Think It's Easy to Sell Your iOS Game? Think Again...

[Jeff Campbell]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://stoicjesterstudios.com/2011/06/iphone-app-marketing-mistakes/' target='_blank'>http://stoicjesterstudios.com/2011/...eting-mistakes/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"For a few months late last year I spent all of my free time working on an iPhone game by the name of Bullseye Factory. Making iPhone games is just a hobby, but this time I really liked the concept I'd come up with and I was very passionate about seeing it through."</em></p><p><object width="600" height="360" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/OWADQcUk8PY&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;ap=&fmt=18" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OWADQcUk8PY&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;ap=&fmt=18" /></object></p><p>But he didn't think it would mean so much work for so little reward. Interesting read as the developer goes through the steps he took to make his game a success, or at least tried to make it a success. I'll let you find out for yourself what actually happened but it is interesting that sometimes, what it boils down to is just being lucky in order to succeed.</p>

[Brad Adrian]

That's a pretty interesting story.

I don't download that many arcade-type games, mostly because I'm not very good at them (curse my weak thumbs). In addition, I usually only buy games that I'm convinced will give me hours and hours of whimsical play. However, after trying out the demo version of Bullseye Factory for a few minutes, I ponied up the 99 cents and bought it.

The game itself isn't all that complicated and the graphic quality is pretty much standard, BUT I bought it because of its interesting use of the gyroscopic controls. The author SAID the game's interaction is unique and I tend to agree. Sure, there are other games out there that use the gyroscope, but Bullseye Factory has a feel to it that I've never encountered before. Pivoting the iPhone to "look" in different directions is very intuitive and engaging, so much that I found myself losing game after game after game because I got caught up doing more "looking" than "shooting."

So, maybe the author has finally figured out a new way to market games: post a somewhat whiney and apologetic story about how nobody buys your newly-released game and hope it earns some attention. At some level, it worked, because I pluncked down the money and am glad that I did.

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

The polish really isn't there. I guess that's why nobody bought it. See Angry Birds, and the number of similar "Siege" games that came before it. They weren't very popular. Angry Birds is.