Small App Store Games Facing Big Trouble

[Andy Chalk]

Small App Store Games Facing Big Trouble

The director of an iPhone game studio says small-scale games on the platform could be facing the end of days as major publishers like Ubisoft [http://www.ea.com] push ever deeper into the mobile gaming market.

The Assyria Game Studios [http://www.apple.com/iphone/iphone-3gs/app-store.html] Managing Director Adam Green notes, that space is being seriously squeezed by the big boys.

Major publishers bring brand awareness to the App Store that independent start-ups just can't match, Green said. "Examples of this can already be seen on iPhone as the likes of EA and Ubisoft dominate the top 10 slots of the App Store. A year ago it was full of unique independent games."

"Without very careful monitoring and design of the online stores, I can't see the small developers managing to get sufficient exposure next to the likes of Assassin's Creed [http://www.amazon.com/Assassins-Creed-Playstation-3/dp/B000P46NMA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1279565404&sr=1-1] in the future," he continued. "Constant production of small-scale games, while ok at the moment, is unlikely to be very sustainable as consumer expectation grows."

Ironically, Green thinks that as the iPhone user base continues to grow - driven in large part by the success of the App Store - so will the demand for high levels of "polish and quality," which is presumably easier to achieve with larger development teams. "As broadband and cellular data network speeds increase, this market and the size of games in it will gradually increase," he said. "This will lead to increased consumer expectation of digital distributed games and therefore more difficulty for a small team in terms of getting noticed on these kinds of platforms."

Source: Develop [http://www.develop-online.net/news/33932/End-is-nigh-for-small-App-Store-indie-games?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+developmag%2Fifbh+%28Develop%29]


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[blackshark121]

This is what's going to happen without any regulation on the App store. Apple needs to create a section geared specifically for small indie designers, and a different section for big game designers. That way, everyone gets to compete against others their own size, instead of the giant developers beating down on people new to development.

 

[Boober the Pig]

Exposure may be a problem but high quality, low price is a good formula for success. If small developers are complaining that they can't compete on quality and price, well that's just business. Make good games at good prices and you will do fine.

 

[Xersues]

This is the same thing as small businesses claiming walmart is stealing everything from them.

Listen, there are 100k+ apps on the store correct? More than likely 60% is just garbage or REALLY specific markets.

If you're an idie developer and make Iphone apps (I make Iphones apps for my software company, but they're internal and our target market is just 1 company) then you need to do some goddamn research.

If assassin's Creed is doing better because Ubisoft can market heavily, then they are using their wallet. They had to spend a lot of money to get exposure. Whining that you want to noticed because you made something isn't going to get you anywhere.

Figure out who you are selling to and get noticed. Markets weed out incompetent ideas. Sorry, but that's the way it works. Figure out how to sell.

I don't feel sorry for these people wanting a different category. Then they'll be bitching when a small, but highly profitable indie dev, tops the charts, and then what, they need to be moved to a different pond?

Nonsense.

 

[Pingieking]

This is what's going to happen without any regulation on the App store. Apple needs to create a section geared specifically for small indie designers, and a different section for big game designers. That way, everyone gets to compete against others their own size, instead of the giant developers beating down on people new to development.

Yeah, this.
If done correctly, it'll turn into something like the PC gaming scene. Without all the mods, of course.

 

[The DSM]

More small companies ready to be made to make movie tie-ins by EA because theres no other way into the market now EA/Ubisoft is eating that up.

Gamings fallen a long, LONG way.

 

[Sephiwind]

This is the same thing as small businesses claiming walmart is stealing everything from them.

Listen, there are 100k+ apps on the store correct? More than likely 60% is just garbage or REALLY specific markets.

If you're an idie developer and make Iphone apps (I make Iphones apps for my software company, but they're internal and our target market is just 1 company) then you need to do some goddamn research.

If assassin's Creed is doing better because Ubisoft can market heavily, then they are using their wallet. They had to spend a lot of money to get exposure. Whining that you want to noticed because you made something isn't going to get you anywhere.

Figure out who you are selling to and get noticed. Markets weed out incompetent ideas. Sorry, but that's the way it works. Figure out how to sell.

I don't feel sorry for these people wanting a different category. Then they'll be bitching when a small, but highly profitable indie dev, tops the charts, and then what, they need to be moved to a different pond?

Nonsense.

I some what disagree with you about this. The problem is start-off Indy companies saw the Apps. Store as a market where they could make money off of their games. A lot of these companies don't have the finances to put out a game that can compete with big companies like EA or Ubi. Free Market works in cycles.

1. You start a game company
2. You make a game.
3. Game sells.
4. Take money made from game and put it into making a better second game.
5. Go back to step 1.

It doesn't help these companies when the only real advetisment on the Apps. Store that they can afford is the top 10 slot. Of course the big companies are going to be taking those slots because those companies all ready have brand recognition.

I'm all for letting failing companies actualy fail, but I'm also for giving new small companies a chance at succeding. It wouldn't hurt to allow for two separat top 10 lists.

 

[SakuRedux]

I don't see what this guys issue is really. As long as indie developers put out quality apps, they're bound to get noticed, especially at the prices they tend to be at. It's true that EA and Ubi have made a lot of games, and you could complain that they're beating down on the smaller devs, but their prices tend to be in the £6/$10 range, whereas most of the good indie games I see cost at most £1.79/$2.99.
The difference between indie games on the App Store and EA games on the App Store, is that indie games, like Pocket God, MiniGore, Hook Champ and all the rest, put effort in after the initial purchase. When was the last time EA put out an app for 59p and gave you free content updates for free, on a regular basis? This kind of customer service from developers like Mountain Sheep (Minigore) and Bolt (Pocket God), is what encouraged me to support them through the DLC they offered.
Sure, it turned a 59p app into a £3 app, but when Bolt put out 14 updates for their game free of charge, it's worth it. Minigore cost me £1.79, and I liked it that much I bought the 2 extra characters for 59p each. £3 for a game that's lasted me longer than anything EA has put out (barring Tetris of course )at £6? Count me in.

EDIT: Plus, let's not forget that Doodle Jump is almost always in the #1 slot of the top 25 section. This means it's one of, if not THE, biggest selling Apps on the entire store.

 

[SmugFrog]

This is the same thing as small businesses claiming walmart is stealing everything from them.

Have you even ever used the App Store on an iPhone? The point is that when you list the games by the "top", you're eventually likely to only see the big developers and nothing by the small companies. Unless you know the exact title of the game, which is very unlikely because most people will download a free version first.

Personally, I think if your game is good and fun to play, it will gather enough publicity on its own. Look at Braid.

Of course, there was also what happened to Psychonauts too... :O

 

[TsunamiWombat]

Isn't the obvious solution to add a special corner to advertise Indie games? Or a "Users Choice" top 10 that lets people rate apps themselves?

 

[Xersues]

This is the same thing as small businesses claiming walmart is stealing everything from them.

Have you even ever used the App Store on an iPhone? The point is that when you list the games by the "top", you're eventually likely to only see the big developers and nothing by the small companies. Unless you know the exact title of the game, which is very unlikely because most people will download a free version first.

Personally, I think if your game is good and fun to play, it will gather enough publicity on its own. Look at Braid.

Of course, there was also what happened to Psychonauts too... :O

Of course I've used the stupid thing. If their search is useless for finding apps, then its useless. They break them down into different categories and you can search from there.

Get the reasoning right. If the top search is effectively useless, and the other options for searching are useless, then its not big companies at fault, its the App store at not being very friendly for searching.

If there is a game to be played with rankings, people will play it. It happens with SEO compliance all the time.

Needing better searching =/= big companies are taking over app store as the article implies.

If they create a separate corner, there will be rules for how you qualify for the indie scene. What's stopping companies from playing games into getting into that as well? My prediction is it'll just get ridiculous very quick.

Nothing wrong with better searching and categories however. Just need to be careful how the categories are split.

 

[vampirekid.13]

@blackshark121 : i totally agree with you.


i also want to say that there will always be those of us that dislike trading gameplay for graphics something that the big companies have been notorious for in the last decade. i mean, just look at any game that came out in the last

1. You start a game company
2. You make a game.
3. Game sells.
4. Take money made from game and put it into making a better second game.
5. Go back to step 1.

actually. its go back to step 3. because going back to step 1 means he makes a new company, which means his old one already flopped.

 

[Jared]

Its just like any business really. Someone larger, and with more clout moves in...and then, well...the rest is history

 

[Generic_Dave]

Wait...wait...wait...maybe I've lost my brain somewhere along the way. There probably is a fairly expansive crossover between ipod owners and core gamers, it can't be THAT expansive. Most people outside the core gamer community have never heard of these companies, let alone their IP's. You telling me Assassin's Creed got in on the chart purely through dev and IP name recognition? I doubt it. If the "casual" gamer market is as big and as uninterested in core gaming as everyone says they are, then what's the problem?

And if it is a problem, then set up separate charts. Though usually the only people that pay attention to indie charts are people who would be described as "hardcore" so perhaps I see their problem...

 

[aragoran]

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[Randoms]

Yep, once Assasins Creed gets onto the iPhone/iPod, everything else is going to gradualy fade away.
Is the game in the image in trouble because it has the word "edge" in it?

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

Marketing is inherently dishonest. Alert the media. Er, wait...