F2P Kim Kardashian mobile game making $200M in a year

This game.



http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/07/16/kim-kardashian-reportedly-earning-85-million-from-mobile-game

Sooooo.... who wants to join my Kanye West game project?

(It's all just based on speculation. But still.)

 

Why do you think you can? You don't have the IP right to do so, and would get sued into extinction within a day.

And how does $85 become $200?

 

Pretty sure it was a joke. Either way, this is off topic, the original post mentioned nothing about IP rights, it's about making a cool trending game.

She gets 45%

 

I choose not to believe this is real, even if it is real.

 

It is real................... it's f'ing real..................

.....................................................................

............. I'm just going to go sit in the corner of the shower and cry it out........


oh humanity........ why!?........ WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!?!?!?!?!

 

I don't want to live in this Universe anymore.

 

This is what I fudging hate about the mobile market. Someone makes an awesome game with years and years of effort put into it, markets it as much as he can with his limited resources and gets pushed to the back of the line by S***ty games like this.

 

Never heard of her.

 

Lucky you...

 

Ugh

 

Another 'bird brains' game?!

 

Read the article, game is on track to make $200m in the course of a year.

 

doesnt surprise me... doesnt please me either.

obviously the main mistake in my game ideas is that you require something between your ears. bummer.

 

People like to h8 on her but they really love her. Look d33p into your heart and tell me I'm wrong.

 

You're wrong.

 

After I read this post, I went home and downloaded the game. At first, I was disgusted with the obvious click-here to get everything mechanics! Yet, I kept playing - to dig deeper - and began to realize that if I swapped Kardashian with an Orc, the game plays a lot like a simple RPG.

The people who play these games are not mindless drones. Instead of eagerly railing against hte machine, take a moment to truly study the Kardashians, Candy Crushes, and other successful titles you love to hate. GROK what the average person likes about them. Learn, improve - be a professional.

/Soap Box

Gigi

 

I think you're missing the point.

Arguably though, I suppose its fair to say we're mostly analytic men here and this game is targeting giddy girls so naturally our opinions are going to be on the negative.

 

It's because when you have money you can game the system.

Just like you can buy twitter followers, facebook followers, website traffic, you can also buy mobile app downloads and mobile ratings/reviews. Which will bump you up in the charts and increase exposure.

The mobile market is dead for indies. The odds of attempting to beat the big studios or big players is the equivalent of of hitting a jackpot. Some will strike it rich, but for the large majority it will be a total loss of time and money.

They actually are. The people who play the Kardashian game (and other junk like it) are incredibly stupid. I guarantee around 95% of them have exceptionally low IQs, I know, I have relatives like that. They are young, they are incredibly dumb and will part with their money over something very stupid if its perceived to be "cool" even if its totally brain-dead. They'll know everything about the Kardashian game or the TV show, but ask them do something basic like add or subtract, or ask them general knowledge question and they wont know the answer.

 

That's why Kim has to step it up so like Katy she can teach elementary physics and titillate at the same time:

Seriously though, as Gigiwoo says it's too easy to dismiss and frown upon this game. What they did is adapt and market a role-playing game to a new, vast and - I think we all can agree - generous audience. And it paid off. Let's not forget it's not like Kim made the game on her own. There are definitely smart and talented people involved. On the other hand if the game did not have the power of Glu behind it, would it have ever taken off?

Is there a word that combines awe, respect, jealousy and disgust?

 

There must be! Except nothing comes to mind...
Gigi

 

This is why you will fail.
Gigi

 

Gigiwoo downloaded the game and played it. By your logic, we should discount his reasons for doing so (self-education, understanding what makes the game effective), and just judge him as possessing all of those negative qualities you've enumerated.

Yet, he's actually one of the more successful people on these forums, knows how to do things significantly more complex than merely add, subtract, or read...in fact, Gigi has released multiple successful iPhone apps, and regularly advises newcomers like you and I about how to actually release better works.

I second Gigi's statement: 'Then you will fail.' You can blame your arrogance for this; this makes you contemptous of any ideas, any things, and any people that don't fulfill the rather narrow criteria for things that you have judged 'should be the case in life.'

While I don't think the Kardashians are the best possible role models ever, it's possible to learn all sorts of useful things from stuff that you disagree with. In fact, I think you can learn profoundly better lessons from stuff you don't agree with, because if you think about it, you can understand why you don't agree with it.

That's the reason I'm working on a RTS; I played some StarCraft II, watched some tournaments, and realized that there are a list of things that I don't believe an RTS should be. I've written it into a list that I read every night, and this philosophy is guiding me in writing my next game. If it fails, I know that perhaps my views are wrong; if I'm successful...well, I can hold my game up as what an RTS should be.

TL;DR - Instead of repeating stereotypes, try to understand the real reasons you disagree with something, and find intelligent ways to express them; such ways do not include throwing out blanket insults.

 

At least candy crush is a game. I can see why candy crush is popular good use of social media, get your friends to give you extra lives. There's 500 levels so you could play the game for years

 

Man since when you're not superkind anymore? And by the way, I think Phil Fish is a living example that thinking everyone is an idiot doesn't mean you won't be successful (even I that's not the kind of success I would wish for me )

 

What makes consoles or desktops better for indies? Is every experienced and talented indie striking it rich on desktops and consoles?

 

I think games like that are genius...annoying...but genius. such developers try to target the average human.Many humans are average.Right?

 

Awspecjealgust

I coined it! Now anytime any of you use it; give me 45% royalties.

I'm coming up to the A list Kim!

 

I have yet to know why humanity praises the Kardashians...


You're right though, they target the average human who only go with what the media tells them is cool at the moment. Right now, the Kardashians are the most talked about, can't be on Facebook or a "news" website without seeing something about the Kardashians. That itself is genius and all they do is recycle the same game with different artists.


I might be a dirty peasant when it comes to game design, but if you can target the average human being, your app has a higher chance of being successful.

 

I might actually make a game called Kanye Quest, it should be fine due to being "fair use" as a parody.

 

Will he go on the search to find Fish Sticks?

 

Fail? At what?

You are living in a fantasy world. Big business strives on fleecing the dumbed down masses. The dumber the masses, the easier to part them with their money. Its easy to fool them, trick them, even lie to them. You can sell them complete and utter junk and they'll keep coming back for more. You can hook them to give you money on a ongoing basis for nothing real.

The larger your market exposure is, the much easier it is to do it.

The smart consumers will stay away, but there is such a large pool of dumb consumers that as long as you have them hooked you wont need to worry about the smart ones.

And where exactly did I say anything about Gigiwoo? Nowhere.

Do you honestly think I'd group a developer that downloaded an app for business intelligence and research into a group of "stupid consumers"?

So stop trying to make it about him, and go back to the topic of dummies and morons that buy that kind of junk .... and how to learn from the successful junk makers on how to fleece the public for millions of dollars by leveraging their stupidity.

 

<( I don't belieeeeeeeeeeeeeeve it! )

I refuse to make games with in-app purchases because I have morals. I'm also poor.

 

I don't think people are dumb. For example, EA tried to sell us junk with their mobile version of Dungeon Keeper and it ended in a S***storm. People most often can tell when they are treated unjustly.

This game is just people genuinely enjoying the personal brand of this person coupled with a game concept that already existed. If the revenue is that high it just means that a lot of people heard about the product and liked it enough to trade a bit of their money for some light-hearted entertainment.

It's also a great example of how powerful (personal) brands are. From a marketing standpoint, I don't see a lot of differences to successful indie games. The brand is part of the gaming experience and must be crafted just like the game itself, which Kim Kardashian obviously did. I haven't heard of her before this thread, but if she has this many haters, she's doing it right, because it means on the flip-side, she is attracting the people she wants to connect with. That's what I am taking from this case, at least.

A "dumb masses" mentality won't get you far and won't get you a very likeable personal brand of your own.

 

Well said Gigi!

Lots of long time gamers here being negative. Well, this isn't a game marketed towards gamers. Its a game marketed towards the masses.

The games which can tap into the masses can make a ton of money, its just a numbers game. If you want to target "gamers" then the market is much smaller and more competitive! Simple as that. Don't have a sob story when you choose to go down the gamer's game path and find Candy Crush and Kardashian games to fare better in the market.

 

These f2p games are a lot like fast food. Fast food is financially successful, but it might not actually be good for people.

Candy Crush plays a lot like a Las Vegas slot machine, though arguably there is some skill involved. Again, slot machines are financially successful, but not necessarily good for society. And if you're playing a slot machine for financial gain, you might well be considered one of the "dumbed down masses" DMan is referring to.

 

I once again repeat, 'in app purchases' or 'free to play' is not a bad model, it's how companies abuse this model that gives it a bad rap.

There are some excellent examples of games that have done f2p correctly which are incidentally games that are doing really well, and games that I don't mind spending a bit of coin on because I feel I am getting value.

I would like all the f2p haters to download and play the following games, and see how f2p can be an effective model, for both the developer and the consumer, without losing your 'morals'.

Hungry Shark Evolution
iFighter 2
Chef's Diner

Go and spend a few hours and play these games. And see how to do it right.

 

Dota 2, League of Legends, and Hearthstone are all free to play too, and they all have strong quality. So I'd agree, f2p isn't necessarily bad.

 

i cant speak about dota 2 or hearthstone...
but LoL is LAAAAME ! theres only like 3 or 4 maps, i call that lazy as hell, and pathetic,
why anyone would spend money to buy individual characters, for a game with like 3 maps is beyond me...
haha, i played 2 matches of that game, 2nd match i quit out of cause it was boring, and i couldnt join a 3rd because "oooh youre banned cause you quit a match" - LAME!
loool .. idk that was my impression of the game .. i get the quitter ban thing...

... lol sorry... i hate those moba craps, i cant believe they make money, and anyone cares about them, ill make a better game, in every aspect, and not make nearly as much money, whatever

 

Keeping the map count low probably wasn't a matter of laziness. Whenever you have more maps, you increase your matchmaking times, and you introduce more variation into the game. Normally variation is good, but since they already have 100+ heroes to learn already, adding more maps would probably be overkill.

I can understand if you don't like the game itself, as I like Dota 2 more myself. In any case, LoL is usually #1 on TwitchTV, so obviously people like it.

 

I know there are a lot of bad games that become popular, but it's rare that a great/awesome game goes unnoticed. I honestly don't know of many that fail in spite of being really great. Or at least, there's usually a good reason for the failure, like the game being too niche or having nothing that makes it stand out, etc. Not saying this is always the case...

 

^ THIS! I used to hate on the winners. Until I realized the failing was mine - a combination of ignorance and jealousy. So, I began studying them, earnestly trying to understand WHY they worked, and then squirreling the good stuff away for future use.

And to answer the earlier question, "Fail? At what?" ... Seeing customers as "dumb masses" instead of the money savvy people they are is a recipe for failure as a game developer.

Gigi

 

Here's a game for you! Find the irony's in this sentence! The reward for winning this game is making better games.

Gigi

 

So, historically the Kardashians are only notable because of the father being a defense lawyer in the O.J. Simpson trial (i.e. helping a guy get away with murder allegedly*.)

However, Kim Kardashian has a lot more in common with Paris Hilton; these two women are spectacular at self-promotion. They know how to, and with almost sniper-like precision, do market themselves with remarkable efficiency. They're not famous "because they're famous", they're famous because they convince people that they should be famous. This has crystallized into far more concrete branding, like perfumes and other stuff.

As indies, one of the problems we have is marketing. I know I don't have a firm grip on it, and many people on these very forums have talked about the Indie marketing problem. It might be worth dissecting how the Kardashians market themselves, and figuring out things that we can apply to indie gaming.

 

I think you're missing the point. To go off your observation: you said if you substitute KK with an orc, you'll get gameplay mechanics resembling an RPG. This is believable, as there has to be some gameplay there. You can't just make a dumb game showing pictures of KK and expect to make a fortune, can you?

Now, let's say someone actually does make that game with an orc in it. And let's say they actually make the gameplay better than the one with KK in it. But the one with KK gets more money because it has her in it. Essentially, the public passed up better gameplay because of KK.

You can't have your cake and eat it too Gigi.

 

Brand power, it really does help exposure.

 

You could make a better game and no one would play it, you could try dumbing it down for the masses what they tried with resident evil or dead space, or dead rising, and what you end up with is a watered down game that no one likes -- look at what happened with resident evil 6 they had over 600 people working on the game tried to appeal to everyone and no one liked it.

Someone could make a game and stick pewdiepie in it and it would shoot to the tops of the charts. Hell look what he did for flappy bird. But unless you have "star power" your probably just better off making the game you want to make

 

I don't think my obviously staged leaked sex tape will get me the kind of attention I want...

I guess I could try to marry someone rich and famous and divorce them a month later when they travel abroad? I dunno. The problem is that, unlike the Kardashians, I actually have to live with the choices I make. Not sure I could throw people under the bus for money.

 

...While all very true things she's done, you're somewhat* missing the point.

Sure, they do all sorts of really crappy moves like the ones you listed, but that's not their primary modus operandi. Mostly, they just ensure that people are talking about them. They make friends with the media. They ensure that their faces and voices are public, usually through crappy "reality" TV. They cultivate legions of fans.

While those approaches generally aren't reasonable to game development, some are more reasonable than you would think. We can:

• Befriend the YouTube Let's Play community, they're our main ace in the hole (I speak from experience; my last project had a single Let's Play recorded for it, and it gave me a good bit of momentum on a portal I had long considered completely worthless.)
• Additionally, create Developer Let's Plays. Sure, someone else can tell our audience why they should play our game, but we can give another perspective. Also, you can build a more direct connection to our audience.
• Periodically livestream some of our development (I'm going to experiment with that in my current project, it'll make its way into the postmortem, I'm sure...)
• Attend highly-publicized conferences like the various PAXes (but, not K-Pax, that's different.)
• Just talk to people. "What do you do," they will ask. "I make games," is your reply. "I've made these titles..."

I think this dichotomy between what a socialite like Paris Hilton does to attain fame, and what a developer does to expose their works, is somewhat true, somewhat false. It's true in that we don't have the same ways of reaching an audience that they do, and have to exhibit different qualities that aren't so easy to exploit (though, EA regularly throws that assertion into question.) It's false, in that many of the ways are extremely similar, as noted above.

The real question is, can we talk to our audience in a way they're prepared to understand, but with content of our choosing?

*: The point is about 30 miles to your east. Yes, you missed it by that much.

 

No, I didn't really miss the point. In fact, I nailed it on the head. Yes, they remain in the news. By any means necessary. That is ultimately the key to their success - they keep people talking. A very big part of that is doing things that are just plain wrong. But they're gaming society. What would make the news first - a mass shooting or a doctor saving half the victims? The truth is, people gravitate towards negativity much more easily.

If you want to get the same kind of publicity as them, you have to do the same. If you go club baby seals, you'll make it in the news too. But the point I was trying to make is that I wouldn't do that to market myself or my brand. I'd rather live off ramen with a clean conscience than be successful and a *@&$bag.