The current iPhone App Store revenue share model - a 70/30 split for the sale of apps, generally in the $0.99-$9.99 range - doesn’t exactly reward developers for producing addictive games. Greystripe, an advertising network for mobile games, has stepped in to compensate developers for every time their games are played, not just for when those games are initially sold.
Greystripe has actually been distributing free games and applications for about 1,400 handset models since 2006, mainly through its consumer site GameJump. The site offers mobile gamers a catalog of 800 games from 120 game publishers that can be downloaded directly to phones through mobile browsers. GameJump has experienced 75 million downloads so far, a big jump since last summer when they reached 14 million.
Now the company is turning its attention to the iPhone by providing developers with pre-, interstitial and post-roll ads from advertisers like Best Buy, eBay, Yahoo!, New Line Cinema, the US Army, Wal-Mart and Subway. Greystripe claims it will deliver a 10.1% click-through rate (CTR) when other mobile advertisers are averaging a 1-2% CTR.
To begin competing in a competitive mobile ad market, Greystripe is offering iPhone developers 100% of their in-game ad revenue until they reach $10,000. If you’re an iPhone developer, you can register for the network here.
Other iPhone ad networks include: AppLoop, a recently launched location-based iPhone ad network; AdMob, a browser-based ad network with iPhone-specific advertisements that has served almost 250 million ads; and new-comer Medialets.
More about iPhone apps: http://liviux.byethost15.com/tag/iphone-3g-apps/
Great post!
I wouldn’t be too happy paying for a game then having to watch a pre-roll advertisement before I could play it. This model might work better for free games.
You know that Iphone based ad networks were coming! It only took about a week! Makes sense though — save consumers money by monetizing their eyeballs!
I wouldn’t use any crap that puts Walmart ads into my face.
Seriously. F that noise. Also, a 10% CTR? Yeah right.
How nice
Just goes to show you can never have to much ads.
yet another reason not to buy an i-fon
If a paid iphone game has pre-roll advertisement, it will be annoying. maybe majority iphone users think so. although it is good to apps developer.
Huh, excellent strategy for making money. While we play games on our iPhones, somebody earns bucks. Great…
Wow! Amazing thing for Iphone users. Ads definitely have covered the world. From iPhones to website ads. What is going to happen to a world full of ads.
Charles
http://www.resourcesandmoney.blogspot.com
so wait, they are saying that they expect 10% of people to click through a pre-, interstitial or post-roll ad, which would cause the game to close and a safari browser to open to go to the advertisers website? i can MAYBE understand post, but pre- and interstitial??? REALLY??? the people at greystripe obviously know that they are doing. either that or TC needs to do a better job filtering and applying relevant metrics. btw THANK GOD FOR THE DEV TEAM AND RELEASING PWNAGE TOOL THIS PAST WEEKEND.
A note of clarification to some of the commentators: greystripe has normally only had ads in free games. It’s unlikely that they’ll change this business model for their iPhone offering. Ads will ONLY appear in free iPhone games, and only if the game developer decides to sign up to, and use greystripe.
So now my own comment on the article:
GreyStripes strength has come from the fact that they distribute the free mobile games through their own site and a number of partner sites.
A mobile game developer adds some code to their game and gives the game file to greystripe. This then gets distributed to thousands of potential mobile gamers via the network of greystripe sites/partner sites.
This DOESN’T work for iPhone game developers. The iTunes App Store is the ONLY way a game developer can get their game in the hands of the iPhone users.
Sure greystripe can list the iPhone Game on GameJump, but this’ll have to open the iTunes App Store on the users PC/Mac or iPhone.
The greystripe offering for iPhone is nothing more than an Ad Network, which IF they can deliver a 10.1 CTR means they’re the best in the business.