the android alternative: road to 100 million players
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The Android Alternative: Road to 100 Million Players. Vladimir Funtikov Co-founder, Creative Mobile. Creative Mobile. Independent developer and publisher Founded in 2010 by 3 guys with €10 000 >100 million organic Android game downloads Team grown from 3 to >80 - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
The Android Alternative:Road to 100 Million Players
Vladimir FuntikovCo-founder, Creative Mobile
Creative Mobile Independent developer and publisher Founded in 2010 by 3 guys with €10 000 >100 million organic Android game downloads Team grown from 3 to >80 Best known for racing games:
Drag Racing, DR: Bike Edition, DR: 4x4, <?>
Why Android In 2010:
New market, weak competition Familiar technology Tide will lift all boats
In 2013: Scale! 1bn devices, 1.5m daily activations [1] Competition
[1] Larry Page, https://plus.google.com/+LarryPage/posts/QVbFayWxfrm
Problem: launching a product No money (connections, traffic, brand, …)
Problem: launching a product No money (connections, traffic, brand, …)
Solution A: Prepare PowerPoint slide deck Search for publishers/investors/editors … PROFIT
Problem: launching a product No money (connections, traffic, brand, …)
Solution A: Prepare PowerPoint slide deck Search for publishers/investors/editors … PROFIT
Solution B: Smart self-publishing and marketing!
Free marketing tools You only have a few days, so make them count Title that sells:
Easy to understand and remember Keywords help A/B test
Icon that sells: Make multiple Compare to competition A/B test CTR of winners
Stunning first screenshot and description SEO
Ranking high (and long) Google Play ranking algorithm:
Downloads over the last X days Number (and/or ratio) of active installs Over 9000 other things (don’t bother)
Retention Push notifications (to the right user) Relevant updates Don’t annoy the player Social and competitive (+GP Game Services) Endless gameplay
Ranking high (and long) Understand the platform
Optimize (<20 MB, smooth content delivery) Support older OS versions, old and new devices, all screens Respect tablets! Beta-test (there WILL be bugs)
Understand the use case Even tablets are only part-time gaming devices
Case study: Drag Racing2011 2012
Case study: Drag Racing >2 year in Top 50 games Successful update:
Next steps Players are valuable, games are media properties Players can …
Bring revenue via IAP Watch ads and interact with brands (up to 2x revenue!) Form communities (social networks, forums) Play your other games
Cross-promotion FTW! Case study: Drag Racing: Bike Edition $0 marketing spend -> Top 5 grossing (US) & 20M downloads
The end! [email protected] @creativemCEO
Bonus track: Real Racing 3 vs. Hill Climb Racing
Real Racing 3 (EA + Firemonkeys)
Established franchise (2 critically acclaimed titles) High-end visuals and physics. High expectations (players & management) Budget: $150 000 000*
* This is in fact the average distance between the Earth and the Sun, in kilometres. I’ve no idea what the budget was for RR3 :)
Hill Climb Racing (Fingersoft)
Who? What? Where?
Budget:
Google Play – Racing (US) now a few months ago
Google Play rank history – RR3
Google Play rank history - HCR
HCR success factors Simple gameplay, smooth learning curve Short sessions, sense of achievement Works on (almost) every device Continuous development
..sounds familiar?
Drag Racing success factors Simple gameplay, short sessions Android 1.5+ 50+ updates … 2 years in top 50 games >80M downloads