Developing for Older Devices Yields Less Revenue
Any indie developer out there who’s still developing apps for older devices needs to know something. Since this topic has come up 2x TODAY alone, I thought I would write a piece on it. Instead of trying to please everyone by making your app available on all devices, why not instead focus on creating a quality app for the devices that actually yield more revenue?
A theory that’s been validated by NativeX recently is that: The older the device, the less revenue the user has to dispose.
One might say that users with newer devices have more disposable income, and as mentioned above NativeX’s network had validated this theory showing 169% increase in Average Revenue Per Daily Active User (ARPDAU) from just iOS to iOS 5. If that wasn’t enough to get you to reconsider, the folks over at Unity also stated on their blog:
“the first iPad can be pretty much ignored now, whereas iPad 2 is still more popular than any of the later iPad models.”
Quality really matters.
Unless of course – you’re not a fan of positive reviews, word of mouth advertising, virality, and the like. If that is the case then by all means, certainly continue going along developing apps catered to older devices that yield less revenue.
Although, you might find that your users with newer devices a little irritated when they realize your app doesn’t live up to the full capabilities of their device. Not to mention, your chances of Apple featuring your app that caters to their older devices vs newest, is slim-none.
Moving away from developing yet alone supporting older devices like the 1st gen iPad will eliminate negative reviews from users with older devices. This critically important for freemium games that rely very much on retention for revenue. Stronger retention = higher ARPDAU.
As a closing thought..
Doesn’t it just make sense to make games that are going to be as enjoyable, fun, and engaging as possible?
Even if for a smaller audience. If you’re working on a mobile game would you rather have 10,000 users with a 90% engagement rate (9000) or a game with 100,000 users where your CPA costs are going through the roof because your retention sucks, and the engagement rate is less than .05%?
I’m sure we both know the answer.
But go ahead and TELL ME in the COMMENTS BELOW.
Kevin is an Online and Mobile Marketing Strategist who has worked with companies of all sizes over the last 6 years. You can follow Kevin on any of the social platforms below.
