iPhone Game Preview - Lumen

[bridgeyman]

Hey,

I just finished up my iPhone puzzle game, Lumen. I have posted a little video tour of the app on http://fieryferret.com/lumen/lumen.html. Be warned though, that is my first YouTube video, and it is pretty terrible.

I mention in the video that I will be charging $5 for it on the AppStore, but the YouTube page has had several comments that I should sell it for less. They claim $1-2 would be more reasonable. What do you guys think?

Also, it is made with the SDK so I can't release it until the 2.0 firmware is released. After that though, I will consider releasing it on Installer.app. How would a pay-for game work on Installer? Would I lock it down, and have people pay for a key? Perhaps I could simply release it for free for those willing to jailbreak their iPhones...


Thank You,
Bridger Maxwell

 

[bazookafx3]

Looks great! So looking forward to it!

 

[domness]

I think maybe about $2.29? - Seems a reasonable price. Higher that $2, but still looks pretty cheap enough to get people to buy it.

It looks a really good game! Depending on the money that I get from work (bonus! yes!) I will probably buy it.

 

[EglMtn]

Looks like a pretty interesting game. I'd probably purchase it for the 2-3$ range. I'm very excited about all the games that will be coming to the iPhone as I spend a lot of time sitting on planes.

 

[Daiden]

Yeah, from the video I'd probably say between $1-$2 would be a price people would be willing to pay.

 

[Flowbee]

Pricing iPhone apps is going to be difficult initially, since it's hard to know what the market will bear and how price will affect demand.

Will you sell twice as many games at $2.50 as you would at $5.00? Will buyers perceive a $5.00 game as being better than a $2.00 game, and stay away from the cheap games? Who knows?

It might be helpful to look at the pricing of current iPod games and go from there. $4.99 is what people are used to paying. If your game is good, $2.99 - 4.99 is probably going to be reasonable to most buyers.

Two things to keep in mind:

1) There will probably be many free games to compete with, and

2) No matter how low you price your game, lots of people will tell you it should be cheaper.

 

[bridgeyman]

Thanks for the suggestions. I thought $5 would be really cheap. I guess I will have to wait and see what other developers do. It is untested territory. Does anybody have any estimates on how many copies of Lumen I can hope to sell? There is a lot of uncertainty here for me. Good thing this is just a hobby

 

[meagain]

I can't even imagine your dilemma on this. Gosh, who knows huh? And initially after the launch of everything will surely be different than 3 months from now. Is it something you can change pretty easily? I might try the $5 and see how it goes. It's not exactly like it's just that one game - there are hundreds/thousands? Well, good luck to you. I'll keep an eye out for it.

 

[chapel321]

Good luck to you bridgeyman!!

 

[bridgeyman]

It is finally here!

Well, after a long and agonizing review process, Lumen is FINALLY on the App Store. Check it out. Unfortunately, Apple got the release date messed up so it only shows up on page 39 of the new releases! I could really use some help with some positive ratings, maybe then it will be seen.... Also, I decided to start out at $1.99 instead of $4.99. So go try it out, what do you have to lose?

Bridger Maxwell

 

[MICHAELSD]

It looks really cool, I might get it soon. Let us know how many copies you sell . Good luck!

 

[pinktank]

how much does apple give you when it says 2$?

 

[bridgeyman]

Apple takes 30%, so when an app is $2 I get $1.40. I personally am very happy with that cut, as it is well worth it to have Apple process credit cards, handle distribution, and roll out updates. Of course, I would certainly mind the 30% loss if Apple would be prompt with the app approval process....