As you perhaps know, I have a few apps on sale. One of them has free version (limited) and full version, and has been there for a time, so we can have a few statistics. (Notice most of my apps sucks, and downloads are low, and also sales, but percents should be almost the same for everyone).
IOS: 2376 free vs 83 sales (38 (45%) were when free was not available): 3.49% ratio
WebOS: 59978 free vs 910 sales (19 without free): 1.58%
Android: 15541 free vs 95 sales: 0.61%. Only 3006 frees has it installed (19%) and 56 uninstalled the purchase, but Google has paid me 63 sales.
As you see, the free vs full is "big" on iOS, although it seems to be a lot saturated of apps, so it is hard to get noticed there. As seen by other apps by me, the bif hit is only on the few first days (1 or 2). Perhaps the ratio is good because it is almost obligatory to enter a VISA when creating an account.
WebOS seems to be a good market. With an average ratio between platforms, it looks great because the market has only "a few" apps; you dont need to be great to have sales. Also prices can be high on such platform: users knows his device is a minority and assume thet are more expensives (here we have a winning horse in GLB!).
Android... glad it is almost free to be a developer... or not. The pay vs free ratio is really low. There are many users that can download apps, but only a few can pay. Or are willing to. Also the 15 minutes refound policy of Google does not help us, developers.
Also Android seems to be the most easily pirateable of the platforms. I can get a "signed" apk of my computer and install it on any device, or at least, in the 2 I have...
Perhaps (not sure) this uninstalled paid apps are just users that knows how to "pay, download, install, save .apk, refound, uninstall by system, install the saved .apk"
And my app is not on pirate sites (does it sucks so much?).
Currently, there is 3 ways to protect an app on Android:
1.- Standar protection. The apk can only be installed on device's main memory. Not sure how strong is this protection, but I, as user, do not want apps on my phone memory but on the SD.
2.- Do not protect. The app can be installed on SD, but it is "unprotected"
The 1st protection is going to be obsolete in a short time (although the msg is there for at least 6 months!), and a new system will be ready (and it is working, yet).
3.- Licensing system: basically, our app will have to check validation with google servers. More or less: "Hey, I am app com.diniplay.glowingsky, running on device ID 123456 from user joe@gmail.com; does him buy me?" Google will answer us and it is our app who has to continue working or fails.
This system is working right now, but we don't have the code to use it within GLBasic. More info on http://developer.android.com/guide/publishing/licensing.html
One of my apps, DIGITAL PHOTO FRAME is doing reasonable sales on WebOS, but low (just 4 sales!) on Android.
I have just checked the app market for other similar apps, and only found one similar. It is better than mine in general but not so much. Mine has other "powers". The fact is that it is free han has +100000 downloads, with a paypal donate button.
So I am making a test. I set Digital Photo Frame as free on Android with a donate by paypal button.
Stay tuned.
PS: noone has anything to comment/though/say? :(
Haha, I'm not that quick to catch up on all the posts made :P
You sale numbers reflect my experience as well. Dr. Shiver has about the same sale rations across the 3 stores as you mentioned.
The WebOS market is really the best for me when it comes to my GACK project. I have 170 sales@5,- EUR so far!
I have no iOS version, yet. I'll do that soon, but I think that the sales will not exceed the Touchpad sales.
For the google-protection, I think it's not worth bothering. Either they crack that or they just don't buy your app. Android people want all for free, I think.
Would it be worth doing some sort of micro payment - pay so much for extra levels, new graphics or something...
It will be nice to know the results of such free/donate experiment!
way to go!
For more than a month it has been 8 downloads and 4 installs. In 2 days, it is 37/8, although still no donation.
If proper payment vs ratio is going to be keep, I shuld get 1 donation per 200 downloads... lets see.
The largest markets are always the ones where people are willing to pay less for anything.
A somewhat related example would be the humble bundles with their donation system: Windows users make up more than half (possibly even 2/3) of the buyer base, but both OSX and Linux users pay more per capita for the games.
Day 3, 184/33, 0 donations
And can be possible search anothers markets... I think the most phones are iPhone and Android... but perhaps, something more "Fetiche" like Palm pre... perhaps we can have a lot of sales...
Now in march appears a new console in UK, perhaps can works fine this market...
The Palm Pre market is the WebOS one. 380 sales on DPF so far. I started at .99 and added .10 in each "big" update. Now I think it is in 1.49
Quote from: ampos on 2012-Feb-23
Day 3, 184/33, 0 donations
Strange... it is now 184/82...
I've found that no-one (with the exception of one person) has bothered to leave any reviews for my Android programs - and yet, the Palm version had loads...
I've had very few reviews, despite tens of thousands of downloads of free and commercial stuff. I really don't understand it sometimes - newer stuff sometimes gets hundreds. The most I've had for any product is 24.
Ive had 2000 odd downloads, and 7 comments. 2 were made by me to bump up the star rating, 1 to say "Great retro goodness" and 4 to say "Its sh*t, dont work". I`ve got 2 other games (1 almost complete, the other not so) and I doubt very much if I will be submitting them.
And nobody, try to contact whit publisher?¿... I think when I start in the forum a Spanish group, make a Zombie game... and the game was published... I don´t know about him solds, but I rebember the game appears again in a recopilatory of terror.
Quote from: Ian Price on 2012-Feb-23
I've had very few reviews, despite tens of thousands of downloads of free and commercial stuff. I really don't understand it sometimes - newer stuff sometimes gets hundreds. The most I've had for any product is 24.
It is very odd. I think when I get my next Android game out, I might see if I can stump up some money for advertising...
The issue of earnings and popularity of the games in various markets appears in several topics but I think that this will be the best for further discussion ..
What amazes me is very small number of downloads games for Android Market, not everyone wrote about their results but in general it's hard to stand out. Have you tried some form of advertising? I don't mean 'normal' campaigns in the advertising networks but even some cheap campaigns in the various accounts on facebook, such services can be purchased on auction sites.
Or maybe actually, people do not want to pay for little games and easier would be to make money from ads in games.
That could be an idea - have 2/3 versions - demo, a version with adverts but free, and a paid one with no adverts.
I think quite a few do that already.