Designing a successful app store icon, Hearthstone's mobile woes and Retention 101
It was a busy week on PocketGamer.biz, but we've wrangled the analytics and coralled the top five stories of last week into one place for you.
First up, Israeli app marketing platform IronSource had an interesting theory about app store icon design. It believes that the most successful art will have a character with an "open mouth," à la Clash of Clans or Game of War.
We also got wind of a study from research firm SuperData that said Hearthstone's launch on mobile could be losing Blizzard millions.
Elsewhere, hidden away in Glu Mobile's recent financials was the news that the company had won its copyright case again Canadian developer Hothead Games. Dig a little deeper, and we also found out how Glu Mobile balances UA spend and in-game advertising revenue.
Finally, the managing director of Bee7 John Rankin ran us through what he terms the "four pillars of retention" in mobile games.
Click across for more detail on each story.
#5: How Glu Mobile balances UA spend and in-game advertising revenue
More Info
How Glu Mobile balances UA spend and in-game advertising revenue »The ability to be able to modify your UA campaigns in terms of how much you're generating from running other companies' ads in your games is the real sweetspot.
In its most recent financials, Glu broke out some figures which clearly shows this in action.
Over the past six quarters (18 months), it's balanced its UA spending (shown in blue) with the revenue it's generated (red).
In this way, in periods when advertising is more expensive - such as the Holiday period (Q4) - it generates more cash and spends less on expensive UA.
Over the past six month, though, when UA is relatively cheaper, Glu's been spending more on UA.
#4: The four pillars of retention
More Info
The four pillars of retention »For Bee7's managing director John Rankin, mobile games' success is driven by: retention, retention, retention.
"Ultimately, focusing on retention can play a huge role in creating a successful game.
"Unlike many other metrics, retention gives you a much more accurate picture of whether or not users actually like your game - and also importantly whether you are likely to make a profit from it.
"You could be featured on the App Store, written about in global media and have UA campaigns that generate gazillions of downloads but, if users aren't coming back to play your game on a regular basis, they clearly aren't enjoying it!"
You can read Rankin's four retention points here by clicking on the title above.
#3: Hothead Games settles with Glu over Deer Hunter 2014 copying claim
More Info
Hothead Games settles with Glu over Deer Hunter 2014 copying claim »Without any detail (or angle) on how or why the situation has been resolved, hidden away in Glu Mobile's recent financials was the news that the company had won its copyright case again Canadian developer Hothead Games.
The original case was launched in November 2014, with Glu claiming that Hothead Games' Kill Shot copied its hit Deer Hunter 2014.
At the time, Glu's Chris Akhavan claimed:
"Kill Shot is effectively a complete ripoff of our game Deer Hunter 2014.
"The only difference is that in Kill Shot, you are shooting humans. In our game, you are shooting deer and other animals."
Hothead hasn't made any public announcement, but Glu has now confirmed case is closed.
In a statement, Glu said "In August 2015, we settled our litigation with Hothead Games in which they have agreed to make payments to Glu, including ongoing payments, the details of which are confidential."
Significantly, however, Kill Shot remains available on the App Store and Google Play.
#2: Hearthstone on mobile could be losing Blizzard millions
More Info
Hearthstone on mobile could be losing Blizzard millions »Blizzard loses money every time a PC-based Hearthstone player switches to playing on mobile, according to a closer look at a report from SuperData.
The research firm’s latest Digital Card Games report sparked headlines that Hearthstone is pulling in over $20 million a month in revenue, with mobile revenue eclipsing its PC partner.
However, Lunarch Studios' Elyot Grant, writing on Gamasutra, has pointed out that the total digital revenue by title graph conceals the fact that “Hearthstone’s phone release is losing Blizzard millions of dollars.”
The graph shows the exodus of players from PC to mobile by demonstrating that PC revenue is down while mobile revenue is up. However, Grant has pointed out that Blizzard sells Hearthstone on PC through its privately-owned Battle.net platform.
#1: Are mobile games with an 'action mouth' icon more successful?
More Info
Are mobile games with an 'action mouth' icon more successful? »Is there a simple secret to app store success?
Probably not, but that doesn't mean there aren't dozen of little tweaks you can perform to improve your chances of success.
When it comes to its most recent release, physics runner Ruby Run, one thing IronLabs played around with was app store icons.
"When you look at the top 50 games, a surprising number use an image where the character has an open mouth and you can see their teeth," said VP Mobile Sales & Operations Omri Halamish.
Of course, this could be a phenomenon based on the fact that Clash of Clans and Game of War - two of the top games - have this trait.
That said, it also hold for titles as varied as The Simpsons: Tapped Out and Frozen Free Fall.
And certainly, IronLabs is eating its own dog food, changing its planned icon to one with an open mouth and visible teeth.