The Apple App Store is arguably the greatest casual gaming platform on earth. It has opened up the kind of opportunities for indie game developers that are currently unmatched by any other platform. It offers a very consistent hardware and software experience that developers can optimize their games for, and gives an equal chance to every game to succeed (unlike Facebook). Google’s Android is also slowly becoming a powerhouse in mobile gaming.
One thing I want to be clear about is that MOBILE IS THE FUTURE OF CASUAL GAMING. But there are still many advantages to building an internet browser based version of your game which I will discuss shortly.
All said and done, even a mobile app store cannot guarantee long term revenues and sustainability for a casual game. There are about a 100,000 games on iOS right now and only a few hundred are actually doing well enough to sustain its creators. Some of the most successful games are the free games like Temple Run, Heads up with Ronaldo, Angry Birds, Stupid Zombies etc. These games are hugely ad supported and let’s be honest here, when was the last time you tapped on an advertisement within a game? Less than 2% of users are likely to do that. There is a higher likelihood that you will click on an ad while on a computer than on a phone.
This is one of the reasons why a lot of companies are now evaluating ways to build browser-based versions of their games too, especially after the mobile version has been around for a while. For example, the makers of Angry Birds started off on mobile and after its huge success, decided to build out the browser version. It is now available in the Chrome app store. It’s a no-brainer that at some point, they will also build out a version that will run on gaming platforms like Yahoo Games, Mindjolt, Tagged, Gaming Wonderland etc.
So if you have built an iOS/Android game, here are 6 reasons why you should consider building a browser based version of it.
1) Distribution – A browser based version opens up a plethora of opportunities for distribution across multiple geographies and demographics. There are hundreds of gaming portals like Yahoo games, Mindjolt, Big Fish Games etc who will be happy to showcase your game on their platform. Or you can just work with one game distributor like Oberon Media who will automatically distribute your game to some of the top gaming portals in the world. Oberon has existing relationships with various gaming portals and offers an easy way to integrate your game across all of them. And each portal generally has atleast a few million unique users.
2) Monetization – A successful game on mobile can get you a lot of revenue, and I don’t believe a gaming portal can really match that. But who can say no to a nice side income! Gaming portals have their own ecosystems in place (Advertising, Payments, Support etc) and can provide a decent revenue stream for your game. I have known garage developers who have been making hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month for many years by just sitting at home!
Some portals will also be willing to pay you to put your games on their platform. Of course, this would depend on how successful your game has been elsewhere.
3) Demographic - According to an Admob report, 94% of iPhone owners are over the age of 18 and an astounding 74% of them are over the age of 25. On the other hand, the iPod Touch user base is nearly HALF (47%) composed of 13-17 year olds. Only 31% of its users are over the age of 25.
What do you see missing here? What about kids below that 13-17 age group? Even though the main demographic for a gaming portal is middle-aged women with disposable incomes, a lot of younger kids play on these portals too. My 11 year old nephew recently got hold of an iPod Touch for himself but for the past few years, his favorite gaming destination was Yahoo Games. My 8 year old niece loves playing on the Big Fish games site and plays a lot of games that are made specifically for her. Every kid I know spends more time on these gaming portals than on an actual device. And parents prefer this too because it’s easier to supervise a kid’s playing habits on a computer than on an actual portable device. And more kids have access to a computer than to a portable device.
This is a win-win situation for your game because not only are you targeting an older demographic with the app store as well as the gaming portal but are also tapping into another, albeit smaller demographic through the portal.
4) Porting to future platforms like Kiosks, Televisions – Companies like Samsung and Sony are now building out their own app stores for their television products. The Samsung TV App store is actually doing well and you will notice a lot of casual games. Even coin operated game kiosks are embracing some of the popular iOS games like Fruit Ninja.
Games on these platforms work more like a browser. The screen is much larger and you are using actual controllers. By having a browser version, you are actually well prepared to port your game to these platforms in the future with minimal effort.
5) Better technical support and feedback – Gaming portals have their own dedicated technical teams and are happy to provide you with all the support you need to publish your game. They provide excellent production and analytics support and most of them are prompt with their payments. This can be a huge help in improving your game based on feedback that you receive not only from the game portal but also from the players.
The Apple app store is different that way. You get absolutely zero feedback from Apple. They only make sure your game adheres to their terms and conditions and then go ahead and approve it. Every time my game was rejected from the app store, their reasons for doing so were sometimes so obscure that it would take my team a few days just to figure out what was actually wrong. Gaming portals are definitely more hands-down that way.
6) Localization support – It always helps to have some local language support for your game. China is a huge market and having a Chinese language version will take your game a long way. The same way, Latin America and the Middle-East are big on casual gaming too. And they prefer local language versions over any other language. India is a little different that way because most of the gaming demographic understands atleast basic English reading and writing.
Anyways, gaming portals are way better at providing localization support and targeted advertising than mobile app stores. A lot of gaming portals will even help you in building out local versions and assist you in specifically targeting a particular geography.
That’s all for now. It doesn’t cost a whole lot of money to customize your game for a portal. The main reason being most portal games are also run within a window which is slightly larger than a phone screen. And a lot of them work with HTML5 games too so you don’t have to build a flash equivalent.The main investment will be in optimizing graphics which is generally not too high.
I hope this information helps. Again, my blogs are based on my own research and experience so I welcome constructive (or destructive) feedback! I would love to hear your thoughts or hear other advantages (or disadvantages) that you see in such an initiative.
Finally, If you decide to build a browser based game and need help in distribution, feel free to reach out to me at aabid.s@live.com and I will be happy to assist.
Thanks. You can follow me on Twitter @aabidsiddique to stay updated on my blogs and the gaming industry.
