Once people have your "Battery Status" app, there is not much else you can make money on.
With games you can get them addicted to the concept and release new modified versions that run on pretty much the same code and have previously free users become paid users over time. I would think that is partially because it's easier to make a paying customer for a promotion involving a free game then it is other types of apps. I suppose Angry Birds merchandise lets their diehard fans find each other. I find they make great conversation starters and make it relatively easy to find other people with the same interests as you. I've looked at data other people have collected from experimenting with free: downloads shoot up while it's free and as soon as it's not, sales will immediately return to normal.Īs far as the merchandise goes - I own a few Valve and Nintendo products besides their games, as well as lots of band shirts. I won't - Battery Status will never be free. By Apple making high quality games free on a regular basis, why would anyone bother buying a high quality game? They know if they wait that Apple or the developer will make it free before long.
I'm worried about myself and every other app developer. I'm not too worried about Rovio - I'm pretty sure they can take care of themselves. That being said, I'll never understand the appeal of wanting an Angry Birds hat. are surprisingly popular which would easily offset the costs of being free for a few days.
Licensing deals like shirts, hats, stuffed animals, toys, console ports, etc. $0.99/download does add up over billions of downloads, but it is not their only revenue stream. This particular title is easily made free because of the huge brand it's spawned.