MobiAdage - App Store Optimization, Mobile Advertising & Making Money on Android

Probably a new trend is about to start, and might change the mobile game space as we know it. Going Mobile One giant woke up a little late. Maybe they did wake up early, but decided that they aren't gonna get into the mobile gaming space. Nintendo is probably the last big name missing in the mobile space. And as many must have predicted, sooner or later, they had to get into this space. And now they are. The pressure must be really great, and let's face it, not keeping up with tech will surely be a tech company's demise. Its not like we have a lack of Mario clones in the first place. There are better options sometimes out there, and updated to be great on mobile. On that count too, any indie developers using their IP in the stores better get your acts clean . Who knows when they gonna start submitting DMCA take downs. Late To The Party The mobile gaming world is so far ahead, a new comer might not be able to rise to the top. But let'

There was a time, not too long ago, where you could release a mobile app and get much downloads for it. It didn't matter what that app was, or how good it was. You could always be sure to get downloads for it. Those great old days.. Harder To Be Noticed These days, its gotten tougher. Honestly, it not only affecting you, it also affected me and that other indie developer reading this post a few minutes ago. You see, there is a shift. The game of app publishing has changed. Some call it the death of reskinning. I don't totally agree on that though. Reskinning is very much alive, its just  mutated. And for the better. There was a time, when the best way to build a great revenue stream being a mobile developer was by volume releasing apps on the store. I've committed that sin too! (And a few others, but that's for another blog post!) These days, this doesn't get you far. With a bazillion apps on the stores (thanks much to reskinnin

An often missed point from many app store optimization topics is "great first impression". First impression matters tremendously for any app, and more so for mobile games. A first impression will hook a player longer. So make your first impression BIG! Take a look at the intro of the first Half Life game. Or Elder's Scroll: Morrowind when you first step off the ship. The impressions from these games are still fresh in my mind many years later. (OK. The Half Life one got annoying the 3rd time around). When making your game levels, start off the game with one of your best aspects and effects shown. Its often a habit to keep our best till further into the game, where we think that a gradual improvement will keep users wanting more. While this may be true in some cases, it can also cause your users to forget about your game after the initial game play.  Big impressive impressions, when it comes to mobile games, should also take place at the stores. You want a potential user t