6 tips to launch your app or game in the USA
Discover localization strategies for entering the USA’s expansive apps and games economy
The US is one of the top countries in terms of app revenue. As of February 2019, 96% of the population were mobile phone users and 81% of these people owned a smartphone (Pew Research Center). Although 5G networks will be widespread, most subscribers are on 4G using pre- or post-paid (monthly billing).
In this post we introduce some tips for entering the USA’s vast apps and games market.
1. Launch in popular game and app categories
Games
Mobile gaming is a multi-billion dollar market in the US. With 200M gamers, it’s the second biggest market globally in terms of consumer spend (App Annie).
The top game genres in the US cover a wide range of players, from casual to hardcore (App Annie):
- Casino and Card such as card battles, slots, and poker
- Strategy and Simulation such as player vs. player (PvP) and battle royale
- Casual such as match-3, bubble shooters, and idle-clicker
- Action Adventure such as shooter, fighting, and MOBA
A number of different gaming trends can be observed in the US, each showing the level of diversity and innovation this market experiences:
- A growing appetite for playing and streaming Esports
- Monetization diversification with developers experimenting with combinations of ads, IAP, and subscriptions
- Genre-mashing innovation, combining genres into a new kind of hybrid game
Apps
App categories that typically perform best in the US include communication and social, web browser, utilities and tools, entertainment, and shopping. In 2018, the average US user spent almost 3 hours a day on mobile apps (statistica).
While the US sees a consistently large number of installs per year, the market is mature and growth has slowed (App Annie). In this environment, Google Play Instant apps can be an effective way to drive installs, conversion rate, engagement, and reach — and are proving successful across many categories, including travel/local, ecommerce, and media.
2. Localize your pricing
Paid titles in the Google Play Store can be priced between $0.99 and $400.00 (Play Console Help), but are typically priced between $0.99 and $4.99. To make prices for paid games and in-app purchases (IAPs) more appealing to consumers, prices are often set to .x9 cents rather than a round number (for example $2.99 rather than $3.00). In the example below, $1.00 is fine, but $1.49 and $1.99 are more appealing to users:
Many apps and games in the US are free to download and play, but offer in-app purchases for users to unlock premium content or features.
Subscriptions are becoming a popular way for apps and games to supplement IAP revenue and drive retention. Consider a weekly, monthly, or yearly subscription renewal for your title. Remember that free trials and promo pricing can encourage users to explore your subscription offering and discover what’s right for them.
The US has a wide range of demographics and income levels, so always factor these in when pricing your IAP or subscription. If you only consider incomes in major cities or use the national average, you’ll likely price out many potential users.
Forms of payment
Credit card is the preferred form of payment for US users, with debit cards, gift cards, carrier billing, and promo codes also available (WorldPay 2018 Global Payments Report).
3. Optimize for a range of high end to lower end devices
The US is the third largest smartphone market in the world (Mashable) with a broad range of high-end to lower-end devices. Many lower-end devices have 1GB or less of RAM, so aim to reduce your APK size: for every 6MB increase to APK size, developers see a 1% decrease in install conversion. Large secondary downloads, such as those for expansion files, can also lead to early player churn, especially in casual game genres.
Developers can monitor their apps’ core Android vitals — crash rates, app not responding (ANR) rates, excessive wakeups, and stuck wake locks — in the Google Play Console. Monitoring these vitals across different device tiers can help you pinpoint any performance issues that may arise so that you can address them in a timely manner. Having poor Android vitals performance affects overall app quality, which can lead to poor user ratings on the Google Play Store and ultimately decreased discoverability.
Many US carriers provide unlimited data plans with data throttling at a certain threshold of data consumption. However, you should still try to minimize data use wherever possible.
4. Revise your language and tone
US consumers are fairly accepting of formal and casual tones, so long as they’re appropriate to the app or game. That said, avoid using old-fashioned or unusual English words when translating. Be careful with the translation of slang or colloquial phrases, as the meaning will often be lost.
Also make sure that you use American — rather than British — spelling, punctuation, pricing, date formats, measurements, terminology, and alike. When working on apps or games for use in both markets, use the appropriate version of English for each or use American English. For word based puzzle games, such as crosswords or word searches, you must use the appropriate version of English.
When translating your app’s title and Google Play store listing into American English, don’t use direct machine translations. While they can give potential users a broad context, their use may also signal that the rest of your app or game hasn’t been translated well. If your app’s name won’t make sense when translated or you don’t want to translate, add a subtitle to help explain what it offers.
For example, the developers of Dil Mil, which means ‘Hearts Meet’ in Hindi, chose to add a subtitle to explain their app’s purpose.
5. Adapt to cultural and local nuances
America’s multicultural makeup and prolific internet use means people are relatively accepting of content from other countries, such as Japanese RPGs, foreign films and animation, and South Korean K-pop music.
Although English is the primary language in the US, supporting Spanish localization in addition to American English could offer significant opportunities, given the US now has the world’s second-largest Spanish-speaking population (The Week).
Inclusion and cultural diversity are also important marketing considerations. Diversity in the US means that Oktoberfest, Lunar New Year, Diwali, Pride Parade, Women’s March, and the Islamic New Year are all significant US cultural holidays and events. Make your title more engaging by integrating these seasonal events into your market mix.
As seen below, Best Fiends used imagery to celebrate Lunar New Year.
Many app and game developers also piggyback promotions on the big seasonal shopping holidays in the US. For example, Black Friday — the day after Thanksgiving — is the busiest shopping day of the year, followed by Cyber Monday. Consumers expect to see sales around Labor Day and Memorial Day too, so offering deals at these times could be a good option.
6. Modify your user acquisition strategy
Google Play Store: If your title has not launched, consider releasing it as an open beta and applying for the Early Access program in the Play Store. This program makes it easier to acquire beta testers and receive useful feedback before launching.
Apply for the pre-registration program and get help marketing your titles and building up user anticipation leading up to release day. Offering pre-registration perks can be a good way to drive awareness and installs.
Online: Google Play Instant helps you provide an interactive demo of titles anywhere you want to share the link — across social media channels, the Google Play Store, and Google Search.
Influencers on social media and video streaming services are often paid by brands to promote their products or services — and could help you do the same.
Given that TV ads are often too expensive for most app developers, you should consider using mobile ads. These now account for about 40% of digital ad spending, and will soon surpass desktop ad spend (eMarketer).
Final thoughts
The diversity in the US population makes this market open to a wide variety of apps and games, offering opportunities to titles that may otherwise be niche outside their home market. However, care should still be taken in translating both app and game content, titles, and Google Play listings to project an image of quality and secure download.
The US is the world’s second largest market for entry-level smartphones. This means that many of the techniques for addressing emerging markets are equally relevant in the US: reducing APK size, minimizing data use, and alike. Similarly, when it comes to pricing, don’t assume that your target audience will necessarily tolerate higher pricing than elsewhere in the world.
Perhaps the biggest challenge with the US market is its maturity, making it harder for any new title to find users. Employing techniques such as delivering an instant app or game, giving users an immediate experience of your title, can help drive downloads. Digital advertising may also be beneficial, as is the use of social media influencers.
While it may be challenging to enter, the US market is one that can offer significant rewards. Above all, app and game quality are critical to success as consumers will quickly ditch poor quality offerings.
What do you think?
Do you have thoughts on launching apps and games in the USA? Let us know in the comments below or tweet using #AskPlayDev and we’ll reply from @GooglePlayDev, where we regularly share news and tips on how to be successful on Google Play.
