Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

TylerBetable

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 16, 2011
4
0
I don't see why devs still bother with virtual goods. A lot of people have been chasing the virtual goods carrot recently, but are they still the best way for small developers to make a game?

The problem with virtual goods is that you need millions of users in order to reach $1M in revenue, especially with free-to-paid conversion rates for most social games being in the single digits and average revenue per user (ARPU) often hovering around $1.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

troop231

macrumors 603
Jan 20, 2010
5,822
553
I like to develop to learn, however I would love to sell a million apps at .99 cents each, because that's $700,000 in the pocket. The odds of reaching that are better than the lottery IMO.
 

ViviUO

macrumors 6502
Jul 4, 2009
307
22
Because why not?

Why not add the ability to potentially earn $5 per user instead of $1? There's no guarantee that a developer will make a lot of money from in-app purchases and visual goods, but there will ALWAYS be the possibility.

Because of that, there is no point in debating it.
 

TylerBetable

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 16, 2011
4
0
Because why not?

Why not add the ability to potentially earn $5 per user instead of $1? There's no guarantee that a developer will make a lot of money from in-app purchases and visual goods, but there will ALWAYS be the possibility.

Because of that, there is no point in debating it.

I see. Well that doesn't mean that developers will ignore all new methods of monetization, right? I see what you are saying though, there's no reason to shortchange yourself when there is a tried-and-true method that works. Given this, do you think game devs would rather do something that's proven first, then worry about building out a new form of revenue that is untested?
 

ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Nov 26, 2007
9,544
6,042
I see. Well that doesn't mean that developers will ignore all new methods of monetization, right? I see what you are saying though, there's no reason to shortchange yourself when there is a tried-and-true method that works. Given this, do you think game devs would rather do something that's proven first, then worry about building out a new form of revenue that is untested?

I'd do whatever I thought would make me the most money without angering customers (because, in the long run, angering customers will just lead to the money drying up.)
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.