the five mind-myths of the micro-mobile studio

The Five Mind-Myths of the Micro-Mobile Studio

Charles CoxFounder/CEO, 4gency

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Who is this guy?

• “Weekend warrior” mobile devs, 2 teams of four people• $25k initial investment, 1.5 years in operation• 2 games, 75k users, 4 platforms, 3 revenue models

Mobile + Tablet Games

Why is he here?

Alternate Titles for this Presentation:

“How Not to Spend Your First $25,000”

“The Incredible Shrinking Revenue Share”

“I Screwed Up But You Don’t Have To”

“$1 Wines for CEOs on a Budget”

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Why is he here? (continued)

I’m here to share my experiences.

If you’re just getting started…

or if you’re near launching…

or if you’ve had a few scrapes too…

I’m with you.

Let’s see how we can do better together.

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4gency’s first year: hopes & harsh realities

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OMG a profitable month!

Node.Hack Released Armored Drive Released

The Five Mind-Myths that nearly sunk us

1. We’ll chase the market

2. Forget marketing, it’ll sell itself

3. Our game will totally go viral

4. Ignore that metric, it’s lying to you

5. One more title and we’ll get a hit

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“The tablet market is super hot, you guys.”

– Actual CEO quote

Myth #1: We’ll chase “the market”

• No such thing!• Micro-markets!• Do you know yours?

– What do they like?– What do they hate?– What do they spend?– Where do they find new

games?

• Room for innovation– Lead your market from

something they know to something they will like

• Talk to them early!

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Our genres. Whoops.

Could have used

this about a year

earlier, thanks

“The tablet market is super hot, you guys.” – Actual CEO quote

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“Nah, I’d rather put my money in R&D.”

– Actual CEO quote

Myth #2: Forget marketing, it’ll sell itself

• You can’t have a product without development.

• You can’t have a successful product without marketing dollars.

• Better R&D wouldn’t have pushed the arrow further up the curve.

• Why didn’t we answer this question: how are people going to find us?

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“Nah, I’d rather put money in R&D.” – Actual CEO quote

Where we ended up

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“They’ll hit the Share button. A lot.”

– Actual CEO quote

Myth #3: Our game will totally go viral

Users are not an acquisition strategy.

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“They’ll hit the Share button. A lot.” – Actual CEO quote

Yeah, that’s like 2%

This doesn’t mean

“share button”

1%

1%

1%

1%

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“IAP % can’t be that low. The metrics are wrong.”

– Actual CEO quote

Myth #4: Ignore that metric, it’s lying

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“IAP% can’t be that low. The metrics are wrong.” – Actual CEO quote

Pre-Release Test (Canada) Global Metrics Post-Release

Forget statistical significance –

zero is still zero Gee whiz, think you could have

predicted that?

• CEOs may need a reality reminder from time to time.• Numbers usually work, but sometimes…• If in doubt, keep testing.

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“We learned a lot. This next one will be big.”

– Actual CEO quote

Myth #5: One more title and we’ll get a hit

• There’s a reason investors want to see recurring revenue.

• Keep asking: where will your loyal user base come from?

• Virality from title-to-title is even less than on a single title.

• How will your games influence and lead into one another?

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“We’ve learned a lot. This next one will be big.” – Actual CEO quote

How is this going to pay the bills?

All together now: the Five Mind-Myths

1. We’ll chase the market

2. Forget marketing, it’ll sell itself

3. Our game will totally go viral

4. Ignore that metric, it’s lying to you

5. One more title and we’ll get a hit

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Did anything go right?

• We’re still here, aren’t we?• 75k users, good ratings on App Stores• Pocket Gamer Silver Medal for Node.Hack• Valuable post-mortems on http://4gency.com• Fodder for portfolios and resumes• A commitment to risk harder and smarter

In all…$25,000 = one damn good education.

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The “Anti-Myths”: how to get it right

1. Find your niche and serve it

2. Have dedicated marketing budget

3. Acquire, acquire, acquire users

4. Test, verify, and trust your metrics

5. Think beyond each title

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Thank You!

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We’d love to hear from you!

Visit us and Node.Hack at the Indie Showcase

Charles CoxFounder/CEO, 4gencycharles@4gency.com

Mobile + Tablet Games