How annoying would you find something like this?

[Olof Hedman]

Sounds like a good general idea to me.
Will give the player a taste of the full flavor, but they will have to buy to properly play it.

Depending on the game, you might want to consider making it possible to save some progress, up to some point.
That would be if the game otherwise would feel to short, and the player wouldn't get a proper taste of the goodness to come.
If everything is available from start, sure go for it.

[DarklyDreaming]

$100 dollar games can be cracked out in an afternoon. If you want to make something for fun and publish it, go for it. If you want to make money, make a business plan. If you want to make a hundred bucks -- mow lawns. OK. I get it, you want "recognition" -- but then what does it matter how well it sells? Just publish it and see how it goes.

Even the crappiest game I've ever made hasn't sold beneath 500$, though that games was crappy by inexperience and slapstick design rather than any rush or maliciousness on my part to "get the money". What I'm saying is:
a) "I don't care about the money -- I want recognition though." -- good, create whatever you think is cool and publish. See what happens. Repeat until you get what you want.
b) "I do care about the money -- what do I do?" -- examine the market, find holes, create what needs to be filled. See what happens. Repeat until successful.

Good luck!

[SillyCow]

Even the crappiest game I've ever made hasn't sold beneath 500$

So I gather that you went with the paid only approach?
If so, how did you get your initial user base?
Did you advertise your game somewhere?

[DarklyDreaming]

Even the crappiest game I've ever made hasn't sold beneath 500$

So I gather that you went with the paid only approach?
If so, how did you get your initial user base?
Did you advertise your game somewhere?

This was back in the day (five years ago by now), so it doesn't bear much semblance to today's market. Anyways, I've long since moved on to greener fields and better paid opportunities but for your interest:
1) Yes. $5/copy.
2) Mostly friends and friends-of-friends. There were a lot of gamers at my school and many others were just interested in buying something 'local'.
3) On the school board, GD.org, local coffeplaces... nothing compared to today's social marketing power, mind you.

[CRYP7IK]

Thanks for the reply.
Just to get a general idea:
What game did you make?
How many downloads did you have?
Did you put ads on all screens, or just on the menus?

No probs, I made Chaos.Theory.


It currently has 872 total installs and 72 active installs.

I only put ads on the high-score screen, so when the player died they would see an ad.

[Tom Sloper]

Since this isn't a technical question, I'm moving the thread to the Business forum.

[Writhe]

I'm set to make a very significant amount from my last Android app (more than a high-end salary). It took 2 months from inception to market to create.

I've done no advertisement or marketing (all word-of-mouth), use no banner ads, and the full game is free to play.

The formula is easy, at least on paper:

1) In-game community. A simple chat system where players can interact, and you can talk to players directly.
2) Fun, competitive gameplay. Does not need to be complicated.
3) In-app purchased perks that save time and effort, but are not game-breaking.
4) Encourage the community to comment on the app, and bring in their friends.

That's all it took. My game isn't all that amazing -- I just paid attention to the community, coded what they wanted to play, and fostered group competition.


Previously I had tried free demo/paid full approach with banner ads. Made ~$350 a month tops. Not a viable model if you want to get paid back for your time. There can only be one Angry Birds.

Like most indies, you have to get creative. There's half a million fart button and Match-Dat-Ass apps. Bring something new to the table and people will pay for it.

[SillyCow]

4) Encourage the community to comment on the app, and bring in their friends.

How did you go about doing this?

And also what game did you make?

[SimonForsman]

4) Encourage the community to comment on the app, and bring in their friends.

How did you go about doing this?

And also what game did you make?

There are many ways to bring in the community as an indie, one easy but time consuming way is to be active in the community yourself, if you respond to comments you will get more of them.

[Writhe]

4) Encourage the community to comment on the app, and bring in their friends.

How did you go about doing this?

And also what game did you make?

Many Android users in my experience either don't care or don't realize how important the star rating system is to developers. Usually they only review when they dislike the game, so you end up with a disproportionate number of 1-stars.

I simply asked users to give the game a fair market review based on their play experience, and had them include an in-game name in the comments. I used those in-game names to run random raffles and contests.

You cannot ask them HOW to review it (ie, give me a 5-star review and I'll give you a reward). That's against market policy and unethical, but there's nothing wrong with asking them to give a fair review of the game. Players love knowing that what they said got read by someone who has the ability to act on it.

This is a major benefit with an in-game chat system. You can actually communicate in real-time with people who play your game, and it builds a community that makes them want to come back.

My game HERE

[Writhe]

There are many ways to bring in the community as an indie, one easy but time consuming way is to be active in the community yourself, if you respond to comments you will get more of them.

I included a direct link to my forums and Facebook within the app itself, and players have been very active on both.

That players can talk directly to me, suggest a concept, then see that change implemented within an hour or two has been a real win for both myself and the players.

Obviously I have an advantage with the game being an MMO, but I don't see any reason why even the most simple of games couldn't be given some online element that would create this edge.

[SillyCow]

My game HERE

Thanks for the advice. Your game looks awesome!
So another question:
How much time do you spend promoting your game and supporting it on forums vs actively developing it?

[Writhe]

How much time do you spend promoting your game and supporting it on forums vs actively developing it?

I don't do any promotion. I hired a friend to do part-time (~2 hours a day) moderation and twitter/facebook stuff, but that's about it.

I spend an hour a day on the forums and answering emails, then the rest of my time developing. Early on I was pushing 12 hours a day coding, but recently it's more like a 6 or 8 since paying for dinner isn't a critical concern now.

I had quit my job and went all-in on this project. Paying rent was going to be a problem if it didn't bring in some money, but thankfully it worked out.

[return0]

A lot of respect for your attitude Writhe, hope it continues to be successful for you.