Hundreds of games launch every single day, and most of them get lost in a sea of new releases. So which platforms are best to launch on in 2015? tinyBuild’s Mike Rose will take a look at how many copies of your game you should expect to sell in each platform, ranging from Steam to Xbox One, from iOS to PlayStation 4.

1. How well do games sell in 2015?
Mike Rose
tinyBuild Games
@RaveofRavendale

2. Making games is hard.
Selling games is even harder.
● Even the greatest games aren’t sure-fire hits
anymore
● You need to be thinking multiplatform…
● And you need to know how each platform works
● So let’s work out which platforms you should
consider

3. • Twice as many games released on PC in 2015
compared to 2014
• Hundreds of games released every day on mobile
• Average sales for games on PC and mobile are
falling
• Average indie dev doesn’t make living wage
• So it’s more important than ever to understand how
and where to sell your game
Is the Indiepocalypse coming?

4. We’re going to consider digital
sales figures for…
● Mobile
● Nintendo eShop
● PlayStation Network
● PC
● Xbox Marketplace

5. <<Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3>>
● There have been zero indie titles in 2015
<<Free-to-play>>
● Difficult to talk about “sales” for free-to-play
● Barely any real data out there for smaller devs
● So few actual indie success stories
But we won’t be talking
about…

6. ● 1 billion iOS devices
● 130m new iOS users in 2014
● 1.5m apps on iOS, 1.25m on Google Play
● Around 500 games per day on iOS in 2014
● Around 250 games per day on Android in 2014
● iOS is beating Android in sales, but Android is
catching up rapidly
Mobile: The Stats

7. Most games: 0 to 2,000 sales
No App Store/Google Play store feature
Some games: 2,000 – 30,000 sales
App Store feature, price drops, content updates
Rarely: 30,000 to 2.5 million sales
Big push from Apple, multiple features, lots of updates
Mobile: The Sales

8. ● Not many indie success stories
● Vast majority of games don’t sell
● You need to be featured or you’re damned
● The lower price point can be an issue
● Updates and price drops help keep sales alive
Mobile: Points to Consider

9. Don’t just fire your game out when it’s ready! Follow
these tips to get Apple’s attention:
● Run an extensive beta trial on TouchArcade forums
● Use Testflight to distribute your game to lots of people
● Take the feedback and iterate
● Get plenty of mobile press
● Leave around two months for all of this
Oh, and go to PAX! Apple hunts for mobile games at PAX
How do I get featured on the
App Store?

10. ● 10 million units worldwide
● Around 80 indie games released in 2014
● Already 80 indie games released in 2015
● Nintendo may feature on front of store
● Cut-price sales are uncommon
Wii U eShop: The Stats

11. Most games: 0 to 1,000 sales
No feature from Nintendo, not much press
Some games: 1,000 to 10,000 sales
Multiplatform, eShop feature
Rarely: 10,000 to 60,000 sales
Massive success on other platforms, eShop feature
Wii U eShop: The Sales

12. ● Can provide a great launch if featured…
● But sales die out rapidly…
● And there aren’t many discount opportunities
● Sells less than other platforms…
● But works well as a supplementary release
● Many devs say it’s worth the port
Wii U eShop: Points to
Consider

13. ● 53 million units worldwide
● Around 15 indie games released in 2014
● Around 15 released in 2015 up to now
● Nintendo may feature on front of store
● Cut-price sales are not common
3DS eShop: The Stats

14. Most games: 1,000 to 5,000 sales
Poorly rated, poor marketing
Some games: 5,000 to 50,000 sales
Multiplatform, eShop feature
Rarely: 50,000 to 200,000 sales
Multiplatform, big exposure from Nintendo
3DS eShop: The Sales

15. ● Decent sales with little marketing effort
● Good long-term sales tail
● But porting to 3DS can be a nightmare
● Hence why not many devs do it
● Japanese ports exceed expectations
3DS eShop: Points to
Consider

16. ● You can apply at the warioworld.com website
● But the best thing to do is first get Nintendo’s
attention
● Apply for all the big showcases (Megabooth etc)
● Go chat with Nintendo at developer events
(Unite etc)
● Make connections then go from there
How do I get a 3DS/Wii U dev
kit?

17. ● PS4 – 23.2m units worldwide
● Around 60 indie games released in 2014
● Around 43 released in 2015 to date
● Potential for Cross-Buy, PS Plus
PlayStation: The Stats

18. Most games: 1,000 to 8,000 sales
Poorly rated, poor marketing
Some games: 8,000 to 30,000 sales
Push from Sony, decent press, YouTuber exposure
Rarely: More than 30,000 sales
Big PS push, big YouTuber exposure, price drops
PlayStation: The Sales

19. ● Nice slow burn over time with sales
● Possibility of PS Plus launch deal
● Works great alongside PC launch (e.g.
Rocket League)
● PS Plus can give big exposure boost later
● Plenty of price drops to get involved with
PlayStation: Points to
Consider

20. ● Sony encourages self-publishing on the platform
● You can get in contact directly with people at
Sony
● Build up a presence on Twitter during
development
● Then tweet at people like @shahidkamal
● And, of course, attend developer events!
How do I get a PlayStation
dev kit?

21. ● Steam – over 125 million active accounts
● Over 6,000 games in total
● Around 1,850 in 2014
● Estimated 3,000 in 2015
● 10 new games released every single day
● Cut-price sales can lead to big spikes
PC: The Stats

22. Most games: 0 to 8,000 sales
Poorly rated, no marketing, unknown
Mid-end: 8,000 – 100,000 sales
Press/YouTuber exposure, well reviewed
High-end: 100,000 to 3 million sales
Popular genres, big with YouTubers, critically acclaimed
PC: The Sales

23. ● Sales figures blown wide open by SteamSpy
● Possibility of massive sales, but more noise
● Possibility of being bundled
● Biggest spikes come during Steam sales
● Possibility of Early Access
● GOG/Humble make up 0-10% of sales
PC: Points to Consider

24. ● Greenlight is relatively easy to get through now
● Just make sure to build up a Twitter presence,
which you should be doing anyway
● If you go with a publisher, Steam entry will
come as part of the deal
● Although don’t take a publisher deal where all
they offer is access to Steam!
PC: How do you get on
Steam?

25. ● 12.8m units shipped worldwide
● Around 20 indie games released in 2014
● Already 45 indie games in 2015
● Indie space on Xbox One finally ramping
up thanks to ID@Xbox
Xbox One: The Stats

26. Most games: 1,000 to 5,000 sales
Poorly rated, poor marketing
Some games: 5,000 to 20,000 sales
Multiple features on dashboard, decent press
Rarely: More than 20,000 sales
Highly rated, tons of exposure, big Microsoft push
Xbox One: The Sales

27. ● Simply being on Xbox One isn’t enough
● You need to work with Xbox to put the marketing
legwork in
● Xbox One seems to provide a decent long-tail for
sales
● Plenty of ID@Xbox events to get involved with
● And “Games with Gold” deals work wonders for sales
Xbox One: Points to Consider

28. ● You can go sign up at the ID@Xbox website…
● But you really need an Xbox contact
● Go to events where Xbox are showcasing and
show them your game
● Or find a developer friend who can introduce you
to Xbox
How do I get an Xbox One
dev kit?

29. Mobile: Very risky, need the App Store feature
Wii U: Might be worth the port!
3DS: Great sales, but tricky porting
PlayStation: Plenty of opportunities for devs
Steam: Risky, need a YouTuber/Twitch hook
Xbox One: Worth a port, growing rapidly
The big takeaways

30. “How to talk to the video game press”
on Gamasutra
“How to get your game covered by YouTubers”
on Gamasutra
“How YouTubers and Twitch Streamers Can Help
Sell Your Games” on GDC Vault
How can you raise your
chances?

31. Thanks for listening!
Any questions?
Mike Rose
tinyBuild Games
@RaveofRavendale