Thanks so much for your statistics, and please continue to update us on your successes and progress!

You seem to be echoing what a lot of developers have found about the platform, and I hope (as someone who is looking to release a game on the Indiecade to test the waters) more is done in the future to promote Xbox Indie Games.

Hey, I'm doing my part for XBLIG publicity:)

http://www.xboxindiegames.co.uk/

However, I think the main issue for XBLIG is the same as for WiiWare, DSWare and PSN: a lack of focus from the parent companies. Individual developers can do as much publicising as they like, but they'll only ever be able to cover a fraction of the eyeballs that something like Major Nielson's blog commands.

To be fair, Microsoft do a fair amount of publicity within the "indie" section of the console-based marketplace - as well as Top Rated and Best Selling, you also get a "IGN Recommends" section, which helps. The issue is that very few people actually get that far! Z0mb1es may have had nearly 10000 people rate it, but the rest of the games in the top 20 average around 500 apiece. Compare this to XBLA, where 50'000 people have rated Trials and the rest average around 7'000 votes each...

Still, between z0mb1es, Arkedo's games and odd hits like Leave Home, the general awareness of the platform is starting to improve!

Also, this:

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/01/21/whats-microsoft-doin.html

There's a few other facts about making indie games (not specifically XBLIG, but generally speaking):

The get rich quick stories might as well be lies. Even if they are true. It's statistically improbable for you to make and iPhone app or XBLIG and score big financially. This is no business model people, it's chasing a pipe dream. If that's your goal and you have other income to live off, go ahead. If not, reconsider your business plan.

There's a reason that established companies that make a profit have accountants, marketers, advertisers, managers, and business people. You need them too. The reason is to make money such that you break even on you investment (sweat equity counts too).

Bottom line for indies out there: get real about the business aspect of having a business if you are going to do so. Set yourself up for success(and define what that means to you) and you'll be a lot closer to achieving it.

Good stats for sure Davit, at least good for everyone that you are sharing them. It may be a little dismal on your side of things but the more people share real data that is useful instead of "Big company Q had a 9% increase on last year in revenue" (Of what revenue? what are the unit sales/dollar values? what changes happened in the company and the market place?). Useable data like what you posted makes me happy, other stuff makes me wonder why people waste the time to say it.

I agree that Microsoft could be doing more to help the service thrive. Then again, I'm not surprised at some of the low sales that certain games are pulling. For example, with SlideColors, I see a game in an oversaturated market (color-based puzzle games), with a generic title, and mediocre box art. Even if the game is of high quality, I'm not surprised that most people skip right by it.

On another note, here's a thread with sales data for dozens of games on XBLIG, best selling and otherwise - http://forums.xna.com/forums/t/45585.aspx

If the product is perceived as a commodity, lower will be the revenue out of it. Unless it could have a huge amount of units in the market, in this case, a consumer base that goes beyond actual xbox numbers, which is not the case. So, i think, whatever the game strive to fast-produced and familiar, its original part must have some substance to offer. It is survival law, crude nature. Not being just another generic one to be easily confunded, forgot, and confuded by the press.

Robert Boyd,

-Oversaturated market, generic tittle and mediocre box art.-

Yes, "I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1" is not selling very good by the publicity, the game is selling thanks to the great box-art, innovate gameplay...

Also you forgot that with oversaturated market of this type of games we selling practically 1 of each 10 downloads. With more publicity = more downloads/purchases.

Now the problem is the same that with the iPhone. An amount of tittles, any of this are great but the major part have a poor quality,etc... And if you want to sell a game in the iPhone you need Publicity/Promotion/Reviews, if you think with a great "icon art",etc.. you will have great sales mmm...

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Daniel Mafra,

Also as Robert Boyd, our problem not is that the people not buy our game or are tired of oversaturated game like this match3 games, the people like the game and you can see the high ratio on total sales or in the January 16 for example with 50% or 33% ratios,etc... if we get the people test the game we will have more purchases.


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I agree with you guys about the game is not an innovate tittle,etc... but if the game will have a 1%-2% ratio like others i will completly agree with you.

Also i know if the game is not having publicty is by "Another generic match3 like game without personality" and not have any special to say. I assume this :) .

I'm not saying that my game is the biggest game ever and you need to buy my great game over the other xbox indie games.

As i said in the article, after see the sales and high ratio, this game can sell good with publicity.

Publicity that never will have why is "Another generic match3 like game without personality".

I think you're missing the point. A high conversion rate combined with low trial downloads generally means that you have a good quality product that most people are skipping for whatever reason (in your case, probably because it looks like a generic match 3 game at first glance). Like take my XBox Live Indie Game, Epiphany in Spaaace! It's been out for 3 months and has 557 sales & 3107 trials for a conversion rate of 17.93%. What has no doubt happened is that most people see text-based interactive novel and have absolutely no interest, but the few people who are interested enough to give it a try have a high tendency to buy. It's not just the service either because another more mainstream game came out around the same time as my own and got over 10k trials in about a week.

So sure, more publicity would have helped both of our games, but I think that mistakes on our parts are more to blame for our game's lack of sales. Live and learn - I've got some ideas for my next game that I think will result in a higher quality game and more trials & sales.

And "I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1" has great box art since it does a wonderful job attracting the eye and peaking people's attention which is the primary purpose of box art. Plus the game also has great music, a good sense of humor, a dirt cheap price, and a developer with an existing fan base to help drum up interest. It's no wonder that it's selling well.

In this case, why a game with better Boxart, unique gameplay, good GFX in 3D and the same options to publicty than my game have only a 1-2% of ratio with 1.700 downloads and 21 purchases? Only for the diference of Price? As you say, if a guy not like this type of game after see the video,etc.. no download the game and no purchase.

Example:
http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/EloyRibera/20100113/3072/Indie_Postmortem_Dual_Zo
ne.php

With your opinion, this game not have to sell better than my game?

Much games in the XBOX Live Indie Games will have a low ratio with 80/240MS and others high ratio with the same price.

The Zombie Game, yes, have more points to sell well, another if i remember well, the developer is the author of "The Dishwasher" also for XBOX.

And again yes, I agree with you, i know my game not is the type of game to be a "Best Selling" or for create a "Fan Base", only that with more publicity much of the "no hyped" games but well realized in Xbox Indie Games will sell a decent copies after the effort to finish the game. For example i believe that "Weapons of Choice" will sell very well in the XBOX Live Arcade. But for example my game and others only will sell any copies more but not so much.

Welcome to iPhone with 1/100 audience.

Hi Davit.

No complains about the game. There are other factors involving match-3 and other massified games. Just a factor that may contribute to less sales and commoditization of the games, in general lines. When you get into a shop and buy a new product that is in high demand, they don't care about what is you, but they buy a general product. No brand, no recognizition, no emotional ties to anything that stand in long terms. They get it because it is somehow got their attention. Packing, box art, images, whatever. Acting by impulse, instincts, goods hunger. But will the game and its developer be renembered or it will be confused with another equal game in the next sales season? Even the indies must strive for its own personality even when there are arts and game designs trends that behave like originality. they must strive for originality even inside already known originality, but keeping the expected quality. But it is hard to do, i assume. But yes, higher demand of a game genre, higher sales, but as i said, higher chances of being a commodity.

Just a point-of-view Davit.

Robert, i got your idea, nice addition. And PR is necessary to make your game known, as well as other active factors, but consider what is important to get press and media's eyes, and include that into the game. Other point is that the current Iphone and Xbox Live are currently overhelmed by ... commodities and low quality games. It makes things harder to get yourself in visibly. The same will happen in Facebook, since it is a game channel now, and other games channel that might arrise, as e-book readers games channel and whatever, with proper differences to each one. And nice points, Alan. Statics may gets people dizzy.

But Davit, you've got a game for Xbox. In many countries around the world, like Brazil, it is nearly impossible, due to a lot of external challenges and factors, to even finish a game for it. So, selling well is a sucess itself. Congrats.

I'm not complain about the game. I'm relatively satisfied after the sales of the PC version XD. Sincerely we no imagine that in XBOX we go to sell more than 100 purchases :) . And we are getting good feedback, experience and we are getting much visits to our website.

To sell well the game needs much factors, yes, but at the same at iPhone actually, the publicity will be possible the 80%(and similar to XBOX Indie Games). The iPhone have about 6000+ games (i not remember now) and looking in the iphone hardware you can see about 500 and the major part are from big companies like GameLoft, Chilingo,etc...

I'm interested in the % of people that buy games via iPhone HardWare without see nothing of the game on internet or reviews and the same on the XBOX indie games and their MarketPlace.

And yes, if you want get a best selling game you need to be more original, make a game with personality, create the enough hype with an addictive gameplay to get coverage of websites and other media and if you have a fan base you will have more easy to get it.

I haven't been part of the XBLIG community for a few months now, but one of the things that I noticed when I was there was that an awful lot of people spent an awful lot of time complaining about what *Microsoft* needed to do to promote their game. I've always said that's entirely the wrong way to look at it. It is always the developer/publisher's responsibility to make sure people know about their game.

Look at James Silva's "I Made A Game . . . " How much promotion did MS do for it? None that I've ever seen. So why did it sell so well? Because James himself did a fantastic job of selling the game. He built up solid networks of people following his work and he created a video that caught a lot of people's attention, and things started snowballing from there.

Microsoft has already given developers a lot of support (free dev tools, access to a marketplace virtually for free, lots of good tutorials, and a support staff that actually responds to questions in a timely manner). Now developers need to take the ball and run with it. Microsoft has provided the tools, it's up to developers to use them effectively, and yes, that includes doing your own marketing/promotion.

Well, luckily XBLIG audience is hardcore, so you pretty much know what your game should have: pixels or zombies, funny particles or avatars doing crazy stuff. Spice it up with extra stupidity and get a top 10 game. Bonus points for US flag, Kanji or oldskool geometrywar-esqy motives.

I just started with indienerds.com - and the problem with small developers is, that a lot of them have nobody to take care of press kits and advertising material. Microsoft wonīt publish Indiegames either, because they donīt make much money (if any) of it. I guess they see it as a feature to grow the next generation of game developers and a nice community tool.

But i hope this will get better in the future - some major media have reported on breath of death or i made a game with zombies init. each time the casual gamer learns about indies is a step forward.