On Business Models

With last weeks seminar still fresh in my mind, I've begun to consider the ways in which to sell and distribute Magma Surge. With the huge amount of apps and games now available, an effective way to easily and quickly distribute the game to as many people as possible is very important. Magma Surge will be distributed through the App Store and Android Market.

While browsing for software in either of these stores, the first thing thats noticeable is the huge number of games and applications available. The user is inundated with tens of thousands of choices. When someone wants to buy something that they have not played or used before, they are taking a risk in buying something they may not like. This can off-putting for users and is can be a significant factor in whether the game will be bought. The bigger the user base for the game is, the higher the chances of people liking and talking about the game.

The business model I think is most applicable to getting Magma Surge out there is the Freemium method. This is where the product is given away initially free of charge, with the full product being bought a later date. The most popular software that uses this model would be Skype. The program is free to download as are calls to other Skype accounts. However if the user wishes to call phones they need to pay.

Another common model, especially for games is to release a 'Lite' version of the software free of charge. This is usually a stripped down version of the final game with the first few levels demonstrating the main game mechanics and features. Later levels, extra content and other aspects of the game are either locked or available for download if the user pays a fee. These versions also often include built in advertisements that are only removed when the full version is bought. Many games use this method of distribution. Rovio's Angry Birds is the best example of a very successful game distributed using this model.

While the idea can seem a bit strange, and there is a large disparity between downloads and actual purchases, this method has the added benefit of getting the software out there onto peoples phones. Even if 1000 people download it and only 100 pay for it, that still means, for better or for worse, that a thousand people have downloaded and played the game. Financial success is not the primary reason for making this game, so this will certainly be a very educational experience and will be something I can apply to future projects.