Just some interesting article I've found:
http://devblog.ailon.org/devblog/post/2012/10/11/The-Last-Act-of-App-Gold-Rush.aspxSo what do you guys think? Really no more Indie millionaires on app stores? And should developer's really bet on Windwos 8 or is it just a trick to lure developers in?
And by the way, would team Gideros consider something as crowdsourcing for additional forces for adding Windows 8 platform or something like that? Just an idea.
Comments
Yes you might be able to get away with a second rate app if timed correctly, but so will every other developer, rather than being known for an early adopter that releases crap, concentrate on building a better experience for the market your already involved in.
The app gold rush was always a fantasy, yes some people made it big (and someone wins the lottery each week), but in a lot of cases it was more due to the fact that they created an innovative solution or a new type of experience.
If there was no chance of making real money selling products in existing markets then nothing would ever get sold. The real winners are the ones who create better products for or find better ways to utilise their existing markets as well as being aware of new markets and opportunities.
Just my $0.02
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#MakeABetterGame! "Never give up, Never NEVER give up!" - Winston Churchill
Since after Macs went Intel, I fail to see the reasons for having a wintel box or laptop. It is slow and every time I switch it on, it only downloads approximately a GB of updates taking about 2 hours to install them. WIndows 8 while it being an amazing system, would have been an upgrade from Windows Mobile or Windows Phone, but from Windows 7 it seems like a downgrade and it will be sandboxed, What??
Development for Microsoft platforms is another thing, there was a time before many developers converted from the MS camp to the Apple camp. There are lots of avenues for the millions, the question is, do you want to make the millions a dollar at a time or in batches of large numbers? dollar at a time => App stores and individual dollar app sales, where as the alternative is Enterprise development.
In the App world, "Lost" is the new "Birds" look for apps like "Lost City", "Forever Lost" these are doing well. "Lost City" made their million just recently when there were 700,000 apps on the app store. So while all apps that could be made are made, there is always that "one more" app that steals the show.
Would I bet on the Steve that's alive, no way he is neither a marketing person nor a developer, he is out of synch with the reality of developers. While I would look forward to Microsoft Surface, I would not hold my breath with the success of Win8. My MSDN subscription expired and I am not renewing it so cannot get my hands on the Win8 release as yet.
Author of Learn Lua for iOS Game Development from Apress ( http://www.apress.com/9781430246626 )
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Gold is a limited resource, mobile apps are not and as long as there is demand you can keep supplying. There is a definite app visibility problem, but this is common in all markets.
If you're worried take techdojos advice and work on building better apps, put serious effort into marketing and stop worrying about missing your shot. The amount of quality apps on these markets is tiny and there will always be room for an indie to make it big, it's really down to you.
That being said publishing small throw-away apps isn't a bad plan either. I'm not saying release crap but a constant release stream of small, entertaining apps can provide a financial buffer giving you more stability to work on bigger and better apps.
If anybody goes into app development hoping to get an Angry Birds / Lost City hit they are bound to fail. Treat it like any other business, release a steady stream of decent apps and if one takes off then push it hard, otherwise get to work on maintaining your current portfolio and adding new products.
Oh, and Google "app marketing". I still don't understand why people pour their souls into their apps just to click publish and sit back expecting money to roll in.
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Actually I've been going on with those 2 purposes:
1. Trying to build better and better products
(plus trying to increase our product visibility - I know my products are nothing great yet, but put aside that, I believe they could satisfy much more customers if I have better visibility)
2. Building up our portfolio by keeping a constant "momentum" of releasing products.
But I'm also exploring other platforms/markets including Windows 8 to see how they are
Author of Learn Lua for iOS Game Development from Apress ( http://www.apress.com/9781430246626 )
Cool Vizify Profile at https://www.vizify.com/oz-apps
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