Dollars For Dogfights: Making a “F.A.S.T.” Million

Social Gaming Network knew it had a good thing with their air-combat iPhone game Fleet Air Superiority Training (F.A.S.T. for short).  But how to make it better?

Cut the price, for starters.  Originally listed at US$9.99, SGN shot off 80% of that (i.e. lowered the price to US$1.99).

The result?  In the first six weeks it was available, according to TechCrunch, "[it] pulled in over $1 million in download fees."  Not bad for a company who started out creating game apps for Facebook.

There's no question that a game with a lower price tag is going to be more attractive to the average iPhoner, but you also have to remember: this isn't the work of some guy in his bedroom coding evenings and weekends, this is the result of a team of coders and a serious chunk of investment capital.  With all the cheap and/or free "fritterware" clogging the aisles of the App Store, the trick is to convince users that an app that costs more is actually worth more.

[Via CNET]