People say your app is great, awesome, but it's tanking. What to do?

Unity Engine
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1

Our app was released on 10/11. It actually took me by surprise that it passed the first review. It caught me a bit off guard actually, as far as planning. It was soon after the frantic effort to get it approved that I came to realize how much more I must do.

I’ve requested reviews with promo codes to all the notable sites I could find, no bites yet that I can see. Maybe it’s too soon to hope, but this topic is for argument sake as well.

I’ve channeled some promo codes to friends and friends of friends, and even got some sales that way. the feedback I got was that it’s awesome, loved it, nothing quite like it etc. Much of the feedback is based on a web player demo and PC/Mac version, so few seem to have the means and inclination to post a review.

Sales are low. I know that’s an issue shared by many here. With the low sales I started to think that maybe it’s not as good as I thought, only to be told by some that it’s better than most they’ve played, it’s suffering from lack of exposure etc.

Now it could be that it greatly appeals to a certain niche, I don’t know. It’s a casual strategy game, with maybe a slight puzzle feel, so I put it in the Strategy and Puzzle categories.

Anyway, I guess I’m asking what others here would do, if they had a game they think is da bomb, single player, multiplayer, decent AI, lots of good stuff.

I know that some first-time devs in here admit to making a not-so-great effort on their first app. However I put a lot into it (surely too much), so I’m expecting a bit more.

What might be some good promotional tactics, beyond the common ones, and what extent might one go if they thought that their app has far, far more potential than it’s realizing. What sort of gambles might be worth it, as far as promo expense, advertising, and I find myself wondering if it’s not too late to partner with an organization that could improve its visibility to a good target audience.

I figured this is good to ask, because I suspect it’s a common dilemma, where you think you have an app that may be much better than its performance suggests.

2

At start, I thought AppStore success depends on App Quality, and how you market your title, but no, isn’t like this.

What to say…Apple doesn’t feature your App, your App isn’t even there will be somewhere in the 100.000th of the ranking-

What to say, we have seen a game WIP similar to ours, who got featured for one month, with an unfinished game made of few unfinished levels. They have been reviewed by TA immediately when we are waiting for a review from TA since 7 months now.
They are in the TOP SOLD Apps in most countries 1 months after release, we are nowhere after 8 months. Enough said.

What to say, Apple (someone at Apple) decide whether you will make some money out of your work or not, not the customers, or the market, or the general overall quality of your app but just THEIR taste. They don’t like it ? It will suck.

I hope more serious gamers will be looking for featuring a title or not, because upon their decision is the future of an App.
Somebody you want to be friend of: TouchArcade editors. If you are, your App will be probably a winner.

When we sent the 50 promocodes to the magazines, the only “big” one who cared and reviewed was TouchReviews, all the others was a no-answer. or a: “we can’t assure your app to be reviewed”

We (as team) could’nt even pay our salary, we could’nt almost even buy new devices (we had to!). and so we coudn’t afford Unity Pro / Unity iPhone Advanced.

Can you image what is the solely who benefits by our hard 1 year two people teamwork ?
Probably Apple does. Not us.

Don’t know what other I can to say-

3

The best thing is to get featured on the App Store by Apple. There’s some tips right now in iTunes Connect about that if you haven’t already seen it…make sure to follow them. Also concentrate on Touch Arcade, since there seems to be some correlation between getting featured there and by Apple.

–Eric

4

Sorry to hear about that.
But unhappy as it is, that things work out like this is nothing new, as the core indicators and requirements to not end in the 99.99% that don’t even make back the apple subscription are rather well known by now as well :frowning:

Its normal that you:

  1. Want to get the word out through major review sites
  2. Want to ensure to use the latest state of apple technology to even have a chance being featured (not using GK, using an ad provider but not using iAd → no way you stand a chance for featuring. not using Game Center also reduces the chance seriously)
  3. you want to ensure to use promotional channels where available. OpenFeint free for a day is such a thing, but there are others.
  4. Invest marketing budgets into marketing channels that advertise on the iphone so they drive people over to you too
  5. get a lite out, either on release or a few days later. the payed one won’t get you exposure unless you meet all above, the free one though will!
5

Dreamora is right.
Those are the necessary steps to make even understand to AppStore you are there !

But we completed all those steps, maybe we did some more,
we have also been contacted by Apple who required all the hi-res banners for big featuring time. But…who knows why…no luck.
We did banner advertising and a iTunes Card Gift contest as well. There is nothing who can stop bad luck, sympathy and direct people contacts.

I could put all the devices I bought to test the App on as winning prizes, but that will not be 'nough!

Maybe if I put my wife’s body as a prize I could make it ?

6

Independent of how beautifull she is, thats unlikely.

The major thing you need to compete with is not the AppStore post release.
The major thing is staying on top and be fresh all the time.
Not many games have had great long term playability, only a minority of the “top featured around the globe ones” that have crossplatform releases could get up there (cross platform is important, so consider doing a facebook webplayer spinoff for example, depending on the game even one where they use the same highscores or if it is some persistent thing, where they can continue on the device where they left off on facebook). i think Tower Madness shows how you can continue to exist rather far up the list, Field Runners manages to fire in there every now and then again.
But the others that reappear there get their crossadvertisement through linkage on facebook panels like Sims etc that EA links on their FB platform they bought and alike.

Another important fact is having the right tags. As stupid or trivial as it might sound but if they find your game and especially if genius can bring up a relation to your game that will make a massive difference