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Mobile Monetization

ffzffz
edited in Questions and Answers
Hi there,

So, it's time time to choose the monetisation model for my upcoming game - Fatty on a Bike -

I've pretty much decided to go free with ads, maybe with an IAP to disable ads... a bit cliche I know.

Launch will be iOS only at this stage, although it's built on Unity so I can migrate it later on.

So my question is around ad networks, what are you all using - Admob, iAds, Flurry, etc?

Are you using ad mediation services, something similar to what Flurry offers?

Looking forward to the comments. ;)

cheers,

Ffz

Comments

  • TuismTuism
    We're building our game Dead Run to be free with ads, and then I thought about in app purchases... But then to be honest I don't believe in putting the ad in to be obtrusive to the play experience, so there shouldn't be a need to remove ads. That's my thinking, anyway.

    Oh and today at Vodacom's Gaming App conference one guy from mlab had some stats, In game ads earn SUPER low compared to IAP. But that should be obvious, I guess.

    So I was thinking to build extra value to be bought by IAP - right now I'm thinking extra game modes, feature sets. Expanding the experience.

    As for what to use we're looking at Admob, it *is* google's after all.

    Would be interesting to see what others are going with.
  • CrocopedeCrocopede
    Although Ad's can generate revenue i do not think its worth exposing your players to it unless done unobtrusively.
    This opinion is solely based on my absolute hatred for annoying misplaced adds that pops up at the most inconvenient of times.
    Im going for IAP's as the business model.

    Stats indicate that players only start spending after 8 - 10 plays of your game. So its important to retain your player base.
    Also. People who are willing to pay for anything, are more likely to spend big. Meaning your biggest revenue of IAP's will be from consumables of 10$ per purchase as opposed to plenty of 0.99$ purchases.

    Gamasutra has some excellent articles on monetizing from your games.
    Good luck with your games. I hope you make it a success.

    Cheers
  • edg3edg3
    edited
    Crocopede said:
    Although Ad's can generate revenue i do not think its worth exposing your players to it unless done unobtrusively.
    This is the crux of the issue with adverts. There is no nice way to put adverts in your game in an unobtrusive manner (you cant hide it in the game world) as the adverts work on a combination of the total views the advert gets and the number of clickthroughs.

    I disagree entirely on the "big IAP" system, where you have 10$ purchases because all it is doing is gaming the fact that kids who do not know better will rack up large purchases on their parent's devices earning you money. That isn't a monetization strategy. If you build up a good IAP system that adds VALUE to your game you can make a good amount of money of $1 purchases.

    The Valve Dev Days talk on adding value through IAP is really good. You should go watch it.

    Edit: I accidentally a "read" instead of a "watch"
  • SniperED007SniperED007
    In theory Ads are great as it doesn't require your players to spend money yet you still make money, but in reality it's a pretty poor system.

    When using ads no matter how brilliant your game is it makes little to no difference to your revenue, players aren't paying you for a brilliant game experience, there is no way for them to reward your effort.

    You are also completely reliant on the ads that are being served (or not being served) to determine your overall revenue.

    So there is no real way of telling if you making money because your game is "good", it all comes down to number of ads shows, ,number of downloads, and amount of time spent playing.

    So to capitalize on revenue you have to try make a game that is either addictive, very long, or viral for it to be of a huge success in terms of revenue, and even then you still reliant on the ads being displayed and how much you receive per 1000 ad impressions.

    IAP/Paid are probably your best bet, if you have made something that the player wants they will spend that money to get it. You now have a lot more control over your daily revenue as you will quickly see trends, i.e. Out of 1000 players 150 will on average spend.
    Now you can continue to improve your game and offer new IAP products and improve your overall gaming experience to entice more players to want to spend on your game.

    That has been my experience with both IAP and Ads anyway.
    I've released a game on Android (with Ads) and the exact same game on Windows Phone (but paid)
    The Android release had over 50 000 downloads, the WP version had 1800 downloads.

    The Android version made $ 105
    The Windows Phone version made $ 900

    We released 2 other games on Windows Phone using Ads, both did really well in terms of Ratings (4.5+ stars, they have been featured many times, and have decent download numbers) but we have yet to make enough off the Ads to even receive a payout.
  • ffzffz
    The whole freemium model is an interesting one, I agree that IAPS mean more revenue but I don't necessarily want to design the game experience around add-ons, paywalls, etc.

    I've chatted to one of the developers I've worked with in China and she recommends admob all the way, i am just not sure that it's going to generate enough revenue on it's own?

    My concern about launching paid on iOS is that it becomes a barrier to entry, I might launch two versions.. free with ads and paid without and test the waters.

    I'll let you know how it progresses and send a gameplay trailer when it's ready.

    cheers,

    Ffz
  • CrocopedeCrocopede
    edg3 said:
    Crocopede said:
    Although Ad's can generate revenue i do not think its worth exposing your players to it unless done unobtrusively.
    This is the crux of the issue with adverts. There is no nice way to put adverts in your game in an unobtrusive manner (you cant hide it in the game world) as the adverts work on a combination of the total views the advert gets and the number of clickthroughs.

    I disagree entirely on the "big IAP" system, where you have 10$ purchases because all it is doing is gaming the fact that kids who do not know better will rack up large purchases on their parent's devices earning you money. That isn't a monetization strategy. If you build up a good IAP system that adds VALUE to your game you can make a good amount of money of $1 purchases.

    The Valve Dev Days talk on adding value through IAP is really good. You should go watch it.

    Edit: I accidentally a "read" instead of a "watch"
    There are less obtrusive ways than others. For example at the end of a level, or on a death, before you can retry or play next level, the ad pops up, as part of a menu. Giant Boulder of death is a nice example of what im talking about. Annoying adds would be the ones who is constantly on screen.

    Statistics indicate that people willing to spend any form of money, would be willing to spend more than just a $1. I do not know how accurate the information was, but indicated only 2% of your player base will actually use IAP.

    Im commenting based on what i have researched. My game is still to be released so im absorbing what you more experienced Dev's have to say.

    I considered the Pay for the Game approach. But seeing its my first game... i consider it a gift to the community.
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