cocos2d for iPhone

A fast, easy to use, free, and community supported 2D game engine

1. 

   fingerbakery
   Member

   Yeah I thought they fixed that date thing too, that's troubling, ugh, bad luck for you (even if it seems partway fixed for you).

   The game looks amazing! Great work!

   Posted 1 year ago #
2. 

   Codemattic
   Moderator

   so cute and so much fun. MH had me laughing out loud - how many games do that? Dont worry about the date thing - this IMHO will be featured by Apple so you'll get extra exposure then :)

   Posted 1 year ago #
3. 

   ShooterDev
   Member

   Hey, congrats on your release! This game looks very good and seems like a lot of fun :)

   You say you spent 1 month on marketing preparation - Could you give us more information on how the marketing was done for your game? :)

   Posted 1 year ago #
4. 

   Karl
   Member

   After the disastrous marketing campaign for Coin Toss Challenge, we decided this time to hire experts to handle the marketing side ;-)

   We contacted a marketing company, sent them the game to look at, and got a bunch of change suggestions back (simplify the user interface, add multiple difficulty levels, in-game instructions). Those took about 2 weeks to implement. We also added TapJoy at their recommendation.

   After that we got to work putting together a press kit, including promo shots, gameplay video, company logos banners, and icons in various sizes, app store description, company bio, etc. This involved a fair bit of back-and-forth with the marketers regarding the look and aesthetics.

   We also put together a commercial on YouTube (seen at the top of this thread).

   We then submitted the app and waited for the approval process, while the marketing company hit up their contacts in preparation for release day.

   Now that it's been released, we're monitoring flurry and appfigures, and tweaking tapjoy as needed. We've also been hounding everyone in our contact list to write a review ;-)

   A game lives or dies by the number of reviews it gets.

   Posted 1 year ago #
5. 

   kussakov
   Member

   Hi,

   Great game!

   Could you tell me which company did you use to promote you game?

   Posted 1 year ago #
6. 

   Knighty
   Member

   Just picked it up Karl, and I was right! Featured. NICE :)

   Posted 1 year ago #
7. 

   Karl
   Member

   Awesome! Thanks for downloading!

   Now I just hope my downloads pick up. So far 170 on Tuesday and 90 on Wednesday. Haven't gotten an updated figure for today yet...

   @kussakov: we went with Apalon for marketing.

   Posted 1 year ago #
8. 

   Codemattic
   Moderator

   How much do promoters cost? Can you discuss it?

   Posted 1 year ago #
9. 

   Karl
   Member

   Their pricing is on their homepage. We opted for the "ultimate" package, where you pay 2 grand up front, and another 2 grand if your app makes it to the top 50 in your subcategory.

   Posted 1 year ago #
10. 

    Codemattic
    Moderator

    I must of missed that, but of course its right here: http://www.apalon.com/iphone_marketing.html - "GUARANTEED RANKINGS" I like the sound of that. Looks like you will have to sell 5700+ copies to make back Apalon's marketing costs - was there any discussion with them about pricing? Mice Heist seems like the kind of game that could sell at 1.99 or *maybe* even at 2.99 bc of all the art assets. Did they say 0.99 was the only way to get to the top 50, and the greater sales would make up for the lower price?

    Posted 1 year ago #
11. 

    Karl
    Member

    Well it may all be for nothing... All of the reviews of Mice Heist have disappeared from the app store.
    It doesn't even register on the top 200 anymore :(

    Posted 1 year ago #
12. 

    Karl
    Member

    Curiouser and curiouser... Apparently the "no reviews" thing doesn't affect everyone. Other people can see the reviews just fine =/

    Posted 1 year ago #
13. 

    jakeyG35
    Member

    i just got it this morning after seeing it in "Hot New Games" and it was showing 50 reviews..

    as for the game itself, excellent job! this game will be a hit for sure.

    Posted 1 year ago #
14. 

    Karl
    Member

    Yeaaaaaah! Rank 50 in Games/Action!

    Of course that means we owe Apalon another 2 grand now :P

    It turns out the missing reviews were because iTunes switched me to the Canadian store.

    Posted 1 year ago #
15. 

    Joey Pepperoni
    Member

    Congrats Karl!!

    If you don't mind, I'd be interesting in knowing your daily sales numbers when in the top 50.

    Would you recommend hiring a marketing firm with your experience so far? Looks like it's been effective... unless of course it's the game itself that is making the sales ;-)

    Posted 1 year ago #
16. 

    Karl
    Member

    So far it was:
    - 170 sales on the first day (rank 107).
    - 90 sales on the second day (rank 140).
    - 300 sales on the third day (rank 120, but we got featured in new and noteworthy).
    - rank 50 today. I won't get figures till tomorrow morning.

    Ranking is in Games/Action.

    Posted 1 year ago #
17. 

    vanillasky65
    Member

    Wow.. Congratulations.

    Would you recommend hiring a marketing firm with your experience so far? Looks like it's been effective... unless of course it's the game itself that is making the sales ;-)

    Yeah, I would like to know to.

    Posted 1 year ago #
18. 

    Chicken Hero Defender
    Member

    Congrats!!

    Yeah and keep us posted. I'd love to know.

    Is always good to know those things. Specially if you are new and trying to get notice.

    Thanks

    Posted 1 year ago #
19. 

    Karl
    Member

    I'd definitely recommend going with a marketing firm.
    It's a lot like laying a foundation for a house. Yeah, you could do it yourself, but you'll generally get a much better (and less stressful) job if you just hire an expert who knows his trade well.

    It's the marketing that draws people in. It's the game that makes them stay. In a couple of weeks, I'll be able to see whether Mice Heist really has staying power or not.

    Posted 1 year ago #
20. 

    Lola
    Member

    Good looking game, you really polished it.And thanks for telling useful info about the sales figures and marketing services! I am really interested in this stuff.

    Whats the use of Tapjoy so far for you?

    I really like your game, but here one suggestion:

    Do you think the location of the "how to play" button is ideal? I noticed when showing your game to some people, they automatically press the top button to start playing the games, and soon they said tome "does the instructions never end?" lol. Just a little thing but i thought worth mentioning.

    Here one website i found useful, AppAnnie. Pretty nice stats about the game rankings for free, http://www.appannie.com/mice-heist/ranking/

    Posted 1 year ago #
21. 

    ShooterDev
    Member

    thank you for sharing so much. It's very cool to get to see how your game will succeed :)

    Good luck!

    Posted 1 year ago #
22. 

    Karl
    Member

    Here's the actual breakdown so far, USA sales and worldwide:

    June 8: Launch, Rank 107. 155 sales (166 worldwide).
    June 9: Rank 140. 76 sales (90 worldwide).
    June 10: Featured, Rank 120. 262 sales (305 worldwide).
    June 11: Rank 50: 395 sales (498 worldwide).

    And yesterday, 2 people downloaded our previous game: Coin Toss Challenge. I haven't seen any downloads on that in a long time :P

    One thing to note: The ad campaign gave the most push in the USA, and only targeted English language sites & blogs. The next highest sales zone yesterday was the UK with 38 sales, followed by Australia (13), Germany (8), and Canada (7).

    Posted 1 year ago #
23. 

    Karl
    Member

    @Lola: Yeah maybe we should have placed the "new game" button differently. We did it because during observation tests, people who just played the game off the bat tended to do weird things like try to flick the mice, or freeze up because they didn't know how to deal with a special mouse.

    Thanks for the AppAnnie link, btw! Very handy info! It's interesting to see the ranking jumps in the various countries.
    I'm glad to see it gaining traction in Japan despite no push except a few English teacher friends of mine. I was worried that my tribute to Ishikawa Goemon XIII would be in vain ;-)

    Posted 1 year ago #
24. 

    Codemattic
    Moderator

    Good numbers - I hope they hold up/improve!

    Where did you advertise?

    Posted 1 year ago #
25. 

    Karl
    Member

    Everywhere! :P

    Just google "Mice Heist" to see where the promotions occurred. http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=%22Mice+Heist%22&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=e1cf0dd310961ef9

    Posted 1 year ago #
26. 

    Codemattic
    Moderator

    By everywhere do you mean you sent p.r. releases everywhere or paid for advertising on all those sites? Sorry, Im just curious as to dev's promotional strategies.

    @Lola - yes AppAnnie looks very interesting

    Posted 1 year ago #
27. 

    Karl
    Member

    It was all handled by Apalon, so I'm not sure what their exact methods were.

    Posted 1 year ago #
28. 

    MrCheez
    Member

    So how have the last few days treated your game, Karl? :) Been very interesting following your progress!

    P.S. Noticed you're a NeoGAFfer ;)

    Posted 1 year ago #
29. 

    Codemattic
    Moderator

    "people who just played the game off the bat tended to do weird things like try to flick the mice"

    you know, that could be kinda fun - flicking the mice.

    Posted 1 year ago #
30. 

    Karl
    Member

    Hi, sorry for the delay. Things are hectic of late.

    June 12: Downloads 414, Rank 47 + featured in new and noteworthy
    June 13: Downloads 303, Rank 52
    June 14: Downloads: 261, Rank 65
    June 15: Downloads 223, Rank 72
    June 16: Downloads 211, Rank 78
    June 17: Downloads 167, Rank 84

    So things are definitely slowing down. We gotta think of some new ways to boost sales =/

    Posted 1 year ago #

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