Is there any consensus on what constitutes a “successful app” or an app that is “doing well?” For the sake of discussion, let’s us a 99 cent game as an example. [import]uid: 39859 topic_id: 14694 reply_id: 314694[/import]
… like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.
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I was looking for something a little more quantitative, but i appreciate your optimism.
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Well, it’s not “optimism”, and in all fairness you didn’t actually ask a quantitative question.
Everyone is going to define “success” in their own terms. One person will feel it’s a success if they can conceive an idea, build a program, and get it into people’s hands, another might feel that it’s reaching a million downloads, even if it’s free, a third might feel it’s a success if they make enough to pay their software and hardware bills, while a fourth might define success as making enough to quit their day job and do apps for a living.
As posted, it’s in the eye of the beholder.
– Walt Sterdan [import]uid: 4329 topic_id: 14694 reply_id: 54343[/import]
Also your perception of a success on your first app may be drastically different than on say your 5th app. For my first app I was just happy to have it on the App Store. That is what I considered a success. My 2nd app I will have a different outlook. [import]uid: 31262 topic_id: 14694 reply_id: 54351[/import]
@psimedia … *grin* Oh… Ok, this was a serious question.
In most basic terms, a successful app would be one that covers its cost to produce. No?
To determine when you reach success, you’ve got to determine all of your costs. This includes your own time and expenses, in full – whether you consider your time to be worth $5 an hour or $5,000 an hour, you’ve got to figure it out – (Some will look at opportunity costs; IE, if I wasn’t coding, I could be watching my son run around outside and I value that time @ …)
You then take all of your revenue and subtract all of your costs (both real and theoretical). And, if you have a positive number, it seems to me that you have a fundamentally successful app.
Whether or not you have a successful app development model would be determined on whether or not you can reproduce the results again and again.
… If you’re asking about winning the “app lotto”, to the tune of even winning the daily lotto (N&N mention) or the “Big One” with a front page iTunes feature … I have no good answer for you.
Good luck! [import]uid: 13859 topic_id: 14694 reply_id: 54353[/import]
Everyone has given their opinion, let me share mine.
First question that some have asked is what I will ask too, What do you mean by Successful?
I know that you are asking a question to get others opinion, but the truth of the matter remains that success or failure depends on the developer. I mean I can set a high target that if my app reaches a million downloads, I will consider it successful or that if I can make $10,000 off my app it is successful or If the app makes it into the New & Noteworthy then it is successful.
I *personally* feel that an app is successful not just by the price or the numbers of downloads, but if it can satisfy the users. I have downloaded a popular top 5 game only to remove it just after one play, but by downloads it is successful? Earlier, I have purchased apps for $0.99 only to find them crappy and “notworthy” the developer has made the money and could have reached the mark they set for success, but is that successful?
If you had instead asked What are the factors that go towards making a successful app, that would have been a more appropriate question.
cheers,
?
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EDIT: assuming by success you mean money
It must have mass appeal.
It must have good marketing.
It must have good performance and stability.
Just because you think it’s going to be a great game doesn’t mean everybody thinks so. I have seen a lot of games where I could tell “what were they thinking?!”. Haven’t you? Apparently they were thinking they are doing a great game.
Also, I don’t think your game should be original in order for it to succeed. Rather a well implemented interesting variation of an already proven concept(s).
This is how I see it. Could be wrong. [import]uid: 52103 topic_id: 14694 reply_id: 54345[/import]
Sales I presume
Depends how much you expect to make out of the app as well of course [import]uid: 84637 topic_id: 14694 reply_id: 54393[/import]
8 Elements to a successful game:
http://blog.anscamobile.com/2011/03/eight-elements-to-a-successful-game/ [import]uid: 24 topic_id: 14694 reply_id: 54466[/import]