Are iPhone game-apps still profitable?

supereek · 11th Mar 2013, 09:41 AM

hi perhaps a nooby question but are iphone game apps still profitable?

i have some money to invest and i had this idea, if i let an app creation team create me an app at freelancer.com, i already did some research and the app i want (basically a oldschool Mario ripoff with another name) will cost me roughly 2000$

I can let the creators apply anything inside it.. i was thinking about making it a free app but once you reach level 10 or something you have to pay lets say 2$ to be able to continue trough the app/appstore plugin. (creditcard charge)

Is this a smart idea or is there much more into it that i should know?

kyusho77 · 11th Mar 2013, 10:22 AM

Hi there,

Yes, you can still make money with iPhone games. It just depends on how good you will market your app. Letting people to download it for free will build you a list and that's exactly what you want to start it with but I would really recommend you to build an app for Android market. It's booming right now and if you're lucky enough you might get a chance to be exactly where you want to be...on the top.

supereek · 11th Mar 2013, 11:30 AM

Thanks for your reply! Well i have practicly no experiance with app marketing. What are the methods to promote an android game?

gamescorpion · 11th Mar 2013, 01:00 PM

Invest in researching the mobile app market first. Dont just jump in with your cash. You can use my book (App Trillionaires) or any other book on the subject, but the worst thing you can do is jump in without any information and spend $2000. You'd be better off going to a casino if you're going to do that without learning about the industry that you're getting into. I did something similar myself (mind you with $30 k so a lot more than you're planning to invest) and I fell horribly which is the general case for noobs in the industry.

You can take my prior experience and info as a guide (The book is like less than $20 to help you make sure you invest your thousands better), or at the very least go and google around the free information online, but please don't just become another statistic out there spending all your money and loosing it all because you didn't want to do some prior research.

The app world is growing daily and requires some understanding. It is not a get rich quick scheme, it is a business at the end of the day.

Anyways thats my 2 cents on it, and whether its my book or some one elses, just PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH!

God Bless!

RelaxFactor · 11th Mar 2013, 02:53 PM

Yeah the worst thing you can do is investing money but don't having a marketing strategy.

Building (programming, designing,...) an app is just the first step.
Far more important (and cost-intensive) is the promotion of your app.
There is an endless amount of apps on the app store and you have to be able to compete with them.
You can have an super-douper 3D first person shooter app. But without any advertising you won't get much recognization. There are numerous examples out there of real professional apps that haven't made anything but deficit because of the lack of advertising.

Keep this in mind before you start investing your money!

RelaxFactor · 11th Mar 2013, 02:59 PM

Btw, if you want to get a big piece of the cake try to implement social features in your app

Check:
Is it realistic for a mobile social game to earn $1m in net revenue per month? - Quora

annaharris · 6th Apr 2013, 06:04 AM

Yeah, iPhone games are still profitable as well as you can make money through game.

11th Mar 2013, 09:41 AM	#1
supereek HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2012 Posts: 430 Thanks: 41 Thanked 44 Times in 34 Posts	Are iPhone game-apps still profitable? Share on: hi perhaps a nooby question but are iphone game apps still profitable? i have some money to invest and i had this idea, if i let an app creation team create me an app at freelancer.com, i already did some research and the app i want (basically a oldschool Mario ripoff with another name) will cost me roughly 2000$ I can let the creators apply anything inside it.. i was thinking about making it a free app but once you reach level 10 or something you have to pay lets say 2$ to be able to continue trough the app/appstore plugin. (creditcard charge) Is this a smart idea or is there much more into it that i should know?

11th Mar 2013, 10:22 AM	#2
kyusho77 Active Warrior Join Date: 2010 Location: London Posts: 83 Thanks: 28 Thanked 43 Times in 36 Posts	Re: Are iPhone game-apps still profitable? Share on: Hi there, Yes, you can still make money with iPhone games. It just depends on how good you will market your app. Letting people to download it for free will build you a list and that's exactly what you want to start it with but I would really recommend you to build an app for Android market. It's booming right now and if you're lucky enough you might get a chance to be exactly where you want to be...on the top.

11th Mar 2013, 11:30 AM	#3
supereek HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2012 Posts: 430 Thanks: 41 Thanked 44 Times in 34 Posts	Re: Are iPhone game-apps still profitable? Share on: Thanks for your reply! Well i have practicly no experiance with app marketing. What are the methods to promote an android game?

11th Mar 2013, 01:00 PM	#4
gamescorpion App Developer & Trainer War Room Member Join Date: 2011 Location: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada Posts: 28 Thanks: 3 Thanked 16 Times in 10 Posts	Re: Are iPhone game-apps still profitable? Share on: Invest in researching the mobile app market first. Dont just jump in with your cash. You can use my book (App Trillionaires) or any other book on the subject, but the worst thing you can do is jump in without any information and spend $2000. You'd be better off going to a casino if you're going to do that without learning about the industry that you're getting into. I did something similar myself (mind you with $30 k so a lot more than you're planning to invest) and I fell horribly which is the general case for noobs in the industry. You can take my prior experience and info as a guide (The book is like less than $20 to help you make sure you invest your thousands better), or at the very least go and google around the free information online, but please don't just become another statistic out there spending all your money and loosing it all because you didn't want to do some prior research. The app world is growing daily and requires some understanding. It is not a get rich quick scheme, it is a business at the end of the day. Anyways thats my 2 cents on it, and whether its my book or some one elses, just PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH! God Bless!

11th Mar 2013, 02:53 PM	#5
RelaxFactor Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: 2013 Location: Austria Posts: 15 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Are iPhone game-apps still profitable? Share on: Yeah the worst thing you can do is investing money but don't having a marketing strategy. Building (programming, designing,...) an app is just the first step. Far more important (and cost-intensive) is the promotion of your app. There is an endless amount of apps on the app store and you have to be able to compete with them. You can have an super-douper 3D first person shooter app. But without any advertising you won't get much recognization. There are numerous examples out there of real professional apps that haven't made anything but deficit because of the lack of advertising. Keep this in mind before you start investing your money!

11th Mar 2013, 02:59 PM	#6
RelaxFactor Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: 2013 Location: Austria Posts: 15 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Are iPhone game-apps still profitable? Share on: Btw, if you want to get a big piece of the cake try to implement social features in your app Check: Is it realistic for a mobile social game to earn $1m in net revenue per month? - Quora

6th Apr 2013, 06:04 AM	#7
annaharris RockEye ERP for Africa Join Date: 2012 Location: Africa Posts: 119 Thanks: 2 Thanked 6 Times in 6 Posts	Re: Are iPhone game-apps still profitable? Share on: Yeah, iPhone games are still profitable as well as you can make money through game.