What Game First Got 1 Million Downloads

In the first week of March this year, Games2win hitting 51 million mobile game downloads across the app stores. What was gratifying nearly this achievement was that we had not spent even 1 Us$ in marketing or user acquisitions!

How did we achieve this? Here are v interesting insights:

one. We NEVER wanted to be a 'One Game Company'

While in that location have been massive success stories of Game Companies on the App stores that have generated 300 meg-1 Billion downloads (Angry Birds, Talking Tom, etc.), we had decided from the very showtime that we did not want to exist a '1-play a trick on pony'. The one hit wonder approach was too risky and skewed hard to replicate its success formula. It was similar making a one in a million Hollywood film (with all the costs and risks attached)!

Instead, we wanted to exist like awesome Boob tube serials, Cartoons and One-act shows that people loved and kept watching and sampling,again and once more, with a loftier repeat value.

While "Parking Frenzy", an early on game of ours did striking #1 in the USA on iTunes,today it contributes less than 50% of the full downloads.

To date, our 51 one thousand thousand-download contain of these games:

Parking Frenzy = twenty one thousand thousand
Super Mom = 6 million
Power Cricket T20 = 4 million
Fab Tattoo Artist = 2 one thousand thousand
BFF High Schoolhouse Fashion = 2 million
40 other games = 17 million or about 400k per game!

2. We target Audiences – not Game Mechanics

Our arroyo is not to tackle a 'game mechanic' similar Endless Runner or FPS (First Person Shooter) and then build a neat game effectually the same.

Instead, we hunt audiences whom nosotros understand and build games for!

When I founded Games2win, my 2 girls were anile 7 & 11. I observed what they loved doing and hence my Company'south success with Dress Up gamestoday.

Similarly, production managers in my Company who have played Cricket for years have built slap-up Cricket Games and others who were obsessed past cars have gone on to building amazing car games.

Our genre-wise downloads have been primarily driven past sports, racing and role-playing where part-playing is led by females and sports is led by males.

3.Nosotros build for all Platforms & all Geo'south

In the early on days of mobile games (2008), it was very fashionable to build for iTunes and stay defended to that platform. As iTunes began to establish its dominance, Android was considered infra-dig and Windows & Kindle about never made it as a 'Must be on this Platform list'.

Nosotros accept had a contrarian view & have always believed that consumers have varying wallets and preferences and our games should e'er be available to them irrespective of their phones or platforms.

Nosotros besides believed that Games are Universal and if the app stores allow Global distribution, then we must have reward of it.

Our download distribution points in the same direction!

Region wise downloads:
US = 25%
IN = 20%
Great britain = ten%
Remainder of the World = 45%

Platform wise breakdown
iTunes: l%
Google Play: forty%
Windows: 7%
Kindle: iii%

four. Games promote Games

Since we pursued a multi-games rapid deployment model, we carefully instrumented our games to cross-promote each other, based on Geos, Affinity and of form, audience profiling.

We created a server-side controlled unique ad unit called the 'YoYo' that rolls into each of the end screens of our games to cross-promote similar games.

YoYos are served and measured hour-on-hour and changed basis performance of CTRs (Click thru rates) & install rates. The performance is run by a dedicated advertisement-ops squad whose core responsibility is to optimize downloads, basis the operation for our games.

Given the Daily Agile Users we have in central markets and audiences, our YoYos today have the power to rank a game on the app store directly without any external intervention!

five. Intense localization

When Parking Frenzy reached the #1 game position in the USA, information technology was still ranked #5 in India.

We created Parking Frenzy Indiafor India :

and surely enough, the game ranked #1 in India.

This taught us that a swell game with keen localization is the formula to attain #1.

Too, the concept of 'trend-gaming' helps! For the Big Massive Election in Bharat in 2014, nosotros mashed Cricket and Politics and created a game that reflected the sentiments of the people & their voting preferences. "Kursi Cricket" was nominated as "Game of the Election" by Google and blown upwards all beyond Google Play.

Needless to say, it helped a ton in downloads and is an evergreen game in India.

To reiterate the v points that helped us accomplish 51 million downloads without costs:

Being a multi game Visitor
Building for target audiences
Building for all platforms and Geo'south
Cross promoting affinity
Hyper localisation!

We wish you success on your mobile download endeavors!