Outwitters' low revenue - Marketing suggestions and ideas for OML

[GreatGonzales]

I really do appreciate that Adam and Alex tried to go for the honest, experience-quality first approach and made it free to play. Maybe your next game you could try doing a kickstarter? I know I'd pitch in.

[CombatEX]

I love your ideas and I hope they can help make Outwitters more successful. The only one I disagree with (and actually I'm strongly opposed) is the removal of the Uber Pack. One of the things I absolutely detest about Hero Academy is their payment scheme. What I would agree with though is upping the price of the Uber Pack. Maybe make it something like $8-$10 instead (depending on what the price of the individual teams end up being, maybe $4 each?).

The real culprit here is the whole appstore pricing system. Why are iOS games so cheap? It's ridiculous the amount of quality time you can get out of iOS games for 1/10th the price of a PC or console game. I just don't get it... Outwitters is definitely not a $6 app (that's what the uber pack is right?). This game is brilliant and is worth way more than that. I mean, if I get 1 hour/$1 from a PC game I'm happy... I dare say I've gotten way more than 6 hours enjoyment from Outwitters and that number is going to keep increasing.

[TheQwertiest]

why dont they put advertising? i really hate those but i couldnt care less if it keeps the game up.

[blckace]

people seem to like offline modes, and I read somewhere that an AI is hard to implement, how about a challenges mode then? for instance beat a huge army in x turns, survive a number of turns against specials and such. Like chess puzzles, I always loved those

[Ravernoth]

Nice suggestions guys, I've updated the original post. Keep em coming!

[Mag!cGuy]

I'll maybe repeat what some people said, but here are my ideas:

_ Put adds for people who didn't pay anything after 20 or 30 games played. Why not directly? Because, it's easier to delete a game with annoying adds if you didn't have the time to like it. Let the player fully have fun, discover this amazing game, and then put adds.

_ Remove the special from ScaryWally team for players who didn't buy anything. and remove the 2v2 mode of course.

_Remove the uber pack, or make it twice more expensive. Okay, I'd be the first annoyed if I had to pay 2.39 euros more, but if it would keep the game alive, I'd do it.

_Work harder to make more awesome teams.

[RandyDogz]

So 98% of players haven't paid a dime? That's horrible.

Don't think it's been said, what about making it just $0.99 to buy? Surely a good chunk of that 98% would drop a buck to check it out. Especially with more accolades in the description as has been suggested. Seeing stuff like that in a description makes me much more likely to buy even if its just out of curiosity. Get a small coffee instead of a large that day and I've already recovered my $1

What about paid in app tournaments? Everyone seems into the ones run in the forums, if they were in game I'm sure they attract a lot of people.

Or, what about iap for more detailed stats? Full w/l, by map, by team, etc.

But I'm not sure how sucessful cosmetic iap's (colours, skins, etc.) would be, as I'm sure those 98% still wouldn't buy em. Gotta deal with the freeloaders. I'll buy any iap they put there if it helps keep this incredible game going, and I'm sure a lot of people would do the same, but $30 per user is gonna be real tough, and that's just breakeven?

[Joggies]

Who knows if I'm representative of others, but I LOVE the concept of Outwitters, I'm PREPARED to pay for it through buying add-ons and what not, but I HAVEN'T YET and will continue to hold off for the time being. Why?

Specifically:
- the queue stacking issue really breaks the game for me. This should be easily fixable and it's a huge issue. I'm in the top 100 list, but have essentially stopped playing until this gets fixed because it distresses me. I've posted to this effect previously.
- Also, first turn advantage saps away a lot of joy for me. I win easily as P1 every time. I win as P2 a majority of the time, but it's a painful grind (although sweet as treacle when you beat a queue-stacker in multiple games). But often enough you lose, sometimes to a slightly worse player who was just good enough to get across the line by leveraging the P1 advantage.

I'll be happy to splash $5-10 on Outwitters once the two issues are fixed. (And immediately if there was an underaking to resolve them soon.) I'd also continue paying more for extra add-ons if good content keeps coming, but that of course depends on the business model working.

Finally, there is one issue that doesn't worry me personally that much, but I have noticed from a lot of posts that it causes anxiousness for many players:
- the hidden ranking system. People seem to be getting put off by the opaqueness and they get frustrated by results they don't expect. They want to know roughly where they are placed, not just if they are in the top 100. If players' approximate percentile ranking was always available to them, I suspect more people would be willing to commit with their wallets and it would have a direct impact on the revenue situation.

[poweewee]

(10-13-2012 01:06 PM)worldfamous Wrote:  I've talked to many app junkies that get excited when I tell them about one of the best games I've come across, only to be let down when I tell them they have to play against other humans and not a computer. With all the crap making money out there, it sure is frustrating to hear a game like Outwitters can't make it.

Thats exactly what my friends feel. They have to wait a day for the other player to move? Turns some of them off. Unfortunately, I dont think it is too easy to create an AI to play against.

[garcia1000]

(10-13-2012 10:43 PM)W1cked21 Wrote:  _ Put adds for people who didn't pay anything after 20 or 30 games played.

I like this