What do you think is the future of apps?

So I'd say we're in the early days of apps. First we had IOS apps, then Android App store, then Windows 8 apps store.

Does it even matter what happens to all these stores? After all a game is a game no matter what channel you sell it through.

Take a game like chess. If you're the first on a store with that game you can make some money. However 10 years down the line if you're the 1000th person you won't make any money.

I think like most things, as technology improves and as you can play AAA games on your phone, the big companies will take over the app space.

Today we are where the internet was when something like this: http://www.hampsterdance.com/classics/originaldance.htm was the best thing on it. There was a dot com boom and then it crashed. Then the big companies like Google and Amazon took over.

Therefor I would say to all indies, try and make your money now. Before the big companies take over!

 

New marketplaces do have some advantage, provided there are enough people there. Take Ouya for instance, was supposed to be great, but just nowhere near enough people to make it really viable. Yet, it's true the scarcity leaves tones of room for coming out with even `done-it-before-elsewhere` games that can get some traction just by virtue of numbers. I think one of the next pockets of development is likely to be TV.

 

I think we are heading toward VR apps, apps that work regardless of OS or virtual world or augmented reality!

 

SteamOS/Machine is the future. It's going to have a rough start but it's only going to get better every year with newer, faster, cheaper units. And with Valve's great support for expanding to new grounds(Workshop, Early Access, Family Share, VR).

 

I don't think the dot-com bubble is the best comparison for the the app marketplace. As I understand it, the bubble was mainly caused by investors recklessly dumping money into all the overvalued dot-com businesses popping up left and right because it was the new hot thing. When it hit critical mass and the true viability of all the companies was revealed the market crashed and took a lot of the startups with it.
App development on the other hand is mainly a bunch of tiny companies and individuals with no investors or already well established companies using mobile apps as a secondary source of income. There's not going to be some big crash, because pretty much everyone already knows exactly what the value of app development is.

 

I think things are going to get more and more centralized, people will still have a cell phone and a computer, but as they get closer and closer to having the same specs people are going to want to buy an app once and be able to use it on both. We already see companies like Microsoft doing it already with Office, I'm pretty sure as time goes on it'll trickle down to games as well...

I agree, but I also think that smaller developments may fizzle out or be much harder to be found. The issue of being discovered will be harder and harder as time goes on making it hard to make a profit in the marketplace, though quality will always find a way to shine, I hope.

 

I think there is a kind of bubble based on advertising.

Basically the big apps are making money from advertising. But what kind of advertising?

Mostly advertising from little apps trying to make it big.

Sooner or later the little app makers will realise it's not worth advertising ad-funded apps so the revenue will dry up.

It's kind of pyramid selling. Or laundry companies doing the washing of other laundry companies. Or buying a house just to sell it again. Or that Million Dollar website which was mostly funded by ads from Million Dollar Website clones!


What people don't realise is that Angry Birds did so well not because it was an especially good game but that it got in there first and was shown in stores to promote their tablets.

So indies, get in there first, make some money. But then in the medium term I think the quality bar will go up so either it will force indies to join bigger companies or they will have to be extra good.