Publishers Talk of Profits and Pigs for BAFTA

A number of iOS developers decided to talk numbers at BAFTA's recent What's App event in London. The Guardian's article is full of all manner of interesting tidbits and discussion. Taking the stage to talk about storytelling, profit margins, and children's content were Peter Sleeman (co-director, P2 Games), Paul Bennun (chief creative officer of content design and creation, Somethin' Else), and Tom Bonnick (digital project and marketing manager, Nosy Crow). The trio divulged some interesting numbers, as well as their perspectives on various app models.

P2 Games' bread and butter has been largely based around children's brands, including Peppa Pig and Fireman Sam, and have sold just under 600 thousand apps in less than a year and a half. Somethin' Else, responsible for the indisputably different Papa Sangre, also did quite well with their $4.99 interactive experiment. The audio-only horror game sold a respectable 70K copies since its release back in 2010. Nosy Crow opted out of the numbers game at the event, but they did put out a couple of critically acclaimed book apps (Cinderella, The Three Little Pigs) so they're probably doing just fine.

The general consensus revolved around knowing one's audience. According to Sleeman, Preschoolers are a very different market than the typical demographic so it's important to bring in people who know what the young-uns like and what keeps them coming back. Bennun championed the Premium model; keeping prices high and letting the quality of the product do most of the selling. Bonnick echoed the sentiment of quality, and mentioned Nosy Crow's strict adherence to in-house development.

I'm curious to see if anyone agrees or disagrees with these ideas. They certainly seem sound to me. Especially the one about refusing to use in-app purchases in apps meant for children. Thoughts?

[Via: theguardian.com]