Getting 30x-40x the purchases on iTunes App Store vs Android Market

Solar2D Android
#1

As a developer who is trying to sell an app and doesn’t have a free version supported by ads, is it even worth it to develop for Android?

With my app Christmas Crazy Eights, I’ve had over 30 times (now approaching 40 times) the number of purchases on the iTunes App Store vs the Android Market. (And on the Amazon App Store for Android, I’ve had *zero* downloads.)

Is anyone having any success with a paid app/game for Android? Or is everyone just going to a free + ads model? For my game, it’s a party game, so having ads just won’t work. I don’t think people are going to want to stop the whole game (and risk ticking everyone off) to go check out an ad, but I could be wrong.

Dave [import]uid: 80784 topic_id: 17761 reply_id: 317761[/import]

#2

That sounds about right. :wink:

If you’re doing things in Corona that work rather seamlessly across both iOS and Android, it’s not much of an issue (or time) to just support both platforms… but if you’re doing things that require extra tinkering and devel/testing time for Android, then you’ve got to consider not dealing with it… and in that case, IMHO if you’re just doing development for a stand-alone app, stick to iOS and ditch Android for now.

We’re doing two different apps (from our group of 7 or 8) for both iOS and Android… but that’s because they’re very specific/niche – not games … The small percentage of android users SCREAM LOUDLY on our facebook page, etc if we don’t support them.

We listened to the dozen or so loud complainers who demanded the android version of one of the apps for months. But since we released it in September, the only real impact was to stop the infernal yip-yap of the Android folks. It’s had virtually no impact on our sales with iOS dominating (same 30 or 40 iOS to 1 android sale). We actually just paid for the Samsung Galaxy Tab (7in) that we bought to do the testing on after 2+ months of android sales. *chuckle* I’d also note the only support issues/requests that we’ve had have come from the Android users. :wink:

They are definitely different groups of people. iOS people are in it for the apps and the experience. They pay a premium for the device and they’re very willing and interested in buying the apps.

Android, on the other hand, is clearly a different group of users with a different mindset. Android has gained a lot of market share with simply “bad” devices. Those buyers are not people who are going to spend money on apps… or even bother to look for the app store and setup an account.
… Also IMHO, the Kindle Fire and Nook do stand a chance to change this… but not yet, especially reading some initial Fire reviews (…mine is scheduled for delivery today).
Best,
~~Kenn [import]uid: 13859 topic_id: 17761 reply_id: 67784[/import]

#3

We also are developing for both platforms, and while the market is different and sales for Android are way off compared to IOS.

I feel there are benefits from having your apps in the android market. it helps get the name of your app out there. And people that may have both devices may find the name of your app through the android market but end up with it on their IOS device.

That combined with Android devices becoming far cheaper then the IOS devices (Kindle Fire) at $199 i can see Many parents buying that device for their kids for x-mas. its the same price as any gameboy they used for fork out the same cash for. and games in a Android market are far cheaper then buying games for gameboy’s

So the Android market could change at any time. So develop for IOS is my mind. but I wouldn’t neglect the other market if you can easily build and put your app in the android market as well. [import]uid: 67604 topic_id: 17761 reply_id: 67786[/import]

#4

I prefer to develop for iOS, but I’m also trying to get more work developing apps for other people. In that case, I think being able to develop for both iOS and Android is an added value. [import]uid: 67839 topic_id: 17761 reply_id: 67808[/import]

#5

Android will always produce higher profits if you incorporate ad’s into your games. I’ve made more money of Ad’s then I have off purchases. I would recommend always making a free version with ad’s and an ad free version which costs a dollar. Honestly, since the Android Market only costs $25, there is no reason why you shouldn’t post your app on the market, you can easily gain that money back :slight_smile:

Regards,
Jordan Schuetz
Ninja Pig Studios [import]uid: 29181 topic_id: 17761 reply_id: 67833[/import]

#6

Just a follow-up on this – I gave up on charging for my app on both iTunes and the Android Market. I got a lot of downloads at first on iTunes, but they’ve dropped off to 1-4 per day now, and averaging closer to 1 than i’d like.

So yesterday I made the game free, and I got 83 downloads on iTunes.

On the Android Market, the game had only been downloaded 10 times *total* over the course of 5 or 6 weeks. Yesterday, after making it free, it was downloaded 25 times.

Obviously more people are going to download it if it’s free. In my case, I never bothered even putting any ads in there. I’m just hoping to use this to raise awareness of my game company and hopefully help with the next game. [import]uid: 80784 topic_id: 17761 reply_id: 73871[/import]