Data is the lifeblood of any process these days and for developers it is an important element of understanding how customers/users interact with products such as apps and games.
In fact, if you take a look at the Windows and Store Trends website, you will see that the Games category is the largest segment of app downloads and In App Purchases (IAP). That category accounts for 89% of all IAP and 40% of the overall downloads from the Windows Store.
This past week Microsoft announced a new partnership with GameAnalytics that will deliver a Software Development Kit (SDK) that will provide data to developers which will help them understand how customers use their games. As a result of this insight, developers can further improve their game(s) to retain customers instead of them leaving the app behind in frustration.
"The tool gives game developers a central platform that consolidates player data from various channels to help visualize their core gaming KPIs in one convenient view. It also enables team members to collaborate with reporting and benchmark their game to see how it compares with more than 10,000 similar titles."
“I believe the single most valuable asset for any game developer in today’s market is knowledge,” said GameAnalytics Founder and Chairman, Morten E Wulff. “Since I started GameAnalytics back in 2012, I’ve met with hundreds of game studios from all over the world, and every single one is struggling with increasing user acquisition costs and falling retention rates.”
“When they do strike gold, they don’t always know why. GameAnalytics is here to change that. To be successful, game studios will have to combine creative excellence with a data-driven approach to development and monetization. We are here to bridge this gap and make it available to everyone for free"
You can get started with GameAnalytics very quickly by signing up for a free account or checking out some demo data to see what kind of insights the service can provide you as a game developer.
The announcement blog post at the Windows Developer site provides you all the steps for downloading the GameAnalytics SDK for Universal Windows Platform apps and how to start collecting data on your own games.
There is also a great gallery of images from the GameAnalytics Dashboard to give you a look inside of the data you will be using, evaluating, and responding to in your own games.
But, wait...there's probably more so be sure to follow me on Twitter and Google+.
