I never really had any intention of making Hangman an actual product. but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to submit it and see what happened.

Well, it was a pretty bug success in my opinion, and so far Hangman has received over 2.1 million downloads from iTunes and has an average rating of 3 stars. I wanted to keep Hangman free, but try to leverage some of this popularity, so I added advertisements after about 2 months.

Initially, people were quite angry that a free app without advertising had suddenly developed these annoying ads that flipped every 30 seconds and distracted them from playing the game, but after a few tweaks and lots of user feedback, I think I have come to a solution that people are happy with.

So this brings me to a point I’d like to make. The advertising in Hangman doesn’t generate enough revenue to allow me to quit my job, but it’s a steady, stream of income. If I had decided to sell Hangman for the lowest price, at £0.59 ($0.99) then a few things would have happened:

1. It wouldn’t have gotten anywhere near 2.1 million downloads
2. It wouldn’t generate a constant stream of income
3. It would be susceptible to being pirated

The 3rd point is probably a sore topic for some developers. I recently read a post over at Smells Like Donkey that published some unbelievable statistics on piracy on the App Store. It also shows just how easy it is to pirate an application using a jailbroken iPhone (easier than buying from iTunes, apparently).

There is also the issue of the App Store’s economy – the idea that £4.99 is expensive blows my mind. Really? Are people that tight? If you look at the UK Top 10 Apps, you’ll find that they are virtually all £0.59 with some exceptions, but never over £4.99…

With the recent availability of In-App Purchase for free apps, it seems that Apple may be willing to help combat the piracy problem. Developers could release a “Lite Version” of their app that could be unlocked using the in-app purchase mechanism. Among the obvious benefits, this also includes:

1. The store won’t be littered with 2 versions of every app
2. Pirates would be forced to pay to upgrade their “Lite Version”

This also allows developers to generate more income after the initial purchase of an app and encourages them to create more content for their app. An added bonus is that the developer doesn’t have to submit an update and wait 2 – 3 weeks for it to be approved by the App Store Gods.

I have a lot of thinking and decision making to do in the near future. WIll my next apps be free with ad support or free with in app purchases or paid?