So, I've had a name of a game I've been working on for a while, that is quite catchy, but it starts with the Letter "Z". With all the talk of showing up alphabetically (instead of by release date/time) I'm wondering if it's worth it to keep the catchy back-of-the-list name or try something else? Does anyone know if things worked out ok for Zen Bound for example? What do you guys think?
Don't worry about it, little factors like that won't make a significant difference to whether your game succeeds or fails.
Well if you game is only being promoted in the App Store alone then your sales will be low because not many people will see your game on release day. If you are able to build up some anticipation and people know about your game beforehand then I would say use the catchy name.
I think Zen Bound worked out okay It's like jclardy said, the only thing that matters on the App Store is building up awareness.
I'm sorry, it's probably my fault that you're even having this dilemma. From my understanding (which I think I finally got correct) is that in the new release section, you game will show up first by release date/time, and THEN sorted alphabetically with respect to the other titles that were released that date. Starting the name of a game with the letter "Z" is definitely NOT a death sentence. As other more experienced devs have stated, it has worked perfectly fine for them. Since this is not your first title, it will most likely work out great for you as well, especially if the name is catchy. I'm in a different situation then the other games mentioned. For example, Zen Bound had Chillingo to back them while Zenonia had Gamevil. Many people are already familiar with Chillingo and Gamevil, so creating any sort of awareness is not as much of an issue for them. Also, the AppStore landscape has changed quite a bit since those games came out, and there is much more competition now. Maybe I'm being stupid or naive in thinking that being seen on the first page in the new release section will increase sales...but since this is my first release, I figured I'd use every tool at my disposal. After all is said and done though, the most important thing of all is having a quality game that people want to play.
My most popular game is Xeno Sola. So if the alphabet effect exists, it's probably minor. Though I'm all for any and all tiny advantages one can give oneself.
There is probably some truth to that. Wikipedia has this to say about the 'Amiga' brand: And where is Amiga now? Besides, the end of the alphabet is almost as good as the beginning. If anything, you don't want to be lost in the middle. More significant factors that affect sales are probably short names or names that contain unusual characters (because they often don't show up in searches.) You say your name is "catchy" and that is most important when it comes to word of mouth.
If you're intent on leading the alphabet you could always creatively prefix the name with numbers or "1st" or special characters or something. Otherwise, I agree with others that it provides only a nominal advantage which might, in any event, be stripped away if you alter a memorable name for sorting reasons.
