Linux users show their love for indie game
September 14th, 2009When I released my indie game Mystic Mine, I had no idea if the Linux version was going to sell. But 7 months later, I must say the results are quite surprising.
Recently I got interviewed by Linux Gaming News about my indie game Mystic Mine, and one of the questions was how many Linux copies I sold. I looked into it and saw that I sell the most copies for Mac OS X, then for Linux, and the least for Windows. I didn’t make much of it, because as an indie game developer it’s easier to get noticed on Mac OS X or Linux than on Windows. And selling games is all about exposure. But after people started to ask questions on this, I looked further into it, and what I discovered really surprised me.
Before releasing Mystic Mine, I honestly had no idea if it was going to sell on Linux. I expected it to sell well on Mac OS X and Windows, because other indies have already reported this, but on Linux, I had absolutely no idea. My initial thoughs were that Linux users are used to getting quality stuff for free, so I didn’t expect them to pay for software. So would they pay for games? Probably not. But now I know how wrong that assumption was. Just look at my findings below.
I released Mystic Mine the 3rd of February 2009, so currently there is 7 months of statistical data. Let’s first take a look at the web visitors I got during that period:
So I got 40.29% visitors using Windows, 36.30% using Mac and 22.58% using Linux. Nothing special with these figures, because it’s easier to get Mac or Linux exposure, but there are still a lot more Windows users.
But if you look at my sales, that’s quite a different story:
- Mac OS X: 42.72%
- Linux: 33.98%
- Windows: 23.30%
Linux represents 1/3rd of my total sales, which is quite a lot if you compare that to the number of Linux visitors I get. And now comes the cool part. Below are the conversion rates per OS for my Mystic Mine game. Conversion rate means the number of sales I get per visitor (Remark that indie game developers normally work with sales per demo download, not per web visitor):
- Linux: 0.43%
- Mac OS X: 0.39%
- Windows: 0.19%
As you can see Linux is way up there, which is quite a surprise to say the least. For every 232 Linux visitors I get on my website, one of them buys my game. If you compare that to windows users, I need 526 of them to get a sale. For Mac OS X it’s 256. So who would have thought that Linux users are the most eager to buy an indie game? Certainly not me.
Of course these statistics are for my game only. Therefore I would love to see some other indie game developers release their sales statistics on this, because if they get the same results as me, Linux is a more viable gaming platform than anyone currently assumes.
September 14th, 2009 at 10:33 am
Windows gamers tend to get their games for free quite often as well, unless it’s an MMO or pay-to-play game, by nature of the fact that pirating anything in windows is just second nature at this point. The expectation for just about any application, indi or otherwise, from even the not-computer-saavy at this point is that everything is just so expensive, you can always ask your ‘computer friend’ to find you a copy (and this attitude tends to, in my opinion, stem from the cost of basic software in a windows world).
Mac I can’t comment on, as I’m not very positive about Mac at all.
Linux however, people are used to paying nothing for excellent things, but one realm that many many people, espicially those that just tinker with linux on, would love to see improvement on is the game aspect. So already you’re in a decent spot, because there just aren’t as many games, unless you use wine – in which case it’s how many game ports, that people have access too. Linux folks tend to also be much more friendly with the idea of spending money (This is a statement from very limited experience, as I can only think of myself and my friends) because everything is naturally free, and it’s easy to hit the ‘donate’ button and send a few dollars someone’s way when a product is outstanding.
This could be totally off kilter, but it was just my brief thought, and I figured I’d add the comment as well
We’ll see if I’m a buyer after I get a chance to play the demo.
Arch Linux – running Chakra/KDE4.2, though I did download your app/will be trying it on Win7 Enterprise Ed., simply because I’d devoted my day to tinkering with it anyway
September 14th, 2009 at 10:35 am
[...] what he writes on his website [...]
September 14th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
That are good news, for you, Linux and the Linux Gaming Community. But I would say, that Linux Gamers will be totaly pissed off, if publishers start to integrate some kind of DRM into their games.
September 14th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
I took a peak at the game site and it does look like an interesting game. Thanks for making it available for gnu/linux !
What are the requirements for gnu/linux ?
September 14th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
I’ll agree with Vryali. Windows users tend to pay for everything. From expensive hardware to ruin the latest versions of the programs to software for commons needs, like watching DVDs and burn CDs. So when they are going spend even more money for not necessary things like games, they’ll think “How much money spent for the computer-thing lately?” and because they’ll find they spent enough, they’ll say “Hmmm better to find a crack for it and if I can’t, because is not a famous title, I’ll look for another game”.
With Linux users we have the oppossite story though. They tend to spend nothing, no need to buy software or good hardware since Linux runs everywhere. So its easier to give something just for the fun they have all the time, even if it a game or another type of software.
I played the demo and I liked it. Thank you very much for the 64 bit support as well. I think I’ll buy it.
Good luck with your sales
September 14th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Even though there are a lot of free loaders that use FOSS, I think many of them, myself included, enjoy paying for well written software. You see, in many ways FOSS is like a rebellion. Many times it’s some programmers saying “Why am I paying for this crap! I can do better!”. So, those same people are probably pleased when they use well written software. Games are somewhat of an art piece. I can make tools and machines and logical things, but art is enjoyable and I’m not all together that artistic. So I appreciate it when someone else does a fantastic job.
I’m not a gamer. So I could be way off. Good luck with your game(s)!
September 14th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Well, now that this article was on Phoronix (http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=NzUzNQ) I really hope that your stats won’t get messed and that it brings more linux buyers for your games. Good luck and thanks for the insight.
September 15th, 2009 at 1:06 am
Get in touch with the developers of “World of Goo”. I believe they did very well when they released their game to run natively under Linux.
I agree totally with Florian Sievers’s comment re the atttitiude that users would have to the inclusion of any DRM into games (or indeed any software) available to be run natively under Linux.
I’m not a gamer, but I *do* appreciate well written software and have paid for commercial software for Linux previously…
September 15th, 2009 at 1:38 am
Another company, Wolfire, posted their stats recently. Linux is much lower (only 5% for them), but they still say it’s profitable. Mac is especially profitable for them.
http://blog.wolfire.com/2008/12/why-you-should-support-mac-os-x-and-linux/
September 15th, 2009 at 1:44 am
Requirements of the game are not that high. Video card or memory doesn’t matter that much, but make sure your processor is fast enough (probably >=1.5Ghz). Best try the demo first, and if that works fine the full version will too.
About the DRM: I would use it if it worked, but in practice, it doesn’t. DRM currently doesn’t stop piracy, all it does is make it difficult for people who actually buy the product. I care about my customers, I want them to have the best experience. Therefore you won’t see any DRM in my games. If I can make my customers’ life easier and the pirates life harder, I would do it, but DRM actually does the opposite.
I’m a Linux user myself (Mystic Mine was developed in Linux using FOSS), and the reason is because I like quality software and clean API’s. As I already said in the article, this is truly an eye-opener for me, in the good sense. Linux users are not just freeloaders, they appreciate quality software, and are definitely willing to pay for it. Thanks for the support guys!
September 15th, 2009 at 2:19 am
[...] users, good buyers for indie !games : http://www.koonsolo.com/news/?p=33 !lg !gaming !itsbetter with [...]
September 15th, 2009 at 2:35 am
[...] users, good buyers for indie !games : http://www.koonsolo.com/news/?p=33 !lg !gaming !itsbetter with [...]
September 15th, 2009 at 7:14 am
[...] more: Koonsolo News » Blog Archive » Linux users show their love for … By admin | category: Object | tags: best-way, bridge, dues, getting-quality, guinness, [...]
September 15th, 2009 at 7:35 am
Thank you. I get crap from Windows users about the “lack” of quality commercial software, especially games, for Linux. I really don’t know what they mean, the games that are available for Linux are of very high quality, as this game shows.
And as hinted above, it’s the Windows advocates that are the first to jump to the subject of warez and cracks when the high cost of many commercial applications is brought up. F/OSS answers the demand by making usable commodity software gratis, so that money is made on specialist an high-end applications.
DRM by itself is just a tool, but it’s an ugly tool that assumes everyone is a criminal. Yes, freeloaders exist and have always existed in every culture. It is human invention that is needed to deal with the “free rider” problem, not restriction.
Certainly the online system that charges for connection but give away the client is one way, so is charging for service and custom work. What will work for downloadable games? I don’t know, but someone will think of it.
September 15th, 2009 at 7:58 am
[...] spēlēs liecina arī studijas Koonsoolo Games, kas iztrādājuši spēli Mystic Mine, paziņojums par negaidītu aktivitāti no Linux lietotāju puses. Linux versijas pārdošanas skaits ir 34% [...]
September 15th, 2009 at 10:57 am
It’d be interesting to see what happens to your sales if you get this game into the Ubuntu Software Store.
September 15th, 2009 at 11:19 am
Is the Ubuntu Software Store already supporting commercial applications? If so, where do I sign up!
September 15th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
[...] – Indie game studio amazed at Linux sales (Phoronix) – Linux users show their love for indie game (blog de [...]
September 15th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
[...] http://www.koonsolo.com/news/?p=33 [...]
September 15th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
[...] – Indie game studio amazed at Linux sales (Phoronix) – Linux users show their love for indie game (blog de [...]
September 15th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
In case you would like to convince investors to invest their money in your company (so that you can make more Linux games), you may like to quote the book Blue Ocean Strategy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ocean_Strategy Linux definitely is a blue ocean for commercial games!
September 16th, 2009 at 2:21 am
[...] – Indie game studio amazed at Linux sales (Phoronix) – Linux users show their love for indie game (blog de [...]
September 16th, 2009 at 2:57 am
[...] sus estadísticas, se puede ver que las visitas a su web son mayoritariamente de plataformas Windows en primer lugar, [...]
September 16th, 2009 at 3:34 am
[...] La relación de visitantes al sitio Web oficial de los realizadores de vídeo juegos, se descubrió que en su mayoría, los usuarios que han comprado el vídeo juego por parte del sistema operativo Linux, son los que frecuentan mayoritariamente el sitio, pero de igual forma, son superados aún en visitas por los usuarios de Mac, según datos de Koonsolo Games. [...]
September 16th, 2009 at 3:55 am
no installation instructions??
September 16th, 2009 at 10:48 am
I found the only requirement that I didn’t already have installed was sdl-ttf. A quick installation later (emerge sdl-ttf in Gentoo) and the game was ready to go.
re: rich; Instructions:
tar xzf mysticminedemo.tar.gz
cd mysticminedemo_1.2.0
./mysticmine
September 16th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
I like the way magnatune.com works. Free download of the entire song – mp3 or ogg quality, no restrictions. If you want and can pay, then you pay what you think the album is worth, but at least the minimum (I think $5). I have bought at least 2 albums from them and zero songs from ITunes, etc.
I am a Ubuntu Linux user. I was about to buy your game. But sadly $20 is above my very tight economic situation at the moment. I promised all the kids a trip to Disneyland and we’re sacrificing to make sure it happens this time. We have nine children. Nine children plus two adults doing anything is expensive.
Anyways, a few months ago, or a few months from now, or a lower price, and I would have bought the game. I played the whole demo and it plays well on my old computer.
Good luck.
September 18th, 2009 at 12:38 am
[...] in the week, Koonsolo Games revealed that the Mystic Mines game had sold more copies of the Linux version than the Windows one, since it’s launch in February this [...]
September 19th, 2009 at 10:56 am
[...] sells a game for both Windows, Mac and Linux. The interesting thing is that, as you can read on Koonsolo’s blog, the Linux version is being sold in larger numbers than the Windows [...]
September 21st, 2009 at 1:27 pm
[...] sus estadísticas, se puede ver que las visitas a su web son mayoritariamente de plataformas Windows en primer lugar, [...]
September 25th, 2009 at 4:27 am
[...] gamer reports best conversion rates with !linux gamers: http://www.koonsolo.com/news/?p=33 a few seconds ago from [...]
September 25th, 2009 at 6:09 am
[...] – !Linux users show their love for indie #games. http://www.koonsolo.com/news/?p=33 a few seconds ago from [...]
September 25th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
I’d say Mac OS X and Linux simply have more buyers per viewers because those users are more supportive of their growing game markets. Windows users have nothing to worry about there.
Another thing is, Windows users have loads of on the shelf titles with several million dollar productions. I’m not saying that instantly makes a game better, but it’s at least more appealing to the masses just from looking at the box. We Linux (and Mac) users are more likely to be excited to see a game on our platform at all, do a bit more reading and then judge that, well yes, it’s an indie game, but it still looks like a good one.
September 26th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Wow…
October 9th, 2009 at 3:00 am
[...] Koen Witters of Koonsolo Games wrote about how surprised he was to find that Linux users show their love for the company’s indie game. He posted Mystic Mine’s downloads and conversions stats, and the results demonstrate that [...]
October 14th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
[...] Linux gaming? Posted by Fred in Linux, tags: business, China web sucks!, Firefox, Gaming, money, opportunities As an occasional reader of The Linux Game Tome I just stumbled upon a very interesting article about Linux and indie games: Indie game developer Koonsolo just revealed some surprising sales statistics on the Linux version of their game. 7 months ago they released their game ‘Mystic Mine‘, and in that time the Linux version sold more copies than the version for Windows. Yet they get plenty more website visits from Windows users. Koen Witters, the founder of the company, explains: ‘For every 232 Linux visitors we get on our website, one of them buys our game. If you compare that to the windows users, we need 526 of them to get a single sale.’ So it seems Linux users are more eager to buy downloadable games than Windows or even Mac OS X users. This data definitely asks the question if Linux is a more viable platform for game developers than anyone currently assumes. The full statistical analysis can be found at http://www.koonsolo.com/news/?p=33. [...]
November 2nd, 2009 at 7:22 am
[...] Koen Witters from Koonsolo said on our interview and published on his website (after the insightful discovery) – “Linux users are the most eager to buy an indie [...]
July 28th, 2010 at 11:03 pm
Let’s face Linux users like myself understand that some of the best products don’t come from the big studios their made with usability in mind, and in this case playability. I love indie, and I love Linux.