So what are the options if you have no existing network of players, no list of email addresses, no Fans or Followers, essentially, no base? You either beg Apple or Google to feature you in their App Stores, pray a big company like Zynga or EA let you use their distribution channels, or pay for mobile advertising.
But none of those options are very pretty.
Getting featured in App Stores is hard. There's like a BILLION apps now in each store. So to actually get a good contact at Apple/Google, and then convince them your app is worth promoting over thousands of other new apps is a very daunting task. In the end, apps from most small companies are NOT promoted. You just have to have an air-tight, super-polished app that catches the eye of users and App Store managers alike, and hope that you get a slot. It's possible, but the odds are not in your favor.
Then you can try to approach a Zynga or EA and see if they can help with distribution. But they're so busy getting their own games ready, and figuring out a good release schedule for themselves, that it's pretty rare that they actually pick up a game from a small developer. When it happens, it makes news, but behind the scenes, dozens upon dozens meetings occurred that eventually ended with a "Thanks, but no thanks."
So then you have mobile advertising. This option is pretty ugly too. With Costs-Per-Install (CPI) at least a couple dollars for quality players, skyrocketing close to $10 during the holidays, you can kiss any type of budget goodbye quickly. Very quickly. And since you HAVE to make your game free now to have people try it, there's no guarantee you're recouping that cost -- ever.
Again, this is the playground of the big companies. Ad networks getting bigger and bigger, raising VC money left and right, continuing to cater to the big spenders like GREE, DeNA, Zynga, and EA. A small company quickly gets priced out of the market because there is no quality ad inventory left. Remember that $50k that your company's founders saved up to help with advertising? Well, you could easily spend that in a day and NOT get into the Top 25 in the App Stores. The only real winners here are the ad networks, smiling all the way to the bank.
So what's a small shop to do? That's where The Circle of Apps comes in. I want to create a community (initially on Facebook) of up and coming companies that need help in promoting their freshly-minted games. I want to create another real channel of genuine communication about what their apps and games are all about, to a community that WANTS to hear about cool apps and games and is tired of seeing the same games atop the charts. And these people will truly be the lifeblood of the community. We WANT folks that root for the underdog, they LIKE quirky and cool games, they want Indie shops to succeed, they were giving money to Kickstarter projects way before d-bags like Peter Molyneux were going there (even though he could get a publishing deal from EA within one meeting).
So, simply, The Circle of Apps is a community of people who love and make games for a living, and the people that are rooting for them and want to support the games they make. That's it. Yes, we'll need a large community to start making a material impact on download numbers in the App Stores, but you have to start somewhere, so I'm starting it now. I know for certain that the need is terribly real, so I want to get this going right away.
So join The Circle of Apps on Facebook. Game developer, game lover, or lover of underdogs -- all are welcome.
