[casual_games] Mac Revenue

[Russell Carroll]

Reflexive has been releasing a lot of our games on Mac this year.  We also
added a Mac offering to Reflexive.com back in February and have been keenly
watching the sales numbers.

The results really vary from game to game.  For our own recently released
games (Airport Mania, Build in Time, Music Catch, Tree of Life, Swarm Gold),
we've seen the Mac version earning 3%-15% of the total revenue. (though
notably it varies WILDLY from game to game without many discernible
patterns)  

A challenge we've found with Mac games is getting them listed on the
portals.  There are only a few portals that carry Mac games (GH, BFG,
MacGameStore, Reflexive, PlayFirst) and we have found that even when we
deliver the Mac version simultaneously with the PC version that the portal
release of the Mac version is often delayed, not uncommonly for many months.
DRM issues seem to be a common culprit. 

The largest chunk of Mac sales often comes from Apple.com directly, and it
can create a lot of spillover sales for your other titles if you also sell
them directly (recommended!).  This adds a secondary benefit that isn't
currently available on PC very reminiscent of what Download.com did for game
selling 8-10 years ago.  Apple.com traffic can be absolutely immense if you
happen to be featured, and with a much smaller playing field on the Mac, it
is currently more likely that your game will be noticed in the Mac space
than the PC space.

That leads to another secondary benefit of 'Critical Mass.'  Putting your
game on Mac creates additional opportunities for awareness of the game,
which I strongly believe will increase your overall sales, but then I'm a
big believer in brand awareness and it having the ability to greatly
increase sales.


Russell Carroll
Reflexive Entertainment
(949) 830-1903 x14


-----Original Message-----
From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org]
On Behalf Of Andrew Lum
Sent: Monday, October 13, 2008 10:14 AM
To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List
Subject: [casual_games] Mac Revenue

Hi Guys,

Fugazo has released Fashion Fits, Cooking Academy, and World Mosaics on 
Mac. For each title Mac sales have accounted for less than 10% of 
revenue probably more like 5%. Localization on the other hand has helped 
us quite a bit.

Andrew Lum

Chris Dillman wrote:

>> Hi.

>>

>> Is there a any recent research on the market for casual games on Mac?

>>

>> Thanks.

>

>

> There are portals on the mac.

>

> Big portals will sell more on the PC.

>

> But a lot of smaller companies report sales of 50/50 mac PC.

>



-- 
Andrew Lum
andrew at fugazo.com
www.fugazo.com
P: 206-349-7805
F: 206-568-3455
CEO, President
Fugazo, Inc.

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