作者：Mike Williams

在最近的GamesBeat 2012大会座谈小组中，众iOS开发者也在此分享了在如此拥挤的应用商店环境下他们所面临的营销危机。用户获取成本不断提高，而许多免费游戏的营销成本也大大超过了它们所赚取的终身收益。

apps(from appadvice.com)

参加座谈小组的人士包括SkyVu Entertainment创始人Ben Vu，Machine Zone首席执行官Gabe Leydon，移动顾问A.J. Yeakel以及W3i创始人Rob Weber。

Vu表示利用Chartboost等服务而交叉推广其它开发商的游戏便是他们获得用户的主要方法，但是不断攀升的推广成本却是一大问题所在。

“这种不协调开始疯狂蔓延，”Vu说道，“你必须时时刻刻关注这一问题。”

Leydon也提到用户获取成本从一年前的50美分飙升到现在的7美元。他注意到许多“富翁”带着各种大品牌涌进了市场，并且亚洲手机开发商也紧随其后。Weber也认可Leydon的观点，他表示很难找到高端用户的获取成本。

“价格压力将持续上升，并且在更多广告库存出现前这种趋势很难得到改善，”Leydon说道，“市场中有太多渴望成功的富翁，他们愿意花费7美元去获取用户。所以我们所面临的是一场艰苦的持久战。”

“你不能预测更大的公司将投入多少成本，”Weber说道。“但是你却能够明确一款游戏所需成本和利润率，并以此大规模地推广游戏。这是一项艰巨的任务。”

Leydon说道，优秀的内容能够推动玩家对游戏的口口相传，而Twitter以及Facebook等社交网站则能够帮助我们保持较低的用户获取成本。Vu也表示他正寻找与玩具厂商和电视节目进行授权合作的机会，以便提升《Battle Bears》（游戏邦注：一款卡通风格的激战游戏）的品牌知名度。

“我们一直致力于打造自己的核心产品及核心品牌，并努力创造出最‘了不起’的产品，”Vu说道。

尽管苹果App Store是最有利可图的应用市场，但是它也开始浮现出各种问题，并且有很多问题并不存在于谷歌Play Store以及亚马逊AppStore。微软也通过发布Windows Store正式进入了这场争夺赛中。但是不幸的是仅在苹果的App Store中我们都还没能找到解决问题的万全之策。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

iPhone game marketing costs keep rising to “insane” levels

By Mike Williams

At a panel at VentureBeat’s GamesBeat 2012 moderated by GamesIndustry International’s Steve Peterson, iOS developers shared their woes in marketing their games in a crowded app store. User acquisition costs are rising to the point that many free-to-play titles will spend more on marketing than they’ll make in lifetime revenue. The panel was attended by SkyVu Entertainment founder Ben Vu, Machine Zone chief executive officer Gabe Leydon, mobile consultant A.J. Yeakel, and W3i cofounder Rob Weber.

Vu explained that cross-promoting other developers’ games via services like Chartboost was his primary method of reaching users, but the rising costs are a big problem.

“This mismatch is insane,” Vu said. “You have to pay attention to this, down to the hour or the minute.”

Leydon cited costs as high as $7 for acquiring users, up from 50 cents a year ago. He sees a number of “billionaries” coming into the market with large brands to sell, with Asian mobile developers close behind. Weber backed up Leydon’s claims, explaining that it’s difficult to find the top-end of user acquisition costs.

“The pressure on prices will shoot upward and not slow down until more ad inventory comes online,” Leydon said. “There’s billionaires in the market who want to win. They are willing to spend $7 a download. This is going to be a long, tough fight.”

“You can’t predict how the bigger companies will spend,” said Weber. “But it’s about finding the right volume and the right level of profitability for a game and doing it on a large scale.

It’s a huge, full-time job.”

Great content pushes games through word-of-mouth, but social networks like Twitter and Facebook also helps keep acquisition costs lower according to Leydon. Vu said he was also looking to improve the branding on his Battle Bears game by licensing the IP for a possible toyline and television show.

“We are working on the core product and the core brand and making it freakin’ awesome,” Vu said.

While Apple App Store is the most lucrative mobile market, that is beginning to come with its own set of issues, many of which don’t exist on the Android-based Google Play Store and Amazon AppStore. Microsoft will also be entering the race with its Windows Store this morning. Unfortunately, on the Apple App Store itself, there seems to be no cure-all in sight.

“That’s just more things to worry about,” Vu said. “I’m pulling my hair out.” (source:games industry)