The Charticle

The Charticle: Has Dungeon Keeper's use of IAPs backfired?

Throw away the key

The Charticle: Has Dungeon Keeper's use of IAPs backfired?

Upon release, Dungeon Keeperquickly became synonymous with one thing, and one thing only: IAP extortion.

To say that IAPs have polarised the gaming industry would be to undersell the issue, but Dungeon Keeper managed to reach new levels of notoriety with the way it was seen to force players to use IAPs in order to make any real progress.

Indeed, the game openly addresses this issue in the tutorial, mocking players with the message "occasionally, tasks may test your patience, but who says money can't buy time?".

In this week's Charticle then, we'll be looking to answer one simple question: how has Dungeon Keeper's use of IAPs connected with players - something we check through its performance in the top grossing charts. 

Reap what you sow

On the US top grossing chart for iPhone, Dungeon Keeper barely made an impression, entering the chart on release at #263 before peaking at #111 and dropping off the radar again.

Dungeon Keeper has performed slightly better on iPad, though that's to be expected as the game is obviously better suited to devices with bigger screens.

On the US top grossing chart for iPad, the game entered inside the top 200, at #176, and soon managed to climb into the top 100 for a brief spell, peaking at #79.

A spot inside of the top 50 looks unachievable at this point however, with the game looking more likely to drop out of the top 200 than break into the big money places.

Dungeon Keeper's top grossing performance on the US iPad top 200 chart - via App Annie

Gamers in Europe have been more accepting of Dungeon Keeper's use of IAPs. 

On the EU5 top grossing chart for iPhone - which looks at the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain - Dungeon Keeper has broken into the top 100 in every country apart from Italy.

Its performance has been particularly notable in the UK, where it entered the chart at #82 before rising steadily, and peaking at #55 very recently.

Dungeon Keeper's top grossing performance on the European iPhone top 200 chart - via App Annie

As expected, Dungeon Keeper's performance on iPad is slightly better.

On the EU5 top grossing chart for iPad, it debuted in the chart at #81, #76, #41, and #32, in Germany, Spain, the UK, and France respectively.

Another sign of life is that while Dungeon Keeper's performance in all 5 countries is rarely consistent, it has spent the majority of its time inside of the top 100, sporadically breaking into the top 50.

Dungeon Keeper's top grossing performance on the European iPad top 200 chart - via App Annie

In Asia, Dungeon Keeper has put on a decidedly mixed show. 

On the Asian top grossing chart for iPhone - which looks at China and South Korea this week - Dungeon Keeper peaked at #42 in South Korea and #90 in China.

After that decent start, however, the game hasn't looked like a serious contender for the top 50, spending most of its time attempting to claw its way back into the top 100 instead of mingling with the App Store's top earners. 

Dungeon Keeper's top grossing performance on the Asian iPhone top 200 chart - via App Annie

On the Asian top grossing chart for iPad the game started strong, peaking at #21 and #27 in South Korea and China respectively, and even spending a week inside the top 50 in South Korea.

However, after that promising start momentum took a nosedive, and the game has struggled to carve out a position inside the top 100, let alone the top 50.

Dungeon Keeper's top grossing performance on the Asian iPhone top 200 chart - via App Annie

Keep your dungeon

Despite Dungeon Keeper's best attempts to drain the wallets of gamers everywhere, the charts suggest that, so far, it has been stopped in its tracks. 

A successful F2P title would undoubtedly spend the majority of its time among the top 50, so what does the fact that Dungeon Keeper is struggling to break into the top 50 in any of the markets we've looked at tell us?

It tells us that gamers are choosing to spend their hard earned cash elsewhere. 

Tags:

What do you call someone who has an unhealthy obsession with video games and Sean Bean? That'd be a 'Chris Kerr'. Chris is one of those deluded souls who actually believes that one day Sean Bean will survive a movie. Poor guy.