Magic Stones Sales Statistics Detailed

If you’ve ever wondered what kind of money independent developers might be making, GameProducer is sharing some exact statistics on the sales of Winter Wolves’ RPG/card game hybrid, Magic Stones. The numbers were provided by lead developer Riva Celso, so we can assume they’re accurate:

Development Expenses:
Major expense was the 3d models to make the cards. I estimate I spent around $1k to buy all the models from Daz3.com. For music I used royalty free stock music so very low expense (under $50). No other major expense, except my own time of course.

Marketing Expenses:
Nothing at all, I just submitted new versions to major download sites and sent out PR on my own.

Total Expenses:
Everything considered (graphic, hosting, music), under $1,500.

…

Total Sales (units):
Around 1100 direct sales (up to 2008) for basically 3 years and 2 months of (product lifetime).

A vague idea of portal sales is less than 120 total for about 2 years.

Price: (USD)
In my own site the game is for sale at $24.95, and the magic shop add on for $4.99 extra. On most portals the game is on sale at $19.99.

Approximate total income: (USD)
Approximate income is $27500. I have to add that since I released Magic Shop, 99% of buyers buy the add on together with the game, so on top of that amount I need to add around 600 sales of magic Shop at $4.99, another $3000.