Deploying Your iPhone Applications, Lessons from the Trenches

Deploying Your iPhone ApplicationsLessons from the Trenches

The New CD

William Volk

CEO PlayScreen

PlayScreen, LLC2

• Published 1st iPhone web games at launch

• 15 Apps in the Apple iPhone App Store

• Five on Google Android App Market

• Apps launched on Palm Pre App Catalog

• Four titles featured by Apple

• Latest iPhone Game Match 3D is a success

A Developer and Publisher of Social Games

Who is this guy?

Life Before The App Store

VEGETA!What does the scouter say is the cost of

launching a BREW app on Verizon?

IT’S OVER

Apple’s App Store

1. iTunes: An accepted unified billing solution2. On-Device and side loading purchases3. AT&T (etc.) relinquishes control of app sales4. Low friction for publishers and consumers

The Result?74% of iPhone users download apps (48% otherSmartphones, 12% all phones). Over 2 Billiondownloads, More than 75,000 apps

A model yet to be replicated by any other company…

• iShoot - $37,000 earned in a day

• Trism - $250,000 earned in a month

• iFart - $40,000 in two days

• Tap Tap Revenge - Over 2m downloads

• iSteam - $100,000 in it’s first month of sales

• Flick Fishing - 1 Million Sold

7

The Dream …

• Free Apps 10:1 over Paid App Downloads

• Most apps - less than 1000 downloads total

• Many apps - sell only a few copies a day (or none)

• Advertising? Current networks $0.50 eCPM

• Other App Markets - FAIL

• Ranking system favors $0.99 Apps

8

The Reality …

Power Curve: Daily Sales = 15000 * Ranking ^ -0.75

PlayScreen, LLC. From: Ajnaware’s Weblog9

Success of the Fittest

Reviews and Press

matter …Pre-publicity leads to a strong launch

Press and good reviews can boost sales….

… but being featured is

best“What’s Hot” or “New and Noteworthy” boosts daily sales 20x

Moving up into top rankings sustains sales

What Does Apple Care

About?EVERYTHING!

• The App - Does it make the iPhone look cool?

• License matters - 60% of top 10 all time sellers.

• The Icon, The Description - Will it draw attention?

• The ‘Minisite’, Videos - Does they show off the product?

• Reviews - YES, they do matter.

Every single bit of Match3D’s presentation it top-notch. The radialmenus, touchable icons, and the 3D graphics are clean and colorful.… I kind of appreciate the love that PlayScreen has clearly put intothis game. It looks fantastic, and it is abundantly clear that theyspent some extra time putting that bit of polish on the thing. -4ColorRebellion

App Success

iPhone-ness, “The elusive quality of iPhone feel.”

• Does the app FEEL like a iPhone app?

• Multitouch, Accelerometer

• That “iPhone App” look

Launch Strategy

• Free app at the same time as paid app. Link to App Store

• Mod release dates upon acceptance

• Get reviews via promotion

• Update OFTEN

Hey, let’s launch a TOPICAL GAME!

• You can’t predict Apple’s approval time

• Apple rejects/delays political apps

• Pre Publicity is wasted if the app is delayed

• If the topic is stale, this can backfire

Stupid App Tricks

Stupid App Tricks 2

Making the “Holiday Rush”• Don’t rush your releases

• Polish, polish and then polish

• Extended beta with outside testers is a must

• "A late game is only late until it ships. A bad

game is bad until the end of time." - Shigeru

Miyamoto.

What’s Next?

• Other App Stores “figure it out”

• Flash Pro CS5 - Many More iPhone Apps?

• Apple Tablet - Plan ahead now

• Will there be a shakeout?

• If you can make it there, you can make it

anywhere (take your iPhone apps to new

platforms)