Comments on: Conversion Rate Inversely Related To Download Rate

By: Phil Steinmeyer

Phil Steinmeyer — Sun, 19 Mar 2006 14:48:01 +0000

I think for the most part people measure it as a fraction of completed downloads. But I’m not sure there’s 100% consistency there.

By: Game Fools

Game Fools — Sun, 19 Mar 2006 09:27:33 +0000

It doesn’t seem that the shareware game industry has a real standard by which downloads are measured (for the purposes of computing conversion rates, that is). They could, for example, be measured by unique or raw completed downloads, or possibly even just initiated downloads… which I believe is how CNET reports their download numbers (or at least they used to).

We’ve also dealt with software developers who have reported conversion rates to us based on their ability to track completed installations. My point is that depending on how these download numbers are tracked, the related conversion rates can vary and we may not always be comparing apples to apples.

Then again, feel free to correct me if you know of a standard that exists. I could just be out of the loop as usual.

By: Winter Wolves Games

Winter Wolves Games — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 22:36:40 +0000

I think CR for CRPG or MMORPG are even higher. If I remember correctly Spidweb author Jeff was talking about an incredibly high CR (something like over > 30% even!). Of course that doesn’t mean more sales, you can have 30% CR but just 50 download a day or less…

By: Phil Steinmeyer

Phil Steinmeyer — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 14:53:25 +0000

Mike - dig through the forums at indiegamer.com, and/or ask around there.

By: Mike Rozak

Mike Rozak — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 06:13:06 +0000

These are interesting numbers. Is there anywhere I can find out more? I’m particularly interested in typical conversion rates for CRPGs and graphical adventure games, and more specifically, multiplayer (MMORPG).

By: the2bears.com » So You Want…

the2bears.com » So You Want… — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 22:56:32 +0000

[...] …to be an Independent games writer? Here’s an interesting post from PhilSteinmeyer.com on conversion rates, download rates and that elusive dollar. It gives a nice perspective on at least part of being your own boss. [...]

By: GBGames

GBGames — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 18:11:44 +0000

As I understand it, Pretty Good Solitaire has retail versions available, but I do think the majority of his sales come from downloads. Also, I wouldn’t call it limited distribution. It’s solitaire, which everyone understands how to play.

Naturally, if you’re dealing with shelf-life, your game better be great so that it stays on the front page of a portal. If it is your own game, you give it the best shelf space. If it were to remain this way, I imagine that the portals would just develop another hit-driven subsection of the game industry.