Does freeware make sense?

[zoombapup]

So we've been toying with the idea of releasing Panzer Ace (our current game) as freeware. Mainly because we just want to ship the goddam thing and feel like once thats accomplished, we'd rather move onto other things than worry about building it out.

The project was never about the money, it was about the finishing.

So, I'm just wondering, how to people view freeware as a tool. I mean, I would like to think that if we release PA as freeware, in some way it would at least pique interest in people about its developers enough to check out thier next game?

Or would it just set the expectation that everything should be free (which weirdly enough, we always planned on releasing everything we've done for free and then use microtransactions to support it anyway).

From a business point of view, I cant imagine a Tank game doing much in the way of sales so its not a huge loss there.

Thoughts please!

[luggage]

I guess it could work if you release your next game not long after it. Last thing you'd want is to drum up a bit of interest in your next game only for it all to die down before release.

How about putting in a couple of discount codes for current\next games within it? In theory you could attract players with a bit of freeware then the fact they're getting a bargain might lead them to purchase? Not sure of the technical aspects though, but I suppose who cares if people are flooding to your site to get 10% off thanks to a website listing this code?

[cliffski]

depends on he game. if its an unusually good game, them you'd be better off (in every way) asking for money for it. Maybe its worth throwing out some screenshots and seeing what everyone thinks?

[zoombapup]

Problem is, at the rate I'm finishing games off, the value is pretty minimal. I've learnt not to sweat it that it takes an age to finish anything as a part-timer, but hey, if people enjoy my game, I think thats enough really.

Does that make me non indie by the way? :) Or just a bit dumb?

[zoombapup]

We're redoing a ton of stuff in it right now. So all of my missions are grey terrain and grey sky stuff (doing the enemy AI right now).

Here's a fairly representative shot of the visuals though (thats one of the incomplete levels).

Test Level (http://www.militarygarage.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1833&g2_serialNumber=1)

I'll of course post an alpha here to see what people think. Thing is, we're not really hurting for the money so much, as we all make a pretty good living in our day jobs. So outside of learning how to sell things online, I'm not sure of the advantages. Mind you, you're probably right in that if nothing else, it forces me to setup a plimus/bmt account and go through that whole setup.

I could also dig into the amazon S3 stuff to host it too (its got relevance as research for the next product).

Youre talking me round there cliff.

[luggage]

We used Snowball Frenzy as our 'test' game. Didn't expect any sales really but it was a good excuse to set up a BMT account, website and have everything set up for when we released a more 'serious' title.

[tentons]

Depends on your goals: if you want to build a list of potential customers for some future game, then freeware might make a lot of sense. I think Amanda probably leveraged her freeware game audience for the commercial release of Aveyond.

[DrWilloughby]

Sometimes making it for sales is a better way of getting it in front of more eyes, since people might actually want to sell it for you. I think you will find it very difficult to motivate yourself to promote the game is you dont gain anything from the eyeballs. I say sell it for $9.99 or even 4.99, since your main goal is eyeballs anyways.

[Surrealix]

I've got a freeware game and a commercial game on my website. I wrote Radia quite a long time ago, and it sold slowly. When I switched 2D engines, I wrote a freeware game in about a fortnight, and put it up alongside my other one. Although sales didn't increase, the visitors to my site increased hugely - part of which I'd attribute to having online high scores, which drew people back for weeks on end. (Unfortunately I broke this when I switched web hosts, and it's still not back online)

I guess the audiences for the games is different. The people who download freeware games may be unlikely to get out their wallet for your shareware game.

[Polycount Productions]

Or would it just set the expectation that everything should be free (which weirdly enough, we always planned on releasing everything we've done for free and then use microtransactions to support it anyway).

Freeware can be a nice promotional tool. I created a very simple box stacking game and gave it free. The game alone has been a nice word-of-mouth builder, and while the main reason for me was to build something in a short time, I've managed to generate some income via ads (such as affiliates and link sales). I didn't set up a newsletter for that game, but I'd really recommend putting one in place (free stuff is great way to get people's emails) - as it would be one good vehicle for getting customers for your next project.

I say sell it for $9.99 or even 4.99, since your main goal is eyeballs anyways.
That's true that you might stick a low price for it, but then you would lose the potential promotional value (free is always free) - and you would still need to do marketing for it. Free can sometimes market itself ;)

[Mark Sheeky]

That's true that you might stick a low price for it, but then you would lose the potential promotional value (free is always free) - and you would still need to do marketing for it. Free can sometimes market itself ;)

I concur. Freeware is really popular because some people look for it and ignore everything else. A demo, even one as good or better than a free full game, won't get nearly as many downloads. Be sure to include links to your website and newsletter signups. The only downside is the bandwidth cost if your game is large but you could always fall back on somewhere like Winsite.

Mark