Comments on: The iPhone hasn’t actually changed the game at all http://www.gamesbrief.com/2009/04/the-iphone-hasnt-actually-changed-the-game-at-all/ The Business of Games Thu, 09 Sep 2010 08:51:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: mj http://www.gamesbrief.com/2009/04/the-iphone-hasnt-actually-changed-the-game-at-all/comment-page-1/#comment-1661 mj Wed, 06 May 2009 11:49:41 +0000 http://www.gamesbrief.com/?p=1689#comment-1661 From the DeLoitte survey: "Implied penetration is now approaching 125%, meaning that up to 40% of mobile phone users have multiple SIMs and devices." Your figures also ignore the iPod touch which is growing at 3x the rate of the iPhone and has a similar installed base. So, if 3.5% of the market are making 18.6% of the game purchases, you have to admit there's a market change there. Add in the Touch (for which we don't have figures) and you see why the AppStore becomes more compelling. Yes, if you're not on the top 100 list, you're going to find it hard but this is more evident that the time for releasing the game and hoping for the best is over. Now you have to market your game, find PR opportunities, price it right, collaborate with others, get reviews and make sure they're good by producing a polished product. Java games distributed through operators and portals might be selling more - but then their market is nearly ten times the size. So a market ten times as large is buying only slightly more than half the games? That speaks volumes about the death of that market! One local developer sells his Java entertainment products through several portals and earns between 30 cents and 1 euro for each sales of his 6 euro app. He produced one iPhone version which works on iPhone and iPod touch and makes 2 pounds every time it sells (for 3 pounds). His attitude: he's moving all but one of his development team to the iPhone. It's where the money is. From the DeLoitte survey: “Implied penetration is now approaching 125%, meaning that up to 40% of mobile phone users have multiple SIMs and devices.”

Your figures also ignore the iPod touch which is growing at 3x the rate of the iPhone and has a similar installed base.

So, if 3.5% of the market are making 18.6% of the game purchases, you have to admit there’s a market change there. Add in the Touch (for which we don’t have figures) and you see why the AppStore becomes more compelling.

Yes, if you’re not on the top 100 list, you’re going to find it hard but this is more evident that the time for releasing the game and hoping for the best is over. Now you have to market your game, find PR opportunities, price it right, collaborate with others, get reviews and make sure they’re good by producing a polished product.

Java games distributed through operators and portals might be selling more – but then their market is nearly ten times the size. So a market ten times as large is buying only slightly more than half the games? That speaks volumes about the death of that market!

One local developer sells his Java entertainment products through several portals and earns between 30 cents and 1 euro for each sales of his 6 euro app. He produced one iPhone version which works on iPhone and iPod touch and makes 2 pounds every time it sells (for 3 pounds). His attitude: he’s moving all but one of his development team to the iPhone. It’s where the money is.

]]> By: Nicholas Lovell http://www.gamesbrief.com/2009/04/the-iphone-hasnt-actually-changed-the-game-at-all/comment-page-1/#comment-1210 Nicholas Lovell Fri, 24 Apr 2009 11:30:25 +0000 http://www.gamesbrief.com/?p=1689#comment-1210 Many thanks Tim, and I certainly see your point that the iPhone has reawoken the mobile apps market. But I guess my point is that developers (particularly British ones) should remember that the iPhone's raw numbers are not vast, although its impact may be far-reaching. I should also clarify one point: The figures on the right of the table are "numbers of iPhone owners who have ever purchased a game". Some other commentators appear to have interpreted them differently. Many thanks Tim, and I certainly see your point that the iPhone has reawoken the mobile apps market. But I guess my point is that developers (particularly British ones) should remember that the iPhone’s raw numbers are not vast, although its impact may be far-reaching.

I should also clarify one point: The figures on the right of the table are “numbers of iPhone owners who have ever purchased a game”. Some other commentators appear to have interpreted them differently.

]]> By: Tim Harrison http://www.gamesbrief.com/2009/04/the-iphone-hasnt-actually-changed-the-game-at-all/comment-page-1/#comment-1121 Tim Harrison Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:33:29 +0000 http://www.gamesbrief.com/?p=1689#comment-1121 A nicely provocative headline from you, Nicholas, to which I must respond. I shall put my faith in the veracity of your crunching, but the numbers aren't the whole story here, as you well know. The iPhone has performed CPR on a flatlining industry that was about to die. As I talk about in my piece over at Pocketgamer.biz http://bit.ly/Up8dO while Apple has shaken the fruit from the tree, it hasn't necessarily improved the harvest. Yet. Because what the iPhone's 'success' has done is a) renewed the faith of the existing mobile game community that people will buy games for their phones b) attracted new developers who will disrupt and reinvigorate the industry c) after a couple of years in the wilderness, made operators and handset manufacturers care about downloadable games and applications (again). Yes, in the long game, only numbers are important. But the short-mid term is more exciting than it has been for years and at the very least, the halo effect of this groundbreaking device will leave us with a long-term mean penetration considerably higher than the embarrassing 3.8% (and positively shameful) 2.7% we currently endure. A nicely provocative headline from you, Nicholas, to which I must respond. I shall put my faith in the veracity of your crunching, but the numbers aren’t the whole story here, as you well know.

The iPhone has performed CPR on a flatlining industry that was about to die.

As I talk about in my piece over at Pocketgamer.biz http://bit.ly/Up8dO while Apple has shaken the fruit from the tree, it hasn’t necessarily improved the harvest. Yet. Because what the iPhone’s ‘success’ has done is a) renewed the faith of the existing mobile game community that people will buy games for their phones b) attracted new developers who will disrupt and reinvigorate the industry c) after a couple of years in the wilderness, made operators and handset manufacturers care about downloadable games and applications (again).

Yes, in the long game, only numbers are important. But the short-mid term is more exciting than it has been for years and at the very least, the halo effect of this groundbreaking device will leave us with a long-term mean penetration considerably higher than the embarrassing 3.8% (and positively shameful) 2.7% we currently endure.

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