GLBasic forum

Main forum => Off Topic => Topic started by: Kitty Hello on 2010-Oct-26

Title: pushing on iTunes
Post by: Kitty Hello on 2010-Oct-26
Hi,

usually, when you make a new game the sales of the first 2 days decide about the next week. Either it's a hit or ...not.

What would be cool is, if we all would get together and when someone launches a game, we, say a bunch of 10, all buy at the very same day. Then, when you submit a new game, we all buy yours. Sort of an honor and trust contract style.

The thing would be to buy all at the same day to ramp it up the sales list and all give positive feedback (4-5 stars).

Is that a good idea?
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: ampos on 2010-Oct-26
Although I am with this (in fact, I plan to make all my known-people with iphone to buy it and rate 5*), you have to notice this, on the guideline:

Quote3.10

Developers who attempt to manipulate or cheat the user reviews or chart ranking in the App Store with fake or paid reviews, or any other inappropriate methods will be removed from the iOS Developer Program

If we made this, we should do this with care.

Also, it may happen that Apple never check this...  :P

I have noticed also that Unity apps has a big intro logo  :rtfm: . Maybe we can do something similar with GLB...  :happy:
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: Kitty Hello on 2010-Oct-26
OK. We're not doing it illegally and trying to cheat then. We just announce a game in "the app store thread" and *hope* that everyone buys it at the very day it was published there.
iPuppeteer was published *today* </hint> And it's really nice, btw.
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: blackway on 2010-Oct-26
Can you give feedback\review in app store if you get a app using promo codes ????
If true we can give promo codes to Glbasic users and then if they like the application\game they can leave feedback.
Bye!
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: matchy on 2010-Oct-26
Quote from: Kitty Hello on 2010-Oct-26
...Sort of an honor and trust contract style.

The thing would be to buy all at the same day to ramp it up the sales list and all give positive feedback (4-5 stars).

Is that a good idea?

Your contradicting you values as you are asking to dishonor Apple's contract.  :giveup:

In respect to marketing, how about some exposure; links/images of iPhone games on the front page of glbasic.com?  :zzz: I imagine visitors don't see the app thread.
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: Ian Price on 2010-Oct-26
If you look at the App Store thread here, there are two entries (Hairy Legs and Newton's Hoops) that don't even contain pictures of the games, just links to their website or AppStore - seems incredible that the author's went to all the trouble of writing a game and then not even publish a picture when promoting it?

Is it me or is that just plain daft? Do they really want people to ignore their games?
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: ampos on 2010-Oct-26
Quote from: Ian Price on 2010-Oct-26
If you look at the App Store thread here, there are two entries (Hairy Legs and Newton's Hoops) that don't even contain pictures of the games, just links to their website or AppStore - seems incredible that the author's went to all the trouble of writing a game and then not even publish a picture when promoting it?

Is it me or is that just plain daft? Do they really want people to ignore their games?

Someone can made a life marketing games from GLB forum...  :P
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: bigsofty on 2010-Oct-26
I see no harm, in intentionally reviewing a fellow GLB developers app, being given a promo code will in no way bias my opinion.
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: Ian Price on 2010-Oct-26
Quote from: ampos on 2010-Oct-26
Quote from: Ian Price on 2010-Oct-26
If you look at the App Store thread here, there are two entries (Hairy Legs and Newton's Hoops) that don't even contain pictures of the games, just links to their website or AppStore - seems incredible that the author's went to all the trouble of writing a game and then not even publish a picture when promoting it?

Is it me or is that just plain daft? Do they really want people to ignore their games?

Someone can made a life marketing games from GLB forum...  :P

No, but if they market their app in the same way elsewhere, then the chances of success are definitely going to be reduced.
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: ampos on 2010-Oct-26
Maybe it was my language...

I mean someone can make his bussiness just marketing GLB games.  :zzz:
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: Ian Price on 2010-Oct-26
QuoteI mean someone can make his bussiness just marketing GLB games.  :zzz:

Why not? GLB is just as good a coding tool as any out there. User's here have proved that it is capable of competing on the same playing field (not AppStore related, but I came second in the recent Wiz GP32Spain comp with a GLB game, competing against others coded in languages considered more "professional" - the winner was a game that had been in production for FOUR years!).

There's no reason, if you've got a good game or range of good games, that you couldn't make a living from it.
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: ampos on 2010-Oct-26
Ian, I mean found a company for marketing games made by GLB users. Not because GLB language/users suck, but because, as I have seen, they are not "very good" marketing their own games.
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: Ian Price on 2010-Oct-26
Why would anyone do that (create a company purely to market GLB games)? I'm pretty sure poor marketing isn't JUST by GLB users - I'm sure every language has users that are poor at marketing. Perhaps you could create a company to market/promote ALL their games as well as GLB ones :P

There are loads of sites that do this, but perhaps it's possible to make a living if you do an incredibly good job and offer better rates than other such sites.
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: ampos on 2010-Oct-26
...I was just joking in the first place...

:x
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: ampos on 2010-Oct-26
Going back to the theme...

Promo codes only work in USA store.

What is the average sales numbers on average GLB site apps?

Are we sure that if we make a bunch of guys, and we all buy the app and rate, Apple will not notice it? I like the idea, but I am almost sure that Apple (if ever!) noticed it, will not like.

Going back to promote programs in GLB web. If you look at the B3D web, they have something like this. You enter your app in somekind of database, and 3 are shown randomly on the web main page.

I am sure GP/Wiz is good market for GLB, but the main power, currently, is "easy-iphone-development", and such should be promoted. The forum really needs a "code snippets" for just iphone.
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: matchy on 2010-Oct-26
Anyone can review a game, but generally professional journalists (with populated mediums) can push your good game fairly in to the main stream news. Whichever part of the product-cycle, it's all work. The issue that each developer could be involved in their own niche where the marketing, such as hype, image and demographic, could have been involved outside and around the product, such as a prop or utility app rather than games.

For now we need to distinguish from marketing for GLBasic products to individual developer products. Simply speaking, a GLB splash screen would be great for GLB, which in turn could attract visitors to try various developers' apps, for example.
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: Slydog on 2010-Oct-26
I can't see anything wrong with us purchasing other GLBasic games.
As a developer, I want to see what can be done with GLBasic, especially on the iPhone, so I *WANT* to purchase everyone's game.  If the game has something different I haven't considered (GUI style, pushing 3D limits, etc), I could learn a thing or two, or ask how it was done on these forums.

However, submitting inaccurate / false reviews to mislead potential customers is the problem.  If we like what we see, we are more than welcome to submit a good review.  If not, well, we could be honest without being overly critical.  A gray area perhaps. 

Is a rating of 3 (or 4) out 5 better / worse than no review?  I tend not to trust games that have no (or very few) reviews, but I have purchased games with semi bad reviews if I happen to still think the game has potential, or the issue with the reviewer doesn't pertain to me (ie: he didn't like the menu layout, but to me that doesn't matter, etc).

[Edit]
I'm not saying to leave a bad review if you absolutely hate the game.  In that case, the right thing may be to leave no review.  Bad reviews (1 or 2 out of 5) would hurt more than having no reviews in my opinion.
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: Kitty Hello on 2010-Oct-27
I don't think he reviews are so important. I always just read the bad reviews and see what they complain about.
It's the buy-at-the-same-day that would ramp the app up. But if it's illegal, I'm sorry for having such an idea.

I for myself will continue to buy every game submitted to the app-store thread, though.

About promoting games on the main site. No big deal IMO. Where do you want them? At the left side pane?
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: matchy on 2010-Oct-27
Is it a matter of recording what is bought? For example an app count or icon list in the profile. The icons could be displays under the avatar or sig.
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: ampos on 2010-Oct-27
Quote from: Kitty Hello on 2010-Oct-27

I for myself will continue to buy every game submitted to the app-store thread

In a (strange) way, they are like some kind of grand-son to you... :)
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: Kitty Hello on 2010-Oct-27
Nah. It's like ... I'm the blacksmith where you are King Arthur. sort of.
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: shawnus on 2010-Oct-27
Gernot- less blacksmith, more like Merlin!
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: Slydog on 2010-Oct-27
While we're making analogies, I'd say more like Excalibur!
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: Kitty Hello on 2010-Oct-27
Aw those flatteries.. You can't fool me. You just want new features implemented  :whip: !! ;)
Title: Re: pushing on iTunes
Post by: ampos on 2010-Oct-27
Lol! Touchè!