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QuoteSo let’s talk sales figures. In twelve months, Super Win the Game has sold 7,640 copies across Steam, Humble, itch.io, IndieBox, and direct sales, with an average unit price of $4.98, generating roughly $38,000 of gross revenue. By my napkin math, this translates to about $18,500 after-tax earnings for my household.
QuoteMac and Linux account for about 10.25% of sales (6.25% and 4% respectively), so again by napkin math, I would estimate I’ve earned roughly $1,900 on those platforms. They continue to be a net loss for now. Reaching profitability isn’t totally outside the realm of possibility, however, since there is minimal cost involved in supporting them now that the core engine work is done.
That's really not a lot of sales for all platforms put together, but the thing to takeaway here is that SWTG is a very niche game. It's not my type of game, and I don't personally ever plan to buy it. I imagine a lot of people also feel the same way about it. That's not to say it isn't a good game, I just burnt myself out on retro type games a long time ago.
The actual percentage of sales from our platform is actually a lot higher than most other indie developers that we spoke to, so that by itself is actually quite nice to see. However, you may think that 4% from Linux is good, as it's above our actual surveyed market-share from things like the Steam Survey, but the major publishers and developers aren't going to jump into bed with Linux for that. Also, if the game sold better in general, the extra sales would likely normalise the Linux percentage down to where we have seen it from most other developers in the 1-3% band.
You may think I am being negative here, and I am from a certain point of view. I am a realist, and we aren't gaining any ground yet. I'm not going to sugar-coat anything, we need to grow and that's not debatable.
We also need developers to branch out some more, platformers and retro styles are becoming far, far too common.
You can find Super Win the Game on Steam, Humble Store and Itch.io.
Thanks for pointing it out Till. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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I don't see why it matters whether the Linux sales are low or not. The game sold like crap for ALL platforms. 7,640 is REALLY BAD, especially for a title that costs next to nothing to buy.
Last edited by BillNyeTheBlackGuy on 29 September 2015 at 4:58 pm UTC
Last edited by BillNyeTheBlackGuy on 29 September 2015 at 4:58 pm UTC
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psycho_driver Sep 29, 2015
Quoting: EikeAnybody can add games that run well on his system and he finds good work (but please nobody delete games because they, say, don't work with his AMD card).
I have a feeling this would be a constant battle. I'm up over 600 games purchased now and almost all of them run without problems on my systems. Which ones are good? Who knows, I've played maybe 10 of them for more than an hour.
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It's no surprise, there isn't a lot of games developers with multi-platforms related skills right now and there are still missing tools and documentation on the subject, so the cost of making a game that run on Linux and OSX is still very high (simply because you have to learn everything by yourself). As more and more games are made for a lot of different platforms, and more and more people have to learn to make games this way this problem will eventually solve itself.
Also the developer do intend to reuse the game engine for other games, so there is no doubt that it will reach profitability. I hope he will have more success with other games because I highly doubt he can make a living with Super Win The Game figures.
Also the developer do intend to reuse the game engine for other games, so there is no doubt that it will reach profitability. I hope he will have more success with other games because I highly doubt he can make a living with Super Win The Game figures.
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Compared to the hardware survey with 1% Linux users this is 4 times better. And yes, percentage counts. It is all that counts for Linux users. For developers sales numbers are more important and they are not that much in this case, but I did not expect you to share the pessimistic attitude of the developer here.
Last edited by clel on 29 September 2015 at 6:15 pm UTC
Last edited by clel on 29 September 2015 at 6:15 pm UTC
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Quoting: clelFor developers sales numbers are more important and they are not that much in this case, but I did not expect you to share the pessimistic attitude of the developer here.
I can't speak for Liam, but if a developer doesn't make a profit supporting Linux, that's not good for us either, as it will make them think twice about supporting Linux in the future.
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linux_gamer Sep 29, 2015
Quoting: GuestHow is 4% low? It’s huge!Another aspect which hasn't been discussed is: If only half of all actual games have Linux support and Linux gamers spend same amount of money (and playtime) on all games, Linux game sales will have a scaling factor of appr. 2 times the Linux/total gamers relation.
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rustybroomhandle Sep 29, 2015
Quoting: MGOidI played You Have to Win the Game (the free version) and NEON STRUCT (demo) form this developer, and I think his games are pretty solid, bug free software. Impressive that they are made by one single developer.
But they are also a one man show, so very simple games. YHtWtG is one of the most hardcore, difficult games I have played, leaving both Super Meat Boy and They Bled Pixels behind. Still a good, enjoyable game.
So is not a surprise that the sales figures are low. You have to remember that the majority of the people playing games stink, so a "easy" mode have to be provided, or you risk the loss of a lot of sales.
This is not accurate. There are two of them, brothers, who each work on their own games independently, but publish under the same company name. NEON STRUCT and YHTWTG were not made by the same person.
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I see this in the thread, alot:
Didn't anyone here see:
Last edited by zerothis on 29 September 2015 at 10:24 pm UTC
QuoteQuote4%QuoteSteamQuote1%
Didn't anyone here see:
QuoteHumble, itch.io, IndieBox, and direct salesI'd be interested in seeing percentages for the non-Steam sales.
Last edited by zerothis on 29 September 2015 at 10:24 pm UTC
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Kimyrielle Sep 30, 2015
Hm, this game's sales figures on Linux are around 4 times over-representing our share in the general audience and that's not good enough?
Well...
Tbh, I don't want to be mean but maybe it's the time to acknowledge that a game with utterly crappy looks somehow advertised as "retro" isn't anything that will blow away anybody these days. Even Linux users are a bit more spoiled and bit less desperate these days. Welcome to 2015, when you will have to deliver a little bit more than something that would have looked outdated even in 1985.
Well...
Tbh, I don't want to be mean but maybe it's the time to acknowledge that a game with utterly crappy looks somehow advertised as "retro" isn't anything that will blow away anybody these days. Even Linux users are a bit more spoiled and bit less desperate these days. Welcome to 2015, when you will have to deliver a little bit more than something that would have looked outdated even in 1985.
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